The Commentariat -- May 13, 2015

Internal links removed.

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Senate Democrats handed President Obama a stinging rebuke on Tuesday, blocking consideration of legislation granting their own president accelerated power to complete a major trade accord with Asia. The Senate voted 52-45 on a procedural motion to begin debating the bill to give the president 'trade promotion authority,' eight votes short of the 60 needed to proceed. Republicans and pro-trade Democrats said they would try to negotiate a trade package that could clear that threshold. But the vote Tuesday presented Mr. Obama what might be a no-win situation. He may have to accept trade enforcement provisions he does not want in order to propel the trade legislation through the Senate, but those same provisions might doom the Pacific trade negotiations that legislation is supposed to lift." ...

... The Washington Post story, by Mike DeBonis, is here. ...

... Greg Sargent: "... it's way premature to suggest that this means the TPP is in deep trouble.... There is still a sizable bloc of pro-TPP Democrats in the Senate who will vote Yes, if their demands are met.... Democrats want votes on four provisions at once -- fast track (which would ensure a Congressional up-or-down vote on a final deal), Trade Adjustment Assistance (which helps workers displaced by trade), a provision cracking down on currency manipulation by other countries, and a measure that would stiffen enforcement of the terms of the trade deal. [Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell only allowed a vote on the first two of these. A sizable bloc of Dems who voted No today could well vote Yes if McConnell relents...." ...

... Dana Milbank: Elizabeth "Warren masterfully undermined the trade bill, by highlighting the administration's obsessive secrecy (the details of the proposed agreement are classified) and the role of corporate interests in drafting the deal (500 non-government advisors participated, she said, 85 percent of them industry executives or lobbyists).... Senate free-traders will likely find a way to revive the bill, but Tuesday's defeat will embolden opponents in the House, where the free-trade package already faced trouble. However the trade debate is resolved, Tuesday's defeat in the Senate is likely to be a turning point, because it shows that the populists are now firmly in control of the Democratic Party.... Hillary Clinton, was not courageous enough to take a position on the trade legislation, but her silence gave Democrats more freedom to oppose it. And Democrats in Congress bristled at Obama's disparagement of opponents of the trade bill as emotional, illogical and dishonest." ...

... AND thanks again to Unwashed for highlighting the Roosevelt Institute program, which Milbank cites. ...

... "Trade Show." Charles Pierce: "... I would have to say that this afternoon's events in the Senate justify the president's snark about Senator Professor Warren's being 'a politician.' He's right. She is. And, today, she was a better one than he was.... (As far as our future leaders go, Marco Rubio skipped the vote and both of those Tea Party populist heroes, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, voted to give the tyrannical president this power.) The TPP looks like a big enough turkey all on its own, and why the president has chosen this particular issue on which to go to knives so vigorously with his progressive supporters leads me to wonder if it isn't just a way to guarantee him some nice sinecures when he leaves office in 2017." ...

... CW: I would pause to point out that President Obama has been securing his post-presidential future from Day One. When he told imperious bankers in April 2009, "My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks," I wondered why he was holding the pitchforks at bay. It didn't take long to figure it out, as again & again, he & then-Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner did Wall Street's bidding at the expense of Main Street. ...

... Seung Min Kim of Politico: "Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown threw a grenade into the ongoing war of words between Sen. Elizabeth Warren and President Barack Obama, a war that reached new heights with Tuesday's dramatic setback of Obama's trade agenda in the Senate. When asked how Obama was being disrespectful of Warren, Brown replied: 'I think by just calling her 'another politician.' He continued, 'I'm not going to get into more details. I think referring to her as first name, when he might not have done that for a male senator, perhaps?'" ...

... Kevin Cirilli of the Hill: "National Organization for Women (NOW) president Terry O'Neill on Wednesday called President Obama's critique of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sexist.... 'The truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else. And you know, she's got a voice that she wants to get out there. And I understand that,' Obama told Yahoo. O'Neill said Obama's 'clear subtext is that the little lady just doesn't know what she's talking about.'"

... Not to throw cold water on the Warren party, but ... Laura Barron-Lopez, et al., of the Huffington Post: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has been the public face of the Democratic Party's feud with President Barack Obama over his trade agenda. But behind the scenes, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) quietly united his party behind a strategy that resulted in a major defeat Tuesday for the president. Brown's weeks of work came to fruition when Democrats voted to block legislation that would have given Obama so-called fast-track trade authority." ...

... AND. Russell Berman of the Atlantic: "... it turns out that the president's most difficult obstacle is not Warren but Harry Reid, his erstwhile ally and the Democratic leader in the Senate." ...

... Burgess Everett & Manu Raju of Politico: "Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who rallied his caucus to reject the fast-track measure on a procedural vote, has already floated a plan to find a way out of the impasse by offering to drop a customs bill, which includes anti-currency manipulation language,from his party's list of demands.... 'I suggest the way we move forward is to have a program where we have all of these bills discussed at the same time,' Reid said. 'Everybody should just take a deep breath. I think there's probably a way we can move forward with this.' But with little more than a week before the Memorial Day recess and several expiring laws still to be addressed, the immediate future of Obama's trade agenda is uncertain."

Kathryn Wolfe of Politico: "An Amtrak train from Washington, D.C., to New York City derailed Tuesday night in Philadelphia, killing at least six people and injuring dozens -- on the eve of a House markup of a bill that would slash the passenger rail service's budget.... The version approved earlier by [the] appropriations subcommittee contains language that would slash Amtrak's funding to $1.13 billion, less than the roughly $1.4 billion it typically receives annually. Democrats had already been expected to take a run at boosting the bill's funding for Amtrak, but the debate at Wednesday's markup is sure to take on more urgency in light of the crash.... Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a critic of the FRA's oversight of train safety, tweeted that he and others 'will need a quick, thorough investigation to determine the cause.'" See also yesterday's & today's News Ledes.

Bill McKibben in the New York Times: "THE Obama administration's decision to give Shell Oil the go-ahead to drill in the Arctic shows why we may never win the fight against climate change. Even in this most extreme circumstance, no one seems able to stand up to the power of the fossil fuel industry. No one ever says no.... A quarter century ago, scientists warned that if we kept burning fossil fuel at current rates we'd melt the Arctic. The fossil fuel industry (and most everyone else in power) ignored those warnings, and what do you know: The Arctic is melting.... If we're to have any chance of meeting even Mr. Obama's weak goal of holding temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, we have to leave most carbon underground."

David Gelles & Brian Chen of the New York Times: "Verizon Communications agreed on Tuesday to buy AOL for $4.4 billion in an all-cash deal that will see today's king of mobile acquire the one-time king of media.... Verizon and AOL want to put content and new advertising technology on today's most ubiquitous computing device, the mobile phone. In AOL, Verizon acquires a company that has developed valuable technology for serving mobile video and advertising." ...

... Farhad Manjoo of the New York Times explains the rationale behind the deal: it is "... just the latest corporate reaction to a staggering shift in the way people across the globe get their news and entertainment. Over the last couple of years, we have collectively decided to use our phones to reach the Internet more than we ever used our computers to do."

Jessica Roy of New York: "The Environmental Protection Agency has partnered with several other federal agencies to address the public-health concerns at nail salons. Along with the Food and Drug Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the Small Business Administration, the EPA will 'develop a plan to assess and improve regulations, programs, and outreach strategies to ensure nail salon worker health and safety,' according to a statement from the agency. The news comes a week after the New York Times ran an explosive story detailing the dangerous and exploitative conditions of many nail salons in New York."

Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post: "With her commencement address at Tuskegee University, first lady Michelle Obama showed that her husband isn't the only one in the White House with a facility for searing and soaring speeches. In word and tone, Obama gave voice to the frustrations and hopes of African Americans in this country. Her words were powerful and forcefully delivered without apology. Coming after what we have witnessed in Ferguson and Baltimore, Obama's speech at the historically black institution has added resonance. Of course, Obama's truth-telling was met with the usual and predictable harangues from the reactionary right." ...

... Here's the transcript of Michelle Obama's speech. ...

Yes, Republicans Are Stupid. Anne Helms of the Charlotte Observer: Irresponsible Republican guy who is going blind blames President Obama for his own irresponsibility & for South Carolina's failure to accept the Medicaid expansion. Via Josh Marshall. CW: BTW, liberals are giving the irresponsible Republican guy the what-for on his GoFundMe page. However, as one commenter points out, he can't see to read the comments. Maybe his wife, who is as stupid as he is, will read them aloud to him.

Presidential Race

Nate Silver: "The Electoral College just isn't worth worrying about much. If you see analysts talking about the 'blue wall,' all they're really saying is that Democrats have won a bunch of presidential elections lately -- an obvious fact that probably doesn't have much predictive power for what will happen this time around. I'm not saying Clinton is doomed. Rather, I think the 'fundamentals' point toward her chances being about 50-50."

An Audience of One. Jaime Fuller of New York: At the Roosevelt Institute event mentioned above, "... Hillary Clinton was rarely mentioned during either of these rollouts, but as she is the one presidential candidate progressives are most determined to move to the left, it was obvious she was the intended audience."

Ed O'Keefe & Matea Gold of the Washington Post: "A nonprofit group allied with former Florida governor Jeb Bush is playing a more expansive role in his current political operation than previously known, housing several top policy advisers who are expected to join his eventual campaign.... Bush's reliance on the non­profit as he prepares for a likely presidential bid puts him on untested legal ground, cloaking who is paying the salaries of his expected advisers.... A landmark 2002 law bans a candidate from directly or indirectly establishing an organization that is not subject to federal contribution limits.... But a polarized Federal Election Commission is unlikely to scrutinize the maneuver, campaign finance experts said.... 'This is another example of how he is running roughshod over campaign finance law,' said Larry Noble, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center." ...

... Jennifer Jacobs of the Des Moines Register: "No Iowa Straw Poll for Jeb Bush. The likely Republican presidential candidate will instead attend a competing event, the RedState Gathering in Atlanta, the day of the Iowa event.... Bush ... is the first well-known Republican in the 2016 presidential field to officially opt out of the straw poll, a nationally renowned event that has drawn significant criticism over the years." ...

... Roger Simon of Politico: "... to fully appreciate the importance of Jeb's revelation that George W. will be his chief adviser when it comes to the Mideast, you've got to keep in mind that Jeb's entire campaign is built around one selling point: Jeb is the smart one in the family." ...

... Confederate Byron York of the Washington Examiner:"If Jeb Bush sticks to his position -- that he would still authorize war knowing what we know today -- it will represent a step backward for the Republican Party.... As for whether Hillary Clinton would have authorized the invasion 'knowing what we know now' -- it's hard to believe that Jeb Bush is serious when he says she would. Of course she wouldn't. Nor would others involved in the decision [including Karl Rove].... Congress would not have authorized war if lawmakers knew there were no WMDs.... Jeb's statement is likely to resonate until he either changes his position or loses the race for the Republican nomination. Should he become the nominee, the issue will dog him into the general election campaign." ...

... Say Wha'? So already we're getting the "misheard-the-question" defense. CW: See if you have trouble understanding the question: Megyn Kelly of Fox "News": "Knowing what we know now, would you have authorized the invasion?" Jeb: "I would." ...

... And here's Kelly giving Jeb cover, suggesting "knowing what you know now" was a concept too difficult for Jeb to grasp. ...

... Wait, Wait, There's More Backpedalling. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Jeb Bush on Tuesday sought to arrest a chorus of criticism from Democrats and some conservatives after he told an interviewer that, knowing what history has since shown about intelligence failures, he still would have authorized the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Calling in to Sean Hannity's syndicated radio show, Mr. Bush said he had misunderstood a question that one of Mr. Hannity’s Fox News colleagues, Megyn Kelly, had asked him in an interview shown on Sunday and Monday nights. 'I interpreted the question wrong, I guess,' Mr. Bush said. 'I was talking about, given what people knew then.'... When Mr. Hannity asked about the 2003 Iraq invasion again, in yes-or-no fashion, Mr. Bush said he did not know what the answer would have been, saying, 'That's a hypothetical.' Then, he seemed to go out of his way to absolve his brother, former President George W. Bush, who ordered the invasion: 'Mistakes were made, as they always are in life,' Mr. Bush said."

So, not too bright, but no hearing loss. I think I'd have stuck with "say what?" -- Constant Weader

I want to directly answer your question, because that's what I do. If we knew then what we know now and I were the president of the United States, I wouldn't have gone to war. But you don't get to replay history. -- Chris Christie, to CNN's Jake Tapper yesterday

... Jonathan Chait: "Chris Christie, attempting to convince Republicans that his presidential campaign remains alive, has released his economic plan to 'raise growth and incomes.' The centerpiece is to stimulate spending in the snack sector. Ha, not really -- that would make more sense than Christie's actual plan, which is to give rich people an enormous tax cut."

We will look for you, we will find you, and we will kill you. -- Liam Neeson character Marco Rubio, on U.S. enemies, 2014

... Sahil Kapur of Bloomberg: Today Marco Rubio will make his "first major foreign policy speech of his presidential campaign, where he is expected to complete a dramatic shift from moderate to ultra-hawk."

Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "How depressing is it that, out of the more than a dozen announced or prospective Republican candidates for president in 2016, only one, Carly Fiorina, is a woman. Even more depressing: that Fiorina, as long-shot as her candidacy is, would not be taken even semi-seriously were it not for her gender.... It is the height of chutzpah to imagine that she is remotely qualified to be president. Or, since it's the more likely endgame, for vice president either."

Beyond the Beltway

Everett Rosenfeld of CNBC: "Moody's downgraded Chicago's credit rating down to junk level 'Ba1' from 'Baa2.' The announcement, which the ratings agency released Tuesday afternoon, cited a recent Illinois court ruling voiding state pension reforms. Moody's said it saw a negative outlook for the city's credit."

AP: "A Texas inmate has been executed for the killings of his 15-year-old girlfriend, her mother and her grandfather nearly 13 years ago in Houston. Derrick Dewayne Charles received a lethal injection on Tuesday after the US supreme court rejected last-day appeals and wouldn't stop his execution. He's the seventh prisoner put to death this year in the nation's busiest capital punishment state."

Mary Spicuzza & Bill Glauber of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said Tuesday that Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny won't face criminal charges in a fatal shooting [of Tony Robinson] that sparked protests in Madison and drew national attention as the country grapples with police shootings of unarmed black men."

Way Beyond

Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "Members of Russi's political opposition published a posthumous report by the politician Boris Y. Nemtsov on Tuesday that documented the deaths of 220 Russian soldiers in the fighting in southeastern Ukraine, even though the Kremlin denies being involved in the war there. The report, which goes into various clandestine aspects of the war in Ukraine, became particularly noteworthy after Mr. Nemtsov, an opponent of President Vladimir V. Putin, was assassinated in February.... After the fatal shooting of Mr. Nemtsov in central Moscow, the police detained five ethnic Chechens as suspects. But the investigation stalled there, as is the case in almost every politically tinged killing in Russia, and quickly dropped out of the headlines."

Ian Traynor of the Guardian: "European plans for a military campaign to smash the migrant smuggling networks operating out of Libya include options for ground forces on Libyan territory."

News Ledes

Philadelphia Inquirer: "At least five people were killed and dozens injured, six critically, when a northbound Amtrak train derailed Tuesday night in Port Richmond[, a Philadelphia neighborhood]. In the moments after the derailment, scores of emergency personnel swarmed over more than a half-dozen toppled train cars, trying to reach the dazed, the injured, the dying.Some people were reported trapped in the train, and crews were cutting into the cars to try to free the injured.... At a briefing early Wednesday morning, with [Pennsylvania Gov. Tom] Wolf at his side, [Philadelphia] Mayor [Michael] Nutter gave the grim numbers: In addition to the five dead, 65 people were taken to area hospitals, primarily Temple University Hospital. Six were in critical condition." ...

     ... Washington Post Update: "At least six people were killed and 50 or more were injured Tuesday night when an Amtrak train that originated in Washington derailed in Philadelphia."

... Philadelphia Inquirer: "A National Transportation Safety Board 'Go Team' is scheduled to arrive at the crash scene later Wednesday morning. The Federal Railroad Administration said it also was sending at least eight investigators to the scene of what is believed to be the deadliest crash on the Northeast Corridor since 16 were killed when an Amtrak train collided with a freight train near Baltimore in 1987." ...

... Washington Post: What it was like inside the train.

Reuters [May 8]: "International inspectors have found traces of sarin and VX nerve agent at a military research site in Syria that had not been declared to the global chemical weapons watchdog, diplomatic sources said on Friday.... 'This is a pretty strong indication they have been lying about what they did with sarin,' one diplomatic source said. 'They have so far been unable to give a satisfactory explanation about this finding.'" Via the New York Times, which covers the story today.

The Commentariat -- May 12, 2015

Internal links removed.

Contributor Unwashed points us to a Roosevelt Institute panel discussion going on now (9: 15 am ET) about how government rules & laws could lower income inequality. "Speakers include: Senator Elizabeth Warren, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz and panel of expert economists and strategists." You can listen in here. Stiglitz says the TPP is another move to increase corporate power & income inequality. He whacks the President for his "nasty" remarks about TPP opponents.

Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Obama administration gave conditional approval on Monday for Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. to start drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean this summer. The approval is a major victory for Shell and the rest of the petroleum industry, which has sought for years to drill in the remote waters of the Chukchi seas, which are believed to hold vast reserves of oil and gas.... The Interior Department decision is a devastating blow to environmentalists, who have pressed the Obama administration to reject proposals for offshore Arctic drilling. Environmentalists say that a drilling accident in the icy and treacherous Arctic waters could have far more devastating consequences than the deadly Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 2010...."

Dana Milbank: "The vast majority of lawmakers in [President Obama's] own party oppose him on trade legislation. Yet rather than accept that they have a legitimate beef, he shows public contempt for them -- as he did in an interview with Matt Bai of Yahoo News released over the weekend.... The fast-track legislation faces its first test Tuesday with a vote in the Senate, and it looks to be a squeaker.... If Obama loses on trade, blame should go to the twin pillars of detachment that have underpinned his presidency: insularity and secrecy." ...

... Greg Sargent interviews Sen. Elizabeth Warren about the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. ...

... Jared Bernstein & Dean Baker in the Washington Post: "... the TPP contains no currency provisions, meaning there are no enforceable rules in the deal that would prevent our trading partners from managing their currency so that it stays low relative to the dollar.... Previous research has found that a few of the countries in the TPP have a history of managing their currency to subsidize their exports. We estimate that currency interventions by Japan, Malaysia and Singapore have cost us 250,000 to 320,000 jobs annually over the past few years.... Although we strongly disagree, the administration has quite clearly argued that we are helpless in the face of these interventions." ...

... ** David Dayen in Salon: "It's beneath the dignity of the Presidency to so aggressively paint opponents as not just wrong on the facts, but hiding the truth on purpose. Warren has responded without using the same indecorous tactics. Unfortunately, I don't have the same self-control. So by way of response, here are ten moments where the Presidentor his subordinates have lied -- call it 'misled' or 'offered half-truths' or whatever; but I'm in an ornery mood so let's just say lied -- about his trade agenda." CW: Read 'em all.

Andrea Peterson of the Washington Post: "The USA Patriot Act has been at the nexus of the debate over privacy and civil liberties since it was passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But a looming legislative deadline, a recent court ruling against a controversial program that collects the details of millions of Americans' phone calls and a filibuster threat mean that the government's spying abilities face an uncertain future.... Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is advocating for an extension of Section 215 through 2020. But that would likely push the issue to the Supreme Court to settle. On the other side of the debate, long-time government surveillance critic Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) threatened in an interview with MSNBC to filibuster a short-term extension of the law 'unless there are major reforms like getting rid of this bulk phone record collections.'" ...

... David McCabe of the Hill: "Seven tech groups are backing a bill that would reform provisions of the Patriot Act some say are responsible for unreasonable government surveillance. 'Public trust in the technology sector is critical, and that trust has declined measurably among both U.S. citizens and citizens of our foreign allies since the revelations regarding the U.S. surveillance programs began 2 years ago,' the groups say in the letter written to House leaders endorsing the USA Freedom Act.... The letter was signed by the Information Technology Industry Council, the Internet Association, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, BSA|The Software Alliance, TechNet, Reform Government Surveillance and the Software & Information Industry Association." ...

... Julian Hattem of the Hill: "The National Security Agency isn't making any policy changes following a sweeping federal court ruling against its bulk collection of Americans' phone records last week. Instead, NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers said in his first public comments since Thursday's ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that the ball was back in Congress's court, and it was up to lawmakers to consider how the agency should proceed."

Robert Pear of the New York Times: "The Obama administration on Monday put health insurance companies on notice that they must cover all forms of female contraception, including the patch and intrauterine devices, without imposing co-payments or other charges. In the last month, the National Women's Law Center and the Kaiser Family Foundation issued separate reports that found that insurers often flouted a federal requirement to provide free coverage of birth control for women under President Obama's health care law."

Simon Miloy of Salon makes fun of "Wall Street tycoons advis[ing] Democrats that the UK elections show people hate it when you say mean things about banks." ...

... Scammers R Us. Peter Eavis of the New York Times: "... on Monday, in the starkest of terms, a federal judge ... ruled that two banks misled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in selling them mortgage bonds that contained numerous errors and misrepresentations. 'The magnitude of falsity, conservatively measured, is enormous,' Judge Denise L. Cote of Federal District Court in Manhattan wrote in a scathing 361-page decision. The ruling came in a closely watched case brought by the government against the Japanese bank Nomura Holdings and Royal Bank of Scotland. They were the only two of 18 financial firms that took their case to trial, arguing that it was the housing crash, and not deceptive loan documents, that caused the bonds to collapse. The other firms -- including Goldman Sachs and Bank of America -- settled, together paying nearly $18 billion in penalties but avoiding a detailed public airing of their conduct."

"Swindle Our Troops!" -- GOP. Zach Carter of the Huffington Post: "House Republicans are again attacking measures aimed at protecting U.S. troops from predatory lending practices, two weeks after a similar GOP effort failed." Via Paul Waldman.

Sarah Wheaton of Politico: "The Barack Obama presidential library will be built in his adopted hometown of Chicago, the Barack Obama Foundation announced in a video message posted online Tuesday. A bid by the University of Chicago, where Obama taught constitutional law before turning to politics, beat out rival proposals from Hawaii and New York to host the location of Obama's presidential archives and museum." ...

Diaper Boy Not Feeling the Love. Manu Raju of Politico: "Within the chummy confines of the U.S. Senate, [Sen. David] Vitter [R-La.] has emerged as one of the most disliked members. The second-term senator's effort to kill the federal health care contribution [to Members of Congress & their staffs], worth several thousand dollars [each] to lawmakers and their staffers, is a big part of it. But the two-year drive, his [Senate] critics say, symbolizes an operating style that Vitter's critics complain is consumed with public relations, even for an ambitious member of Congress: speeding in and out of meetings, railing about issues on the Senate floor but doing little to execute behind the scenes, firing off news releases left and right. In an institution in which the inside game is critical, Vitter doesn't even pretend to bother with it.... His unpopularity in the Senate hasn't translated to his poll numbers: One survey in December showed four in five Republicans viewed him favorably." He's likely to win his bid for governor of Louisiana.

American "Justice," Ctd. Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: "A former Central Intelligence Agency officer on Monday was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on espionage charges for telling a journalist for The New York Times about a secret operation to disrupt Iran's nuclear program. The sentence was far less than the Justice Department had wanted. The former officer, Jeffrey A. Sterling, argued that the Espionage Act, which was passed during World War I, was intended to prosecute spies, not officials who talked to journalists. He asked for the kind of leniency that prosecutors showed to David H. Petraeus, the retired general who last month received probation for providing his highly classified journals to his biographer." ...

... Marcy Wheeler talks to the Real News about the Sterling case. Pretty fascinating. Thanks to Victoria D. for the lead:

Pew Research Center: "The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing, according to an extensive new survey by the Pew Research Center. Moreover, these changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups. While the drop in Christian affiliation is particularly pronounced among young adults, it is occurring among Americans of all ages. The same trends are seen among whites, blacks and Latinos; among both college graduates and adults with only a high school education; and among women as well as men." ...

... Emma Green of the Atlantic: However, 44 percent of those who don't identify with a particular religion still say that religion is very or somewhat important to them.

Andrew Kirell of Mediaite: "In response to anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller's controversial 'Draw Muhammad' cartoon contest, liberal comedian and commentator Dean Obeidallah announced a 'Draw Your Favorite Islamophobe' contest this Saturday on his Sirius XM radio show.... 'You pick, draw it, take a photo of it and send it to me at submissions@thedeansreport.com. The winner will be announced on my show this coming Saturday and receive a tasty falafel (or a gift certificate up to $10 to a restaurant in your area that serves falafels),' the website read."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh alleged in a long-rumored 10,000-word story published Sunday [and linked in yesterday's Commentariat] that the United States and Pakistan lied about major details about the 2011 raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, but the CIA and White House are both rejecting his account.... A CIA official told The Washington Post that Hersh's story is 'utter nonsense.' White House spokesman Ned Price said it had 'too many inaccuracies and baseless assertions' to fact-check each one, and added that the premise that bin Laden was killed in 'anything but a unilateral U.S. mission is patently false.'" ...

... Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "The former Navy SEAL who says he killed Osama bin Laden is slamming a new report that challenges the White House's account of the mission, calling it 'garbage.' 'The story that I read, the part from [Seymour] Hersh, was full of lies,' Rob O'Neill said on Fox News's 'Shepard Smith Reporting.'" ...

... Max Fisher of Vox: Hersh's "allegations are largely supported only by two sources, neither of whom has direct knowledge of what happened, both of whom are retired, and one of whom is anonymous. The story is riven with internal contradictions and inconsistencies. The story simply does not hold up to scrutiny.... Hersh produces no supporting documents or proof, nor is the authority of either source established." ...

... Jon Schwarz & Ryan Devereaux of the Intercept: "R.J. Hillhouse, a former professor, Fulbright fellow and novelist whose writing on intelligence and military outsourcing has appeared in the Washington Post and New York Times, made the same main assertions in 2011 about the death of Osama bin Laden as Seymour Hersh's new story in the London Review of Books -- apparently based on different sources than those used by Hersh.... The Intercept cannot corroborate the reporting of either Hillhouse or Hersh..., nor can we rule out the possibility that Hersh's sources based their beliefs on Hillhouse's writing. In reporting that appears to back up major elements of that of Hillhouse and Hersh, NBC today asserted that a Pakistani intelligence officer 'walk in' told the CIA about bin Laden's location in the year before the raid on his compound." ...

     ... Hillhouse called Hersh's piece is "either plagiarism or unoriginal."

... Matthew Cole, et al., of NBC News: "Two intelligence sources tell NBC News that the year before the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, a 'walk in' asset from Pakistani intelligence told the CIA where the most wanted man in the world was hiding - and these two sources plus a third say that the Pakistani government knew where bin Laden was hiding all along." ...

... Dylan Byers of Politico: "Seymour Hersh's alternative history about the killing of Osama bin Laden was offered to and declined by The New Yorker, where Hersh is a regular contributor, years before its publication in the London Review of Books...." ...

... Steve M. on why the right won't want to defend Seymour Hersh: "One reason the story is unsatisfying to the right is obvious right away: If Hersh's version of how the U.S. learned about bin Laden's whereabouts were to prove true, it would end forever the discussion of whether torture had anything to do with bin Laden's death, and not in the right's favor."

Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: Pseudojournalist Mark Halperin apologizes for using an interview to pelt Ted Cruz with Cuban-stereotype questions. And it wasn't just Ricky Ricardo-type questions: "... Halperin requested that the senator do his 'very good and very respectful imitation' of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), another presidential candidate. Cruz declined. He also declined to welcome Sanders to the race 'en Español.'" CW: How bad does a major-media "journalist" have to be to actually victimize Ted Cruz? Halperin-bad. ...

... Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: "The prize for the most racist interview of a 2016 candidate goes to Bloomberg's Mark Halperin."

Presidential Race

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: Hillary Clinton, who helped write the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, is now keeping mum on the agreement. ...

Whatever the merits of the TPP, this issue has become a surrogate within the party for a larger debate about corporate power and fairness, which puts her in a difficult spot. She was the [secretary of state] when these negotiations began, and the previous Clinton administration was closely identified with trade. But it is a volatile issue, and supporting it could add to fears on the left that she is too oriented toward big business and give additional impetus to a potential primary challenger. -- David Axelrod

Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: Bill Clinton does not intend to participate -- much -- in Hillary Clinton's campaign, but he'll still be in the public limelight, giving speeches for the Clinton Foundation & to other groups "to pay the bills," etc.

Michael Bender of Bloomberg: "He may be a staunch critic of President Obama's executive orders on immigration, but Jeb Bush wouldn't rush to repeal them if he's the next White House resident. In an interview scheduled to air Monday night on Fox News, Bush suggested that he would wait until a new law was in place before overturning Obama's actions." ...

In response, Bobby Jindal promised to hold an exorcism in the Oval Office to drive out any hints of Barack Obama that might remain. -- Paul Waldman

Mark Halperin isn't interested in any of that. He is trying to get commitments from Bush & Ted Cruz to participate in a Latin-American cookoff. -- Constant Weader

... Alex Isenstadt & Ken Vogel of Politico: Jeb Bush & Karl Rove have long disliked each other. Now, they're involved in a clash for cash: "As Bush intensifies fundraising for his Right to Rise super PAC, expected to reach $100 million by the end of this month, he finds himself approaching many of the same contributors as Rove, whose American Crossroads super PAC is also financially dependent on many of the givers who have long supported the political causes and campaigns of the extended Bush family network." CW: I'd really like to see a fistfight.

"Christie's Big Appetite." Mark Lagerkvist of New Jersey Watchdog: Gov. Chris "Christie spent $360,000 from his state allowance during his five years in office. More than 80 percent of that money, or $300,000, was used to buy food, alcohol and desserts, according to a New Jersey Watchdog analysis of records released by the governor's office.... On 58 occasions, Christie used a debit card to pay a total of $82,594 to Delaware North Sportservice, which operates the concessions at MetLife [Stadium, where the New York's Giants and Jets play their home games].... To avoid a potential scandal that could embarrass their rising political star, the New Jersey Republican State Committee reimbursed the Treasury in March 2012 for Christie's purchases from 'DNS Sports.'" Christie halved his grocery store expenditures after he had Lap-Band surgery.

Republicans Are Weird. Adam Lerner of Politico: "No candidate likes being hounded by opposition researchers, but one member of Rand Paul's team has a peculiar way of expressing his distaste. At a townhall event Monday for Rand Paul in Londonderry, New Hampshire, the Kentucky senator's political director for the state, David Chesley, licked the camera of a tracker sent by American Bridge, a left-leaning opposition research group."

... So peculiar, yes, but definitely not as scary as the naked Michigan Democratic state senator who took several rifle shots at his ex-wife -- see Beyond the Beltway below.

Senate Race

On, Wisconsin! Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is A-okay with a constituent's repeatedly calling the POTUS "a Muslim terrorist."

Beyond the Beltway

Thomas Kaplan of the New York Times: "Dean G. Skelos, the majority leader of the New York State Senate, agreed on Monday to step down from his leadership post after his arrest last week on federal corruption charges. The move followed days of escalating pressure on Senator Skelos, 67, who has proclaimed his innocence and sought to stay on as the chamber's leader."

Ann O'Neill of CNN: Sister Helene Prejean, "a Roman Catholic nun famous for counseling the condemned on death row took the witness stand in federal court Monday and vouched for" Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev [in his death penalty trial].... Prejean ... said she believed Tsarnaev was 'genuinely sorry' for the pain and suffering he inflicted on his victims." Prejean opposes the death penalty.

The Naked Gunman. George Hunter of the Detroit News: "State Sen. Virgil Smith [D] told police his ex-wife stormed into his house and assaulted his girlfriend before he did 'the most stupid thing in his life' -- opening fire at the ex-wife's Mercedes Benz with a rifle -- according to a police report obtained by The Detroit News. He was naked when he met her at the front door, the senator's ex-wife claims in a second police report, beat her with his fists, chased her outside and shot at her four or five times." ...

... Update. Gina Damron & Robert Allen of the Detroit Free Press: "Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Smith was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault with a gun and malicious destruction of property following the incident outside of his east side Detroit home at about 1 a.m. Sunday."

Jeff Weiner & Stephanie Allen of the Orlando Sentinel: "George Zimmerman, the former Neighborhood Watch volunteer who shot and killed Trayvon Martin in 2012, suffered facial injuries in a roadside shooting Monday near a busy intersection in Lake Mary, police said. Lake Mary Police Department Chief Steve Bracknell said the shooter is believed to be Matthew Apperson of Winter Springs -- a man who accused Zimmerman of making threats during a road-rage incident last year. No one had yet been arrested in the shooting late Monday. Zimmerman, 31, was released from a hospital in Sanford after a brief stay to treat his injuries, which were likely caused by flying glass or some other type of debris, according to his attorney, Don West.... A police spokeswoman, Officer Bianca Gillette, described Zimmerman's wounds as 'minor.'"

News Lede

New York: "An Amtrak train heading from Washington, D.C. to New York crashed in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, and at least 50 people are injured, said the front 'looks pretty bad.'"

The Commentariat -- May 11, 2015

Internal links removed.

Paul Krugman: Congressional Republicans are trying to figure out ways to undo Dodd-Frank, the better to please their Wall Street masters. But "almost nobody wants to be seen as a bought and paid-for servant of the financial industry, least of all those who really are exactly that."

Elise Viebeck of the Hill: "Michelle Obama gave a candid view Saturday of the challenges and emotional toll of being the country's first black first lady. Obama, speaking to graduates at Tuskegee University in Alabama, described insensitive media questions and derogatory remarks from political pundits that she said have kept her up at night."

Elise Viebeck: "Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Sunday that the United States is facing a new era in which a lone-wolf terrorist could 'strike at any moment.' 'We're very definitely in a new environment, because of ISIL's effective use of social media, the Internet, which has the ability to reach into the homeland and possibly inspire others,' Johnson said in an interview with ABC's 'This Week,' using the administration's preferred acronym for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)." ...

... Amy Davidson of the New Yorker: Thanks in part to scaremongering politicians, Texans are confused about where the real dangers lie. One hint: Texas's open-carry laws.

Leonard Pitts: "Look, I get it: No one wants to be compared to [Tim] McVeigh. And I'll repeat: No one in a position of responsibility embraces his prescription of terrorist violence. But it seems to me beyond argument that in the philosophical struggle for the soul of conservatism, he lost the battle and won the war. Much of what now passes for conservatism proceeds from extremes of government loathing that would have stunned Ronald Reagan himself."

Seymour Hersh in the London Review of Books: "The White House still maintains that the mission [to kill Osama bin Laden] was an all-American affair, and that the senior generals of Pakistan's army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) were not told of the raid in advance. This is false, as are many other elements of the Obama administration's account. The White House's story might have been written by Lewis Carroll." CW: Haven't read this & probably won't have time, but it's getting da buzz, so you might find it of interest.

Steven Mufson of the Washington Post: "The White House's willingness to push ahead with the nuclear accord with Beijing illustrates the evolving relationship between the world's two largest powers, which, while eyeing each other with mutual suspicion and competitiveness, also view each other as vital economic and strategic global partners."

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that its new monarch, King Salman, would not be attending meetings at the White House with President Obama or a summit gathering at Camp David this week, in an apparent signal of its continued displeasure with the administration over United States relations with Iran, its rising regional adversary."

Presidential Race

Katie Glueck of Politico: "Jeb Bush on Saturday made a major overture to evangelical voters, seeking to reassure a skeptical voting bloc that when it comes to core beliefs about religious freedom and Christianity's role in the world, he's with them.... [Bush] made his pitch at a commencement address at Liberty University, a prominent symbol of evangelical Christianity in Lynchburg, Va., that has become a routine campaign stop for presidential hopefuls."

Mark Hensch of the Hill: "Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) said both he and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would have ordered the 2003 war in Iraq. 'I would have [authorized the invasion], and so would have Hillary Clinton, just to remind everyone,' Bush told Fox News host Megyn Kelly in an interview that will air Monday night on 'The Kelly File.'... Bush also said he had no disagreement with his brother, former President George W. Bush, over the controversial military campaign." ...

     ... CW: Clinton should respond.

Simon Maloy of Salon: Ben "Carson, whose political identity and stardom are based entirely on his often outlandish attacks on President Obama, is hilariously unprepared to be an official candidate for the presidency.... Last week, he sat down for an interview with CNBC's John Harwood who laid down a series of rakes for Carson to step on, and Carson trod upon them with palpable gusto."

Gabriel Sherman of New York: "After being the subject of a spate of negative newspaper accounts about potential conflicts of interest and management dysfunction this winter -- long before Clinton Cash -- the Clinton Foundation wound up on a 'watchlist' maintained by the Charity Navigator, the New Jersey-based nonprofit watchdog.... Since March, the Foundation has embarked on an aggressive behind-the-scenes campaign to get removed from the list.... It didn't work." ...

... Steve Eder of the New York Times: "For decades [Tony Rodham, Hillary Clinton's brother,] has tried to use his connections with his sister and her husband to further his [shady business] pursuits."

Bill Curry ran the board of presidential candidates this weekend. Here's part of his entry on Carly Fiorina, which I particularly enjoyed: "Listening to her one got a sense of what Sarah Palin would sound like had she gone to Stanford, as when she said the Founders didn't want a permanent political class when in fact they were all members of one. She vows to run government like a business, by which we assume she means one other than Hewlett Packard."

Beyond the Beltway

Sarah Nir of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo ordered emergency measures on Sunday to combat the wage theft and health hazards faced by the thousands of people who work in New York State's nail salon industry. Effective immediately, he said in a statement, a new, multiagency task force will conduct salon-by-salon investigations, institute new rules that salons must follow to protect manicurists from the potentially dangerous chemicals found in nail products, and begin a six-language education campaign to inform them of their rights.... The new rules come in response to a New York Times investigation of nail salons -- first published online last week -- that detailed the widespread exploitation of manicurists, many of whom have illnesses that some scientists and health advocates say are caused by the chemicals with which they work."

News Ledes

New York Times: "The consequences of General Motors' long-delayed recall of defective small cars hit a grim milestone on Monday, when the company's compensation fund said it had approved the 100th death claim tied to faulty ignition switches. The toll far exceeds the 13 victims that G.M. had said last year were the only known fatalities linked to ignitions that could suddenly cut off engine power and disable airbags."

ESPN: "The NFL has suspended New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady four games for his role in deflating footballs for the AFC Championship Game, the league said in a statement Monday. The Patriots will also lose a first-round pick in 2016 and a fourth-round pick in 2017 and have been fined $1 million."

New York: "Former President Jimmy Carter was forced to end his trip to South America early on Sunday due to health concerns. "President Carter was not feeling well and has departed Guyana to return to Atlanta today," the Carter Center announced."