The Commentariat -- Feb. 26, 2013

Nedra Pickler of the AP: "President Barack Obama is arguing that looming government-wide spending cuts could idle military resources like naval aircraft carriers, while Republicans are criticizing the president for taking his arguments outside Washington instead of staying to work out a plan before Friday's deadline. The president planned to appear Tuesday at Virginia's largest industrial employer, Newport News Shipbuilding, which would be affected by cuts to naval spending. Obama warned Monday that if the so-called sequester goes into effect later this week, the company's 'workers will sit idle when they should be repairing ships, and a carrier sits idle when it should be deploying to the Persian Gulf.'" ...

... "These cuts do not have to happen." President Obama spoke to the National Governors Association yesterday, where he outlined the impacts of the sequester on the states:

... Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) of the Congressional Progressive Caucus "released the following statement [Monday] ahead of this Friday's sequester budget cuts:"

If Congress cannot come up with a replacement to the sequester before the end of the week, we should eliminate the sequester entirely. One million working Americans should not be forced to pay the price for Republican stubbornness. If this goes into effect, it will be one of the most irresponsible legislative failures in the history of the Republic.... Republicans held the world economy hostage in 2011. They created this crisis, and Congress should fix it for the sake of the country before people start getting fired."

Pew Research has mapped the likely effects of the sequester on various states. Go to the original map for more; it's interactive. The lighter the color, the higher the impact:

As contributor Dave S. points out, a lot of red states will be among those hit the hardest:

... Zachary Goldfarb of the Washington Post: "Since the day they were swept to power more than two years ago, the tea party's legions in Washington have made dramatic federal spending cuts the centerpiece of an economic message that has dominated the national debate. Now they're about to get what they want.... Although Democratic and Republican leaders are pointing fingers, the tea party and its allies are happily accepting credit for the cuts." CW: we'll see if they're still crowing come election eve. ...

... Steve Benen: "... one might expect [the Republicans'] message to be amazing. After all, once a political party gives up on governing and focuses solely on messaging, it's stands to reason they'll be pretty good at it. And yet, Republicans' sequestration message 'is all over the place.' GOP leaders believe the sequester will be awful but they want to let it happen. The policy was integral to the Republican fiscal plan and it's entirely the White House's idea. When Republicans say the cuts will hurt, that's fine; when Democrats say the cuts will hurt, it's evidence of scare tactics. And now Republicans are simultaneously convinced the cuts will hurt and help the economy." ...

This is not time for a road-show president. This is time to look for someone who will lead and work with us, because we're willing to work with them to solve America's problems. -- Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House Majority Whip

So 'work with them' (sic.)* means punting responsibility for writing a sequester-averting bill to the Senate; it means refusing to consider any revenue increases; & it means taking off for a full week just before the sequester was to take effect, with no deal in the offing. -- Constant Weader ...

... * How can we expect the House leadership to reach an agreement with Democrats on a sequester fix when they can't even manage noun-verb agreement? Dan Amira's short post is titled, "John Boehner Loses the Grammarian Vote":

Boehner told Republicans in a closed-meeting Tuesday that the House doesn't need to pass a third sequester replacement bill before the 'Senate gets off their ass and passes it once.' ...

... A Crack in GOP Resolve? Sam Stein of the Huff Post notes that Sen. Lindsey Graham said on CNN last night, "I'm willing to raise $600 billion in new revenue, if my Democratic friends would be willing to reform entitlements...." But Stein also is aware of Graham's history: "Graham is notoriously flirty when it comes to bipartisan deal-making, often floating the possibility of some lofty bargain that, in the end, is too hard to achieve. This one seems to fit into that category." ...

... Brian Beutler of TPM: Democrats have a number of reasons to be confident that they'll win the PR contest, one of which is the result of the 1995 government shutdown. Beutler interviewed Paul Begala, a Clinton operative, who said, in part,

Before the government shutdown it was very much an open question in most people[s minds which party would win. Republicans were very confident at the time that the government would shut down and people's lives wouldn't change. They were wrong.... We all saw that theory proved in '95 and '96 and it's going to happen again.... Bob Dole said enough is enough. He stopped it. I may be selling Mitch McConnell short, but he's no Bob Dole. He's ... more worried about his political hide.

Wherein Eric Cantor Thinks Up Sequester Rationales

The National Science Foundation spent $1.2 million paying seniors to play World of Warcraft to study the impact it had on their brain. -- House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, in a February 19 release "identifying" wasteful spending

Before applying for the federal money, the researchers conducted a small, pilot study in which seniors played WoW ... and were tested to see if it improved their cognitive abilities. This study was funded with a $5,000 grant from N.C. State. No U.S. money was involved. The federal study involves hours of testing each participant and efforts to identify the aspects of computer games that might help seniors better deal with life offline. -- PolitiFact

Digby, on the long game: "on the fundamental battle over the role of government, [Republicans] have been winning.... After all, Obamacare, their most hated new government initiative was a GOP plan not even two decades ago. They aren't all stupid, especially those who are working to restore our society to a pre-New Deal state. It would be really helpful if Democrats ... started recognizing how much they have been losing on policy even as they've been winning elections. The country is losing either way."

** Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times: "Dozens of prominent Republicans -- including top advisers to former President George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of Congress -- have signed a legal brief arguing that gay people have a constitutional right to marry, a position that amounts to a direct challenge to Speaker John A. Boehner and reflects the civil war in the party since the November election. The document will be submitted this week to the Supreme Court in support of a suit seeking to strike down Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative barring same-sex marriage, and all similar bans. The court will hear back-to-back arguments next month in that case and another pivotal gay rights case that challenges the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act."

** Lyle Denniston, writing for the National Constitution Center: "No matter how eagerly some policymakers want to put some legal restraints on the Obama administration’s policy of targeted killing by drones in waging war on terrorism, it is a near-certainty that the idea of handing to a civilian court the power to decide who could be killed, and when, would not withstand constitutional scrutiny."

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor accused a Texas federal prosecutor Monday of tapping into a 'deep and sorry vein of racial prejudice' in his questioning of a black man facing a drug charge. The justices did not accept Bongani Charles Calhoun's request that the court review his conviction, but Sotomayor appended a scathing statement to make sure that the court's denial would not be seen as a signal of 'tolerance of a federal prosecutor's racially charged remark.' ... [The prosecutor] had asked Calhoun: 'You've got African Americans, you've got Hispanics, you've got a bag full of money. Does that tell you -- a light bulb doesn't go off in your head and say, "This is a drug deal?'" ... Justice Stephen G. Breyer joined Sotomayor's statement." Sotomayor's statement is here, & it's worth reading, especially because it at least partially explains why she agreed to deny cert.

Sarah Kliff of the Washington Post addresses an issue that contributor Barbarossa raised the other day -- America's Worst Governor Rick Scott's persuading HHS to "allow the state to move nearly all Medicaid enrollees into privately managed plans." Other Republican-led states are making similar moves. As Kliff writes, "If the Obama administration agrees, the battles over the health-care law could have an unexpected resolution: A larger, but more conservative, Medicaid program."

Frank Bruni writes quite a good column on priestly celibacy. ...

Meddling Old Fool in Fancy Brown Loafers. Pontifex emeritus. Nicole Winfield of the AP: "Pope Benedict XVI will be known as 'emeritus pope' in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock.... Benedict's decision to call himself emeritus pope and to keep wearing white is sure to fan concern voiced privately by some cardinals about the awkward reality of having two popes, both living within the Vatican walls. Adding to the concern is that Benedict's trusted secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, will be serving both pontiffs -- living with Benedict at the monastery inside the Vatican and keeping his day job as prefect of the new pope's household.... Benedict has taken a liking to a pair of hand-crafted brown loafers made for him by artisans in Leon, Mexico, and given to him during his 2012 visit. He will wear those in retirement...."

Martha Mendoza of the AP: "The former archbishop of San Francisco said Monday that Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony has a rightful place among Vatican officials who will choose the next pope, even though Mahony has been battered in recent days by disclosures about his role in covering up clergy sex abuse. The comments by Cardinal William Levada, a high-ranking Vatican official until recently, came in the wake of a grass-roots campaign to shame Mahony into refraining from participating because of his role protecting sexually abusive priests. Mahony left for Rome over the weekend...." Levada's was the Vatican's CIO -- Chief Inquisition Officer (seriously). "While serving previously as an archbishop in California and Oregon, he kept some accused molesters in the church and failed to share some allegations with police or parishioners." Meanwhile Mahony continues his self-pity party, tweeting, "Wow, Jesus is demanding." CW: these people are reprehensible for more than one reason.

News Ledes

AP: "The second major snowstorm in a week battered the nation's midsection Tuesday, dropping a half-foot or more of snow across Missouri and Kansas and cutting power to thousands. At least three deaths were blamed on the blizzard, and gusting winds blew drifts more than 2 feet high and created treacherous driving conditions for those who dared the morning commute."

New York Times: "Saudi Arabia has financed a large purchase of infantry weapons from Croatia and quietly funneled them to antigovernment fighters in Syria in a drive to break the bloody stalemate that has allowed President Bashar al-Assad to cling to power, according to American and Western officials familiar with the purchases."

AP: "A hot air balloon flying over Egypt's ancient city of Luxor caught fire and crashed into a sugar cane field on Tuesday, killing at least 19 foreign tourists in one of the world's deadliest ballooning accidents...."

AND Dennis Rodman goes to North Korea.

The Commentariat -- Feb. 25, 2013

At today's White House press briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is giving a great rundown of how House Republicans are making the U.S. less safe. "No amount of planning can mitigate the effects of sequestration." ...

... David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned Monday that her agency would be forced to furlough 5,000 border control agents under mandatory spending cuts, likely allowing more illegal immigrants into the country and potentially compromising national security. Napolitano said ... the sequester, would disrupt the Department of Homeland Security's ability to conduct customs inspections at ports, leading to increased waiting times for travelers and cargo shipments. Disaster relief funding would be reduced by $1 billion, she added...."

Jonathan Weisman & Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "With Congress unlikely to stop deep automatic spending cuts that will strike hard at the military, the fiscal stalemate is highlighting a significant shift in the Republican Party: lawmakers most keenly dedicated to shrinking the size of government are now more dominant than the bloc committed foremost to a robust national defense, particularly in the House. That reality also underscores what Republicans, and some Democrats, say was a major miscalculation on the part of President Obama. He agreed to set up the automatic cuts 18 months ago because he believed the threat of sharp reductions in military spending would be enough to force Republicans to agree to a deficit reduction plan that included the tax increases he favored." ...

... Steve M. of No More Mister Nice Blog: "As I see it, the [GOP's] intraparty dispute is between a crop of old-school posturers who think it's effective to demand lots of military spending all the time, in order to draw a contrast with evil peacenik Democrats ... and a new crop, who are focusing on cutting government spending (including military spending) right now, but who are also likely to attack Democrats as anti-military later, if and when these cuts take effect."

... Zachary Goldfarb & Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "The White House on Sunday detailed how the deep spending cuts set to begin this week would affect programs in every state and the District, as President Obama launched a last-ditch effort to pressure congressional Republicans to compromise on a way to stop the across-the-board cuts. But while Republicans and Democrats were set to introduce dueling legislative proposals this week to avert the Friday start of the spending cuts, known as the sequester, neither side expected the measures to get enough support to pass Congress. Lawmakers instead were planning for a lengthy round of political jostling ahead of another budget showdown in late March that could determine whether the $85 billion in cuts to domestic and defense spending this fiscal year stick."

How Do You Say "I Told You So" in Italian? Paul Krugman: "... even if the nightmare of a Berlusconi return to power fails to materialize, a strong showing by [the comical Silvio] Berlusconi, [actual comedian Beppe] Grillo, or both would destabilize not just Italy but Europe as a whole. But remember, Italy isn't unique: disreputable politicians are on the rise all across Southern Europe. And the reason this is happening is that respectable Europeans won't admit that the policies they have imposed on debtors are a disastrous failure. If that doesn't change, the Italian election will be just a foretaste of the dangerous radicalization to come."

George Stephanopoulos of ABC News: "House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said it was 'beyond a shadow of a doubt' that the Chinese government and military is behind growing cyber attacks against the United States, saying 'we are losing' the war to prevent the attacks."

Jindal Thinks Discrimination Against Gays Is Still a Winner for the Party. Igor Volsky of Think Progress: "Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) -- a possible Republican candidate for president in 2016 -- rejected former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's argument that conservatives must embrace marriage equality for gays and lesbians if they want to survive as a party and reiterated his support for 'traditional marriage.'" CW: Apparently discrimination against women, minorities & non-Christians are winners, too. I wonder if Jindal is aware that some people would think he belonged to a racial minority. ...

... Igor Volsky: Jindal also "is suggesting that President Obama delay health care services to millions of middle and lower-income Americans to offset the automatic across-the-board budget cuts that will go into effect on March 1 if Congress does not reach a spending deal." ...

Annie-Rose Strasser of Think Progress: "Jindal (R) ... on Sunday became the latest Republican to come out in favor of universal background checks on all gun sales." ...

... Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs: Jindal "might as well have ended his spiel with 'nudge nudge, wink wink,' because he's not fooling anyone."

... "Here's what [Alex Pareene] learned this morning on 'the Sunday shows,' the three network news panel programs that define the parameters of the national debate for elite Washington: No one wants the sequester to happen, if the sequester happens it will be because Barack Obama failed to show leadership, what we need is a 'balanced approach' to deficit reduction, the sequester should happen but in a smarter way, video games may not cause violence but they are gross, and 'Zero Dark Thirty' is the best film of the year in part because John McCain disliked it."

Ezra Klein: "I don’t agree with my colleague Bob Woodward, who says the Obama administration is 'moving the goalposts' when they insist on a sequester replacement that includes revenues. I remember talking to both members of the Obama administration and the Republican leadership in 2011, and everyone was perfectly clear that Democrats were going to pursue tax increases in any sequester replacement, and Republicans were going to oppose tax increases in any sequester replacement. ... It's worth remembering that the goalposts in American politics aren't set in backroom deals between politicians. They're set in elections. And in the 2012 election, the American people were very clear on where they wanted the goalposts moved to." ...

... Dave Weigel of Slate: Woodward's op-ed disagrees with Woodward's book. ...

... Kevin Drum: "I'm perplexed by Woodward these days. He really seems to have some kind of weird jones against the Obama White House." CW: maybe Woodward has a Boehner boner. I mean, who wouldn't? ...

... CW: Charles Pierce agrees with contributor Kate M., as do I: "Having done its Watergate thing, the Post slipped comfortably back into its place in the respectable D.C. power structure. Woodward went with it, producing periodically weighty doorstops filled with establishment stenography. He's no more a liberal than he is a member of Motley Crue. He's a courtier to all the right people, the scribe to powerful." CW: my recollection is that Woodward self-IDed as a Republican way back in Watergate days, but I might be wrong.

Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker has an extra-long piece about Eric Cantor. CW: I haven't read it, probably won't do more than skim it, but Lizza is a very good political writer. Right at the top I learned Cantor's wife Diana is a liberal Democrat. How can she abide him?

Jane Mayer of the New Yorker: Sen. Ted Cruz (RTP-Texas) defends his claim that Harvard Law was overrun by commie professors when he was a student there. ...

... There Will Be No Reboot. Steve Kornacki of Salon: "Cruz has treated all of the negative attention as noise generated by Democrats, the liberal media and impure Republicans who are uncomfortable with a conservative true-believer rocking the boat in Washington.... The thorough beating [Republicans] took at the polls last fall perhaps should have prompted rethinking on the right. But conservatives' appetite for Cruz shows that the GOP base’s animating spirit still hasn't changed: Loud, aggressive and reflexive hostility to President Obama, the Democratic Party and any Republican who would dare contemplate compromise is still how 'conservatism' is defined."

ABC News: "Two lawmakers are waging a little-noticed campaign to abolish the Selective Service System, the independent federal agency that manages draft registration. They say the millions of dollars the agency spends each year preparing for the possibility of a military draft is a waste of money. Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., say the Pentagon has no interest in returning to conscription due to the success of the all-volunteer force."

Sexcapades of the Red Beanie Boys, Ctd. Severin Carrell & Sam Jones of the Guardian: "Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the UK's most senior Roman Catholic cleric, has resigned with immediate effect after being accused of 'inappropriate acts' towards fellow priests. News that Pope Benedict had accepted the cardinal's resignation as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh came after the Observer disclosed a series of allegations by three priests and one former priest. O'Brien has denied the allegations and had been expected to continue in his post as head of the Scottish Catholic church until mid-March, when he was due to retire at age 75.... His unexpectedly early resignation means the cardinal will not now take part in the election for a successor to Pope Benedict." ...

... Catherine Deveney of the Guardian's "Observer" has the backstory. This part is the kicker: "O'Brien ... has been an outspoken opponent of gay rights, condemning homosexuality as immoral, opposing gay adoption, and most recently arguing that same-sex marriages would be 'harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of those involved'. Last year he was named 'bigot of the year' by the gay rights charity Stonewall."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Italian voters delivered a rousing anti-austerity message and a strong rebuke to the existing political order in national elections on Monday, plunging the country into political paralysis after results failed to produce a clear winner."

ABC News: "The National Rifle Association is using a Justice Department memo it obtained to argue in ads that the Obama administration believes its gun control plans won't work unless the government seizes firearms and requires national gun registration -- ideas the White House has not proposed and does not support. CW : how to write a lead when one party is lying. The writer is not named. S/he should be instructing the rest of the MSM on how to tell the truth.

AP: "Nearly three years after a deadly rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico triggered the nation's worst offshore oil spill, a federal judge in New Orleans is set to preside over a high-stakes trial for the raft of litigation spawned by the disaster."

Swedish Horseballs. AP: "Swedish furniture giant Ikea was drawn into Europe's widening food labeling scandal Monday as authorities said they had detected horse meat in frozen meatballs labeled as beef and pork and sold in 13 countries."

The Commentariat -- Feb. 24, 2013

New York Times Editors: "... a focus on mass murder, while critical, does not get at the broader issue of gun violence, including the hundreds of single-victim murders, suicides, nonfatal shootings and other gun crimes.... Focusing on the mentally ill, most of whom are not violent, overlooks people who are at demonstrably increased risk of committing violent crimes but are not barred by federal law from buying and having guns. These would include people who have been convicted of violent misdemeanors including assaults, and those who are alcohol abusers. Unless guns are also kept from these high-risk people, preventable gun violence will continue."

Mark Felsenthal of Reuters: "The White House has moved to make the results of federally funded research available to the public for free within a year, bowing to public pressure for unfettered access to scholarly articles and other materials produced at taxpayers' expense. 'Americans should have easy access to the results of research they help support,' John Holdren, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, wrote on the White House website.... The White House move ... came some six weeks after the suicide of Internet openness activist Aaron Swartz, who was renowned for making a trove of information freely available to the public." Here's Holdren's response to a We the People petition. Here's a pdf of his memo on the subject to department & agency heads.

On a week when the White House called out David Brooks for making up stuff, Margaret Sullivan -- the Times' public editor -- writes on how much editing the Times' "star columnists" get. Let me just say that Sullivan was about as informative as Brooks, whose major boo-boo she didn't even hint at. What a bore! ...

... On the other hand, Paul Krugman writes today, apropos of absolutely nothing,

Suppose that some pundit who has spent his whole career calling for bipartisanship, a compromise between the extremes of left and right, were to admit the plain fact that Obama is very much a centrist, who is in particular proposing deficit reduction through exactly the kind of mix of tax hikes and spending cuts 'centrist' pundits demand -- and that the GOP, by contrast, is an extremist organization whose extremism is almost solely responsible for the bitterness of the partisan divide. A pundit making that admission would in effect be saying that everything he has said and done for the past several years was not just useless but harmful, actively misleading readers about the state of the debate. He just can't do it. ...

    ... Whoevah could he mean, Tom Friedman, David Brooks?

"Our Kind of Guy." Wherein Krugman Compares Alan Simpson to Bernie Madoff: "Simpson is, demonstrably, grossly ignorant on precisely the subjects on which he is treated as a guru, not understanding the finances of Social Security, the truth about life expectancy, and much more. He is also a reliably terrible forecaster, having predicted an imminent fiscal crisis -- within two years -- um, two years ago. Yet he remains not only respectable among the Beltway crowd; as Ezra says, he's lionized in a way that looks from the outside like a clear violation of journalistic norms.... And think about what it says about them that their kind of guy is this cantankerous, potty-mouthed individual, who evidently feels not a bit of empathy for those less fortunate."

Steve Peoples & Ken Thomas of the AP: "Governors from both parties are warning of the damaging economic impact if the White House and Congress fail to reach a deal to stave off across-the-board spending cuts set to take effect Friday."

One thing I didn't notice in reading Bob Woodward's "It's Obama's Fault" column -- linked yesterday -- is that Woodward also claims that "when the president asks that a substitute for the sequester include not just spending cuts but also new revenue, he is moving the goal posts." As Brian Beutler says more nicely, Woodward is an ignoramus: "Obama and Democrats have always insisted that a balanced mix of spending cuts and higher taxes replace sequestration. It's true that John Boehner wouldn't agree to include new taxes in the enforcement mechanism itself, and thus that the enforcement mechanism he and Obama settled upon -- sequestration -- is composed exclusively of spending cuts." Get that? The sequester, as written, in Boehner's baby. And, to reiterate, the only reason there ever was a sequester in the first place was that Boehner couldn't herd his cats -- the ones who were threatening to default on the nation's debt & cause worldwide chaos. ...

... Joe Wiesenthal, a Republican like Woodward, of Business Insider, calls Woodward's column "nonsense on stilts." BTW, he says, "the sequester was a great idea compared to a 2011 default." ...

... Update: Jackie Calmes of the New York Times has a fairly balanced report on the finger-pointing.

Lyle Denniston of SCOTUSblog has a summary of the government's brief in the DOMA case -- U.S. v. Windsor. If the Court buys the government's argument -- ha ha -- "some observers" say "not one of the state denials of marriage to same-sex couples can survive constitutionally. Such denials have come in thirty-nine states." ...

... Joan Biskupic of Reuters on the voting rights challenge before the Supreme Court. Conservatives on the Court are likely to gut the Voting Rights Act. CW: all this would be moot if U.S. citizens had a Constitutional right to vote. We don't. ...

... Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: "Gov. Tom Corbett (R-PA) was one of the earliest supporters of rigging the Electoral College.... Republican state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi was one of the leading supporters of election-rigging the and late this week, he -- along with a dozen other co-sponsors -- introduced a new plan to rig the Electoral College votes in ... Pennsylvania" making it effectively impossible for a Democratic presidential candidate to win the state, even though Pennsylvania has voted for the Democrat in every election since 1992.

Aviva Shen of Think Progress: "Though the Senate passed another bipartisan VAWA [Violence Against Women Act] reauthorization over a week ago, House Republicans may derail passage once again. On Friday, House GOP leaders released their own VAWA bill, stripping protections for LGBT individuals and adding a loophole for Native American victims." CW: Read the update. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is exactly right. And I would add, House Republicans are cruel SOBs.

** Tabassum Zakaria of the AP: "Former American diplomat Thomas Pickering said what struck him most during a review of last year's attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, were the frequent personnel changes, second-guessing on security upgrades, and dismissive attitude toward dozens of security incidents."

It takes Maureen Dowd a long time to get to it, but at the end of her description of Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg's "cause," Dowd writes, "Sandberg may mean well, and she may be setting up a run for national office. But she doesn't understand the difference between a social movement and a social network marketing campaign. Just because digital technology makes connecting possible doesn't mean you're actually reaching people.... Sandberg has co-opted the vocabulary and romance of a social movement not to sell a cause, but herself. She says she's using marketing for the purpose of social idealism. But she's actually using social idealism for the purpose of marketing."

Best First Lady Ever!

Ali Soufan in a New York Times op-ed: "I watched 'Zero Dark Thirty' not as a former F.B.I. special agent who spent a decade chasing, interrogating and prosecuting top members of Al Qaeda but as someone who enjoys Hollywood movies. As a movie, I enjoyed it. As history, it's bunk.... The creators of 'Zero Dark Thirty' attempted to document the greatest global manhunt of our generation. But they did so without acknowledging that their 'history' was based on dubious sources. The filmmakers took the 'firsthand accounts' of a few current and former officials with an agenda and amplified their message worldwide -- suggesting to Americans in cinemas around the country, and regimes overseas, that torture is effective and helped lead to Bin Laden." CW: if you wonder why I didn't put Soufan's essay in Infotainment, read it.

Here's the Time article on medical bills by Steven Brill which contributor Calyban recommends. None of it is news to anyone who has ever read her/his hospital and doctor bills, but far down the story Brill does make a good case for lowering, not raising, the Medicare eligibility age. Contributor Janice's pithy observation on this topic is exactly right.

Local News

Okay, So Lex Luthor, True to Form. National Memo: Rick "'Scott's hospital company, Columbia/HCA, pleaded guilty to criminal charges and paid a total of $1.7 billion in fines related to Medicare fraud,' according to PolitiFact. 'Even though Scott had resigned by the time the case settled, prosecutors said the widespread fraud occurred while he was at the helm.'This history would make many reluctant to let Scott anywhere near taxpayer money. However..., Florida will be allowed to privatize its Medicaid program that currently covers about three million residents. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agreed to this even though Scott and Florida's GOP had already been experimenting with Medicaid privatization to disastrous results. Nearly half of the 200,000 residents signed up to the program had been dropped by the private provider because they didn't offer a big enough profit margin." Thanks to Barbarossa for the link.

Ian Millhiser: "A bill introduced by Montana state Rep. Steve Lavin would give corporations the right to vote in municipal elections.... This bill was tabled shortly after it came before a legislative committee, so it is unlikely to become law.... According to the Center for Media and Democracy, Lavin was a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) now defunct Public Safety and Elections Task Force. Last year, pressure from progressive groups forced ALEC to disband this task force, which, among other things, pushed voter suppression laws." CW: wonder if Lavin's bill included a special carve-out to suppress the vote of minority-own corporations. Thanks to James S. for the link.

News Ledes

AP: "Raul Castro announced Sunday that he will step down as Cuba's president in 2018 following a final five-year term, for the first time putting a date on the end of the Castro era. He tapped rising star Miguel Diaz-Canel as his top lieutenant and first in the line of succession." CW: or they could have an election?

New York Times: "The Afghan government on Sunday banned elite American forces from operating in a strategic province adjoining Kabul, citing complaints that Afghans working for American Special Forces have killed and tortured villagers in the area."

AP: "At least 33 fans were injured Saturday during a NASCAR race when a car flew into the fence at Daytona International Speedway, hurling a tire and large pieces of debris into the stands."

AP: "Police are seeking a 26-year-old man as the prime suspect in last week's pre-dawn shooting and crash on the Las Vegas Strip that killed three people and injured several others The black SUV used as a getaway car was found Saturday as police named Ammar Harris in connection with the shooting and six-vehicle chain-reaction carnage Thursday on the neon-lit boulevard near the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Bally's and Flamingo resorts." Story includes a mugshot of Harris.

Reuters: "The United States condemned a Syrian army Scud missile attack that killed dozens of people on Friday in the city of Aleppo, and invited the Syrian opposition for talks on finding a negotiated settlement to the conflict."

Reuters: "Italians voted on Sunday in one of the most closely watched and unpredictable elections in years, with pent-up fury over a discredited elite adding to concern it may not produce a government strong enough to lead Italy out of an economic slump."

Reuters: "Cypriots voted on Sunday in a runoff to elect a president who must clinch a bailout deal before the island nation plunges into a financial meltdown that would revive the euro zone debt crisis."

Reuters: "Pope Benedict, speaking in his last Sunday address before becoming the first pope in some six centuries to step down, said he was following God's wishes and that he was not abandoning the Roman Catholic Church." ...

... Butt Out, Mahony. Reuters: "Roman Catholic activists on Saturday petitioned a U.S. cardinal to recuse himself from taking part in selecting a new pope so as not to insult survivors of sexual abuse by priests committed while he was archbishop of Los Angeles. The activists delivered a petition with nearly 10,000 signatures to the North Hollywood church where Cardinal Roger Mahony resides."

AP: Carl Pistorius, "the brother of Olympic star Oscar Pistorius, is facing a culpable homicide charge for a 2008 road death, compounding problems for the family after the double-amputee runner was charged with premeditated murder in the Feb. 14 shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp."