The Commentariat -- July 15

President Obama's full press conference:

     ... Here's the Washington Post's post-presser report.

Paul Krugman seems all surprised that most media pundits are just now noticing that Republicans are crazy. ...

     ... I've posted a Krugman page on today's Off Times Square, but if you want to write about something else, go ahead. ...

     ... Driftglass is mighty pleased that Krugman has taken up the mantle that Driftglass has so long worn, as he amply demonstrates in this post.

Maybe the debt ceiling was the wrong place to pick a fight, as it related to trying to get our country's house in order. Maybe that was the wrong place to do it. -- Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) ...

... No kidding. -- Constant Weader

Nobody Wins. Nate Silver on the political ramifications of a debt payment default for Republicans, Democrats and President Obama. "This isn’t a zero-sum game, and although politicians are bad at many things, they are usually fairly perceptive about what will enable them to hold onto power." ...

... Stephen Colbert explains the whole controversy:

... The press seems to have ignored the import of what Jay Carney said in his press briefing yesterday, perhaps because it takes the breathless drama out of their cliffhangeresque prose. Carney said twice that the debt ceiling would be raised and that the negotiations were about what the final deal would be. He appeared to be saying this not as an optimistic prediction but as what the leaders had agreed to. Here's the transcript. Based on that, it seems to be the crisis has already been averted. I just don't think we're going to like the deal. -- Constant Weader

Tim Egan: anarchists like Michele Bachmann form a disturbingly large caucus within the Republican party, and it may be too late for tassel-loafered Republicans like the $350-a-bottle-sipping Paul Ryan to put the stopper on the crazies in time to avert the Great Depression II. ...

... E. J. Dionne: "Republicans are in disarray. They’re divided among those who know Boehner was right, those like McConnell who want to get out of the debt-limit mess altogether, and the troika now running Republican House strategy (Cantor, Ryan and Rep. Kevin McCarthy), which needs something to show for having brought the country to the brink. The best way out of this impasse is, unfortunately, a political nonstarter: to work with the budget crafted by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), which shows you can get a lot of deficit reduction by mixing some spending cuts with higher taxes on the very wealthy. It’s a road Obama might usefully have considered earlier."

Eric Cantor Has Always Been a Dick. The real deal, this high school yearbook photo & citation have not been photoshopped. Thanks to Jefferson Dem at Democratic Underground.... Matt Yglesias: Majority Leader Eric Cantor has "poisoned the atmosphere" of debt ceiling negotiations by repeatedly leaking what Democratic leaders have said they would consider, then encouraging his caucus of radical conservatives to enact those considerations and only those, while making no concessions on their side. "If everyone in the room knows that Cantor has no compunction about misrepresenting every discussion as an agreement, it merely makes it that much harder for people to negotiate in a serious way." ...

... Andrew Leonard of Slate: Eric Cantor has always been a whiney guttersnipe who blames others for everything, including his own failures. Leonard thinks Cantor's latest shenanigans -- in which he has put his own aspirations before the needs of the country & has done so in a dangerous, dishonest way -- will not help his career.

... Are Tax Cuts Really "Jobs Creators"? Ron Brownstein of the National Journal: "In the past three decades, job growth has thrived after tax cuts and after tax increases, and it has stagnated after tax cuts. If there’s a pattern, it’s that tax policy typically isn’t the decisive factor in driving a machine as complex as the U.S. economy."

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness. I only ask ... as Congress looks at the timing and composition of its changes to the budget, that it does take into account that in the very near term the recovery is still rather fragile, and that sharp and excessive cuts in the very short term would be potentially damaging to that recovery. -- Ben Bernanke, to the Senate Banking Committee

Susan Madrak of Crooks & Liars: during a subcommittee hearing, Blue Dog Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) calls out members of Congress for their rude treatment of Elizabeth Warren & for their utter disinterest in accomplishing anything for the American people. Madrak also has the transcript of Cooper's full remarks. Thanks to Bonnie for the link:

I do not want to be part of a committee, at least at the subcommittee level, that treated Miss Warren with more rudeness and disrespect than I have ever seen a committee witness treated. That is not the American way. -- Jim Cooper

NEW. On a Similar Note... Roger Simon: "We don’t have a debt crisis, a tax crisis or a spending crisis in this country. We have a hate crisis, an extremism crisis and a lack of patriotism crisis.... I will accuse most members of Congress of a lack of patriotism because they love power more than they love their country. They love knee-jerk ideology more than they love their country. And they love getting reelected more than they love their country." Thanks to Jeanne B. for the link.

Kevin Sack of the New York Times: "The White House on Wednesday declined to challenge an account in a new book that suggests that President Obama, in his campaign to overhaul American health care, mischaracterized a central anecdote about his mother’s deathbed dispute with her insurance company."

Right Wing World *

There are departments that can be revamped and some bills that can wait. And, again, it's our president's job, as the leader of the executive branch, to prioritize and administer those dollars that Congress has allocated. And our president obviously isn't capable of doing that, because he has no plan that he can even put forward to say here are my priorities.
-- Sarah Palin, former govenor (R-Alaska)

Palin either has a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue or she purposely is being misleading. -- Glenn Kessler, Washington Post fact-checker

"The Story We're Not Talking about." This is pretty hilarious. At about 1:50 into this Webcast of a commercial break during Fox "News"' so-called media criticism show "NewsWatch" the panelists remark they are "not going to touch" by far the biggest news story of the week: the implosion of Fox "News" owner Rupert Murdoch's British media empire. Eric Hananoki of Media Matters comments:

Joshua Green of The Atlantic: "the conservative Lutheran church [Michele Bachmann] belonged to for many years [believes] ... that the Roman Catholic Pope is the Antichrist."

"Will the Last Child out Please Leave on the Lights?" Dan Berman & Darius Dixon of Politico: "A Republican congresswoman wants the Energy Department to stop promoting energy efficiency to kids. Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Fla.) has introduced an amendment to the Energy and Water spending bill that would limit funds for any DOE website 'which disseminates information regarding energy efficiency and educational programs to children or adolescents.'” Apparently Energy Secretary Steven Chu is not sufficiently cooperating with Adams' noble ignorance initiative. Thanks to reader Doug R. for the link.

* Where the Devil lurks around every corner. So you'd better leave the lights on.

News Ledes

Buh-Bye. New York Times: "Les Hinton, the chairman of Dow Jones, announced his resignation on Friday, joining Rebekah Brooks, the embattled chief executive of Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper operations, in the exodus of top officials from Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Mr. Hinton, a long-time confidant of Mr. Murdoch, ran News International, the British publishing subsidiary of Mr. Murdoch’s News Corporation, from 1997 to 2005, during the time when the phone hacking that touched off the scandal took place." As chair of Dow Jones, Hinton was the publisher of the Wall Street Journal. ...

     ... The Wall Street Journal story, here, is good, straight reporting.

Fairly Happy Ending. New York Times: "A former spy agency official accused of leaking classified information to a newspaper walked out of court a free man on Friday, sentenced to a year’s probation and community service.... Judge Richard D. Bennett of the Federal District Court praised the former National Security Agency official, Thomas A. Drake, for his exemplary record of public service before giving him a mild scolding for improperly providing information on alleged agency mismanagement to The Baltimore Sun. But Judge Bennett reserved his strongest condemnation for the Justice Department...." ...

     ... Baltimore Sun story here. Video in July 16 Commentariat.

AP: "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the Obama administration has decided to formally recognize Libya's main opposition group as the country's legitimate government. The move gives foes of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi a major financial and credibility boost. Clinton announced Friday that Washington accepts the Transitional National Council as the legitimate governing authority of the Libyan people."

Al Jazeera: "As many as 19 protesters have been killed across Syria after security forces reportedly shot at protesters, hundreds of thousands of whom took to the streets in the biggest protests so far against Bashar al-Assad's rule." With video. Al Jazeera has a liveblog here.

Washington Post: "Obama administration officials have been privately exploring with major banks and foreign investors whether the government could devise a way to avoid a severe disruption in financial markets if the federal debt ceiling is not raised.... But the message back from the market has been discouraging: The failure to pay any significant obligations would scare away investors and undermine the financial system." ...

... Washington Post: "President Obama prepared Thursday to bring bipartisan talks over the debt to a close, as Senate leaders worked across party lines to craft an alternative strategy to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit and avert a government default.... A breakthrough in the White House talks looked unlikely, however, leaving the Senate framework as the chief option for raising the debt limit before Aug. 2...." The AP story is here. ...

... Reuters: "Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has warned there is a one-in-two chance it could cut the United States' prized AAA credit rating if a deal on raising the government's debt ceiling is not agreed soon. Putting the U.S. on negative watch, S&P warned that it could cut the rating as soon as this month...." ...

... "Worst Idea in Washington" Advances. AP: "Right in the middle of their brawl with President Barack Obama over extending the debt ceiling and hacking trillions from projected deficits, GOP leaders are forcing House and Senate debates next week over similar amendments requiring the budget to be balanced, starting no sooner than five years from now. Reflecting tea party clout, both measures would also sharply curb Congress' ability to raise taxes and spending."

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "After weeks of crippling political deadlock, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders emerged in the darkened Capitol on Thursday to announce they had brokered a budget deal to end the longest state government shutdown in U.S. history." With video. ...

     ... AP: "Minnesota's leaders made a deal that will probably end the nation's longest state government shutdown in a decade, but they didn't really solve their budget problem. Instead, they just shuffled it down the road to be faced another day."

Reuters: "Italy's parliament was set on Friday to approve a 48 billion euro austerity package aimed at averting a full scale financial crisis but there were growing questions about the government's capacity for further reforms. After what business daily Il Sole 24 Ore called an "absolute first," government and opposition parties have set aside differences to pass the austerity measures in a matter of days."

Guardian: "Rebekah Brooks, the News International chief executive, has resigned after 11 days of mounting political pressure over the phone-hacking scandal. Brooks announced her decision to News International staff in Wapping just before 10am on Friday, saying her resignation had been accepted by Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch. She said she no longer wanted to be a 'focal point of the debate' surrounding the company's future and reputation." Here's her resignation letter. ...

... Los Angeles Times: "In a letter Wednesday to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, had cited reports that News of the World journalists 'attempted to obtain phone records of victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th through bribery and unauthorized wiretapping.' King also cited reports that the reporters had solicited a New York police officer 'to gain access to the content of private phone records' of the Sept. 11 victims."

The Commentariat -- July 14

I've posted an Open Thread for today's Off Times Square. I've added my comment on Kristof's column, which the Times rejected, so you'll have to read it here is #34 on page 2 of the Times comments pages. I've also posted a response to a commenter who says default on the federal debt is no big deal.

Greg Sargent: Democrats, including President Obama & Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, are singling out & isolating House Majority Leader Eric Cantor for his intransigence on taxes, but the ploy may not work. "... the harshness of Reid’s attack on Cantor doesn’t bode well for the likelihood of a deal." Sargent has the full transcript of Reid's remarks on the Senate floor. ...

... Nate Silver crunches the numbers & finds what you already knew: "The Republicans in the House of Representatives are extremely conservative on fiscal matters and are significantly out of step with the public as a whole." ...

     ... NEW. Paul Krugman takes a look at Silver's analysis and observes, "What Obama has offered — and Republicans have refused to accept — is a deal in which less than 20 percent of the deficit reduction comes from new revenues. This puts him slightly to the right of the average Republican voter." CW: Yeah, see my comment on Kristof.

... AND Nicholas Kristof  plays "spot the contradictions" in Republican party fiscal policy. ...

... Greg Sargent: "House liberals are launching an organizing drive inside the Democatic caucus, in an effort to line up Democrats and get them to commit to opposing any final deficit deal that contains any cuts to entitlements benefits, according to a letter I’ve obtained." Sargent reports elsewhere that he hears at least 54 House Democrats have signed on to the letter. ...

... Joan McCarter of DailyKos: as both Democratic & Republican members of the House continue to dig into their respective (and opposing) positions, Speaker "Boehner's choices are shrinking by the minute." ...

... Jonathan Bernstein, in the Washington Post, gets into the weeds & explains how Sen. Mitch McConnell's debt-ceiling go-around could pass in the House. Bear in mind that the whole purpose of McConnell's proposal is that Republicans won't have to vote to raise the debt ceiling, or increase either the deficit or taxes. They can just stand by as Democrats do the deeds while they express shock & horror & Democratic perfidy & profligacy.

New York Times Editors: "In three new rulings, federal judges in different states have acted to block immediate enforcement of measures that restrict abortion rights and women’s access to affordable contraception, lifesaving cancer screenings and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. These rulings are important victories for women’s health and reproductive rights.... While these rulings are preliminary, each is a determination that enforcing the law would cause irreparable harm and that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail at trial. They do not, however, address other threats to women’s health" by governors (Chris Christie [R-N.J.]) state legislatures & the U.S. Congress.

Seung Min Kim of Politico: "New York Republican Pete King is calling on the FBI to investigate whether Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation hacked into the voicemail accounts of Sept. 11 victims, calling the allegations of the scandal 'disgraceful.'” CW: it may be a watershed moment when one of the Republicans' biggest media hogs lays into Murdoch. ...

... "It Smells of Collusion." Nick Davies, the Guardian reporter who tenaciously pursued the News of the World hacking story, comments on Metropolitan police testimony before a committee of Parliament:

... Jeremy Peters & John Burns of the New York Times: "The decision [of News Corporation] to withdraw the bid for BSkyB ... was made as a contentious family drama played out in recent days. James Murdoch, a leading contender to replace his father as chairman and the driving force behind the News Corporation’s bid to take over BSkyB, argued that the company should press for regulatory approval of the deal.... But Rupert Murdoch and the News Corporation’s chief operating officer, Chase Carey, overruled the younger Mr. Murdoch, consulting him only after the decision was all but final."

"Jews Are Abandoning Obama!" More on the meme that won't die. Adam Serwer: "The phrasing in this poll [by John McLaughlin & Pat Caddell] is comically skewed towards eliciting the most negative responses possible. As always, the game is to perpetuate the sad conservative meme that this time, really this time, American Jews are going to abandon their liberalism and vote Republican because Obama is a huge anti-Semite. The only thing this poll reveals is how badly some want to keep this storyline going." ...

     ... Ron Kampeas of JTA calls the poll what it is: a push poll.

Chris Bray photos.Christine Zap of Yahoo! News: "Thirty years ago, the first space shuttle launched into the stratosphere. Chris Bray and his father Kenneth watched -- and took a picture. Then last Friday, the shuttle Atlantis took its final trip. Again, the Bray men were there. And again, the two snapped a photo to capture the moment. The side-by-side photos, which are up on Chris Bray's Flickr photostream, immediately went viral on the Web."

Right Wing World *

"We Must Rewrite the Constitution Because 'Elections' Haven't 'Worked.'" -- Mitch McConnell:

     ... Ian Millhiser of Think Progress has the print story. (Thanks to Bonnie for the link.) The balanced budget proposal which McConnell is advocating for is what Ezra Klein rightly calls "The Worst Idea in Washington." Of course, if you think California state government is working well, you'll love McConnell's proposed amendment to the Constitution. It would effectively end any oppotunity ever to raise revenues. ...

... All 47 Senate Republicans introduced a constitutional amendment to balance the federal b udget.... This is quite possibly the stupidest constitutional amendment I think I have ever seen. It looks like it was drafted by a couple of interns on the back of a napkin. Every senator cosponsoring this POS should be ashamed of themselves. -- Bruce Bartlett, policy advisor to Presidents Ronald Reagan & George H. W. Bush

Dana Milbank: Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Steve King (R-Iowa) & Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) say the U.S.'s defaulting on its debt payments is no big deal. Treasury could pay some stuff and forget about everything else.

Sarah Palin cannot stop repeating gun imagery, despite the trouble it has visited on her. Here she talks about "reloading," and the person she is, well, taking aim at is the POTUS. It is irresponsible to puy this woman in front of a microphone:

* Where facts seldom intrude.

News Ledes

President Obama & Vice President Biden met with Congressional leaders late this afternoon. New York Times post-meeting report: "President Obama threw the deadlocked budget negotiations back to Congress on Thursday, telling Republicans and Democrats to try to work out an agreement to avert a government default, and suggesting that more ambitious efforts to cut the deficit had hit a wall.... The president said he might summon the leaders to the White House over the weekend if there was no progress; he has scheduled a news conference for Friday morning to argue his case publicly."

New York Times: "China, the United States’ biggest creditor, urged the United States government on Thursday to act to protect investors’ interests, highlighting rising concerns around the globe about the protracted budget talks taking place in Washington."

This process is confirming what the American people think is the worst about Washington: that everyone is more interested in posturing, political position and protecting their base than solving real problems. -- President Obama, near the end of yesterday's meeting with leaders

Los Angeles Times: "President Obama abruptly left debt negotiations with congressional leaders Wednesday at the White House when a top Republican said there was no longer time to engage in the large-scale deficit reduction discussions.... The flare-up came at the end of the nearly two-hour session during which House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told the president that Congress should instead consider a series of debt ceiling votes based on spending cuts that already have been identified." ...

... Global Warning. AFP: "President Barack Obama and Republicans prepared for more tough talks Thursday to avert an August debt default, after Moody's held out the threat of downgrading the sterling US credit rating. The credit ratings agency sparked worldwide concern when it placed Washington's triple-A debt rating on a downgrade watch because of rising prospects that bitterly divided US leaders would fail to strike a deal." ...

... Guardian: "America's debt crisis reached a critical stage on Thursday as lawmakers remained deadlocked over whether to raise the US debt ceiling, and Moody's threatened to downgrade the country's credit rating.... The dollar lost ground against most major currencies after Moody's and Chinese ratings agency Dagong both put the US on negative watch."

NEW. DOJ Screws up Again. New York Times: "The federal judge presiding over Roger Clemens’s perjury trial declared a mistrial Thursday, saying the government allowed the jury to hear inadmissible testimony that prejudiced it against Clemens."

Bloomberg News: "The Environmental Protection Agency’s powers to set clean-water standards would be limited under legislation passed by the Republican-led U.S. House over threats of a veto by the Obama administration. The bill blocks the EPA from tightening water pollutant limits without a state’s consent if the agency previously approved the state standard. The measure, which passed 239-184 yesterday, is part of an effort to rein in what Republicans say is an agency’s regulatory overreach threatening the economy. Sixteen Democrats joined Republicans to support the measure."

NEW. Guardian: "MPs have dispatched the deputy serjeant at arms of the House of Commons to Wapping to deliver a summons in person to Rupert Murdoch and his son James to insist they turn up to give evidence to a select committee over the phone- hacking scandal.... Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News International, agreed on Thursday morning to attend and face MPs ... Tuesday...." though she warned she wouldn't say much.

     ... CNN Update: "The FBI has launched an investigation into Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. after a report that employees or associates may have attempted to hack into phone conversations and voice mail of September 11 survivors, victims and their families."

AP: "A suicide bomber concealing explosives in his turban blew himself up inside a mosque in southern Afghanistan on Thursday during a memorial service for the president's assassinated half brother, officials said. At least four people were killed."

The Commentariat -- July 13

I've posted an Open Thread on Off Times Square for today. Since I doubt the Times will publish it, I've added my comment on Maureen Dowd's column.

** "Do You Believe in Magic?" Paul Krugman says he's doesn't want to go tit-for-tat with the magical-thinking David Brooks, but he does. CW: to each and every one of my conservative commenters: read this post. It might not make you all better, but it will help you recover from your "Brooks is right" delusions.

Your Chart of the Day, from Ezra Klein, with explanation here: (as one commenter to Klein's blogpost wrote, "Obama has got to be the worst negotiator in history"):

"The Negotiators." Act 4, Scene 2, the White House, Tuesday, July 12: Eric Cantor demands that President Obama offer the details of his vision for a “grand bargain.”

Cantor (angrily, to Obama): Where’s your paper?

Obama (snapping): Frankly, your speaker has it.  Am I dealing with him, or am I dealing with you?

Sneerer-in-Chief. Dana Milbank: "What [House Majority Leader Eric] Cantor wants now is power — and he is prepared to risk the full faith and credit of the United States to get it. In a primacy struggle with House Speaker John Boehner, he has done a deft job of aligning himself with Tea Party House members in opposition to any meaningful deal to resolve the debt. If the U.S. government defaults, it will have much to do with Cantor."

Ezra Klein on Mitch McConnell's debt ceiling plan: "I kinda like it.... McConnell is proposing to permanently disarm the bomb that is the debt ceiling. He’d formalize the informal arrangement the parties have had in recent years, which is that the debt ceiling is used to embarrass the party in power, but it’s not allowed to threaten the American economy. If his plan passed, it’d become easier for the minority party to embarrass the majority party, but harder for them to threaten the economy. It’s win-win.... The cynical interpretation of McConnell’s motivations is that McConnell sees that the White House is winning the politics of this issue...." CW: see today's Ledes for the backstory. Also this WashPo story by Lori Montgomery, et al. ...

... Kevin Drum of Mother Jones: "... apparently McConnell had started to realize that shutting down the government over tax breaks for hedge fund billionaires and shorter depreciation schedules for corporate jet owners was really, really, not going to go down well, even among Republicans. So he pushed the eject button and tried to bail out. It probably won't work, though. The political cynicism of his proposal is almost certainly too much for some Democrats, and giving up on spending cuts will be too much for most Republicans. Still, it provides a hint about who has the upper hand in the debt ceiling negotiations right now. And it ain't McConnell." ...

... Josh Marshall of TPM: "McConnell's 'evil genius' move seems like all it does is make the Democrats go to the public with what they believe is best for the country and be accountable for it. I have a hard time seeing that as being a meaningful threat. Since that's what people who are given the power to govern are supposed to do." ...

... Markos Moulitsas: "So McConnell's plan gives Republicans the ability to bash Democrats for spending, which they would do anyway, and this is a big victory for them? Genius? Hardly. This is a capitulation. Just watching teabagger heads explode will be worth the price of admission."

This debt limit increase is his [Obama's] problem. -- John Boehner, yesterday

Steve Benen: "... by most measures, [John Boehner] has a legal obligation to protect the full faith and credit of the United States. But as of today, with the crisis quickly approaching, the Speaker of the House, one of the most powerful officeholders in our system of government, has decided this isn’t his 'problem.'” In the past, Boehner has repeatedly said, on the record, the Congress must raise the debt ceiling. ...

... Chris Moody of Yahoo! News: "Conservative groups that had been anxiously hoping to use this summer's debt ceiling vote as a rare opportunity to reduce government spending were furious Wednesday when Senate Republicans outlined a plan to raise the limit without ensured spending cuts."

... Larry Summers (yes, that Larry Summers) advocates for immediate economic stimulus in a Financial Times opinion piece: "Decisions about spending and taxing over the next year or two will have a significant impact on job creation over the next year, the economy over the next decade and on the path of US national debt over an even longer horizon." ...

... Loaves & Fishes, Republican-Style:

... David Leonhardt of the New York Times: sooner or later the free lunch has to end. The nostalgic view of the federal budget (CW: promulgated by Republicans) "depends on a misunderstanding of the budget. It imagines a budget in which the United States indefinitely has the world’s highest medical costs, its largest military, an aging population and, nonetheless, taxes that are among the world’s lowest." ...

... John Sides of the Monkey Cage: there are a number of possible outcomes to the debt ceiling talks, but "Obama’s reelection effort gets a boost from a budget deal only if the deal doesn’t itself hurt the economy and if the economy improves enough that the GOP needs another issue to campaign on." ...

... NEW. Krugman explains to those living & working in the Washington bubble that the average voter, much less the average "independent" (low-information) voter is just not that into you.

Michael Likosky in a New York Times op-ed: "While we have channeled capital into wars and debt, our competitors in Asia and Latin America have worked with infrastructure banks to lay a sound foundation for growth. As a result, we must compete not only with their lower labor costs but also with their advanced energy, transportation and information platforms, which are a magnet even for American businesses." Likosky advicates for a bill by Sens. John Kerry & Kay Bailey Hutchison to pump cash & loans into infrastructure projects.

Amy Goodman of "Democracy Now!" in a TruthDig commentary: "President Barack Obama just announced a reversal of a long-standing policy that denied presidential condolence letters to the family members of soldiers who commit suicide. Relatives of soldiers killed in action receive letters from the president. Official silence, however, has long stigmatized those who die of self-inflicted wounds. The change marks a long-overdue shift in the recognition of the epidemic of soldier and veteran suicides in this country and the toll of the hidden wounds of war."

Landon Thomas, Jr., of the New York Times on three generations of Prime Ministers Papandreou. CW: my husband, who knew Andreas, always used Andreas as an excuse for not taking me to Greece: he said Andreas would have him arrested! I think my husband just did not want to go to Greece. Besides, Italy has examples of Greek antiquity as fine as those in Greece. Or so my husband says.

At this point it’s starting to look as if News Corp is better viewed as a criminal enterprise than as a media organization. -- Paul Krugman ...

... Sarah Lyall & Graham Bowley of the New York Times: "... as the phone hacking scandal spreads, [British PM David] Cameron has been placed in the unaccustomed position of appearing vulnerable and behind the curve. He has been maneuvered into embarrassing U-turns nearly every step of the way, and on Tuesday performed the latest one: suddenly joining the opposition Labour Party, his bitterest foes, in calling for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation to withdraw its $12 billion bid to buy British Sky Broadcasting, known also as BSkyB."

Right Wing World *

Giant Demonic Idol.You know there's a statue in New York harbor called the Statue of Liberty. You know where we got it from? French Freemasons. Listen folks that is an idol, a demonic idol, right there in New York harbor.... It's a statue of a false goddess, the Queen of Heaven. We don't get liberty from a false goddess, folks; we get our liberty from Jesus Christ and that Statue of Liberty in no way glorifies Jesus Christ.... So I'm just telling you we practice idolatry in America in ways that we don't even recognize.
-- John Benefiel, a pastor prominently featured in literature for Gov. Rick Perry's (R-Texas) upcoming "giant prayer-fest to help tackle the nation's problems" (TPM has the video)

* Where there shalt not be "demonic idols" like the Statue of Liberty.

News Ledes

Guardian: "Mumbai, [India,] was struck by three powerful bomb blasts during the evening rush hour on Wednesday that killed at least 21 people and injured dozens more.... India's home minister, P Chidambaram, warned that the death toll could rise further. It is the fourth major attack by suspected terrorists on India's financial capital since 2003."

Guardian: the high court in London heard arguments today in the case of Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, who is appealing his extradition to Sweden. He remains in Norfolk, under house arrest, until the court renders its decision, which will be in about a month.

President Obama & Vice President Biden met with Congressional leaders on the debt ceiling talks this afternoon. ...

     ... Update: Washington Post, post-meeting: "Two top Republican leaders clashed Wednesday over a plan that could allow the government to avoid a potentially catastrophic default but would not ensure the deep cuts in federal spending that party members seek. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) ... offered a proposal this week that would allow President Obama to raise the federal debt limit without guaranteed spending cuts.... But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) rejected McConnell’s plan for resolving the debt stalemate, instead vowing to press ahead with the campaign to roll back government spending." ...

... New York Times: "The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, warned Wednesday that allowing a federal default could have disastrous political consequences for his party and 'destroy' the Republican brand."

Ronald Reagan repeatedly took steps that included revenue in order for him to accomplish some of these larger goals. And the question is, if Ronald Reagan could compromise, why wouldn't folks who idolize Ronald Reagan be willing to engage in those same kinds of compromises? -- Barack Obama

     ... Related Los Angeles Times story here. You can go to the CBS News site & click on the videos at the bottom of the page. And good luck; CBS News videos are just a mess.

New York Times: "... Ben S. Bernanke gave a subdued account of the economy’s health Wednesday, saying that he expected the economy to grow at a moderate pace during the rest of the year, with unemployment declining 'only gradually.' The unexpected weakness is forcing the Fed to reconsider its determination early this year to refrain from new efforts to stimulate growth. While no additional actions appear imminent, Mr. Bernanke said in Congressional testimony Wednesday that the Fed would be prepared to act if necessary.”

New York Times: "The Catholic Church in Ireland was still covering up sexual abuse of children by priests as recently as 2009, long after it issued guidelines meant to protect children, and the Vatican tacitly encouraged the cover-up by ignoring the guidelines, according to a scathing report issued on Wednesday by the Irish government." The full report via the NYT is here; however, I kept getting errors on the page; the Irish Times has a pdf of the full report here. The Irish Times' main story is here, & their main page for the report, with multiple links, is here. The IT has a very brief rundown of the Cloyne Report's main findings here.

New York Times: "One of the biggest revenue-raisers proposed by President Obama in negotiations with Congress is what he describes as an arcane change in the tax treatment of business inventories — things like steel, groceries and oil.... The effect of the change would be substantial. Lobbyists from companies of all sizes are swarming around Congress to kill the proposal, which would prohibit the use of an accounting technique known as last in, first out, or LIFO." ...

... New York Times: The ideas of budget negotiators "to cut Medicare and Medicaid they have managed to provoke opposition from almost every major group that represents beneficiaries and health care providers." Proposals by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) "touched off howls of protest from lobbyists and Democratic lawmakers who saw details for the first time on Tuesday."

New York Times: "President Obama raised more than $86 million for his re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the last three months, besting previous campaign fund-raising records for the quarter and far outpacing the Republicans who are hoping to replace him in the White House. Mr. Obama’s campaign, Obama for America, raised $47 million, while the president’s frequent fundraisers boosted the D.N.C.’s coffers by $38 million. Democrats had set a goal of raising a combined $60 million for both groups by the end of June." With video of Jim Messina giving a pitch.

Los Angeles Times: "In a hard-fought special congressional election marked by sharp divisions in ideology and even sharper personal attacks, Democrat Janice Hahn defeated underdog Republican Craig Huey on Tuesday. Unofficial election night returns showed Hahn won 54.6% to 45.4%."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Candidates backed by the Democratic Party won all six Senate primary elections, all but one of them by substantial amounts. They'll all go on to face the Republican incumbents on Aug. 9, in an attempt by Democrats to regain control of the state Senate and put the brakes on Gov. Scott Walker's agenda."

AP: "A CIA officer who oversaw the agency's interrogation program at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and pushed for approval to use increasingly harsh tactics has come under scrutiny in a federal war crimes investigation involving the death of a prisoner, witnesses told The Associated Press. Steve Stormoen, who is now retired from the CIA, supervised an unofficial program in which the CIA imprisoned and interrogated men without entering their names in the Army's books."

AP: Former First Lady Betty "Ford, who died Friday at age 93, was memorialized Tuesday by some 800 friends and family members, including no fewer than four current and former first ladies and one ex-president."

Guardian: "A key US senator has called for an investigation into whether any of News Corporation's organisations in the country have hacked US citizens. Senate commerce committee chairman Jay Rockefeller has asked the authorities to investigate if any journalists working for Rupert Murdoch had targeted US citizens, and warned of 'serious consequences' for the media group if that were the case." NBC News story here. ...

... New York Times: "The tremors from the phone-hacking scandal shaking Rupert Murdoch’s media empire spread yet further through the British political establishment on Wednesday as Prime Minister David Cameron urged Mr. Murdoch to abandon his ambitions to complete a takeover of the country’s biggest satellite broadcaster." ...

     ... Guardian Update: "Rupert Murdoch's media group News Corporation bowed to pressure from the public and parliament on Wednesday and withdrew its bid to take full control of pay-TV company BSkyB."

AP: "Italy's finance minister says the government's package of austerity measures will be strengthened and passed in both houses by Friday. Giulio Tremonti sought to reassure markets during a speech to a banker's association meeting in Rome that Italy would speed reforms and austerity measures that seek to balance the budget by 2014."