The Commentariat -- July 25

I've posted an Open Thread for today's Off Times Square.

CW: James Surowiecki of the New Yorker has a very smart post on why the debt limit is so stupid. He incorporates economics, history AND psychology in one short post. Thanks to reader Kelly K. for the link.

** Elizabeth Drew in the New York Review of Books: "What were they thinking? Why, in the midst of a stalled recovery, with the economy fragile and job creation slowing to a trickle, did the nation’s leaders decide that the thing to do — in order to raise the debt limit, normally a routine matter — was to spend less money, making job creation all the more difficult? Many experts on the economy believe that the President has it backward: that focusing on growth and jobs is more urgent in the near term than cutting the deficit, even if such expenditures require borrowing. But that would go against Obama’s new self-portrait as a fiscally responsible centrist." Blame it on David Plouffe.

In a blogpost, Paul Krugman says means-testing Medicare is a bad idea: "... if you want the well-off to pay more, it’s just better to raise their taxes." ...

... In his regular column, Krugman elaborates on that theme and on why, in general, Obama's "Grand Bargain" was a bad bargain. ...

... From The Final Edition:

... By some accounts (see Krugman's post on Medicare means testing, linked above), Paul Krugman & David Brooks had a "duel to the death" on Charlie Rose's show Friday night. Rose hasn't put up the video yet & I can't find a pirated copy. Thanks to reader Bob M. for locating this clip from Heather at Crooks & Liars, who also has the transcript here:

     ... NEW. The full segment is (sort of) up on Charlie Rose's site, but it seems to have an intermittent loading problem. Worth watching if you can get it.

Louise Story & David Kocieniewski of the New York Times: "As Congress and President Obama failed yet again to break their stalemate over the debt limit, Wall Street and Washington turned their attention to a critical question: How long will investors give them? ... Early reaction to the gridlock indicated worries in global markets, with the dollar losing ground to an index of currencies, United States stocks futures declining and gold, deemed a safe investment during times of uncertainty, rising."

OFA Does Something Really Useful. AP: "President Barack Obama’s political arm at the Democratic National Committee is getting involved in the Wisconsin state Senate recall elections. Obama’s Organizing for America is pulling together volunteers in Madison this weekend to knock on doors and make phone calls in support of Democrats in eight recall elections." CW: this is encouraging. During the height of the demonstrations this past winter, OFA (which is now an arm of the Democratic National Committee) planned to bus demonstrators into Wisconsin from neighboring states and "somebody" at the White House evidently put the kibosh on the effort. Looks like "somebody" had a change of heart.

Paul Burka of Texas Monthly writes an open letter to "Yankee" journalists advising them of eight things they should know about Rick Perry before attempting to write about him. A really good read, and a bit scary.

CW: Abby Goodnough of the New York Times surveys Massachusetts Democrats, who are saying the same thing I've been saying about an Elizabeth Warren candidacy for Senate: she's untested, Scott Brown is popular & already has a big ole campaign war chest, AND Warren is a woman in a state that doesn't like to elect women to high public office. I even have a real-money bet going with an Off Times Square commenter on how Warren would fare if she chose to run.

Scott Shane of the New York Times on what Anders Behring Breivik, the accused Norwegian terrorist, learned from American anti-Muslim bloggers.

Stephen Marche, in a New York Times op-ed, sees the Murdoch scandal in terms of Shakespearean tragedy. CW: Personally, I think he's overblowing Rupert Murdoch, but he makes some interesting comparisons. If the government falls because of Murdoch, then you're into Shakespeare territory, but the protagonist would not be Murdoch; it would be David Cameron. ...

... David Carr of the New York Times: "... what [Rupert Murdoch's] sons and daughters could soon find out is that if Mr. Murdoch is forced to choose between the family and the company he has built, he will choose the News Corporation.... James Murdoch is done.... Rupert Murdoch, as we have long known him, is done as well."

... Don Van Natta, et al., of the New York Times: "After his testimony in Parliament was challenged by two former senior employees and referred by a lawmaker to Scotland Yard for investigation, James Murdoch has come under rising pressure in Britain’s phone hacking scandal that is likely to intensify this week. The board of British Sky Broadcasting ... convenes on Thursday for the first time since the scandal erupted, as regulators continue their inquiry into whether the hacking scandal means the broadcaster should continue to be considered 'fit and proper' to hold a broadcasting license. A day later, members of the parliamentary committee investigating the scandal are to meet to consider whether to ask for more information from Mr. Murdoch...."

Nafissatou Diallo, the Sofitel housekeeper who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of raping her, tells her side of the story to Newsweek reporters. ...

... Diallo speaks with ABC News' Robin Roberts. Print story here:

John Thorpe of Benzinga: IT security expert Stephen Spoonamore, a conservative Republican, gives sworn testimony that strongly suggests what liberals have suspected, and some have written about -- that Republicans falsified the 2004 Ohio presidential vote count, the state that gave the election to Bush over Kerry. BTW, I looked to see how the MSM covered this story; they didn't. Thanks to Jeanne B. for the link.

News Ledes

NEW. President Obama spoke about the need to reduce the deficit & the urgent need to raise the debt ceiling. Evidently Boehner is making a statement, too. I'm not listening, but I'll link a report when I find one. Update: here's the New York Times report.

Loonier & Loonier. The Hill: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), "the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, wasted little time announcing his opposition to the House GOP leadership's two-step plan to raise the debt ceiling. Jordan argued that his leadership team should stand behind a measure that the House approved on a party-line vote last week — the 'cut, cap and balance' bill that failed in the Senate."

Los Angeles Times: "Gov. Jerry Brown [D-Calif.] signed legislation Monday allowing undocumented college students to access private financial aid for college, calling the new law 'another piece of an investment in people.' But he said he was not yet ready to commit to signing a second piece of the Dream Act, which would provide public funding for those students."

Politico: "Construction projects at airports across the country have been halted because a bill to extend the Federal Aviation Administration’s operating authority is stuck in Congress, officials said on Monday." CW: this is what you get with a Tea Party Congress. Anybody who thinks this is helping the economy has another think coming.

Good News for Sports Fans. NECN: "The National Football League Players Association executive board, along with 32 team representatives, approved the terms of a new agreement to end the lockout. The players voted on a deal that owners approved last week; they unanimously agreed on a new CBA that will last for ten years."

New York Times: "The Democratic Senate and Republican House put themselves on a legislative collision course Monday as they moved forward with significantly different plans on how to raise the debt limit and avert a possible federal default next week." ...

... Politico, (updated): President Obama is broadly supportive of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s just-unveiled plan to cut $2.7 trillion from the budget – ditching his demand for significant revenue increases – in exchange for a debt ceiling extension through the end of 2012." Update: Washington Post story here.

New York Times: "The 32-year-old man accused of devastating twin attacks in Norway now maintains that two cells of extremists collaborated with him, court officials said here Monday as they ordered solitary confinement for the suspect. The police also significantly reduced the confirmed death toll in the Friday attacks to 76 instead of 93 — still one of the worst mass killings in postwar Europe."

President Obama spoke at the National Council of La Raza early this afternoon. Update: Here's an AP post-speech report.

Politico: "Embattled Rep. David Wu will not seek reelection in 2012, but he won’t resign from office now despite allegations that the Oregon Democrat had an 'unwanted sexual encounter' with the teenage daughter of a close friend last Thanksgiving."

Road to Perdition. AP: "House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, planned to meet with his chamber's Republicans on Monday to discuss the GOP's clash with President Barack Obama.... There were widespread expectations on Capitol Hill that Boehner would unveil debt ceiling legislation by that session, if not earlier. After meeting at the White House on Sunday with Obama and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said bipartisan talks on a solution had collapsed because Republicans were insisting on only extending the debt limit for a short period. He said he was crafting a $2.7 trillion package of spending cuts that would also push the government's borrowing authority through next year, a timeline that Obama and top Democrats are demanding." ...

     ... Update: TPM has Reid's statement here.

Reuters: "Anders Behring Breivik wants to tell Norway and the world why he killed at least 93 people in a bomb attack and shooting rampage, but a judge ruled that Monday's custody hearing would be closed to the public."

AP: "Moody's downgraded Greece's bond ratings by a further three notches Monday and warned that it is almost inevitable the country will be considered to be in default following last week's new bailout package. The agency said the new EU package of measures implies "substantial" losses for private creditors. As a result, it cut its rating on Greece by three notches to Ca — one above what it considers a default rating."

Irish Times: "Private equity investors have committed to buy up to €1.1 billion of the State's shares in Bank of Ireland.... Following the deal the Government will own a maximum of 32 per cent in the bank meaning the institution will avoid falling under State control as had been expected. The move also reduces the State's obligation to capitalise Bank of Ireland as part of stress tests announced in March."

Irish Times: "The Vatican has recalled its envoy to Ireland following Taoiseach Enda Kenny's trenchant criticism of the Holy See’s role in covering up cases of clerical child sex abuse. Deputy Vatican spokesman Father Ciro Benedettini said Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, the Apostolic Nuncio of Ireland, had been recalled from Dublin for consultations in the wake of the Cloyne report."

AP: "The cost of prescription medicines used by millions of people every day is about to plummet. The next 14 months will bring generic versions of seven of the world's 20 best-selling drugs, including the top two: cholesterol fighter Lipitor and blood thinner Plavix. The magnitude of this wave of expiring drugs patents is unprecedented."

The Commentariat -- July 24

I've posted an Open Thread for today's Off Times Square. Karen Garcia and I have added our comments on MoDo & Bruni. Update: The Times axed both of my comments, so you'll have to read them here. Garcia's made the cuts.

Boehner Creates a New Crisis. Steve Clemons of The Atlantic: "Reports have emerged that House Speaker Boehner told his caucus that their team needs to 'provide a positive signal on a plan to avert a U.S. default by tomorrow.' That's right, by the time markets in Asia open tomorrow....  Instead of August 2nd being the debt default deadline, Boehner's tactics and now his statement to his own troops have created market expectations that will either be met -- or be disappointed, possibly creating a real sell-off in American treasuries. Perhaps he should have thought about that before he stormed off." ...

... AND at the plush SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, Clemons rubs shoulders with today's Scott Fitzgerald crowd -- super-rich hipsters who know nothing about Afghanistan, Pakistan, the debt ceiling, the unemployment rate, the end of DADT: "... these folks seem very buffered from the real world, unburdened, lightly taxed if all -- and that is why what Obama and Boehner are wrestling over is so important. We need the burdens in this country -- as well as the opportunities -- much more equally shouldered." ...

CW: Here are two columns I would not normally link, the first because the writer is a British conservative & the second because the writer -- a good reporter -- works for the Huff Post. But if you read these two columns in tandem it's hard not to see how democracy, here and in Britain, has disappeared & moneyed interests have taken complete hold of government:

     ... Conservative Charles Moore of the Telegraph: "The rich run a global system that allows them to accumulate capital and pay the lowest possible price for labour. The freedom that results applies only to them. The many simply have to work harder, in conditions that grow ever more insecure, to enrich the few. Democratic politics, which purports to enrich the many, is actually in the pocket of those bankers, media barons and other moguls who run and own everything.... And when the banks that look after our money take it away, lose it and then, because of government guarantee, are not punished themselves, something much worse happens. It turns out – as the Left always claims – that a system purporting to advance the many has been perverted in order to enrich the few."

     ... Ryan Grim: Boehner's latest plan is to create a "Super Congress" of 6 Republicans & 6 Democrats who would have extraordinary power to craft legislation & "would find it easier to strip the public of popular benefits." (Legislation they created would be subject to straight up-or-down votes in both Houses of the Little Congress.) In case you think President Obama & his veto pen will protect you from Super Congress excesses, Grim reminds us of the Catfood Commission Obama appointed: "Obama has shown himself to be a fan of the commission approach to cutting social programs and entitlements.... The White House made two telling appointments to chair the commission: The first was former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.), a well-known and ill-informed critic of Social Security who earned notoriety by suggesting, among other things, that the American government had become 'a milk cow with 310 million tits!' Yet Obama's Democratic appointment was even more indicative of whose interests took priority: former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. Bowles is a member of Morgan Stanley's board of directors; an adviser to Carousel Capital, a private equity firm; and a director of Cousins Properties Incorporated...." ...

... Nicholas Kristof: "Forget about Iran. These days,  the most dangerous threat to national security comes from [elected Republican Tea Partiers}. While one danger to national security comes from the risk of default, another comes from overzealous budget cuts — especially in education, at the local, state and national levels." ...

... New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire Republican, on raising taxes on the rich. Via Think Progress:

... Dan Balz of the Washington Post is not a brilliant guy, & this analysis is of the "there's blame all around" genre, but his central point is correct: "What the country is watching is a breakdown in governing that could be as corrosive to the political system as the possible financial default looming could be to the economy."

Maureen Dowd compares Rupert Murdoch to the Pope, who according to Taoiseach Enda Kenny attempted "to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago." Here's Kenny's speech:

Frank Bruni: "Michele Bachmann will likely not win the White House, but, in the meantime, she is manna for the pundits."

Peter Beaumont of the Guardian profiles Andes Behring Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist and sees: "a disturbing picture: a Christian fundamentalist with a deep hatred of multiculturalism, of the left and of Muslims, who had written disparagingly of prominent Norwegian politicians." CW: if that description doesn't sound familiar, you haven't been reading the Tea Party News.

Right Wing World *

Yay! A New Conspiracy Theory. Brad Johnson of Think Progress: According to Rush Limbaugh, the heat index is "manufactured by the government to tell you what it feels like when you add the humidity in there." With audio. ...

... CW: I'm guessing Rush has A/C. But a lot of people don't. Marie Diamond of Think Progess: "Budget cuts have forced thousands of poor families to go without air conditioning as a record heat wave sweeps across the country. Many states have been facing budget crises and programs that help needy families pay their electric bills are often the first thing to go.... The [federal] government [which provides aid to states] cut $400 million for low-income energy assistance this year," causing states to cut back at the same time the recession has caused applications for home energy assistance to skyrocket.

* Where even the weather is a government conspiracy.

News Ledes

This Is Insane. Washington Post: "Hours before Asian financial markets were set to open Sunday evening, talks over the federal debt limit were at a standstill and House and Senate leaders were threatening to pursue two different approaches to averting a government default in a messy legislative showdown." ...

... New York Times: "Speaker John A. Boehner said Sunday that the House would prepare its own deficit reduction package if Congress and the White House failed to agree on a bipartisan plan by Sunday afternoon, as lawmakers forged ahead in an increasingly grim standoff over whether to raise the nation’s debt ceiling." CW: this doesn't even make sense. The House can't acti unilaterally. ...

... The Hill: "After a morning meeting at the White House and an evening meeting at the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he was 'disappointed in the status of negotiations with my Republican colleagues.'" Politico has more on how the leaders' meeting went last night. Here's a sample:

Reid was 'very angry' in the meeting with [Speaker] Boehner and [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell, according to a Democratic official. Following the meeting, [House Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi escorted Reid back to her office because she didn’t want the furious majority leader to say anything to the press. Reid is 'adamant' about no short-term extension of the debt ceiling, the official said...

... Washington Post: "Congressional leaders raced Saturday to develop a new strategy for raising the federal debt limit that House Speaker John A. Boehner told his troops would include an ambitious plan to reduce future borrowing by as much as $4 trillion.... Boehner (Ohio) said he is confident lawmakers will avert a historic U.S. default — a possibility just 10 days off." CW: in other words, he's negotiating with himself & will produce a bill that only a Tea Partier could love -- just as he did last week with Duck, Dodge & Dismantle bill. ...

... AP: "House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he wants to announce the outlines of a plan by 4 p.m. EDT Sunday, to assure investors of the nation's financial and political stability before Asian stock markets open Monday."

New York Times: "Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples across New York State began marrying on Sunday — the first taking their vows just after midnight — in the culmination of a long battle in the Legislature and a new milestone for gay rights advocates seeking to legalize same-sex marriage across the nation."

... New York Times: "The Norwegian man charged with attacks in and near Oslo, killing over 90 people, has admitted 'to the facts' of the case, the police and his lawyer said on Sunday, and claims to have acted alone in a strike eerily foretold in a detailed manifesto calling for a Christian war to defend Europe against the threat of Muslim domination. But, acting police chief Sveinung Sponheim told a news conference, 'he is not admitting criminal guilt' and his claim to have acted alone contrasted with 'some of the witness statements,' Reuters reported."

AP: "North Korea's vice foreign minister will visit the United States this week to discuss the next steps needed to resume international negotiations aimed at ridding the communist nation of its nuclear programs, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday."

The Commentariat -- July 23

I've posted an Open Thread on Off Times Square. ...

... President Obama's regularly weekly address:

... An angry President Obama holds a press briefing on the demise of the deficit reduction talks:

     The transcript is here.

... New York Times Editors: "At the White House podium..., the president radiated a righteous fury he rarely displays in public, finally placing the blame for this wholly unnecessary crisis squarely where it belongs: on Republicans who will do anything to upend his presidency and dismantle every social program they can find. 'Can they say yes to anything?' he asked, noting the paradox of Republicans, who claim that financial responsibility and debt reduction are their biggest priorities, rejecting yet another deal that would have cut that debt by at least $3 trillion." ...

At some point, I think, if you want to be a leader, then you've got to lead. -- Barack Obama, obviously referring to John Boehner ...

... Andrew Leonard of Salon: "After Obama finished speaking, Boehner addressed the nation and repeated the boilerplate from his letter: 'The White House won't get serious. We will.' But to anyone who has followed the ins and outs of the last few weeks of negotiation, his stance is nonsense. The truth is that Boehner simply cannot make a deal. His caucus forbids it. Compromise with Obama would mean the end of his political career."

... Law Profs. Eric Posner & Adrian Vermeule, in a New York Times op-ed: "President Obama should announce that he will raise the debt ceiling unilaterally if he cannot reach a deal with Congress. Constitutionally, he would be on solid ground. Politically, he can’t lose. The public wants a deal." ...

     ... Steve Benen parses President Obama's public statements & notes that Obama has not categorically ruled out the Constitutional option.

... Republican Bruce Bartlett of the Fiscal Times says what liberals have been saying for more than a year: "... Obama took office under roughly the same political and economic circumstances that Nixon did in 1968 except in a mirror opposite way. Instead of being forced to manage a slew of new liberal spending programs, as Nixon did, Obama had to cope with a revenue structure that had been decimated by Republicans.... Although Republicans routinely accuse [Obama] of being a socialist, an honest examination of his presidency must conclude that he has in fact been moderately conservative to exactly the same degree that Nixon was moderately liberal." Bartlett gives examples. ...

... Today is "Marie Was Right Day." First the law professors, then Bruce Bartlett, now Steve Benen, who has the solution that dare not speak its name: a clean debt ceiling bill.

Joe Nocera lands an exit interview with Elizabeth Warren.

Only Muslims Can Be "Terrorists." Glenn Greenwald: At least that's what the New Yorks Times thinks. "Terrorism has no objective meaning and, at least in American political discourse, has come functionally to mean: violence committed by Muslims whom the West dislikes, no matter the cause or the target.  Indeed, in many (though not all) media circles, discussion of the Oslo attack quickly morphed from this is Terrorism (when it was believed Muslims did it) to no, this isn't Terrorism, just extremism (once it became likely that Muslims didn't).

News Ledes

Reuters: "The United States has wasted some $34 billion on service contracts with the private sector in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a study being finalized for Congress."

AP (via the NYT): "Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, the first foreign-born chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who counseled President Bill Clinton on the use of troops in Bosnia and other trouble spots, has died, according to a statement from the White House. He was 75. Shalikashvili suffered a severe stroke on August 2004 that paralyzed his left side, and he underwent grueling physical therapy."

Guardian: "The singer Amy Winehouse has been found dead at her flat in north London at the age of 27. The award-winning artist, famous for hits including Rehab from the critically acclaimed album Back to Black, was discovered by police in the late afternoon. Her death was being treated on Saturday night as 'unexplained'." The Guardian's obituary is here. The Telegraph's obit is here.

President Obama & Vice President Biden meet with Congressional leadership this morning. AP story here. The New York Times has a post-meeting report: "But senior Congressional aides said privately that despite the White House session, the serious talks about a solution were now under way among top members of Congress."

The Guardian has a liveblog on the domestic terror attacks in Norway that killed at least 91 people. Here's the Guardian's lead story. AP: "Norway's national news agency says police are investigating whether a second suspect was involved in a shooting spree on an island where 84 people were killed."