Internal links & defunct video removed.
Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: "Senator Robert Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges on Wednesday, setting the stage for a bitter court fight and putting his political future in doubt. Mr. Menendez was charged with seven counts of bribery, which carry up to 15 years in prison on each charge. He was also charged with conspiracy, fraud, and making false statements on government documents, the Justice Department said. Mr. Menendez is the first senator to face federal bribery charges since another New Jersey Democrat, Harrison A. Williams Jr., was indicted in 1980 in the Abscam scandal." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Matea Gold of the Washington Post: "The federal bribery case against Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey marks the first time large-scale super PAC donations have figured prominently as evidence of a political corruption scheme, renewing questions about how truly independently such groups operate. The 22-count indictment against Menendez and wealthy Florida opthalmologist Salomon Melgen hinges in part on $600,000 that Melgen gave to the Senate Majority PAC -- a Democratic super PAC -- earmarked to support the senator's 2012 reelection." ...
... New Jersey Star-Ledger Editors: "U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez now begins a fight for his political life that could last for years. New Jersey would be better off if he would resign and conduct that battle on his own time. The state needs a respected senator who is focused on his job, not a tarnished defendant who spends his days fending off credible charges of corruption and raising money for his legal defense. Menendez vows that he will not resign. He argues that he should be regarded as innocent until he is proven guilty.... But that is the standard for imposing criminal sanctions like jail and fines. For senators, the bar should be much higher."
One Small Step for Humankind. Jana Kasperkevic of the Guardian: "McDonald's will raise pay for 90,000 of its US employees starting on 1 July, according to the Wall Street Journal. Only employees working directly for McDonald's will qualify for the increase. McDonald's says it will pay at least $1 per hour more than the local minimum wage where a company-owned restaurant is located, bringing the average hourly rate for its US employees to $9.90. The company expects the average to reach more than $10 by the end of 2016, as minimum wages increase across the US." ...
... The New York Times story, by Stephanie Strom, is here. "The company's sales in outlets open at least a year were down 4 percent in February, one of the worst performances among the largest restaurants that publicly report their sales. Several large companies that have direct contact with consumers have raised wages over the last year, including Walmart, the TJX Companies and Ikea. There was a risk that McDonald's could lose its better employees to other companies that compete for low-wage workers. Many of its franchisees face similar challenges, which could ultimately lead to broader wage gains at other McDonald's fast-food outlets." ...
... Danny Vinik of the New Republic: "... Monday's move shows that the economics are finally moving in the protesters' favor. The labor market is beginning to tighten up and McDonald's needs to offer higher wages and better benefits to retain its current workers and attract qualified new ones.... [If the Federal Reserve doesn't raise interest rates,] Millions of workers are on the precipice of a substantial increase in their living standards."
CW: I covered this yesterday via PolitiFact but the story is so extraordinary, I'll let Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post have a do-over:
The Affordable Care Act is 'a major reason why we've seen 50,000 fewer preventable patient deaths in hospitals.' -- President Obama, remarks on the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, March 25, 2015
The numbers might seem large, but the research seems solid, according to experts we consulted, and it is based on a review of an extensive database. The results likely reflect work that predated the ACA but at the same time the ACA has spurred even greater cooperation among hospitals. Since the president is using a figure more than a year old, it is likely understated.... The president's claim appears worthy of the elusive Geppetto Checkmark. -- Glenn Kessler
John Bresnahan & Rachel Bade of Politico: "The Justice Department will not seek criminal contempt charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner, the central figure in a scandal that erupted over whether the tax agency improperly targeted conservative political groups. Ronald Machen, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a seven-page letter this week that he would not bring a criminal case to a grand jury over Lerner's refusal to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March 2014." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Right Wing Response to This "Shocking News of the Day": Impeach Obama. Of course. "Richard Nixon was impeached for less."
Jackie Northam of NPR: "President Obama issued an executive order Wednesday creating the nation's first sanctions program to combat 'malicious' cyberattacks and cyberspying. President Obama said cyberthreats pose one of 'the most serious economic and national security challenge' to the U.S., and that the executive order offers a 'targeted tool' for countering that threat. The sanctions would apply to individuals and groups involved in cyberattacks that harm or compromise critical infrastructure, steal trade secrets and hobble computer systems, among other things." The order is here.
Ben Protess of the New York Times: "On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission penalized the technology and engineering firm KBR for forcing employees to sign 'restrictive' confidentiality agreements, the regulator's first such action against a company suspected of stifling potential whistle-blowers. The S.E.C. has escalated enforcement of its whistle-blower protections as part of an effort by the agency to turn a historical sore spot into an advantage. After missing warning signs about Bernard L. Madoff's Ponzi scheme, the S.E.C. created a whistle-blower program and vowed to punish companies that muzzle potential tipsters."
Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program will be extended for a second day beyond Tuesday's deadline, as Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced he would stay in Switzerland to continue the talks into Thursday. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said progress had been made, but she pointedly said Kerry would be staying 'until at least Thursday morning.' The short time period appeared to reflect a sour turn in negotiations on Wednesday, as the six world powers negotiating with Iran failed to reach a preliminary agreement over restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in return for relief from crippling international sanctions imposed on Tehran." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Update. Michael Gordon & David Sanger of the New York Times: "Negotiators appeared to be moving wearily on Thursday toward a preliminary accord on limiting Iran's nuclear program, but they remained at odds about how specific that agreement would be." ...
... Paul Waldman: "If you believe that the negotiations with Iran are the equivalent of those in Munich in 1938, what you're basically saying is that war with Iran is inevitable, so we might as well get started on it right away." ...
... AFP: "Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said Thursday that all options including military action were on the table in the face of the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. Speaking to public radio as crunch talks on Iran's nuclear programme continued in Switzerland, Steinitz said Israel would seek to counter any threat through diplomacy and intelligence but 'if we have no choice we have no choice... the military option is on the table.'" ...
With his Iran deal, Barack Obama is for the 300 million souls of the United States what Andreas Lubitz was for the 150 souls on the German Wings flight -- a deranged pilot flying his entire nation into the rocks. After the fact, among the smoldering remains of American cities, the shocked survivors will ask, why did he do it? -- Michele Bachmann, in a Facebook post
No longer a member of Congress, but still a crazy hatemonger. -- Constant Weader
You think someone like Bachmann represents the rightmost point on the bell curve of crazy, and it turns out that she's not alone at the far edge, because of plenty of others are right there with her. At this point, the right is so deranged that she may be closer to the middle of the curve than the far end. -- Steve M.
Jon Ralston: "Now that CNN's Dana Bash has found Harry Reid to be unrepentant about his Mitt Romney tax lies, it's finally time to publish a column I wrote contemporaneously with the Nevada senator's McCarthy-like tactic during the 2012 campaign. The column was never published because Las Vegas Sun Editor Brian Greenspun attempted to protect his friend, Reid, from the criticism. I never wrote for the Sun again."
Presidential Race
Playing to His Audience(s). "Yes, you can too fool all of the people all of the time." Maggie Haberman & Vindu Goel of the New York Times: "Jeb Bush appeared to modify his public comments about Indiana's 'religious freedom' law on Wednesday in a closed-door Silicon Valley fund-raiser, telling a small group of potential supporters that a 'consensus-oriented' approach would have been better at the outset. Mr. Bush's comments were strikingly different in tone and in scope from what he said on Monday night in an interview with the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. In that interview he praised Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana for doing the 'right thing' and said that the new law was similar to one in Florida and to a law signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993." ...
... Margaret Hartmann of New York: Also Chris Christie came up with a mealy-mouthed endorsement or not of Indiana's law, but we do know that he thinks Mike Pence is a wonderful guy. Rand Paul, according to Hartmann, is the only major GOP presidential candidate who has succeeded in ducking the issue.
CruzMentum. Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling: "PPP's newest Republican national poll finds that Ted Cruz has the big momentum following the official announcement of his candidacy last week. His support has increased from 5% to 16% in just over a month, enough to make him one of three candidates in the top tier of GOP contenders, along with Scott Walker and Jeb Bush. Walker continues to lead the field with 20%, although that's down from his 25% standing a month ago. Bush continues to poll at 17%, followed by Cruz at 16%, Ben Carson and Rand Paul at 10%, Marco Rubio and Mike Huckabee at 6%, Chris Christie at 4%, and Rick Perry at 3%."
Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Speaking before a conservative audience Wednesday, Gov. Scott Walker suggested he would not allow Wisconsin to set up a health care exchange if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a portion of Obamacare.'We're going to push back,' the likely Republican presidential candidate said of President Barack Obama's signature health care law. 'This president of the United States -- they've got to come up with a solution....They're going to try to put the pressure on us but we need to put the pressure right back on them.'" CW: So never mind that ObamaCare saves lives. Risking -- and taking -- the lives of tens of thousands of Americans for personal political advantage is disgusting & immoral.
Absent Actual ObamaCare Horror Stories, Ted Cruz Set to Manufacture His Own. Brian Beautler of the New Republic: Ted Cruz is "signing his family up for health insurance in a market he wants the Supreme Court to destroy.... If his plan gets canceled or his premiums mushroom after a bad Court ruling in June [-- King v. Burwell, for which Ted filed an amicus brief on behalf of the plaintiffs --], he can play up his own Obamacare horror story to frothing Republican primary voters, while omitting the fact that he quite literally asked for it." BTW, Ted & family, because they're rich, would not qualify for a subsidy, except for that lovely 75 percent Congressional subsidy, which Ted says he'll eschew.
Steve M.: Rick Santorum is proud ISIS is quoting him -- correctly! -- unlike the sloppy so-called journalists at the New York Times. The fact that Santorum is propagandizing for ISIS doesn't phase him a bit: "Santorum is doing what ISIS wants, and is quite pleased with himself for doing it. Oh, and by the way, Obama and The New York Times still suck!"
Washington Post Editors: "... it is very disturbing to see evidence that four undeclared candidates for the presidency, from both parties, have made questionable judgments about campaign finance laws. According to complaints filed by two activist groups that favor more openness, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21, the four are sidestepping restrictions on fundraising and spending activity on those who are 'testing the waters' before deciding whether to run. Those named in the complaints are former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R), former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley (D), former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R). All deny doing anything wrong.... In this era of 'dark money' in American politics, Mr. Bush has taken another step that causes deep concern:... a friend and former staffer has set up a nonprofit 'social welfare' organization, tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Code, that will reportedly develop policy options that are 'consistent' with those held by Mr. Bush.... Mr. Bush seems to have adopted every dark-money trick in the book.... Americans want a president with the right stuff, and that does not mean bags of secret cash."
Beyond the Beltway
Campbell Robertson & Timothy Williams of the New York Times: "Facing a backlash from businesses and gay rights advocates, Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas on Wednesday called on state lawmakers to either recall or amend legislation billed as a religious freedom measure so that it mirrored a federal law approved in 1993. Mr. Hutchinson, a Republican, said he understood the divide in Arkansas and across the nation over the question of same-sex marriage and its impact on people's religious beliefs. His own son, Seth, he said, had asked him to veto the bill, which critics say could allow individuals and businesses to discriminate against gay men and lesbians." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Daniel Kloap of Arkansas Online: "The Arkansas Senate on Wednesday night approved transmitting two amended existing ['religious freedom'] bills to the House that add language that mirrors the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act." CW: It's unclear to me exactly what the amendments accomplish.
... Frank Rich on "how much damage these laws are inflicting not just on gay people but on the GOP's national electoral prospects that conservatives who should know better are desperately trying to defend the indefensible by suggesting that liberals and gay-rights activists are overreacting." Rich goes on to knock his old colleague David Brooks' "deceptive" column on the subject. ...
May Not Be The Anthem of His Life. Mike Pence "added that the 'issue of discrimination' has been an 'anthem throughout my life.' You have to wonder how stupid he thinks people are. Pence has a consistent record of supporting anti-gay discrimination, from speaking against the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' in 2010 to opposing state laws that protect the rights of gays and lesbians." -- Frank Rich
... Jonathan Cohn delves into the possible effects of Indiana's RFRA law. ...
... Gail Collins: "Pence did have another explanation for why Indiana needed a religious freedom law right now. He said he wanted to expand the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision.... 'With the Supreme Court's ruling, the need for a RFRA at the state level became more important, as the federal law does not apply to states.'... Think about that for a minute. Indiana passes a law that is widely regarded as a sop to the state's social conservatives for their inability to ban same-sex marriage. The Republican establishment expresses dismay at this interpretation, and insists that its only intention was to deprive female residents of the right to get birth control. Yippee." ...
... CW: Yes, do think about that. For some reason, the "business community" has taken up the cause of gay rights. But these business interests don't give a flying fuck about women's ability to obtain contraceptives. Nor about minorities' right to vote. Where were Apple & WalMart & Angie's List when the Hobby Lobby decision came down? Or when states merrily passed voter suppression laws? (And of course, right-to-work laws?) It's almost as if the business community, not to mention some civil rights activists, have chosen gay people as their cute little pets so everybody can ignore the shattering of the rights of other groups.
... Keeping Up Appearances. Steve Benen: "Ove[r] the course of just six days, [Mike] Pence has endorsed the [IRFRA] law, then endorsed changing the law, then opposed changing the law, then re-endorsed changing the law, only to then oppose changes again.... I suspect the governor himself is a little confused about his own intentions.... if you watched Pence's press conference closely [Tuesday], there was one word he used 12 times: 'perception.'... It seems Pence is convinced that there is no real problem with his anti-gay measure; there's only the appearance of a problem. We should expect, then, a resolution that doesn't fix the problem, so much as it gives the appearance of fixing the problem." ...
... Tony Cook & Tom LoBianco of the Indianapolis Star: "Indiana Republican leaders are set to announce a deal Thursday morning that alters Indiana's controversial 'religious freedom' law to ensure it does not discriminate against gay and lesbian customers of Indiana businesses.... The compromise legislation specifies that the new religious freedom law cannot be used as a legal defense to discriminate against patrons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The proposal goes much further than a 'preamble' that was proposed earlier in the week, and, if it stands, would be the first time any protections against discrimination have been extended to gays and lesbians in state law. But it doesn't go as far as establishing gays and lesbians as a protected class of citizens statewide or repealing the law outright...." ...
... Update: "Indiana Republicans said Thursday morning that they are presenting an addition to the controversial RFRA legislation that will make it clear no one 'be able to discriminate against anyone at any time.'" ...
... Chris Geidner of BuzzFeed: "Amid a national debate over religious liberty bills being considered in several states, nearly 40 top tech leaders have joined together in urging states to provide protections for LGBT people in state civil rights laws and explicitly ban denial of services to people." ...
... Erick Erickson of Red State: "In the last twenty-four hours, much of the mainstream media has shown itself perfectly willing to serve as agents of Satan.... Jesus.... Hell fire.... Christians.... The left.... God.... Evil...."
... The Catering News. Pizza Joint Specializes in Exclusive* Pizza Party Wedding Receptions. Golden Crust in Shape of Wedding Ring. Pick-up or Deliver. Napkins Extra. *For Opposite-Sex Couples Only. Alyssa Marino of ABC 57 News: "A small-town pizza shop is saying they agree with Governor [Mike] Pence [R-Straight-Ind.] and the signing of the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The O'Connor family, who owns Memories Pizza, says they have a right to believe in their religion and protect those ideals. If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no,' says Crystal O'Connor of Memories Pizza." ...
... CW: Yes, I know it's Good Friday & the illustration is offensive. I'm sorry for that, but it was not my idea to promote Totally Straight Pizza during Holy Week. ...
... Michelle Sokol of the Elkhart Truth: "Since the story aired ... thousands of people from across the country have targeted the business's Facebook and Yelp pages. The pizzeria's rating on both sites has plummeted to a single star. The business's website was also hacked to display gay pornography and graphic language.... A Concord High School coach has been suspended after she tweeted about arson in relation to a Walkerton pizzeria whose owners told the media they agree with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act." ...
... TMZ: "Memories Pizza -- the first Indiana business to declare it would refuse LGBT business -- got blasted on the Internet and by phone, but the owner says there's been a huge misunderstanding ... sorta. Kevin O'Connor tells TMZ he's had to temporarily close his business after he told a reporter he would refuse to cater a gay wedding under Indiana's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act. O'Connor says he was immediately flooded by threatening phone calls, and social media postings."
MEANWHILE, in Georgia Greg Blustein & Jim Galloway of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Call it coincidence, but two of the losers in [Tuesday] night's [Georgia legislature] vote on a transportation funding bill were also the two business interests who voiced opposition to the 'religious liberty' legislation.... H.B. 170 goes to Gov. Nathan Deal with a provision ending a $23 million-a-year aviation fuel sales tax break that was largely enjoyed by Delta Air Lines, whose CEO Richard Anderson had riled GOP lawmakers with his opposition to 'religious liberty' bills and statements on immigration reform. The big surprise in last night's deal-making was a new $5 surcharge on hotel and motel stays.... It just so happens that Jim Sprouse and Ron Fennel, top dogs at the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association, were also the only two members of the business community to personally testify at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing ... [at which] they warned of a sharp drop-off in convention business if the measure moved forward."
Matthew Simon of Channel 3000: Madison, Wisconsin, city council"... members unanimously voted to make discriminating against atheism, and others who do not believe in God, illegal.... The vote amends the city's equal opportunity ordinance, adding atheism as a protected class in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations."
News Ledes
Washington Post: "The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, the televangelist who drew millions of followers with his 'Hour of Power' broadcasts from the Crystal Cathedral, the glittering house of worship recognized around the world as the locus of his signature brand of motivational Christianity, died April 2 at a care facility in Artesia, Calif. He was 88."
AP: "Al-Shabab gunmen attacked a college in northeast Kenya early Thursday, targeting Christians and killing at least 15 people and wounding 60 others, witnesses said." ...
... New York Times Update: "Gunmen attacked a university campus in northeastern Kenya early Thursday, clashing with guards, forcing their way into dormitories, taking hostages and singling out non-Muslims, the authorities said. Kenya's interior minister, Joseph Nkaissery, said that 147 people had been killed, including four attackers."
;)
Share Article 