The Commentariat -- June 7, 2013

Josh Lederman & Donna Cassata of the AP: "Moving to tamp down a public uproar spurred by the disclosure of two secret surveillance programs, the nation's top intelligence official is declassifying key details about one of the programs while insisting the efforts to collect America's phone records and the U.S. internet use of foreign nationals overseas were legal, limited in scope and necessary to detect terrorist threats. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, in an unusual late-night statement Thursday, denounced the leaks of highly classified documents that revealed the programs and warned that America's security will suffer. He called the disclosure of a program that targets foreigners' Internet use 'reprehensible,' and said the leak of another program that lets the government collect Americans' phone records would change America's enemies behavior and make it harder to understand their intentions." ...

... Here's Clapper's full statement. ...

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "New disclosures about top-secret government programs to collect data on Americans' phone calls and Internet activity are likely to overshadow President Obama's two-day summit this weekend with the president of China. Mr. Obama is set to meet with President Xi Jinping on a 200-acre estate in Southern California on Friday and Saturday, a historic visit that was expected to be a venue for Mr. Obama to raise concerns about Chinese cyber attacks and spying. But now, that diplomatic conversation will take place in the midst of striking revelations about the United States's surveillance operations on its own citizens." ...

... Barton Gellman & Laura Poitras of the Washington Post: "The National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents, and connection logs that enable analysts to track one target or trace a whole network of associates, according to a top-secret document obtained by The Washington Post. The program, code-named PRISM, has not been made public until now. It may be the first of its kind." ...

... Glenn Greenwald & Ewen MacAskill of the Guardian broke the story at about the same time. (Apparently, the two papers worked together on the story.) ...

... Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: "The federal government has been secretly collecting information on foreigners overseas for nearly six years from the nation's largest Internet companies like Google, Facebook and, most recently, Apple, in search of national security threats, the director of national intelligence confirmed Thursday night." ...

... Siobhan Gorman, et al., of the Wall Street Journal: "The National Security Agency's monitoring of Americans includes customer records from the three major phone networks as well as emails and Web searches, and the agency also has cataloged credit-card transactions, said people familiar with the agency's activities." ...

... Noam Cohen & Leslie Kaufman of the New York Times profile Glenn Greenwald. "The article [on Verizon], which included a link to the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court] order, is expected to attract an investigation from the Justice Department, which has aggressively pursued leakers."

"President Obama's Dragnet." New York Times Editors: "To casually permit this surveillance [of Americans' phone records] -- with the American public having no idea that the executive branch is now exercising this power -- fundamentally shifts power between the individual and the state, and repudiates constitutional principles governing search, seizure and privacy. The defense of this practice offered by Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is supposed to be preventing this sort of overreaching, was absurd.... This stunning use of the [Patriot Act] shows, once again, why it needs to be sharply curtailed if not repealed." ...

     ... Margaret Hartmann & Joe Coscarelli of New York: "On Thursday afternoon (even before the world learned of 'PRISM'), the New York Times published a blistering editorial on the developing government surveillance scandal that declared, 'The administration has now lost all credibility.' The phrase was soon all over Twitter and appeared prominently on websites ranging from Politico to Drudge -- everywhere but the New York Times. As cataloged by NewsDiffs, by the evening, the phrase had been modified to read, 'The administration has now lost all credibility on this issue.' (Emphasis added.)"

... Ellen Nakashima & Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration and key U.S. lawmakers on Thursday defended a secret National Security Agency telephone surveillance program that one congressman ... House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) ... said had helped avert a terrorist attack in recent years."

... Elspeth Reeve of the Atlantic: "The NSA spying is bigger than Verizon." Way bigger. P.S. NSA workers think your phone sex is, well, fucking hilarious. ...

... Jane Mayer of the New Yorker: "... it's worse than many might think." ...

... William Saletan of Slate is sanguine: "The government's phone surveillance isn't Orwellian. It's limited and supervised." ...

... Adam Serwer of NBC News: Judge Roger Vinson was so worried that the federal government could force him to eat broccoli that he declared the Affordable Care Act an unconstitutional violation of the commerce clause, yet somehow Vinson is with shredding the Fourth Amendment. CW: I guess Vinson is not concerned that the Feds can find out who is mistress & bookie are.

... Not as Bad as John Yoo! Scott Lemieux in the American Prospect: "At the very least, the indiscriminate nature of the Verizon order indicates flaws with the FISA framework established by Congress in 2007 and recently extended until 2017." That the Obama administration acted "legally" and "that the Supreme Court probably won't hear a challenge to current FISA arrangement and would probably uphold it if it did doesn't make the Court right." ...

 ... Atrios: "It's totally not a big deal and that's why it needs to be completely secret and free from meaningful oversight." ...

... Marcy Wheeler: "Here's the question, though: if this program is no big deal, as the Administration and some members of Congress are already claiming in damage control, then why has the Administration been making thin non-denial denials about it for years? If it is so uncontroversial, why is it secret?... The secrecy has been entirely about preventing American citizens from knowing how their privacy had been violated.... [Its purpose is to] undercut separation of powers to ensure that the constitutionality of this program can never be challenged by American citizens." ...

... John Sides: "... the presence of a fairly sturdy bipartisan elite consensus on domestic surveillance -- whether it is motivated by partisanship (Republicans defended Bush, Democrats defend Obama) or by a sincere belief in the value of the policy -- makes it hard to imagine that revelations about the NSA-Verizon agreement will lead to dramatic changes in policy."

... Matt Apuzzo of the AP has a pretty good -- and simple -- Q&A on the NSA's sweep of Verizon (and most likely other company) phone records. ...

... Timothy Lee of the Washington Post also has a good post explaining what the NSA is probably doing. ...

... Ed Kilgore: "... for the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald, a civil libertarian who has been fighting a long war against national security surveillance practices, it has to be a peak moment to be the public conduit for leaked documents establishing what he had long suspected."

"The Spite Club." Paul Krugman: "... the only way to understand [Republican-dominates states'] refusal to expand Medicaid is as an act of sheer spite. And the cost of that spite won't just come in the form of lost dollars; it will also come in the form of gratuitous hardship for some of our most vulnerable citizens.... The rejectionist states would lose more than $8 billion a year in federal aid, and would also find themselves on the hook for roughly $1 billion more to cover the losses hospitals incur when treating the uninsured."

Alan Fram & Stephen Ohlemacher of the AP: Faris Fink (his real name), "an Internal Revenue Service official whose division staged a lavish $4.1 million training conference and who starred as Mr. Spock in a 'Star Trek' parody shown at the 2010 California gathering, conceded to Congress on Thursday that taxpayer dollars were wasted in the episode.... [The IRS Inspector General's] report concluded that rather than saving money by negotiating lower room rates with ... three Anaheim hotels, the IRS paid a standard government rate of $135 per room but accepted perks in return. Asked why the IRS didn't negotiate for lower room rates, Fink said, 'I was not aware we had the ability to do that.'" CW: really? This guy is definitely not smart enough to audit my taxes. ...

... Another IRS training video surfaces, this one supposedly an attempt to parody Don Draper, the "Mad Man" character. (I think the actor sounds more like Rod Serling of "The Twilight Zone"):

William Gibson of the Orlando Sentinel: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) says he's working really, really hard to pass immigration reform legislation even though "Both sides accuse him of playing political games. Some speculate that his shifting stance -- going from cheerleader to occasional critic, and back again -- is part of a strategy to enact a signature piece of legislation without political damage while preparing to run for president in 2016."

"Big Pot." Tim Egan on nascent efforts of big-name capitalists to make big pots of gold selling legalized pot in Washington state & Colorado.

Congressional Race

Jenna Portnoy of the Star-Ledger: New Jersey "Gov. Chris Christie today named New Jersey attorney general Jeffrey Chiesa to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg. Chiesa said he won't seek election later this year." The article includes a brief biography of Chiesa. The New York Times story is here. ...

... Alex Seitz-Wald of Salon: "In appointing state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa to fill the seat vacated by deceased Sen. Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has come as close to appointing himself -- without actually doing so -- as possible. Chiesa is a longtime loyalist and friend of the governor -- with little public profile or known ideological agenda -- following Christie from private practice, to the U.S. attorney's office, to the governor's mansion, making one wonder if his Senate office will effectively function as an extension of the governor's office in Washington." ...

... Times of Trenton: "U.S. Rep. Rush Holt ended the speculation this morning that he might run for the U.S. Senate seat left open by the death of Frank Lautenberg by officially asking his supporters to help collect signatures for the race.... Holt, a Democrat, has represented New Jersey's 12th Congressional District since 1999." CW: Holt was briefly -- and surprisingly -- my Congressman. I like him. He's liberals, he's a physicist, and he's smarter than the computer Watson! (Really.)

Local News

Bob Warner, et al., of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Despite multiple complaints, shoddy demolition work at 22d and Market Streets went uninspected for more than three weeks before the deadly collapse of a building Wednesday, raising basic questions about the city's competence regulating demolition projects.... Mayor [Michael] Nutter and Licenses and Inspections Commissioner Carlton Williams acknowledged Thursday that the city had granted a demolition permit for that project without any inquiry into the contractor's qualifications for demolition work. The city does not require demolition contractors to establish their qualifications.... Although the city began fielding citizen complaints about the Center City project as early as May 7, city inspectors reported no problems at a May 14 visit and did not follow up.... Nutter's spokesman, Mark McDonald, said the city relied on OSHA to look into safety issues at active demolition sites." ...

... Mark Faziollah, et al., of the Inquirer: "The contractor hired to demolish the building at 2136-38 Market St. has a criminal record stemming from a phony car-wreck scheme with a Philadelphia police officer, according to court records. And his demolition work next to a Salvation Army thrift shop worried neighbors, workers, and others in the days before Wednesday's fatal collapse, because an adjoining wall was left unsupported.... Griffin Campbell ... has city permits to demolish six other properties, including three Market Street properties owned by STB Investments Corp., the owner of the collapsed building. The principal of STB is Richard Basciano, owner of many seedy properties and once dubbed 'the undisputed king of Times Square porn.'" ...

... Kathy Matheson, et al., of the AP: "The search for victims of a building collapse that killed six people wound down Thursday amid mounting questions about whether the demolition company that was tearing down the structure at the time caused the tragedy by cutting corners."

Vital International News

Secret of the Kremlin Revealed! Ellen Barry of the New York Times: Russian "President Vladimir V. Putin announced on Thursday that he plans to divorce his wife of 29 years, Lyudmila, who for years has barely appeared in public, prompting widespread chatter about the secretive leader's private life. The couple made the announcement to a television crew after attending a ballet performance at the Kremlin together -- an unusual event in itself, since in recent years Lyudmila Putin has appeared in public only rarely."

News Ledes

AP: "A pregnant Texas actress who told FBI agents her husband had sent ricin-tainted letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been arrested for orchestrating the scheme herself, law enforcement officials said Friday. It was not immediately clear what charges would be filed against Shannon Guess Richardson of New Boston, Texas, a mother of five who has played bit roles in television shows. Two U.S. law enforcement officials confirmed her arrest to The Associated Press...."

Cleveland Plain Dealer: "A Cuyahoga County grand jury returned a 329-count indictment this afternoon against Ariel Castro, charging the 52-year-old Cleveland man with the kidnapping and rape of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. Castro was indicted for one act of aggravated murder -- for purposely and with prior calculation and design causing the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy,said County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty."

Reuters: "At least four people were wounded when gunfire erupted near Santa Monica College west of Los Angeles on Friday, about 3 miles from where President Barack Obama was attending a political fundraiser, and a suspect was arrested, authorities said. A spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol told Reuters the highway patrol had received a report of a man armed with multiple weapons, including a shotgun, firing at passing cars and a bus at two locations near the college campus." ...

     ... CBS News Update: "A gunman with an assault-style rifle killed at least six people in Santa Monica on Friday before police shot him to death in a gunfight in the Santa Monica College library, authorities said." ...

... AP: "Two people were found dead Friday in a burned home near Santa Monica College, where someone sprayed a street corner with gunfire, wounding at least four people, authorities said."

AP: "Richard Ramirez, the demonic serial killer known as the Night Stalker who left satanic signs at murder scenes and mutilated victims' bodies during a reign of terror in the 1980s, died early Friday in a hospital, a prison official said."

Reuters: "U.S. employers stepped up hiring in May, a sign the economy was growing modestly but not strong enough to convince the Federal Reserve to scale back the amount of cash it is pumping into the banking system. The United States added 175,000 jobs last month, just above the median forecast in a Reuters poll, Labor Department data showed on Friday."

AP: "After bringing rains, heavy winds and even tornadoes to parts of Florida, Tropical Storm Andrea moved quickly across south Georgia and was speeding through the Carolinas on Friday morning...."

The Commentariat -- June 6, 2013

Julian Pecquet & Daniel Strauss of the Hill: "Two key Republican senators [John McCain & Bob Corker {Tenn.}] on Wednesday muted their criticism of Susan Rice, saying they would welcome the opportunity to work with her when she assumes the post of President Obama's national security adviser.... Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who previously had been softer on Rice than many of his colleagues over Benghazi, said the choice reflects poorly on Obama." ...

... Oh, speaking of the NSA. Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian: "The National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon ... under a top secret court order issued in April. The order, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, requires Verizon on an 'ongoing, daily basis' to give the NSA information on all telephone calls in its systems, both within the US and between the US and other countries.... The communication records of millions of US citizens are being collected indiscriminately and in bulk -- regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing. The secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (Fisa) granted the order to the FBI on April 25, giving the government unlimited authority to obtain the data for a specified three-month period ending on July 19." Thanks to Dave S. for the link. ...

... The New York Times makes this their top story this morning, crediting the Guardian (i.e., Greenwald) for publishing the court order. Charlie Savage & Edward Wyatt report. ...

... Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post (where Greenwald's scoop is also the top story): "A senior Obama administration official said Thursday that the purported order 'does not allow the government to listen in on anyone's telephone calls' but relates only to 'metadata, such as a telephone number or the length of a call.' The official said such information 'has been a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats to the United States.' The official added that 'all three branches of government are involved in reviewing and authorizing intelligence collection' under the secret court, and Congress 'is regularly and fully briefed' on how the information is used."

David Graham of the Atlantic: "No more Mr. Nice President. For a brief few weeks this spring, the president was on what was universally, and rather uncreatively, described as a 'charm offensive.' But a series of high-profile power plays this week show suggest a White House that has either lost faith in the value of reaching out or is simply annoyed at a series of scandal investigations and isn't going to take it anymore. The moves may also reflect a concern that if the president doesn't move to set the tone for his second term, it may end up being defined by Republican-driven scandals. Whatever the case, the Obama Administration has this week dropped the 'charm' but is sticking with the 'offensive.'" ...

... Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The unapologetic selections reflect a conclusion in the West Wing that when it comes to choosing personnel, the president can never satisfy Republicans who will find almost anyone objectionable. But his choices also highlight the complicated second-term balancing act for a president unconstrained by re-election concerns and therefore freer to challenge Congress, yet still hoping to forge deals by courting the opposition with dinners and White House meetings." ...

     ... CW: what Baker doesn't say is that Obama's so-called "controversial" nominations may reflect a deal with Harry Reid to break the filibuster of presidential nominations. We'll find out this summer.

Zeke Miller of Time: "On Thursday President Barack Obama will take his second trip back to North Carolina since the November election. The visit to the swing state he won by a hair in 2008 but lost last time around is to announce a new program called ConnectED, a five-year initiative to bring high speed Internet to 99 percent of American students. But the repeat state visit -- one of only a handful so far in the second term -- also highlights the Democratic Party's frustrations in North Carolina, its toehold into the South."

Matt Miller, in the Washington Post: "Republican nihilism and intransigence -- huge problems, so please don't arrest me, false equivalency police! -- can't explain the Democratic ambition gap. In fact, it's not clear that anything in my depressing inventory above would be meaningfully different if the GOP had vanished or capitulated. Rare instances aside, this means Democrats aren't offering ideas equal to the magnitude of our problems. Republicans, meanwhile, can't even see what the problems are." ...

... Kevin Drum: "I just don't know any longer what I'm supposed to think about a political movement whose primary raison d'être, one they no longer even bother to conceal, is an almost gleeful immiseration of the poor for the benefit of the rich. How is it that the wealthiest country on earth has come to this?"

Jim Avila & Serena Marshall of ABC News: "Bipartisan meetings in the House of Representatives on a comprehensive immigration reform bill have failed.... The stumbling block is GOP insistence that newly legalized workers now working in the shadows have no access to government-sponsored health care during their 15-year pathway to citizenship.... Democrats say that since these newly legalized immigrants would be paying taxes they should be eligible for benefits. The stalemate is not expected to be solved and any immigration legislation from the House would likely proceed in piecemeal fashion." ...

... Meghashyam Mali of the Hill: "Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Tuesday threatened to vote against the Gang of Eight immigration bill he helped draft unless there are further changes to the legislation.... On Monday, Rubio warned that the bill still did not have the 60 votes needed, contradicting his Gang of Eight colleagues Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) who said they hoped to win 70 votes, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) who said he believed he had the numbers to pass the bill." ...

... Marco's "Self-Fufilling Prophecy." Ed Kilgore: "So when Sen. Marco Rubio disagreed with the prevailing assumption that the Gang of Eight immigration bill had at least the 60 votes necessary to overcome a filibuster by his GOP colleagues, he knew something the rest of us didn't know: he was counting himself as a 'no' vote. And it turns out he's been working behind the scenes with John Cornyn (who voted against the bill in the Judiciary Committee) to draft an omnibus conservative 'poison pill' amendment to the bill that if passed would by all accounts unravel the whole bipartisan coalition...."

... Marco's Get-out-of-Immigration-Reform Card. David Drucker of the Washington Examiner: "Democrats are signaling their rejection of Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn's proposed amendment to the 'Gang of Eight' immigration reform bill. The Texas Republican on Wednesday unveiled a proposal he described as the 'antidote' for Republican concerns that the bill is too weak on border security. 'The Cornyn amendment ... would subject immigrants to a "trigger" that is unworkable - period,' [a Democratic] aide said. "This effort to make the pathway to citizenship unattainable is a bridge too far and it undermines a key principle of the reform bill.'" ...

... Jonathan Bernstein in the Washington Post: "The story on immigration reform remains very simple: Republicans, at some point, will have to decide whether they want it to pass or not. Not whether they'll vote for it -- most of them won't. But Democrats are happy to supply the bulk of the votes on this one, so all that matters is whether Republicans choose to let them or not."

Have Cake, Eating It, Too. So yesterday we heard that the GOP leadership loves Darrell Issa's attacks on the Obama administration. Today we hear from John Bresnahan & Jake Sherman of Politico that "Issa has earned the ire of Republican leadership with personal broadsides against the president and his aides." ...

... "Shameful." Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post: "Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) will hold a hearing [Thursday] on what he says is lavish spending at the Internal Revenue Service.... But as with most things involving the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, you have to separate fact from fiction, hyperbole from the ordinary." Ferinstance, "Issa is right about the number of conferences and their expense between 2010 and 2012. There were 225 conferences with a total price tag of $48,631,799. What Issa doesn't tell anyone is that spending on these IRS jamborees during that same period plummeted by 80 percent and that the number of conferences fell from 152 in 2010 to 24 in 2012." ...

... Stephen Ohlemacher & Alan Fram of the AP: "Internal Revenue Service officials can expect a grilling when they face lawmakers over the latest controversy to rock the agency: lavish spending at employee conferences. The IRS, however, is planning a robust defense at a congressional hearing Thursday. The agency has already imposed strict regulations to prevent expensive conferences in the future." ...

... Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "The Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday that two managers who attended a conference the agency held in Southern California in 2010 have been placed on administrative leave for accepting free gifts in violation of government ethics standards. Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel said he has begun the process of firing the employees, who allegedly had free food delivered to their private hotel suites for a party during the three-day conference." ...

... According to John Stanton of BuzzFeed, one of the managers put on leave was "a top official in charge of implementing Obamacare." ...

... John McKinnon & Dionne Searcey of the Wall Street Journal: "Two Internal Revenue Service employees in the agency's Cincinnati office told congressional investigators that IRS officials in Washington helped direct the probe of tea-party groups that began in 2010. Transcripts of the interviews, viewed Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal, appear to contradict earlier statements by top IRS officials, who have blamed lower-level workers in Cincinnati." ...

... AND, following up on a Politico story linked yesterday, David Burghart in the National Memo: "When a gaggle of local Tea Party leaders came before the House Ways and Means Committee, complaining that their organizations had been unfairly and unconstitutionally 'targeted by the Internal Revenue Service for their personal beliefs,' the reception by the Republicans who control the committee was predictably credulous. Once more the June 4 hearings provided Tea Party groups an opportunity to play the victim and listen to politicians praise their courage and patriotism. But a closer examination of these particular Tea Party outfits by the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights found copious evidence of political activity that might well have disqualified their requests for 501(c)(4) non-profit status.... The Republican leadership demonstrated no interest in ascertaining the actual facts of Tea Party involvement in prohibited political activity.... The unaddressed scandal is that the IRS let so many of these groups get away with what appear to be severe violations of the law. Toward the hearing's conclusion, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) indicated that the IRS' flagging of groups by name had been wrong but noted, 'No one has a God-given right to a tax-exempt status.' Tell that to the Tea Party."

Richard Lardner & Donna Cassata of the AP: "The outcry over the epidemic of sexual assaults in the military is spurring Congress to act, with a House panel moving ahead on Wednesday on stripping commanders of the ability to overturn convictions in rape and assault cases....The full House is expected to vote on the bill next week."

Ricardo Lopez of the Los Angeles Times: "In addition to the expected demand for more nurses and doctors to treat millions of newly insured patients, the federal Affordable Care Act is feeding a cottage industry in call centers. The law ... has spawned a hiring blitz by the state, major health insurers and many community groups that have to decode a lot of insurance lingo in a short amount of time to an incredibly diverse population. Before it rolls out its health insurance marketplace, called Covered California, the state is hiring hundreds of people at three call centers set to open this fall when enrollment begins Oct. 1. The state also needs an additional 20,000 enrollers across the state to inform consumers about their new health insurance options and the new penalties under the federal law if they don't get coverage starting in January. Those enrollers, who will earn $58 for each sign-up, will primarily work for nonprofit and community groups assisting the state."

Sarah Kliff of the Washington Post: "The White House has lost its bid to delay a ruling that makes emergency contraceptives available to women and girls of all ages. Three judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit did grant the White House its requested delay to keep one-pill products, like Plan B One-Step, restricted to females 15 and over. The court will not, however, allow any age restrictions on other two-pill emergency contraceptive products."

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Former CIA Director Leon Panetta revealed the name of the Navy SEAL unit that carried out the Osama bin Laden raid and named the unit's ground commander at a 2011 ceremony attended by 'Zero Dark Thirty' filmmaker Mark Boal, according to a draft Pentagon inspector general's report obtained by a watchdog group. Panetta also disclosed classified information designated as 'top secret' and 'secret' during his presentation at the awards ceremony, says the draft IG report published Wednesday by the Project on Government Oversight.... The report does not make clear whether Panetta was aware that Boal was present at the ceremony.... The release of the findings in the draft report may also raise questions about why the document has been under wraps for so long, and which of its conclusions were known to White House officials prior to last November's election."

Abby Goodnough of the New York Times: "Since the [Affordable Care Act]'s passage in March 2010, critics have spent a total of about $400 million on television ads that refer to it, according to a new analysis by the Campaign Media Analysis Group at Kantar Media, which tracks such spending. Supporters have spent less than a quarter of that -- about $75 million -- on ads that cast the law in a positive light, according to the analysis. The biggest advertiser in support of the law has been the Department of Health and Human Services, which has run educational ads that mention it. Most of the negative ads have come from Republican outside groups, including Crossroads GPS, which was founded by Karl Rove and other top Republican strategists, and the National Republican Congressional Committee." ...

... Steve Benen: "With a public-relations imbalance like that, it's hardly a surprise that the public remains skeptical."

Aaron Blake & Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "As is befitting for a man known for his sense of humor, Frank Lautenberg's funeral was full of funny moments. But Vice President Biden outdid other speakers with a humorous tribute." Blake & Weiner publish some of Biden's punchlines.

Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "On Friday, John Dingell, 86, [of Michigan] the former Democratic powerhouse who asserted jurisdiction over vast expanses of federal policy as the intimidating chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, will become the longest-serving member of Congress in history with his 20,997th day as a representative, surpassing the record held by Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia."

Jamie Stengle of the AP: "Susan G. Komen for the Cure is canceling half of its 3-day charity races next year because of a drop in participation levels, a spokeswoman for the ... breast cancer organization said Wednesday. The announcement comes about a year and a half after Komen experienced intense backlash after news became public of its decision to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood for breast screenings. The funding was restored days later, though it didn't quell the controversy."

Lindsey Graham Isn't Sure About Me. Brian Fung of the National Journal: "'Who is a journalist is a question we need to ask ourselves,' he said. 'Is any blogger out there saying anything -- do they deserve First Amendment protection? These are the issues of our times.' The verbal slipup aside (of course bloggers are covered under the Bill of Rights!), Graham's riffing on constitutional law exposes one of the age-old tensions between journalism as a product and journalism as an activity. What Graham really meant to ask was whether bloggers deserve the specific protections of the First Amendment that are granted to the press.... But as the line between blogger and journalist has blurred, a far more relevant challenge is figuring out whether those protections apply to the behavior of finding and passing on (sometimes secret) information, or if they apply only to people with little plastic ID badges to prove their affiliation." CW: I thought all I needed was a cheap computer. Now I find I may need a plastic card, too.

Gail Collins: "... nothing major is going to happen for early-childhood education without an enormous groundswell of public demand. This is a cause that's extremely popular in theory. But its advocates have no power to reward or punish. Lawmakers who labor on behalf of preschool programs may get stars in heaven, but they don't get squat in campaign contributions. And the ones who eliminate money for infant care programs have no fear whatsoever that they'll lose an election over it."

CNN has the video of Michelle Obama's encounter with a heckler (see yesterday's Commentariat & Comments):

Right Wing World

Will Weissert of the AP: " A coalition of civil rights organizations filed a judicial misconduct complaint Tuesday against a conservative federal judge for comments she allegedly made during a speech that are seen as discriminatory. Judge Edith Jones of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in New Orleans addressed the University of Pennsylvania law school on Feb. 20. Her comments were not recorded, but five students and one attorney who were in attendance signed affidavits on what was said.... Jones is accused of saying that certain 'racial groups like African-Americans and Hispanics are predisposed to crime,' and are 'prone to commit acts of violence' and be involved in more violent and 'heinous' crimes than people of other ethnicities.... Jones, who was believed to be on President George H.W. Bush's short list for the Supreme Court [Bush nominated David Souter instead], has been an outspoken critic of the Supreme Court and judges who do not adhere to a constructionist view of the law." Ronald Reagan appointed her to the Fifth Circuit. ...

... Ethan Bronner of the New York Times has more. ...

... AND Jordan Smith of the Austin Chronicle has even more.

David Crary of the AP: "In suburban Atlanta, northern Idaho and a number of other places, churches have moved swiftly to sever ties with the Boy Scouts of America in protest over the vote last month to let openly gay boys participate in Scouting. To date, it's far from the mass defection that some conservatives had predicted before the vote by the BSA's National Council. But the exodus could soon swell, depending on the outcome of the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting next week in Houston. Baptist leaders say the agenda is likely to include a resolution encouraging SBC-affiliated churches to phase out their sponsorships of Scout units."

Congressional Race

Here are analyses of the Markey-Gomez debate in the U.S. Senate special election to replace John Kerry of Massachusetts: Jim O'Sullivan of the Globe suggests neither was ready for prime-time. David Bernstein of the Boston Daily says both "passed their tests."

Local News

Mary Walsh of the New York Times: "Jefferson County, Ala., took a big step toward resolving its historic bankruptcy case on Tuesday, saying it had reached an agreement to refinance most of the debt at the heart of its financial breakdown.... JPMorgan [Chase] was widely expected to make big concessions as part of any bankruptcy settlement, because some former officials of the bank were found to have been involved in improprieties in connection with a county debt refinancing in 2002 and 2003.... A lawsuit by the county against JPMorgan over the improprieties, still active in state court, would be resolved as part of the proposed agreement." ...

... Charles Pierce: "What gets missed then, of course, is how these minor crooks got played by the big-league crooks in the financial-services sector, who look at other people's money the way other creatures look at carrion, and who look at people outside their industry as prey. Of course, Morgan found Jefferson County. It smelled easy money the way sharks smell blood, and of course it drained Jefferson County dry and threw away the husk. That is the system we have learned to tolerate, and even, in many cases, applaud."

News Ledes

NBC News: "Two Massachusetts men filed a lawsuit against The New York Post on Wednesday, saying they were falsely portrayed as the suspects behind the deadly Marathon bombing."

New York Times: "Esther Williams, a teenage swimming champion who became an enormous Hollywood star in a decade of watery MGM extravaganzas, died on Thursday in Beverly Hills, Calif. She was 91."

Philadelphia Inquirer: "A woman was found alive late last night amid the rubble of the collapse of two buildings in Center City that left five women and one man dead in one of Philadelphia's biggest tragedies in recent memory. The collapse occurred as shoppers fatefully filled the Salvation Army thrift story on a busy Wednesday morning, unaware that an excavation crew ripping down walls at a gutted building next door was about to yank a beam with heavy machinery. Bystanders rushed to help...."

AP: "Commemorations of the 69th annniversary of D-Day have begun with the stars-and-stripes being raised in a quiet ceremony at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach. Tourists, many from the U.S. and Britain, gathered in the still morning under a brilliant spring sky to witness the flag-raising amid the neat rows of thousands of white marble crosses and Stars of David marking the graves of U.S. servicemen and women fallen in the Allied invasion of Normandy that began June 6, 1944."

AP: "Heavy rain was pouring across much of Florida early Thursday as the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season headed toward the state's western coast and a new tropical storm warning was issued for a swath of the U.S. East Coast. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for a large section of Florida's west coast from Boca Grande to Indian Pass and for the East Coast from Flagler Beach, Fla., all the way to Cape Charles Light in Virginia." CW: it sure did pour in Fort Myers.

Reuters: "Syrian rebels seized a U.N.-manned crossing between Syria and Israeli-occupied territory on Thursday, opposition sources said, but Israeli security sources reported Syrian troops later retook it after heavy fighting. The rarely used crossing, in a U.N.-patrolled demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights, is the only transit point between Syrian and Israeli disengagement lines set in 1974. Battles for its control seemed likely to heighten Israeli security concerns stoked by Syria's civil war."

Reuters: "North and South Korea announced on Thursday they were planning to hold talks for the first time since February 2011, signaling attempts to repair ties that have been ruptured for months."

The Commentariat -- June 5, 2013

Mark Landler of the New York Times: "In a major shakeup of President Obama's foreign-policy inner circle, Tom Donilon, the national security adviser, is resigning and will be replaced by Susan E. Rice, the American ambassador to the United Nations, White House officials said on Tuesday. The appointment, which Mr. Obama plans to make on Wednesday afternoon, puts Ms. Rice, 48, an outspoken diplomat and a close political ally, at the heart of the administration's foreign-policy apparatus.... The post of national security adviser, while powerful, does not require Senate confirmation. Mr. Obama also plans to nominate Samantha Power, a National Security Council official, as Ms. Rice's replacement at the United Nations on Wednesday. "

Advise and Consent

Michael Shear & Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "President Obama's announcement of three nominees to an important federal appeals court on Tuesday is adding fuel to a larger fight on Capitol Hill over whether the minority party in the Senate has too much power to thwart a president's agenda." ...

... Here, BTW, was Shear & Peters' original lede: "President Obama set a confrontation with Senate Republicans in motion on Tuesday morning by naming a slate of judges to a top appeals court and daring his rivals to block their confirmations." ...

... John Cole of Balloon Juice: "Only in the Beltway Media could the President doing his constitutionally approved duties be considered picking a fight. But, you know, both sides do it, so, let's just move along.... As long as the stenographers keep writing vapid pieces like this, [Republicans] are just going to keep on keeping on." ...

... Emily Bazelon of Slate: "This is an in-your-face response to Republican obstructionism. In other words, it's totally unlike Obama, who has been especially slow to put up nominees for the appeals courts and the district courts. But at this moment in time, it is very much in his self-interest. The president needs these judges to cement his own legacy.... Obama is also safeguarding the power the Constitution gives every president to select federal judges." ...

... Greg Sargent: Republicans deny they have been slow to confirm President Obama's judicial nominees, but some studies demonstrate that their obstructionism is, as Obama said yesterday, "unprecedented." There's even an "Index of Obstruction and Delay," & the winner is -- Republicans in the 112th Congress.

Burgess Everett of Politico: "The Senate will begin considering the landmark immigration reform bill next week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday morning."

Senate Race

David Halbfinger & Kate Zernicke of the New York Times: "Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, in a decision fraught with political implications, announced on Tuesday that he would schedule a special election in October for the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Frank R. Lautenberg. The decision to set the vote for Oct. 16, a Wednesday, was immediately attacked by Democrats in the state, who said the move by Mr. Christie, a Republican, amounted to squandering taxpayer money to protect his own political ambitions.... The special election to replace Mr. Lautenberg, a Democrat, will cost almost $12 million to stage, and will come barely three weeks before the regular November ballot.... The governor also scheduled primary elections for Aug. 13. The cost also will be nearly $12 million." ...

... Josh Kraushaar of the National Journal: "Republicans are fuming over New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's decision to hold an early special election to fill the seat of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg, with several Washington-based operatives suggesting he's putting his own interests ahead of the GOP's. The decision to hold a separate special election in October 2013 -- just two weeks before his own election -- would give any interested Republican candidates little time to announce, organize a campaign, and raise the necessary money to take on a top-tier Democrat.... While none wanted to be quoted publicly, all dripped with disdain for Christie's decision, calling it self-serving." ...

... Daniel Halper of the Weekly Standard: "In a move aimed at saving money, the New Jersey governor last year signed a bill to consolidate local elections." ...

... David Giambusso of the Star-Ledger: " While Newark Mayor Cory Booker is almost certain to jump into a special August U.S. Senate primary, he and his advisers declined to discuss the mayor's plans today after Gov. Chris Christie announced a hyper-abbreviated campaign schedule to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Frank Lautenberg." ...

... Nate Silver: "It may be reasonable to infer ... that Mr. Christie evaluated the Republican field and did not like what he saw -- and that Booker, [a Democrat,] is poised to win the Senate seat with relative ease." ...

... Josh Barro of Business Insider: Chris Christie proved again today that he's a political genius." (link fixed)

Donna Cassata of the AP: "Lawmakers outraged by sexual assaults in the military are moving swiftly to address the problem, tackling legislation that would strip commanders of their authority to overturn convictions in rape and assault cases.The House Armed Services Committee plans to consider a sweeping, $638 billion defense policy bill for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Debate over numerous provisions on sexual assault, the war in Afghanistan, missile defense and the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is expected throughout the day Wednesday. A final panel vote is likely late into the evening." CW: Outraged? Really? Read the report. The legislators who drew up the House bill are not so outraged that they plan to alter more than a few egregious military practices. ...

... Young Men Are Natural-Born Rapists. David Edwards of Raw Story: "Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) on Tuesday suggested that the 'hormone level created by nature' was to blame for rapes in the military and that all pregnant servicewomen should be investigated to make sure their condition was the result of consensual sex. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on sexual assaults within the military, Chambliss opined that the Pentagon's decision to allow women in combat roles was only going to make the problem worse." With video, if you can't believe anybody would say such stupid stuff. ...

... Sandra Fluke Redux. Stacy Kaper of the National Journal: "The Senate Armed Services Committee takes up the issue of sexual assaults in the military at a hearing Tuesday -- a hearing where witnesses opposed to reform will outnumber supporters 18-2 and not a single sexual assault victim will testify.... With the bulk of witnesses representing the military, whose officers are unsurprisingly adverse to bills that strip them of authority over abuse cases, even reform supporters have little hope for legislation that goes beyond Defense Department recommendations." ...

... Maureen Dowd: "The brass agreed there was a 'cancer' in the military, but their rigid, nonsensical response boiled down to: Trust us. We'll fix the system, even though we don't really believe it's broken. They were unanimously resistant to the shift that several of our allies have made, giving lawyers, rather than commanders, the power to take cases to court." ...

... GOP Deepens Its Problems with Women. Jamelle Bouie in the Washington Post: "Given the wide number of sexual assault cases, it seems hard to argue that the current system is adequate to the scope of the problem. But these influential Republican senators [-- John Cornyn of Texas & James Inhofe of Oklahoma --] have adopted the case for the status quo.... The GOP will be on record as unwilling to take steps to deal with sexual assault in the military.... It's as if some Republicans are actively trying to take the party's weaknesses, and amplify them."

** I Can't Believe I Read It in Politico. Darren Samuelsohn & Lauren French: "The conservative groups testifying about overzealous IRS scrutiny during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing Tuesday can't get around a simple fact: All have been involved in the kinds of political activity that's ripe for red flags. Simple searches on Google, Facebook, Twitter and other news engines point to plenty of political activities that are the essence of what the IRS looks for when deciding who gets an exemption from Uncle Sam. The group leaders attended rallies to stop Obama administration priorities and ripped into the president's work on health care and missile defense. They spoke openly about defeating President Barack Obama in the 2012 election. They pushed for winners in state and local election races."

It's 1999 All Over Again. Dana Milbank: "... House Republicans have shelved a serious legislative agenda this year in favor of 24/7 investigations.... Rep. John Boehner's spokesman wrote on the House speaker's official blog that a speech by Obama on student loans was an attempt 'to change the subject from its growing list of scandals.' It's telling that the GOP leadership would view a student loan event as a distraction from scandals but wouldn't see the obsession with scandals as a distraction from pocketbook issues.... Republicans, after fighting Obama's economic policies for four years, may have no better option than to focus on scandal now that the economy is rebounding." ...

... Darrell, the Darling of the GOP. Shane Goldmacher of the National Journal: "For all the polite Washington handwringing over [Darrell Issa's calling Jay Carney a 'paid liar],' the truth is this: Issa's aggressive approach is just what the Republican House leadership wants. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor singled out Issa for praise at a closed-door GOP conference meeting on Tuesday. Hours later, Cantor gave him plaudits on national television.... Indeed, top House Republicans are lining up behind the Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman, even as it becomes clear that Issa is stretching the evidence to support his claim that the IRS's targeting of tea-party groups was directed from Washington."

Tea Party Tax Policy

I think we ought to abolish the IRS and instead move to a simple flat tax where the average American can fill out taxes on postcard. Put down how much you earn, put down a deduction for charitable contributions, home mortgage and how much you owe. It ought to be a simple one-page postcard, and take the agents, the bureaucracy out of Washington and limit the power of government. -- Sen. Ted Cruz (RTP-Texas)

While it is important for Congress to investigate the most recent scandal and ensure all involved are held accountable, we cannot pretend that the problem is a few bad actors. The very purpose of the IRS is to transfer wealth from one group to another while violating our liberties in the process, thus the only way Congress can protect our freedoms is to repeal the income tax and shutter the doors of the IRS once and for all. -- Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas)

Peter Wallsten of the Washington Post: "First lady Michelle Obama experienced a rare face-to-face encounter with a protester late Tuesday -- approaching the activist and threatening to leave a fundraiser if the person did not stop interrupting her speech.... A pool report from a reporter in the room said Obama 'left the lectern and moved over to the protester.' [The protester, Ellen] Sturtz, was escorted out of the room. She said in an interview later she was stunned by Obama's response. 'She came right down in my face,' Sturtz said. 'I was taken aback.'" ...

... CW: Excuuuuse me, Ms. Sturtz, but you repeatedly interrupted Obama, & you're complaining that she got in your face? While I agree with Sturtz's complaint, I don't approve of the way she chose to make it. I think hecklers hurt rather than help whatever their objective is. I've attended innumerable meetings in which public officials spoke, & I've never once interrupted or heckled them. And of course Michelle Obama is not a public official. (Come to think of it, the wife of the local mayor once got in my face after a meeting in which I spoke -- politely & when called upon -- against some proposal of the mayor's. I told her I wished she'd be as courteous to me as I was to her husband.) What do you think? Is heckling effective? Did Sturtz's outbursts advance her cause?

Whaaa, whaaa, whaaa. He never calls. He never writes. [Paraphrase.] -- Sen. Chuck Grassley, [RDopey-Iowa] on President Obama

Another 2012 Post-Mortem. Steven Shepard of the National Journal: "Nearly seven months after President Obama won reelection by a margin of 4 percentage points, the Gallup Organization, the world's best-known polling firm, identified in a new report four main reasons why their 2012 surveys badly understated Obama's support. The report, unveiled at a Tuesday morning event at the firm's headquarters in Washington, detailed the reasons why Gallup believes that its polls failed to predict Obama's victory. Gallup's final pre-election poll showed Mitt Romney leading Obama by a percentage point, 49 percent to 48 percent. But in the previous survey -- conducted immediately before Hurricane Sandy disrupted pollsters' plans in the week before the election -- Romney held a 5-point lead, 51 percent to 46 percent."

Cecilia Kang of the Washington Post: "A U.S. trade agency on Tuesday banned the sale of several iPhone and iPad models for infringing a Samsung patent, dealing a high-profile setback to Apple's crusade against copycats. If upheld, the ruling would show that at least some of Apple's iconic technology duplicated that of its primary competitor in the mobile-device market, an embarrassment for a company that has held itself up as the source of Silicon Valley's most groundbreaking innovations. Samsung, once a bit player in the cellphone market, now sells more smartphones than Apple around the world."

Erin Overbey of the New Yorker: "Forty-five years ago today, Robert F. Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel, in Los Angeles, shortly after winning the California Democratic primary. Coming on the heels of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., just two months earlier, the assassination of the forty-two-year-old candidate left the nation reeling with grief...."

Local News

Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post is still all over Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's dealings with Star Scientific: "Top aides to Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) expressed concerns about the governor's participation in a 2011 event at the governor's mansion that marked the launch of a dietary supplement made by a major McDonnell campaign donor, according to newly released e-mails." The governor's wife Maureen spearheaded the event, which, BTW, was billed as a "Lunch for Virginia Researchers." ...

... Washington Post Editors: "... , ethics controversies now threaten to swamp [McDonnell's] last year in office, shadowing not only his putative presidential or vice presidential ambitions but also his gubernatorial legacy.... What appear to be repeated instances of using definitional sleight of hand to skirt state disclosure laws have deepened suspicions that more damaging revelations about the governor may be forthcoming."

Steve Eder of the New York Times: "In early April, as the Rutgers president, Robert L. Barchi, was working to defuse a coaching abuse scandal, he named Gregory S. Jackson, a university administrator, to be his chief of staff. Jackson, though, was already facing his own legal problems. About three months earlier, Jackson was sued by four longtime employees in the university's career services office, all in their late 50s and early 60s. They said that he had engaged in a 'campaign of discriminatory actions' against them because of their age, ostracizing them and ultimately forcing their retirement. Barchi was aware of the lawsuit when he promoted Jackson, according to Rutgers officials."

Chris Gentilviso of the Huffington Post: "A Texas Tea Party activist is in hot water over comments charging that the Republican Party doesn't want black people to vote because of tough odds. Audio posted by Democratic group Battleground Texas on Tuesday has Ken Emanuelson, a leading state Tea Party figure, answering a question about black voters at a May 20 Dallas County GOP event.... Later on Tuesday, Emanuelson backtracked on his remarks, clarifying that it 'was a mistake' and nothing more than a 'personal opinion.'" Thanks to Jeanne B. for the lead.

News Ledes

Politico: 'Following a barrage of criticism from politicians, unions, airlines and consumers, John Pistole, [the TSA administrator,] said on Wednesday knives with blades just under 2.5 inches long and other items that could be used as weapons will not be allowed on board planes after all."

Philadelphia Inquirer: "Two buildings collapsed in a busy commercial strip of Center City Philadelphia this morning leaving 13 people injured and one other person still trapped amid the rubble. An older woman was pulled from the wreckage within the last several minutes. Reporters at the scene said firefighters are still surrounding an area of the building where the last person is apparently trapped, but officials have not given a condition of the last trapped victim."

AP: "U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg's nearly three decades in office and the causes he championed will be remembered at a funeral service in New York. A service was set for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan.... Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and members of Lautenberg's family were set to deliver eulogies."

New York Times: "In more than six hours of meetings over two days, with ample time for dinner and a sunset stroll beneath the San Jacinto Mountains, administration officials hope Mr. Obama and [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping], who met for the first time last year in Washington, will really get to know each other, while exchanging ideas about how best to manage a complex, sometimes combustible relationship between the world's two biggest economies."

AP: " The American soldier charged with killing 16 Afghan civilians during nighttime raids on two slumbering villages last year is expected to recount the horrific slaughter in a military courtroom Wednesday when he pleads guilty to avoid the death penalty. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is charged with premeditated murder and other counts in the March 2012 attacks near the remote base in southern Afghanistan where he was posted." ...

     ... Update: "The American soldier charged with killing 16 Afghan civilians during nighttime raids on two villages last year pleaded guilty Wednesday then described shooting each victim, telling a military judge he has asked himself "a million times" why he did it. To avoid the death penalty, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder at the hearing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle. He then read from a statement in a clear and steady voice, describing his actions for each killing in the same terms." The Seattle Times story is here.

Guardian: "Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of the biggest intelligence leak in US history, came face-to-face on Tuesday with the man who turned him in to military authorities. Adrian Lamo, a former computer hacker, was giving evidence at the court martial of Manning, whom he had never met but whose life he changed dramatically by informing on him to counter-intelligence officers."

New York Times: "Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's newspaper outpost [in London], appeared in court on Wednesday and denied five counts relating to the phone hacking scandal that forced the closure of one of the country's biggest tabloid newspapers and sent shock waves through the press, the police and the political establishment."