The Commentariat -- March 29

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "The Obama doctrine he presented Wednesday night was frustratingly nondoctrinal. Where Bush was all bright lines and absolute morality, Obama dwelled in the gray area, outlining a foreign policy that is ad hoc and situational.... In the Obama doctrine, there is a tension between bear-any-burden aspirations and the constraints of an overstretched superpower.... As a doctrine, Obama’s is maddeningly subtle. Cost-weighting can’t compete with 'smoke ‘em out' and 'dead or alive.' But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong." ... CW: see video of the President's full speech in yesterday's Commentariat.

... Robert Kagan of the Washington Post: "The president ... deserves credit for showing, once again, how bold and effective U.S. leadership can pave the way for multilateral efforts. He has been right to insist that others take their fair share of the burden, but he has also made clear that American leadership was essential, even indispensable. This was a Kennedy-esque speech." ...

... Tom Malinowski of The New Republic: "Here is one lesson we can draw from the mostly negative media commentary about the Obama administration’s actions in Libya: Presidents get more credit for stopping atrocities after they begin than for preventing them before they get out of hand." ...

... Greg Jaffe & Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "The U.S. military dramatically stepped up its assault on Libyan government ground forces over the weekend, launching its first missions with AC-130 flying gunships and A-10 attack aircraft designed to strike enemy ground troops and supply convoys.... A mission that initially seemed to revolve around establishing a no-fly zone has become focused on halting advances by government ground forces in and around key coastal cities."

Brian Beutler of TPM: federal budget negotiations are not going well. Late yesterday Harry Reid issued a statement saying, "... Tea Party Republicans are scrapping all the progress we have made and threatening to shut down the government if they do not get all of their extreme demands." He said the House leadership needed to rein in their extremist members. ...

... Ezra Klein: not only are Republicans demanding deep cuts, they are demanding the cuts come from their menu. Klein says, "It's beginning to look like a shutdown." ...

... Jonathan Chait of The New Republic on why there will be a government shutdown: because the vast majoritiy of teabaggers believe President Obama is "destroying the country"; ergo, any deal that he agrees to is inherently evil. Chait uses polling data to make his case.

... Jackie Calmes & Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Already resigned to a final budget for this year that cuts deeply into domestic spending, Democrats in the White House and Congress are struggling to regroup behind a strategy to limit the reductions — or to set up House Republicans for blame if the current standoff shuts down the government." ...

... Alexander Bolton & Molly Hooper of The Hill with an update: "Democrats are deploying a divide-and-conquer strategy in their negotiations with House Republicans over spending cuts. After being put back on their heels earlier in the budget message battle, Senate Democrats are now trying to drive a wedge between Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Tea Party freshmen." ...

... AND Melanie Starkey of Roll Call: "The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee slammed more than 50 House Republicans on Monday, the 32nd anniversary of the Three Mile Island disaster, for voting to reduce nuclear security spending. The targeted statements distributed to the Members’ districts accuse the lawmakers of supporting 'a dangerous plan to drastically reduce the security of nuclear facilities across the nation.'”

Stephen Colbert spars with Michael Moore on the role of unions:

"Ordinary Wisconsinites" make the case for recall of GOP state senators. CW: actually, I think these activists are extraordinary:

Tony Pugh of McClatchy News: "Across the country, taxpayers jarred by cuts to government jobs and services are reassessing the risks and costs of a variety of tax reductions, exemptions and credits, and the ideology that drives them. States cut taxes in hopes of spurring economic growth, but in state after state, it hasn't worked." CW: surprise, surprise.

Karen Garcia: right-wing Rep. Wally "Herger [R-Calif.] is co-chair of an investigative joint House Oversight and Health subcommittee 'looking into' AARP - the American Association of Retired Persons. According to Herger and his sidekick, Louisiana Republican Charles Boustany, the purpose of Friday's go-fish game hearing will be to see if AARP is profiting unfairly from selling Medicare supplement insurance policies to its members." Funny, Herger's & Boustany's top campaign contributors are other insurance companies.

Unforced Error, Revisited. A. G. Sulzberger of the New York Times on Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill's (D) charging taxpayers for her use of her own airplane & her failure to pay about $300,000 in property taxes on it. The controversy, on which Republicans have capitalized, has put retention of her Senate seat in serious jeopardy.

Andrew Higgins of the Washington Post: "Masataka Shimizu..., the president of Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco, the company that owns a haywire nuclear power plant 150 miles from the capital, is the most invisible — and most reviled — chief executive in Japan. Amid rumors that Shimizu had fled the country, checked into a hospital or committed suicide, company officials said Monday that their boss had suffered an unspecified “small illness” because of overwork...."

Rob Stein of the Washington Post: "a drug to prevent babies from being born too early won federal approval in February," but "the list price for the drug, Makena, turned out to be a stunning $1,500 per dose. That’s for a drug that must be injected every week for about 20 weeks, meaning it will cost about $30,000 per at-risk pregnancy.... What really infuriates patients and doctors is that the same compound has been available for years at a fraction of the cost — about $10 or $20 a shot." The company that's selling Makena, KV Pharmaceutical, claims the price is justified by the costs associated with R&D, but critics say "the main study used to demonstrate the drug’s effectiveness was a $5 million project conducted by the National Institutes of Health — paid by taxpayers."

CW: I am running this story by James McKinley & Erica Goode of the New York Times only because it's sort of a do-over for the Times. The first story, by McKinley, was roundly criticized by Times readers and even by the Times' excuse-maker in-chief public editor Arthur Brisbane for its blame-the-victim posture, the victim being an eleven-year-old girl who was repeatedly gang-raped. Tellingly, the Times does not link to the first story, as they normally do with follow-up pieces.

Right Wing World

I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, by the time they're my age they will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists and with no understanding of what it once meant to be an American. -- Newt Gingrich ...

... Michael Crowley of Time comments.

Research data suggest many teabaggers are nuts. Okay, that's not exactly the way C. S. Parker of Washington University phrased it, but that's kinda what his results show. Oh, and for best results, "sound white" when you phone-poll them.

Is the Donald an American Citizen? Entrepreneur, self-promoter & fake Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has stoked the zombie birther movement recently by calling for President Obama to produce his birth certificate. With video. As part of the attack on Obama, Trump released his own birth certificate to the loony, lying right-wing Website Newsmax. But, as Ben Smith reports, the document Trump produced was not a birth certificate but a certificate of live birth from Jamaica (Queens) Hospital. Smith writes, and this is even funnier:

Trump's mother, it should be noted, was born in Scotland, which is not part of the United States. His plane is registered in the Bahamas, also a foreign country. This fact pattern -- along with the wave of new questions surrounding what he claims is a birth certificate -- raises serious doubts about his eligibility to serve as President of the United States. ...

... The Smoking Gun: "So, what is Trump trying to conceal? On a possibly related note, Jamaica Hospital has been the recipient of significant financial largesse from the Trump family." CW: OR maybe that "Jamaica Hospital" on the certificate of live birth is in, you know, Jamaica. ...

... Adam Serwer of the American Prospect provides a "birther lexicon" to identify all the kinds of birthers there are, from the totally nuts to the cravenly opportunistic "pseudo-birthism."

News Ledes

** Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "For the second time in less than two weeks, a Dane County judge [Maryann Sumi] Tuesday issued an order blocking the implementation of Gov. Scott Walker's plan to curb collective bargaining for public workers.... She warned that those who violate her order could face court sanctions." Republicans plan to continue implementation of the law anyway.

New York Times: "Barack Obama ... returned [to Harlem] on Tuesday evening as the nation’s first African-American president, and for a $30,800-a-person fund-raiser.... Afterward, Mr. Obama attended an invitation-only reception at the Studio Museum in Harlem for past Democratic donors.... Since being elected this was Mr. Obama’s first visit to Harlem...."

Washington Post: "Even Supreme Court justices who sharply questioned Wal-Mart’s pay and promotion policies regarding female employees expressed concern at Tuesday’s oral argument about how the largest gender discrimination class-action suit in history might proceed."

Washington Post: "Sen. Richard Durbin’s Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday on Muslim civil rights featured the same partisan sparring and many of the same arguments as Rep. Peter King’s hearing on Muslim radicals just three weeks ago. The hearing of the Judiciary subcommittee chaired by Durbin (D-Ill.) was a relatively low-key affair that saw witnesses and lawmakers in accord on the issue of protecting the civil rights of American Muslims...."

AP: "Moammar Gadhafi's forces hammered rebels with tanks and rockets, turning their rapid advance into a panicked retreat in an hourslong battle Tuesday. The fighting underscored the dilemma facing the U.S. and its allies in Libya: Rebels may be unable to oust Gadhafi militarily unless already contentious international airstrikes go even further in taking out his forces." ...

... New York Times: "The westward advance of rebels seeking the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi faced new resistance from loyalist forces on Tuesday as an array of diplomats and public figures prepared for a gathering in London to shape their political vision of a post-Qaddafi era." ...

... AP: "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met Tuesday with a representative of the Libyan opposition fighting Moammar Kadafii's regime as the Obama administration looked to expand ties with rebel leaders seeking an end to four decades of dictatorship."

New York Times: "Yemen’s political crisis deepened Monday when an explosion tore through a crowd of looters at an abandoned government weapons factory in the south, killing at least 110 people and underscoring an ominous collapse of authority after six weeks of rising protests."

New York Times: "The political crisis in Syria deepened on Monday as the armed forces in the restive southern city of Dara’a fired live ammunition in the air to disperse hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators who had taken to the streets."

New York Times: "The Taliban seized control of a district in eastern Nuristan Province on Tuesday, chasing the governor and police from the district capital, according to Afghan officials and a spokesman for the Taliban.... While the Taliban are present in a majority of districts in Afghanistan, the capture of administrative centers in the districts is relatively rare."

Washington Post: "Foreign nationals who are married to U.S. citizens of the same sex may apply for spousal green cards and other benefits, immigration authorities announced Monday, but it remains to be seen whether the government will issue them. In the past, foreign same-sex spouses who sought the immigration benefits granted to heterosexual married couples were automatically rejected.... But the agency has stopped that practice, at least temporarily, in light of last month’s decision by the Obama administration to no longer defend" DOMA.

AP: "Japan's prime minister insisted Tuesday that the country was on 'maximum alert' to bring its nuclear crisis under control, but the spread of radiation raised concerns about the ability of experts to stabilize the crippled reactor complex. Prime Minister Naoto Kan told parliament that Japan was grappling with its worst problems since World War II."

Bloomberg News: "Federal prosecutors are considering whether to pursue manslaughter charges against BP Plc (BP/) managers for decisions made before the Gulf of Mexico oil well explosion last year that killed 11 workers and caused the biggest offshore spill in U.S. history, according to three people familiar with the matter. U.S. investigators also are examining statements made by leaders of the companies involved in the spill -- including former BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward -- during congressional hearings last year to determine whether their testimony was at odds with what they knew...."

The Commentariat -- March 28

President Obama speaks about Libya at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.:

     ... Here's the text of his remarks.

Jon Lee Anderson of the New Yorker has been hanging out with Libyan rebels. Opponents of the rebels here & in Libya like to describe them as terrorist Islamic extremists with connections to Al Qaeda. Anderson writes,

The hard core of the fighters has been the shabab—the young people whose protests in mid-February sparked the uprising. They range from street toughs to university students (many in computer science, engineering, or medicine), and have been joined by unemployed hipsters and middle-aged mechanics, merchants, and storekeepers. There is a contingent of workers for foreign companies: oil and maritime engineers, construction supervisors, translators. There are former soldiers.... And there are a few bearded religious men ... who appear intent on fighting at the dangerous tip of the advancing lines. It seems unlikely, however, that they represent Al Qaeda.

William Cronon.Paul Krugman on Wisconsin Republicans' attempt to intimidate a prominent University of Wisconsin history professor: "What’s at stake here ... is whether we’re going to have an open national discourse in which scholars feel free to go wherever the evidence takes them, and to contribute to public understanding. Republicans, in Wisconsin and elsewhere, are trying to shut that kind of discourse down. It’s up to the rest of us to see that they don’t succeed." ...

... Krugman Commenter #89, Andrea from Madison, Wisconsin, adds some interestng new (to me) information on the Cronon case. She points to a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in a case of parents attempting to access -- via the state's open-records law -- a teacher's personal e-mails written on a school district's e-mail system. The court held:

The contents of the personal e-mails that the Teachers created and maintained on government-owned computers pursuant to the government employer's permission for occasional personal use of the government e-mail account and computer are not 'records' under Wis. Stat. § 19.32(2). The personal contents of these e-mails are not subject to release to a record requester merely because they are sent or received using the government employers' e-mail systems and then stored and maintained on those systems.

... They Don't Know How Ridiculous They Are. Mark Jefferson, head of Wisconsin's Republican party, is "appalled" by Prof. Cronon's "deplorable tactics" of "intimidation" of upstanding neo-McCarthyites:

I have never seen such a concerted effort to intimidate someone from lawfully seeking information about their government. Further, it is chilling to see that so many members of the media would take up the cause of a professor who seeks to quash a lawful open records request.... Finally, I find it appalling that Professor Cronin [sic.] seems to have plenty of time to round up reporters from around the nation to push the Republican Party of Wisconsin into explaining its motives behind a lawful open records request, but has apparently not found time to provide any of the requested information. -- Mark Jefferson

     ... CW: whoever this Cronon/Cronin guy is/are, I wish he would stop "rounding up reporters." ...

... Anthony Grafton of the New Yorker: this is "an effort to intimidate Cronon, and any other state employee, by making clear that it can be dangerous to take a position that Republicans don’t like on the issues of the day. After all, Cronon’s mails, like those of most professors, include materials meant to be confidential: messages to and about students or colleagues."

Andrew Cohen of The Atlantic: "On Tuesday morning, the United States Supreme Court will hear argument in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, an already-epic battle between the world's largest corporation and perhaps as many as one million current and former employees, all of them female, who as potential plaintiffs claim the giant retailer engaged in an unlawful pattern and practice of gender discrimination. It is easily one of the biggest cases of the Court's present term and, by many accounts, the biggest class-action discrimination case ever fought." ...

... Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The number of women who could be included in the sex discrimination class-action suit is measured in millions. The amount of damages for which the nation’s largest private employer could be liable is estimated in billions.... There seems little doubt about how a ruling for Wal-Mart would be portrayed by liberal groups already suspicious of the [Supreme] Court and the huge company." ...

... Also by Barnes: How Do We Lie? An Appeals Court Judge Counts the Ways.... and concludes that the Stolen Valor Act, which punishes those who falsely claim receiving military honors, violates the First Amendment free speech guarantee, but not all of his colleagues agree, and a test of the law is likely headed to the Supreme Court. You can read Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski's entertaining treatise on lying in his concurring opinion, reproduced in this pdf. It begins on page 3758 (no, it's not that long; just cursor forward or search "living means lying.")

Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Even as the Obama administration defends the NATO-led air war in Libya, the latest violent clashes in Syria and Jordan are raising new alarm among senior officials who view those countries, in the heartland of the Arab world, as far more vital to American interests."

Michael Ettinger & Michael Linden of the Center for American Progress: "It’s beginning to look like the 2011 federal budget process could degenerate into a passive compromise that ends up precisely where the House Republican leadership started out nearly two months ago. That would be a very strange outcome for the Senate Democrats and the president to allow." CW: in a way, this is the most depressing story of the day, although it's hardly news -- just another chapter in the continuing saga "Triumph of the Oligarchy." ...

... Corey Boles & Janet Hook of the Wall Street Journal: "House Republicans are preparing to propose a major shake-up of the Medicaid health-care program for the poor, a first step in their drive to overhaul federal entitlements, according to a member of the House Budget Committee." CW: whaddaya bet -- once again Democrats will cave, further abetting atrocities like Florida Gov. Rick Scott's soon-to-be-successful attempt to "reform" Medicaid in a way that reduces benefits for the poor but still adds millions to Scott's personal fortune. ...

... AND in another Screw-the-Little-Guy movement, Amanda Becker of the Washington Post report, "The Senate's recent passage of the America Invents Act has been hailed as the first meaningful overhaul of the country's patent process in more than 50 years.... No provision generated more interest among the organizations that weighed in than the switch from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file system used in most other countries, which would grant a patent to the first inventor to file an application even if others conceived of a similar idea first.... The shift was a victory for big companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly and General Electric, which are adept at filing patents often and early...."

Peter Wallsten of the Washington Post: "... as [President] Obama keeps the White House press corps at a distance, he has sat for more than a dozen interviews with their colleagues from local TV stations — with unpredictable and sometimes illuminating results."

First Amendment -- Closeted Edition. Jake Tapper: Joe Biden's staffer to veteran Orlando Sentinel reporter: sorry about stuffing you in the closet during the Vice President's fundraiser. Well, sorta sorry. Glad you understand. CW: oh, the right is loving this story.

Right Wing World *

Glenn Greenwald psychoanalyzes the delusional, persecution-complex-impaired Koch brothers based on their bizarre, nonsensical remarks to a Weekly Standard reporter.

Pro-Life -- Except for Undocumented Babies. Andrea Nill of Think Progress: Nebraska's law that prevents undocumented women from receiving prenatal care has been responsible for at least five in-utero infant deaths. And, look, "100 percent pro-life" Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has proposed the same restrictions on women in Wisconsin. CW: evidently infanticide is one way Republicans are limiting the scope of the 14th Amendment which states that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States ... are citizens of the United States."

* Where facts never intrude.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Highly contaminated water is escaping a damaged reactor at the crippled nuclear power plant in Japan and could soon leak into the ocean, the country’s nuclear regulator warned on Monday." ...

... Washington Post: "As radiation levels at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant reached a new high Sunday, workers contended with dark, steamy conditions in their efforts to repair the facility’s cooling system and stave off a full-blown nuclear meltdown.... Leaked water sampled from one unit Sunday had 100,000 times the radioactivity of normal background levels, although the Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the plant, first calculated an even higher, erroneous, figure it didn’t correct for hours." Los Angeles Times story here.

New York Times: "... a damning internal report by Afghanistan’s own Central Bank ... depicts the Afghan political elite as using Kabul Bank, the country’s biggest financial institution, as their own private piggy bank. The report both raises questions about why the authorities did not act sooner, and suggests the answers lay in the political connections of the bank’s officers and shareholders — the recipients of most of the roughly $900 million in bad loans."

Rogue State. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Gov. Scott Walker's administration is no longer collecting dues on behalf of state unions and as of Sunday began charging employees more for health care and their pensions, even though nonpartisan legislative attorneys say the changes are not yet law.... Before [Judge Maryann] Sumi issued the restraining order [blocking the state from publishing the law], [Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug] La Follette had set Friday as the date to publish the law. He later rescinded it, but [Walker's Administrative Secretary Mike] Huebsch said he did not believe La Follette had the power to do that."

Washington Post: "Rebels surged westward along Libya’s coast Sunday, seizing at least three more key towns and capitalizing on their new momentum after more than a week of airstrikes by an international coalition. The rebel stronghold of Benghazi erupted in gunfire and rockets early Monday amid rumors that that Sirte, the home town of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, had fallen. But those reports appeared to be unfounded." Los Angeles Times story here.

Washington Post: "Gangs of young men, some armed with swords and hunting rifles, roamed Sunday through the streets of [Latakia,] a Syrian seaside city, closing alleys with barricades and roughly questioning passersby in streets scarred by days of anti-government unrest." ...

... Los Angeles Times: "Two journalists from the Reuters news agency are missing [in Syria] and two U.S. citizens have been detained during the unprecedented  nationwide mass protests that have posed the greatest challenge to President Bashar Assad since he came to power 11 years ago, media reports say."

Los Angeles Times: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel was dealt a humiliating defeat Sunday when voters booted her party from power in a state election that could bode ill for her leadership on the national stage."

The Commentariat -- March 27

Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times: "The ailing economy and the Tea Party’s demand for smaller government have dominated Republican politics for two years, but a resurgent social conservative movement is shaping the first stage of the presidential nominating contest, complicating the strategy for candidates who prefer to focus on fiscal issues over faith." ...

... Red Meat. Maggie Haberman of Politico: Michele Bachmann "gave the best-received speech of the potential 2012 hopefuls appearance at [crazy-evil] Rep. Steve King's conference and the crowd wildly applauded her brand of populism." ...

... Andy Barr of Politico: "In the latest Gallup poll released Friday, [Mike Huckabee is] the Republican leader, ahead of 16 other presidential prospects. Regardless of what’s being polled, who’s doing the polling or how the question is asked, among Republicans Huckabee typically finishes on top. ...

... BUT Buffalo Beast editor Ian Murphy -- a/k/a Fake Koch -- announces his candidacy for the Upstate New York Congressional seat vacated by CraigsList contributor, barechested Rep. Chris Lee in a better campaign announcement video than any Republicans could devise:

Prof. Juan Cole, an unabashed lefty, writes "an open letter to the left on Libya: ... I am unabashedly cheering the liberation movement on, and glad that the UNSC-authorized intervention has saved them from being crushed." He outlines why the coaltion action against Gaddafi forces is warranted & why leftists' arguments against the action are wanting. CW: if, like me, you've been conflicted about the military action, reading Cole is essential.

Nicholas Kristof: "Mubarak is gone, but an Egyptian woman’s story of torture depicts a revolution far from over.... The lesson may be that revolution is not a moment but a process, a gritty contest of wills that unfolds painstakingly long after the celebrations have died and the television lights have dimmed."

Local News

These changes to Medicaid are basically nothing but a business plan for Rick Scott's Solantic. -- Eric Jotkoff, Florida Democratic Party spokesman ...

... Suzy Khimm of Mother Jones: "Republican governor Rick Scott's push to privatize Medicaid in Florida is highly controversial — not least because the health care business Scott handed over to his wife when he took office could reap a major profit if the legislation becomes law. Scott and Florida Republicans are currently trying to enact a sweeping Medicaid reform bill that would give HMOs and other private health care companies unprecedented control over the government health care program for the poor. Among the companies that stand to benefit from the bill is Solantic, a chain of urgent-care clinics.... The Florida governor founded Solantic in 2001, only a few years after he resigned as the CEO of hospital giant Columbia/HCA amid a massive Medicare fraud scandal. In January, he transferred his $62 million stake in Solantic to his wife, Ann Scott, a homemaker involved in various charitable organizations. ...

... In the 1990s, [Scott] made his money off single-payer health-care programs by cheating them. Today, he's making his money off single-payer health-care programs by running them. No matter how you look at it, it's a step up. -- Ezra Klein ...

... "The Moral of the Story: Don't Elect a Criminal to Be Governor." Steve Benen: "This happens to coincide with a new Scott initiative: mandatory drug testing for state employees, state job applicants, and welfare recipients. Care to guess what Florida company would stand to make a lot of money administering these wildly unnecessary drug tests? If you guessed, 'Solantic,' you're right." ...

... Florida! Where Bestiality Is Legal! The dysfunctional Florida legislature is trying for a third time to pass a law making bestiality a crime. So far, they have not been able to pass what should be an uncontroversial law even though proponents of the bill -- inspired by the sexual abuse & asphyxiation of a goat -- have come up with great motivational slogans like "Baaa Means No." ...

... CW: you may ask me why I'm still living in a state like this. I'm beginning to wonder myself.

Right Wing World

Politico: "Pressed on 'Fox News Sunday' about his adulterous past, Newt Gingrich said it was not hypocritical for him to impeach Bill Clinton while he cheated on his own wife because he never lied under oath." Update: here's the videotape:

Mormons, Sí; Muslims, No. Freedom of Religion for You and Me. Steve Benen: after describing an anti-Muslim rant by Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, Benen reminds us that "In the fall of 2007, [Mitt] Romney said he would not consider Muslim Americans for his cabinet. Indeed, he said this more than once, in front of plenty of witnesses." Romney, unlike Cain, is a front-runner. ...

... Based upon the little knowledge that I have of the Muslim religion, you know, they have an objective to convert all infidels or kill them.
-- Herman Cain ...

... Scott Keyes of Think Progress has more, including a video, of Cain's views & misunderstanding of the First Amendment.

News Ledes

AP: "A magnitude-6.5 earthquake shook eastern Japan off the quake-ravaged coast on Monday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, prompting Japan to issue a tsunami alert. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, but the Japan Meteorological Agency announced that a tsunami of up to 1.6 feet (a half meter) may wash into Miyagi Prefecture." ...

... Los Angeles Times: "Puddles with 10 million times more radioactivity than would be found in water in a normally functioning nuclear reactor have been discovered at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi facility, Japanese officials said Sunday, raising new questions about the extent of damage to reactor No. 2 and the threat to workers there." ...

... AP: "Nevada has joined several western states in reporting that minuscule amounts of radiation from Japan's damaged nuclear plant are showing up. But as with the other states, scientists say there is no health risk."

WISC: Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug La Follette (yes, of that La Follette family) said the state's budget repair bill has not been published & therefore cannot go into effect, despite Republican plans to implement it anyway.

New York Times: "The United States military intervention in Libya has saved perhaps tens of thousands of lives, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday, as she and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates defended a mission they acknowledged is drawing increasing skepticism from both liberals and conservatives."

Reuters: "NATO agreed on Sunday to take full responsibility for coalition military operations in Libya, ending a week of heated negotiations over the command structure."

The Hill: "The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said on Sunday that Col. Moammar Gadhafi is 'on his heels' and Libyan people need to take advantage of the situation and remove their dictator. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) heralded the ongoing U.S., British, and French air strikes, and bucked criticism of President Obama’s communication with the Congress, saying that he has clearly laid out the U.S.’s end game in the North African country."

Los Angeles Times: "Libyan rebels took back a key oil town on Sunday in their westward push toward the capital,seizing momentum from the international airstrikes that tipped the balance away from Moammar Kadafi's military. Brega, a main oil export terminal in eastern Libya, fell to rebels after a skirmish late Saturday, said Ahmed Jibril, a rebel commander manning a checkpoint on the westernmost edge of town." ...

... CBS News: "On 'Face the Nation' airing Sunday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told CBS News chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer that intelligence reports indicate Muammar Qaddafi's forces are planting dead bodies of civilians at sites attacked by coalition forces." CW Note: this is more or less the same "classified secret" Glenn Greenwald wrote about last week.

New York Times: "A day after he said he was ready to yield power to 'safe hands,' President Ali Abdullah Saleh asserted Saturday that his departure was not imminent, leaving unclear when and under what terms he would agree to step down."

AP: "Millions of retired and disabled people in the United States had better brace for another year with no increase in Social Security payments. The government is projecting a slight cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits next year, the first increase since 2009. But for most beneficiaries, rising Medicare premiums threaten to wipe out any increase in payments, leaving them without a raise for a third straight year."

Guardian: "More than 200 people are in police custody after trouble flared in central London following a peaceful march and TUC rally against the government's spending cuts. Eighty-four people, including at least 31 police officers, were reported to have been injured in the violence as a minority of anarchists attacked symbols of wealth in Piccadilly, Oxford Street and Regent Street."