The Commentariat -- June 24

I've posted a David Brooks page on Off Times Square. Comment on Brooks' column or something else.

** Paul Krugman & Robin Wells in the New York Review of Books: "The great financial crisis of 2008–2009, whose consequences still blight our economy, is sometimes portrayed as ... an extraordinary event that nobody could have predicted. But it was, in fact, just the most recent installment in a recurrent pattern of financial overreach, taxpayer bailout, and subsequent Wall Street ingratitude. And all indications are that the pattern is set to continue.... The busts keep getting bigger.... It was not always thus.... [President] Reagan, the great moralizer, made unchecked greed and runaway individualism not only acceptable, but lauded, in the American psyche." Read the entire review.

New York Times Editors: "Congressional Republicans, who played a major role in piling up the government’s unsustainable debt in the first place, have thrown a tantrum and walked out of the debt limit talks. This bit of grandstanding has brought the nation closer to the financial crisis that Republicans have been threatening for weeks. But, at least now, their real goals are in sharp focus." ...

... Erik Wasson & Russell Berman of The Hill, like other news outlets, report the surface story as high drama: "Negotiations over cutting Washington’s debt plunged into crisis Thursday, as the top Republican negotiator walked out of talks over his Democratic counterparts’ demand that taxes be raised. The walkout, by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), means talks to avert a debt default can probably now be salvaged only by two men: President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)." CW: Crisis! Only Obama & Boehner can save the nation! ...

... BUT the underlying story is more intriguing. And you won't be suprised to learn that so far it has a villain but no heroes: Ezra Klein details why Eric Cantor walked. Not surprisingly, it was all about Eric Cantor -- if he forces John Boehner to make a deal on tax increases, Cantor not only maintains his credibility with his Tea Party caucus, he weakens Boehner's hold on the Speakership. It is not, as Cantor claimed, the President he wants at the table -- it's Boehner. ...

     ... CW: Much Ado about Nothing. I'd do Klein one better. I think there's a good chance Cantor's little stunt will backfire on him. The Times editors have approrpriately characterized his antics as "a temper tantrum," reminding us of "Crybaby" Newt Gingrich during 1995 budget negotiations; that "crybaby" label contributed to Newt's downfall. Unless Boehner engineered Cantor's move to make himself the hero, he's more than irritated at Cantor; it's not usually a good idea to piss off the boss. AND of course when Boehner & Obama do cut a deal, Boehner could be seen as the hero, not the bad guy who caved on tax increases that -- guess what? -- will be ones popular with the public anyway. ...

     ... Update: In fact, Molly Hooper, also of The Hill, is reporting that Republicans now claim Cantor's walkout was long-planned. It's part of a coordinated effort to force President Obama to propose a solution, which they can bash. ...

I think it’s now in the hands of the speaker and the president and, sadly, probably me. -- Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader ...

     ... CW: Matthew Zeitlin, an intern at The New Republic, consults experts who provide legal justification for what I said months ago: if the Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling, the Administration should ignore them & pay the bills anyway. "The government cannot legally default on its debts. Former Reagan official and maverick conservative budget wonk Bruce Bartlett has suggested as much by invoking Section Four of the Fourteenth Amendment, which says that 'The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.'” Read the whole post.

Ezra Klein: President Obama announced a major spending cut Wednesday night. He called it "withdrawing troops from Afghanistan." In a hypothetical scenario, the CBO projected that if the U.S. ended the current wars (not sure if that included the Libyan BFF bombs), "total discretionary outlays over the 2012–2021 period would be $1.1 trillion less than the amount in the baseline. Debt-service costs would bring the cumulative savings relative to the baseline to about $1.4 trillion over the coming decade.”

"Appoint & Nominate." Law Prof. Ian Ayres in a Washington Post op-ed, has a solution to Republican Senators' promise to refuse to confirm any Obama nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: "The president should make a recess appointment of Elizabeth Warren and simultaneously nominate Sarah Raskin for the same position.... Raskin is ... abundantly qualified for the position. It would be hard for Republican senators to argue that Raskin, as a recently confirmed Federal Reserve governor, is a bad-faith nominee.... While traditional recess appointments usurp the Senate’s advise-and-consent role, the 'appoint and nominate' strategy would empower the Senate to end the recess appointment as soon as it wanted. Warren would, in effect, serve at the pleasure of the Senate."

So you think rising income disparity doesn't matter? Kevin Drum of Mother Jones posts this county-by-county map of the change in life expectancies for American women from 1987 to 2007. Those red counties  are areas where life expectancy has dropped. As Drum writes, "For life expectancy to decline in a developed nation is rare.... A key finding of the data is that 'inequality appears to be growing in the U.S.,' said Eileen Crimmins, a gerontologist at USC":

Tanya Somanader of Think Progress: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell admits Republican opposition to President Obama's Libyan stance would be "muted" if Obama were a Republican. With video. CW: I think the left is making a bigger deal of this than it is. McConnell is simply acknowledging his awareness of human nature: people are apt to keep their mouths shut when their friends screw up.

Carlotta Gall, et al., of the New York Times: "The cellphone of Osama bin Laden’s trusted courier, which was recovered in the raid that killed both men in Pakistan last month, contained contacts to a militant group that is a longtime asset of Pakistan’s intelligence agency.... The discovery indicates that Bin Laden used the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, as part of his support network inside the country.... It also raised tantalizing questions about whether the group and others like it helped shelter and support Bin Laden on behalf of Pakistan’s spy agency, given that it had mentored Harakat and allowed it to operate in Pakistan for at least 20 years."

Right Wing World *

Sen. Jim DeMint lays down the Crazy Gauntlet:

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous, Gov. Rick Perry Episode:

... Marc McDonald of Beggars Can Be Choosers has more. Thanks to reader Bonnie for the link.

* Where governors are kings and you're not.

News Ledes

New York Times: "The [New York] State Senate will vote on same-sex marriage, the Senate majority leader said Friday afternoon, setting the stage for a final decision on a measure that could make New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples can wed. The exact timing for a vote was unclear, though it was expected to occur Friday night." ...

     ... ** The new lede on this story: "Thirty-three state senators have publicly declared they will support legalizing same-sex marriage, all but assuring passage of the measure which will make New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples can wed." ...

     ... ** Update: "Lawmakers voted late Friday to legalize same-sex marriage, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples can wed, and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born." ...

     ... ** Update: not in the lede to the revised story above, but in the headline: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed the measure at 11:55 p.m., and the law will go into effect in 30 days...." So there you are. Equal rights come to America, little by little.

New York Times: "Peter Falk, who marshaled actorly tics, prop room appurtenances and his own physical idiosyncrasies to personify Columbo, one of the most famous and beloved fictional detectives in television history, died on Thursday night at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 83.

Washington Post: "A day after debt-reduction talks led by Vice President Biden appeared to have broken down, the White House announced that President Obama would directly intervene in the negotiations, beginning one-on-one meetings with key lawmakers next week. Obama will start by meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday."

President Obama toured the Carnegie Mellon University National Robotics Engineering Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this morning. AP: "Imagining advances from lighter cars to smarter robots, President Barack Obama is announcing a $500 million project to spur high-technology manufacturing, a sector of U.S. industry that presidential advisers say has lost ground to such competitors as Germany and Japan." Update: here's a post-speech report from the Los Angeles Times. AND here's the text of the President's remarks, as delivered. See video above.

Wall Street Journal: "Federal regulators are poised to hit Google Inc. with subpoenas, launching a broad, formal investigation into whether the Internet giant has abused its dominance in Web-search advertising, people familiar with the matter said. The civil probe, which has the potential to reshape how companies compete on the Internet, is the most serious legal threat yet to the 12-year-old company, though it wouldn't necessarily lead to any federal allegations of wrongdoing against Google."

Time: "The House of Representatives on Friday is expected to hold two votes on U.S. action in Libya." CW: do read the article; the writer -- Jay Newton-Small -- lays out a nice little vignette that demonstrates anew how messy the legislative process is. ...

     ... Washington Post Update: "The House on Friday voted to reject a resolution that would have authorized the military operation in Libya -- delivering a rebuke to President Obama for conducting the operation without congressional approval. The vote was 123 to 295.... Seventy Democrats and 225 Republicans voted against the resolution.... The proposal, modeled on one proposed in the Senate by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), would have given permission for a “limited” operation for one year. It would not have allowed for U.S. ground troops in Libya.... Later on Friday, the House will vote on another resolution that would strip away funding for offensive operations in Libya, including strikes by unmanned U.S. drones." ...

     ... WashPost Update 2: "In something of a surprise, the House on Friday rejected a measure to cut funding for offensive operations by U.S. forces in Libya, pulling back from an effort to confront President Obama over the three month-old conflict. That resolution failed by a vote of 180 to 238. It would not have ended the U.S. mission in Libya, but it would have cut off funding for American forces that are not engaged in support missions within the NATO-led coalition...."

Washington Post: "The Securities and Exchange Commission, which had been seeking a budget increase to keep pace with its expanded responsibilities, struck out Thursday in a House committee that controls its purse strings. The Appropriations Committee voted to keep the agency’s budget flat in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The $1.19 billion the committee approved fell short of the Obama administration’s request by $222.5 million." CW: I'm so surprised.

New York Times: "In a sharp rebuke to the Obama administration, the Republican chairman of the House education committee on Thursday challenged plans by the education secretary to override provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Law, and he said he would use a House rewrite of it this year to rein in the secretary’s influence on America’s schools."

AP: "After 16 long years as a fugitive, notorious gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger was expected to be returned home to Boston on Friday, a law enforcement official said." With new mugshot.

I've brought the following three stories forward from yesterday's Ledes as I posted the links in the wee hours:

New York Times: "President Obama said he expected some heckling and he got it. More than 600 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people paid $1,250 each to attend a Democratic fund-raising dinner in Manhattan on Thursday and, to the vocal disappointment of some, they did not hear him endorse same-sex marriage generally or the bill that would legalize it in New York State."

Star-Ledger, et al.: "New Jersey lawmakers tonight voted to enact a sweeping plan to cut public worker benefits after a long day of high-pitched political drama in the streets of Trenton and behind closed doors. Union members chanted outside the Statehouse and in the Assembly balcony, and dissident Democrats tried to stall with amendments and technicalities. Although they successfully convinced top lawmakers to remove a controversial provision restricting public workers’ access to out-of-state medical care, they failed to halt a historic defeat for New Jersey’s powerful unions and a political victory for Republican Gov. Chris Christie."

New York Times: "Federal law enforcement officials have arrested two men who they say planned to attack a military processing center here using machine guns and grenades. The men — Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, also known as Joseph A. Davis, 33, of Seattle, and Walli Mujahidh, also known as Frederick Domingue Jr., 32, of Los Angeles — were arrested late Wednesday and charged with conspiracy to murder federal officers and employees, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and several firearms-related charges."

The Commentariat -- June 23

I've posted an Open Thread on today's Off Times Square. Kate Madison has added a great comment. Update: do read Madison's follow-up comments on Greg Mortenson, which she wrote in response to criticism from another commenter.

     ... Here is the prepared text of the speech. ...

... The New York Times Editors are underwhelmed. ...

... Ben Smith: "The speech seemed aimed in part at concluding a military era. Its closing reference to the successful raid seemed to underscore a growing sense among many Democrats that the era of [Gen. David] Petraeus's ambitious counterinsurgency and of the War on Terror is over." ...

... George Packer of the New Yorker lends some nuance to Smith's assertion. "Obama’s announcement last night reflects a realistic sense of where our country is and what it can do. The fundamental change is here — not there."

... Yochi J. Dreazen and Marc Ambinder of the National Journal: "Senior White House officials wanted all of the 33,000 U.S. 'surge' troops to withdraw from Afghanistan by next spring. Gen. David Petraeus ... was adamant they stay until the end of 2012. The deadlock was broken by outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who sold Obama and his top civilian aides on a compromise plan that will leave most of the reinforcements in Afghanistan through next September but ensure they’re back well before the November elections. Obama’s prime-time address Wednesday night offered little indication of the heated behind-the-scenes battle over Afghanistan that consumed the president and his war cabinet for much of this past month."

NEW. CW: I missed this post of Karen Garcia's on State Department lead attorney Harold Koh, who defied the advice of DOJ & Defense Department lawyers that the U.S. involvement in Libya constituted "hostilities" and not a "limited kinetic military exercise" or "BFF love bombs." Koh told President Obama what he wanted to hear: that the Libyan "exercise" did not rise to the level of invoking the War Powers Act. Garcia writes that Koh is on the short list to be Obama's next Supreme Court nominee. Looks to me as if Koh just lost any chance of confirmation: do you think 60 Senators are going to say, "Yeah, we like a guy for the Court who says the Congress is irrelevant."

Obama Leads from Behind -- Again. Massimo Calabresi of Time on the release of oil reserves. (See today's Ledes.)

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas tells about his life as an undocumented immigrant. His status has not changed. CW: I would call this an American tragedy. ...

... Reid Epstein of Politico: "The biggest story now in blogs and social media — even bigger than President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan speech — centers on journalist Jose Antonio Vargas and his New York Times magazine essay in which he reveals he's an illegal immigrant. The right saw his actions — forging a Social Security card, lying about residency to secure driver’s licenses, misleading employers about his status — as poor personal choices that he is responsible for making and cause for deportation. The left portrayed Vargas, who in his retelling was brought at age 12 to California from the Philippines by a smuggler, as an example of American ingenuity forced by the system to make forgivable bad choices." ...

... CW: it's not the point of his blogpost, but in Chris Suellentrop's account of how the Times Magazine got Vargas' story, one can fairly conclude that the Washington Post "Outlook" editors and/or the Post's lawyers are dicks. OR, as Joshua Green of The Atlantic put it in a tweet: "Little-known fact, but the Pentagon Papers were first offered to the WashPost's Outlook section." ...

... Here's Vargas' Website, DefineAmerican.com

** NEW. Glenn Greenwald: The Obama DOJ's effort to force New York Times investigative journalist Jim Risen to testify in a whistleblower prosecution and reveal his source is really remarkable and revealing.... The vast National Security and Surveillance State has for decades been compiling powers -- and eroding safeguards and checks -- devoted to the strengthening of this climate, and the past two-and-a-half years have seen as rapid and concerted intensification as any other period one can recall." ...

Uncontrolled search and seizure is one of the first and most effective weapons in the arsenal of every arbitrary government. Among deprivations of rights, none is so effective in cowing a population, crushing the spirit of the individual and putting terror in every heart. -- Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, 1949 ...

... David Shipler in a New York Times op-ed: "The Fourth Amendment is weaker than it was 50 years ago, and this should worry everyone."

Victoria McGrane & Alan Zibel of the Wall Street Journal: "On Tuesday, Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh said regulators are in danger of going too far to curb risk-taking by big banks.... Three Senate Democrats – Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Carl Levin of Michigan and Jeff Merkley of Oregon – have publicly called for the White House to replace Mr. Walsh, a Republican, following his speech in London Tuesday. The lawmakers were particularly rankled by Mr. Walsh’s statements that bank capital requirements – the cushion banks hold against future losses — are already 'exceedingly high.'" ...

Mr. Walsh demonstrated once again that he just doesn’t get it.  He persists in arguing for the minimal capital standards and lax regulation that brought down our entire economy in 2008.  It is time – way past time – for the President to nominate a leader for the OCC who is committed to building a solid long-term foundation for our economy. -- Sen. Jeff Merkley

Rosalind Helderman & Lori Montgomery of the Washington Post: "Congressional leaders from both parties made new and competing demands Wednesday in exchange for their votes to raise the nation’s debt limit.... Top Senate Democrats, led by Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), said they have told Vice President Biden, who is leading the talks, that any agreement on raising the legal borrowing limit must include an effort to boost the flagging economic recovery.... The Democrats’ call came on the same day that conservative advocacy groups asked Republicans to sign a pledge saying that they vow to vote against an increase in the $14.3 trillion debt limit without sharp and immediate spending cuts, new caps on annual spending and an amendment to the Constitution that would require Congress to balance the budget (CW: because conservative advocacy groups don't know squat about economics).

Paul Krugman calls out the Fed's "shameful cowardice" in their refusal to even attempt to do anything to abate unemployment. The underlying news story is here.

** Matt Miller of the Washington Post: "Just when you thought Washington couldn’t get more partisan and confused, along comes the phony tempest about whether President Obama’s health-care reform will lead employers to drop coverage once the new insurance exchanges open for business in 2014.... It would be a fantastic thing — not some calamity — if more people got coverage from the exchanges instead of from their employers. Yet both parties act as if it would be a disaster.... If over time employers find they’d rather make a contribution to help employees use these exchanges, with lower-income folks getting some aid from government, it would be a huge step forward in health security for ordinary Americans."

CW: I don't do polls, BUT this one brings good news. Heidi Przybyla of Bloomberg News: "By a margin of 57 percent to 34 percent, poll respondents say they would be worse off if [Rep. Paul] Ryan’s plan to convert Medicare to a system of subsidized private health coverage were adopted. Fifty-eight percent of independents, a critical voting bloc in recent elections, say they would be worse off." Fifty-one percent say that while the law may need modification, the Affordable Care Act "shouldn’t be repealed, and another 11 percent say it should be left alone. That compares with 35 percent who want the new law overturned."

Some Republicans Don't Live in Right Wing World. Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "A group of more than a dozen moderate Republicans, including four former Environmental Protection Agency administrators, urged President Obama in a letter Wednesday to set tough new standards to curb carbon emissions from cars and light trucks." Their letter is here.

Jon Stewart & Aasif Mandvi explain the Greek debt crisis in a way that puts Paul Krugman's efforts to shame. Play through to the second segment:

Celia Dugger of the New York Times: South Africa embraces Michelle Obama.

Right Wing World *

In Right Wing World, second-tier Congressional Republicans are way more important than the POTUS. Jay Newton-Small of Time on Eric Cantor's and Sen. Jon Kyl's walking out of the debt ceiling talks because they're all upset the President has delegated the VPOTUS to listen to Republicans: "... why would Obama come to the table when [Sen. Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell himself and House Speaker John Boehner aren’t yet at the table? Why isn’t Cantor calling on his boss, Boehner, to engage? Or Kyl for McConnell to?" Newton-Small updates her post with an interesting e-mail from "a senior Democratic aide":

Cantor and Kyl just threw Boehner and McConnell under the bus. This move is an admission that there will be a need for revenues and Cantor and Kyl don’t want to be the ones to make that deal. Default is way too serious for Republicans to throw in the towel.

John Amato of Crook and Liars sums up the long-term deficit situation: "The CBO proves the only reason America should have a deficit problem is if Conservatives want one."

Oh, the whole story is pretty funny, but the headline of Colby Hall's Mediaite post is hilarious: "No Joke: Sarah Palin Reportedly Quits One Nation Bus Tour Halfway Through."

* Where even Fox "News" commentator Palin calls out Fox "News," perhaps now officially part of the "lamestream media," for misstating her itinerary.

News Ledes

Michelle Obama talks about meeting Nelson Mandela & discusses his impact on history:

President Obama met with soldiers at Fort Drum, New York, & with Gold Star families later in the afternoon. Update: Los Angeles Times post-meeting report: "President Obama on Thursday thanked soldiers in upstate New York for their work in combat and said their efforts had helped the United States to turn the corner in Afghanistan and allow some troops to be brought home." AND here's the transcript of his remarks. See video above.

USA Today: "Reps. Ron Paul and Barney Frank are teaming up today on legislation that would legalize marijuana."

Los Angeles Times: "The Supreme Court dealt a defeat to the heirs of Anna Nicole Smith in a long-running estate battle that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. compared with Charles Dickens' 'Bleak House,' about the endless court fight that outlives all the main players. The decision is a victory for the Texas heirs of Smith's late billionaire husband, J. Howard Marshall. His son, Pierce Marshall, also died during the course of the litigation."

Al Jazeera: "Syrian troops and armoured vehicles are sweeping through villages in an advance towards the Turkish border, witnesses say. Soldiers drove through the village of Khirbet al-Jouz, just 500 metres away from the Turkish border, on Thursday, according to the witness accounts. There were also unconfirmed reports that forces were firing machine guns randomly in the nearby village of Managh. With video.

AP: "Wary of a new surge in gas prices, the Obama administration has decided to release 30 million barrels of oil from the country's emergency reserve as part of a broader international response to lost oil supplies caused by turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly Libya. Oil prices dropped nearly 5 percent Thursday in response to the announcement." ...

     ... New York Times Update: "Stocks in the United States were sharply lower on Thursday amid signs of a sluggish economy and continued European debt troubles, while energy stocks in the broader market declined more than 2 percent after the International Energy Agency said members would release oil into the market from reserves."

The Cantor Pout. New York Times: "The House majority leader, Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, said Thursday that he was quitting the debt ceiling negotiations being led by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. because of an impasse over whether tax increases should be part of a final deal."

AP: "Dozens of gay couples are planning to converge on Albany Thursday to witness what would be a historic vote to legalize gay marriage in New York, the sixth state to do so and a potential bellwether in the national gay rights movement. But for that to happen, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's considerable political skills will be tested as never before to engineer one of the biggest social changes in a generation."

It has been the hope of many in Congress and across the country that the full drawdown of U.S. forces would happen sooner than the president laid out — and we will continue to press for a better outcome. -- Nancy Pelosi

AP: "Congressional Democrats are leading the criticism of President Barack Obama's troop withdrawal plan from Afghanistan, arguing that his timeline for bringing 33,000 U.S. troops home by next summer isn't fast enough."

New York Times: "President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan welcomed the decision to withdraw more than 30,000 American troops over the next year, calling it the 'right decision for the interest of both countries.'”

Los Angeles Times: "Legendary Boston crime boss James 'Whitey' Bulger, who has been on the run for more than a decade, was arrested Wednesday in Santa Monica, multiple law enforcement sources told The Times. Bulger, 81, has been the subject of several books and was the inspiration for 'The Departed,' a 2006 Martin Scorsese film staring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson. Bulger fled Boston in late 1994 as federal agents were about to arrest him in connection with 21 killings, racketeering and other crimes that spanned the early 1970s to the mid-1980s." The New York Times story is here. ...

     ... New York Times Update: "The arrest of James Bulger, a legendary Boston crime boss indicted in 19 murders and who is on the F.B.I.’s 10 Most Wanted list, was a direct result of a campaign this week that was aimed at locating his longtime companion, federal officials in Boston said Thursday." ...

     ... Somewhat weirdly, the Los Angeles Times has a slideshow.

The Commentariat -- June 22

I've added an Open Thread page for today on Off Times Square. Kate Madison & I have posted our comments on Tom Friedman's column. Update: Madison's & my comments have been squelched so far, so this is the place to read them. Update Update: My comment is now on page 2 (#39), but Madison's is nowhere to be found now on page 4 at #100.

"Climate of Denial." In a 7,000-word essay in Rolling Stone, former Vice President & popularly-elected President Al Gore calls out the Charlie Sheen-Donald-Trump-obsessed media & President Obama for failing to give proper attention to climate change. "... President Obama has thus far failed to use the bully pulpit to make the case for bold action on climate change." ...

     ... John Broder of the New York Times writes an overview article on Gore's essay.

Keith Bradsher of the New York Times on China's high-speed rail system which, despite problems, has "very real economic benefits ... and [poses] competitive challenges ... for the United States and Europe."

"Hostilities v. Torture." Adam Serwer has a great post on how the press is hammering Obama for his stupid definition of "hostilities" but largely gave Bush a pass on his tortured definition of "torture." "Indeed, media outlets mostly acquiesced to Bush’s argument — recall the New York Times’ decision to deploy euphemisms for 'torture' because Bush and his supporters had simply redefined the term.... President Obama faces what you might call a 'hack deficit.' ... Unlike with Bush, Obama doesn’t have a large stable of liberal legal scholars and commenters who are willing to pretend they don’t speak English in order to defend his policies."

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "As Mr. Obama begins trying to untangle the country from its military and civilian promises in Afghanistan, his critics and allies alike are drawing a direct line between what is not being spent to bolster the sagging economy in America to what is being spent in Afghanistan — $120 billion this year alone. On Monday, the United States Conference of Mayors made that connection explicitly, saying that American taxes should be paying for bridges in Baltimore and Kansas City, not in Baghdad and Kandahar."

** Why Wal-Mart Discriminates against Women. Prof. Nelson Lichtenstein, in a New York Times op-ed, writes a fascinating takedown of Wal-Mart's "authoritarian corporate culture" and its history of "managerial bias," which invite, among other ills, discrimination against women.

Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times: the Fed, not doing much to help the economy, has no intention to do more. Fed Chair Ben Benanke will answer reporters' questions this afternoon.

Like other misinformed people, I get all my news from "The Daily Show." Seriously, I did not know the details of this story till Jon Stewart brought it to my attention:

... Here's an update from CNN: "Kenneth Melson, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is expected to resign under pressure, perhaps in the next day or two, in the wake of the controversy over Operation Fast and Furious, two senior federal law enforcement sources said Monday." ...

... AND, oh yeah, why does the ATF have an acting director who does such boneheaded stuff? Because President Obama nominated long-time ATF agent & head of the Chicago ATF office Andrew Traver last November, and the NRA opposes him. The Senate, quavering in their jackboots, has stalled Traver's confirmation. Here's a Washington Post story dated June 20 on how that's going. Obama may appoint Traver as acting director upon Melson's expected resignation. The ATF "has been without a director since 2006."

Greg Sargent: the Democrats lost the deficit argument because they never presented their side. "... Americans only got to hear one side of this argument, so it’s only natural if they agree with it."

Dana Milbank: "I wish [Republican presidential candidate Jon] Huntsman luck in this noble pursuit, but the high road almost always leads to political oblivion. ...

... Stephen Colbert comments on Huntsman's candidacy, but likes Generic Republican better:

... FINALLY, Huntsman figures out how not to get caught telling lies in his announcement speech (as his rival, self-proclaimed "truth-teller" Tiim Pawlenty did) -- don't say anything. Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post's fact-checker, could not find any facts in Huntsman's speech to check.

Right Wing World

Art by Victor Juhasz for Rolling Stone.The Messenger of God. Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone has a terrific biographical piece on Michele Bachmann, and he has a message, too: don't laugh, because the loonier Bachmann seems and the more the "elite media" dismiss her incredible antics, the more her following of wacky true believers grows. This is a great read. Don't miss it.

Sen. Bernie Sanders on the Koch Brothers Social Security Liars Club:

In case you've been living on another planet (such as Right Wing World), here's all you need to know about Fox "News":

Million-Dollar Baby. Callista Gingrich sports a Tiffany's necklace.A Million Here. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post: "Former House speaker Newt Gingrich had a second line of credit at ... Tiffany and Co. for as much as $1 million dollars, his presidential campaign acknowledged Tuesday. Joe DeSantis, a spokesman for Gingrich, said that the candidate’s personal financial disclosure filing, which is due within 30 days of his formal entrance into the presidential race, will 'show that the Gingriches had a $500,000 to $1 million line of credit at Tiffany’s, that it has a zero balance, and it has been closed.'” ...

... A Million There. Shannon McCaffrey of the AP: "Newt Gingrich's top two fundraising advisers resigned on Tuesday, and officials said the Republican candidate's hobbling presidential campaign carried more than $1 million in debt." CW: Too bad he cancelled his Tiffany's line of credit; he could have used it to pay off his debt.

News Ledes

** President Obama will address the nation at 8:00 pm ET. Christian Science Monitor: "President Obama’s Wednesday speech on his promised July drawdown of the 100,000 US troops in Afghanistan is drafted. But on circulating copies, there are still blank spaces where the final troop figures will go." ...

     ... Washington Post: "President Obama will face a stiff political challenge Wednesday in presenting his plan for a gradual end to the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan. His prime-time address must remind a skeptical electorate and a concerned Congress that the country’s longest war remains worth fighting — and funding — for several more years." ...

     ... New York Times Update: "President Obama plans to announce Wednesday evening that he will order the withdrawal of 10,000 American troops from Afghanistan this year, and another 20,000 troops, the remainder of the 2009 'surge,' by the end of next summer, according to administration officials and diplomats briefed on the decision. These troop reductions are both deeper and faster than the recommendations made by Mr. Obama’s military commanders, and they reflect mounting political and economic pressures at home, as the president faces relentless budget pressures and an increasingly restive Congress and American public." ...

     ... Update: here is the prepared text of President Obama's speech. See video under June 23 Commentariat.

Washington Post: "In a statement..., at the end of a two-day policy session, the Fed acknowledged that the economic recovery has lost momentum. But, as widely expected, it said that it would allow a program of Treasury bond purchases — a move to pump $600 billion into the economy known as quantitative easing — to expire at the end of the month. The agency also said that it would keep interest rates near zero to try to stimulate growth." CW translation: "Tough luck, folks."

New York Times: "Republican leaders in the House of Representatives are moving to address head-on the escalating tensions over President Obama’s authority to continue the military mission in Libya, unveiling two proposals about the conflict late Tuesday that the chamber may vote on as soon as Thursday."

AP: "President Barack Obama has signed executive orders that lay out how far military commanders around the globe can go in using cyberattacks and other computer-based operations against enemies and as part of routine espionage in other countries. The orders detail when the military must seek presidential approval for a specific cyber assault on an enemy and weave cyber capabilities into U.S. war fighting strategy, defense officials and cyber security experts told The Associated Press."

NEW. Bloomberg: "JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)’s deal to settle a U.S. regulator’s claims that the bank misled buyers of mortgage-linked securities before the housing market collapsed echoed a case brought last year against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) JPMorgan agreed to pay $153.6 million to end a Securities and Exchange Commission suit. The SEC alleged that the New York- based bank failed to tell investors in 2007 that a hedge fund helped pick, and bet against, underlying securities in the collateralized debt obligation they purchased. In July, Goldman Sachs paid a record $550 million for failing to inform clients in 2007 that it allowed a hedge fund that also bet against housing to help formulate the CDOs." CW: And nobody goes to jail.

Los Angeles Times: "John Bryson, the former Southern California utility executive nominated to be Commerce secretary, promised senators that he would have a 'relentless focus' on job creation as he tried to ease concerns that his environmental views were too liberal. Bryson, 67, faced some tough criticism during his confirmation hearing Tuesday for favorable comments he made in 2009 about legislation to limit carbon emissions. The concerns were largely from Republicans but also came from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.)." CW: must not have Commerce Secretary who cares about environment. Must not be "too liberal."

New York Times: "The F.B.I. seized Web servers in a raid on a data center early Tuesday, causing several Web sites, including those run by the New York publisher Curbed Network, to go offline. The raid happened at 1:15 a.m. at a hosting facility in Reston, Va., used by DigitalOne, which is based in Switzerland, the company said. The F.B.I. did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the raid.... A government official who declined to be named said earlier in the day that the F.B.I. was actively investigating the Lulz Security group and any affiliated hackers."

Reuters: "Texas executed on Tuesday a man convicted of fatally shooting two people and paralyzing a third near Houston in 1998, despite evidence that he was mentally disabled. Milton Mathis, 32, was sentenced in 1999, before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to execute inmates with mental disabilities.... On Tuesday, a final plea to the Supreme Court to hear evidence of his mental disability was denied, and he was executed by lethal injection."

Los Angeles Times: "Speaking at a Soweto church thrust onto the front lines of the fight against apartheid, First Lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday urged young South Africans to conquer hunger and AIDS and to end violence against women. Addressing a crowded Regina Mundi Church, she singled out 76 young women from across Africa who were here for a U.S.-sponsored leadership forum. A White House official put the crowd count at 2,000." See video above.

Our Friends in Bahrain. AP: "A security court sentenced eight Shiite activists to life in prison Wednesday and issued long jail terms for 13 others in the latest blow by authorities waging a crackdown against protesters seeking greater rights in the Gulf kingdom.... The Ireland-based rights group Front Line condemned the verdicts and the use of military prosecutors." CW: no word from our State Department, I guess. See my comment on MoDo today.