The Commentariat -- January 15

Glenn Greenwald writes posts that ought to scare the bejuzus out of Republican teabaggers, because he regularly points out instances in which the federal government does exactly the kinds of things teabaggers say they most fear -- "taking away our freedoms." Today Greenwald reports on ...

Homeland Security's practice of detaining American citizens upon their re-entry into the country, and as part of that detention, literally seizing their electronic products -- laptops, cellphones, Blackberries and the like -- copying and storing the data, and keeping that property for months on end, sometimes never returning it.  Worse, all of this is done not only without a warrant, probable cause or any oversight, but even without reasonable suspicion that the person is involved in any crime.  It's completely standard-less, arbitrary, and unconstrained.  There's no law authorizing this power nor any judicial or Congressional body overseeing or regulating what DHS is doing.  And the citizens to whom this is done have no recourse....

Jason Horowitz of the Washington Post: "In style and substance, Reince Priebus (pronounced Rye-ence Pree-bus) represents a clear contrast to [Michael] Steele, his predecessor as chairman. Steele was tapped to lead the party two years ago after the GOP had been rocked by Barack Obama's victory and with the committee seeking a dramatic change in direction and appearance. Two years later, Priebus, who ran for chairman as the anti-Steele, is the face of a party that once again feels empowered to be unexciting. And he rose to election on a vow to put 'a solid business plan in place to operate efficiently and effectively,' a message that Republican donors longed to hear." ...

... Jonathan Martin & Alexander Burns of Politico: "Members of the Republican National Committee sent a clear message Friday to the rest of the GOP when they elected Reince Priebus as their new chairman: There’s at least one corner of the Republican Party that’s beyond House Speaker John Boehner ’s reach. Boehner worked hard to prop up the candidacy of longtime operative Maria Cino.... But in the end, it wasn’t Boehner ... who decided the race to replace RNC Chairman Michael Steele. Rather, it was an aggressive and assertive collection of RNC insiders who lined up behind Priebus early...." ...

... AND for fun, here's Perry Bacon, Jr., of the Washington Post on what led to the downfall of Michael Steele. The article could have been a lot longer....

... For a thrilling blow-by-blow account of how the selection of Priebus went down, read Alex Pareene's "Incredibly White Wisconsin Man Is Your New RNC Chair." Or just appreciate it for the headline. ...

... Congress of Yesterday. Jake Sherman & Richard E. Cohen of Politico: "... How little the GOP has actually changed is on stark display [in Baltimore], where the House Republican 'Congress of Tomorrow' retreat seems more like a curtain call from yesteryear. Here’s the scene: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich..., Frank Luntz, the old-school Republican word guru..., former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas)..., Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.... This all comes at a retreat that is a signature Washington event: As in the past, it’s paid for by a nonprofit organization funded, and run, by corporate lobbyists.... For a new GOP majority that promised to change the ways of Washington — indeed ran against its own party’s establishment in some cases — the retread status of this retreat is striking."

Justin Elliott of Salon interviews veteran reporter Lou Dubose, who has extensively covered Tom DeLay & DeLay's trial, conviction & sentencing for money-laudering. Dubose says that Texas's Republican judges will probably find a "legal" rationale for keeping DeLay out of jail.

Kim Severson & Robbie Brown of the New York Times: some Southern school districts have made Monday's Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday a make-up snow day, and it isn't only students who are displeased with it.

Michael Cooper & Mary Walsh of the New York Times: "As if states did not have enough on their plates getting their shaky finances in order, a new bill is coming due — from the federal government, which will charge them $1.3 billion in interest this fall on the billions they have borrowed from Washington to pay unemployment benefits during the downturn. The interest cost, which has been looming in plain sight without attracting much attention, represents only a sliver of the huge deficits most states will have to grapple with this year But it comes as states are already cutting services, laying off employees and raising taxes."

Verne Kopytoff of the New York Times: "Intuit, the company that makes TurboTax software, introduced an application on Friday that lets users automatically fill out the 1040EZ, the most basic of the I.R.S. personal tax forms [on their mobile phones]. Filers simply photograph their W-2 and the app does much of the rest."

Richard Holbrooke Remembered

President Obama & Clinton & Secretary of State Clinton speak at a memorial service at the Kennedy Center for Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who died last month:

Tucson Shootings -- January 14

Joel Pett, Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader. Thanks to Jeanne B.Adam Nagourney & Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "... gun rights advocates and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said Thursday that there was little chance the attack would produce significant new legislation or a change in a national culture that has long been accepting of guns. If anything, they said, lawmakers are less receptive than ever to new gun restrictions." ...

... The Times has a graphics page which contains maps loosely describing the laws of each state regarding carry permits & large-capacity ammo. It includes a good graphic of the Glock 19: "The gun is a semiautomatic weapon, and each pull loads the next round into the firing chamber. It is not difficult to fire more than once per second."

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "First Lady Michelle Obama on Thursday urged parents to hold up the lives of Christina Taylor Green and other victims of the Tucson shooting as examples for their children, and to speak with their children about tolerance in wake of the tragedy." The letter from Mrs. Obama is here.

Laura Meckler & Jonathan Weisman of the Wall Street Journal: "On Thursday, the speech won praise from a vast swath of the political spectrum, including Democrats who have criticized Mr. Obama as insufficiently liberal and possible Republican challengers in 2012, among them former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Some commentators who have spent two years criticizing the president were lavish with their praise. Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer said he 'wouldn't underestimate how this is going to affect the perception of the president.'" ...

... Michael Shear of the New York Times contrasts President Obama's speech with Sarah Palin's "blood libel" video: "Where Ms. Palin was direct and forceful, Mr. Obama was soft and restrained. Where Ms. Palin was accusatory, Mr. Obama appeared to go out of his way to avoid pointing fingers or assigning blame. Where she stressed the importance of fighting for our different beliefs, he emphasized our need for unity, referring to the 'American family — 300 million strong.'” ...

This probably ended Sarah Palin's political career.
-- Joe Scarborough, former Republican Congressman

Marc Lacey, et al., of the New York Times: "Law enforcement officials said Friday they have multiple photos of Jared L. Loughner posing with a Glock 9mm pistol next to his naked buttocks and dressed in a bright red g-string.... The photos were turned over to the police by Walgreens, where Mr. Loughner had taken the 35-mm film to be developed on Jan. 7, the day before the shooting." ...

Sarah Wheaton of the New York Times: "Logs of Jared L. Loughner’s conversations with fellow players in an online game of strategy show a young man who has become frustrated by his inability to find a job, who views his early education as tantamount to slavery, and who has frequent run-ins with his college professors." You can read Loughner's conversations at this Earth Empires site. I'm going to pass.

Andrew Longstreth of Reuters: "... it's increasingly clear that Arizona authorities could legally have detained [Jared Loughner] for psychiatric evaluation and treatment -- and potentially have been able to avert the tragedy.... Arizona has one of the least restrictive laws when it comes to detaining apparently mentally ill people against their will. Under the state's broad involuntary-commitment statute, the government can mandate in-patient treatment for anyone determined to be 'persistently or acutely disabled.' That could include a broad range of seemingly troubled individuals.... In Arizona, virtually anyone who had suspected that Loughner had mental problems and needed help could have filed an application to a state-licensed healthcare agency for a court-ordered evaluation." CW: not the first time I've linked to a story that draws the same conclusion, but it bears repeating.

A Fox "News" reporter at its Tucson affiliate K-GUN (anybody see anything wrong with those call letters?) speaks to Ashley Figueroa, who says she is Jared Loughner's former high school girlfriend. I'm posting this with reservations, because I don't think it has much value:

Oh, no. Another ex-girlfriend. I didn't even listen to this one, but here ya go:

News Stories:

AP: "Security was tight Friday morning as the hearse entered the church parking lot and U.S. marshals checked the IDs of everyone entering the lot. Four big coach buses brought dozens of judges who knew [Chief Judge] Roll over the years. Dignitaries including former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl, and former Vice President Dan Quayle will attend...." More from the Arizona Daily Star.

New York Times: "Five days after she was shot in the head at close range, Representative Gabrielle Giffords is able to keep her eyes open for as long as 15 minutes and can move her legs and hands, although her right hand has only slight movement, doctors at University Medical Center here said on Thursday." ...

     ... Arizona Daily Star Update: "Doctors said Friday morning that U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords continues to make 'confident' progress.... Dr. Peter Rhee said out of the 11 people who arrived at University Medical Center after Saturday's shooting, four remain hospitalized and one, Ron Barber, an aide to Giffords, will be released today."