The Commentariat -- Feb. 27, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "The Senate on Friday passed a bill to finance the Department of Homeland Security, sending the legislation to the House with just hours to avert a partial shutdown of the agency at midnight. The spending bill, which removed restrictions on President Obama's executive action on immigration that were included in a bill passed by the House, easily passed the Senate, 68 to 31. Democrats also blocked a separate bill to undo the president's action." ...

... At 11:00 am ET, Reuters has a breaking news banner which reads, "House of Representatives approves rule for three-week funding extension of homeland security funding." No link. ...

     ... Update. Here's the brief, by David Lawder: "A Republican bill to provide a three-week funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security cleared a procedural hurdle in the House of Representatives on Friday, indicating support for final passage in the chamber.The House voted 240-183 along strict party lines...." ...

... Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "House Republicans on Thursday presented a plan for a stopgap bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security for three weeks, raising hopes of averting a looming shutdown of the agency. The plan, which the leaders pitched to rank-and-file Republicans in a closed-door meeting, was the first sign they were willing to pass a new bill after passing another one weeks ago that takes aim at President Obama's executive actions on immigration and has been blocked in the Senate. But the plan faces an uncertain outlook, as House Democratic leadership decided to marshal support against it." ...

... John Boehner really doesn't give a fuck anymore:

... Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Friday doubled down on his promise to block a conference committee with the House on funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). House Republicans on Friday are poised to vote on a short-term bill to fund DHS through March 19, along with a motion to go to conference with the Senate to negotiate a final funding deal. In the conference committee, Republicans could decide whether the bill should reverse President Obama's executive actions on immigration. With the Senate poised to approve a 'clean' bill that funds DHS through September, Reid is vowing that Democrats will filibuster to ensure the conference committee never takes place."

Rebecca Ruiz & Steve Lohr of the New York Times: "The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to regulate broadband Internet service as a public utility, a milestone in regulating high-speed Internet service into American homes. Tom Wheeler, the commission chairman, said the F.C.C. was using 'all the tools in our toolbox to protect innovators and consumers' and preserve the Internet's role as a 'core of free expression and democratic principles.' The new rules, approved 3 to 2 along party lines, are intended to ensure that no content is blocked and that the Internet is not divided into pay-to-play fast lanes...." ...

... Cecilia Kang & Brian Fung of the Washington Post: "Cable and telecommunications companies, as well as GOP lawmakers, quickly condemned the move as an overreach of government intervention into their businesses, and lawsuits are expected to follow." ...

... Jeff Roberts of Gigaon: "It took four million public comments and a pitched political fight invoking everything from civil rights to Presidential power, but the FCC has finally passed new rules on net neutrality."

... Stacey Higgenbotham of Gigaon has a brief take on experts' responses to the FCC move. ...

... CW: Speaking of "experts," I've been reading some right-wing comments about the new FCC ruling. As nearly as I can tell -- because the writers aren't particularly articulate -- they think that the "secret" regulations which will guarantee "net neutrality" are ones that will allow the "liberal media" to steal the airwaves or Internets waves or something from the more popular, free-market Fox "News." So "net neutrality" = "free stuff for liberals." I despair.

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), in a Washington Post op-ed, explains why she will not be attending Benjamin Netanyahu's speech before the U.S. Congress.

Chutzpah. If they're [the Obama administration] not looking at some kind of contingency plan, I think that's irresponsible. It's kind of like hostage-taking. Jonathan Adler, an architect of King v. Burwell

The problem with the argument is that Adler [is] both taking and shooting the metaphorical hostages, and ... asking Obama to tell the public that everyone is fine while the hostage-takers look for a getaway car. -- Scott Lemieux, in LG&M

... BTW, law professor Eric Segall does a close (or maybe even a cursory) reading of the ACA & finds that the plain text of the law -- not just a reasonable interpretation -- makes clear that federal insurance exchanges are to be treated just like exchanges established by states. The King plaintiffs' lawyers' interpretation is what's absurd, not the IRS's correct reading. Via Greg Sargent.

Lucia Mutikani of Reuters: "U.S. economic growth braked more sharply than initially thought in the fourth quarter amid a slow pace of stock accumulation by businesses and a wider trade deficit, but the underlying fundamentals remained solid." ...

     ... CW: Hard to believe. The big political news of the 4th quarter was that Republicans won big in the November elections, as expected. According to Mitch McConnell, speaking on the Senate floor just after the new, improved Congress was sworn in, the new, improved economy "appears to coincide with the biggest political change of the Obama Administration's long tenure in Washington: the expectation of a new Republican Congress." (Brian Beutler: "Parse McConnell carefully, and he's actually selling Republicans a little short. The uptick doesn't just 'appear' to coincide with the expectation of a new Republican Congress. It absolutely does coincide with the expectation of a new Republican Congress. Relatedly, things that coincide are called 'coincidences.'") Shall we hold our breaths till McConnell explains that "economic grown braked more sharply" because businesses were reflecting their "expectation of a new Republican Congress"?

Josh Barro of the New York Times: "The big challenge for President Obama -- and for Republicans seeking their own agenda to woo the middle class -- is that middle-income economic fortunes are driven mostly by private employers.... Right now, the best middle-class economic agenda might be to do no harm: Let the positive trends on job growth and gas prices continue, watch them flow through to wages, and hope the Federal Reserve doesn't get in the way and that Congress and the president can keep policy at an approximate status quo...." ...

... CW: Barro is a conservative (but not the usual crazy type). So not a word about, say, passing legislation to empower unions, which would help drive up worker wages; nothing about enacting tax legislation that would make it more financially attractive for businesses to invest in workers as opposed to stockholders, executives & financial instruments; no acknowledgment that driving up the minimum wage will lead to higher wages for better-paid workers; no acknowledgment that infrastructure spending would help middle-class workers, etc. This is a New York Times columnist advocating for Republican do-nothing policies, & you should be aware of that. ...

... New York Times Editors: "In a nation where the long decline in unions has led to a pervasive slump in wages, Republicans' support for anti-union legislation is at odds with their professed commitments to helping the middle class. Right-to-work laws do not attract businesses and create jobs, as proponents claim. Rather, they are linked to lower wages, fewer benefits and higher poverty. They win support among conservative lawmakers not because they are in the public interest but because cutting labor costs is a priority of far-right groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is tied to the Koch brothers. The Wisconsin bill is almost verbatim from a model provided by ALEC."

In case you were wondering, Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) is still stupid:

... Jaime Fuller of New York: "Although Inhofe is not the first lawmaker to question global warming by looking out the window on any given day, many scientists and science journalists have shown that 'polar vortex' conditions may be a result of climate change, not a refutation of it. And although we have had a few unexpected chances to make snowballs in the U.S., the trend has been toward more and more unseasonably warm days."

Randal Archibold of the New York Times: "Cuba's spot on the American list of states that sponsor terrorism is emerging as a major sticking point in the effort to restore diplomatic ties with the United States and reopen embassies that have been closed for nearly five decades. On Friday, Cuban and American officials will meet in Washington for a second round of talks -- the first were in Havana in January -- aimed at carrying out the vow of President Obama and President Raúl Castro to restore diplomatic relations as a prelude to more normal ties. But whether Cuba should be removed from the state terrorism list is a particularly nettlesome issue...."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

** This Is LOL-Funny. Jon Swaine of the Guardian: "Former colleagues of Bill O'Reilly ... have disputed his account of surviving a bombardment of bricks and rocks while covering the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. Six people who covered the riots with O'Reilly in California for Inside Edition told the Guardian they did not recall an incident in which, as O'Reilly has claimed, 'concrete was raining down on us' and 'we were attacked by protesters'.... Several members of the team suggested that O'Reilly may instead be overstating a fracas involving one disgruntled Los Angeles resident, who smashed one of their cameras with a piece of rubble. Two of the team said the man was angered specifically by O'Reilly behaving disrespectfully after arriving at the smoking remains of his neighbourhood in a limousine, whose driver at one point began polishing the vehicle. O'Reilly is said to have shouted at the man and asked him: 'Don't you know who I am?'"

If Fox "News" Does It..., Homina Homina. Andrew Kirell of Mediate: Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) "has been a fierce advocate in encouraging websites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to police its users posting videos or images that promote or support ISIS actions in any way...."

Aaron Schock's knockoff Downton.

Downton Abyss. Marin Cogan of New York: "How Downton Abbey Office Décor Morphed Into a D.C. Spending Scandal." The accidental story of Aaron Schock's (R-Ill.) lavish spending. A thoroughly enjoyable read about a thoroughly obnoxious little twit who is getting his comeuppance for wasting your money. He's lawyered up! ...

... MEANWHILE, Politico found a new & apropos ethics violation: Schock dined at Buckingham Palace with Prince Charles & Duchess of Cornwall, & attended some other toney London events without paying or receiving the approvals required. He also held a fundraiser last September & failed to pay for the facility or for services that included -- massages & custom-rolled cigars for the guests. ...

... Now, thanks to revelations of Schock's taxpayer-funded hedonistic jaunts, all stemming from the Downton story ...

... Anna Palmer, et al., of Politico: "Rep. Aaron Schock has hired two prominent Washington defense attorneys and a public relations firm to respond to the swirling controversy and a potential ethics probe over how he has financed his lavish lifestyle." CW: Are we paying his lawyers & PR firm, too?

Souad Mekhennet & Adam Goldman of the Washington Post have some sketchy details on the brutal ISIS killer "Jihada John," who is "Mohammed Emwazi, a Briton from a well-to-do family who grew up in West London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming." ...

... Anne Barnard of the New York Times writes a heartbreaking piece on ISIS's barbaric rampages in Northern Syria & Iraq: "... to residents, it ... seems to be part of the latest effort by the Islamic State militants to eradicate or subordinate anyone and anything that does not comport with their vision of Islamic rule -- whether a minority sect that has survived centuries of conquerors and massacres or, as the world was reminded on Thursday, the archaeological traces of pre-Islamic antiquity." CW: To me, too.

Barbarians Everywhere. AP: "A prominent Bangladeshi-American blogger known for speaking out against religious extremism was hacked to death as he walked through Bangladesh's capital with his wife, police said Friday. The attack Thursday night on Avijit Roy, a Bangladesh-born U.S. citizen, occurred on a crowded sidewalk as he and his wife, Rafida Ahmed, were returning from a book fair at Dhaka University. Ahmed, who is also a blogger, was seriously injured."

Paul Krugman: "Provisionally, at least, Greece seems to have ended the cycle of ever-more-savage austerity. And ... in so doing, Greece has done the rest of Europe a favor."

Scott Kaufman of the Raw Story: Liberals & smartasses take over CPAC's "Ask a Speaker a Question" hashtag." Typical question: "@SenMikeLee In your opinion Senator, who is the laziest minority group?" ...

Presidential Race

I want a commander-in-chief who will do everything in their [sic.] power to ensure that the threat from radical Islamic terrorists do not wash up on American soil.... We need a leader with that kind of confidence. If I can take on a 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world. -- Gov. Scott Walker, Thursday

If Scott Walker thinks that it's appropriate to compare working people speaking up for their rights to brutal terrorists, then he is even less qualified to be president than I thought. -- DNC Communications Director Mo Elleithee, Thursday

The protesters in Wisconsin ... earned plenty of legitimate criticism. But they're not ISIS. They're not beheading innocent people.... They don't deserve to be compared to murderous terrorists. -- Jim Geraghty of the National Review, Thursday ...

... Because Schoolteachers Are a Lot Like Terrorists. Caitlin MacNeal of TPM: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) on Thursday said that his experience with protests over his law eliminating collective bargaining rights for public employees has prepared him to confront terrorists." ...

... Reversal of Fortunes. Jonathan Martin & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "In the early stages of the 2016 Republican presidential primary, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin is the hot property, his poll numbers rising and the chatter from activists and contributors growing steadily more positive. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is the mirror opposite, his political stock falling along with his standing in surveys of Republicans." It showed at CPAC. ...

... Shushannah Walshe of ABC News: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie continued to bash the media [Thursday] at the Conservative Political Action Conference, playing into a popular topic among the activists in the crowd, saying 'elite folks from the media' cover him 'every day.'... This is the second day in a row Christie has taken on the media, specifically The New York Times, possibly laying out a theme that tends to be popular with the conservative primary voting base and something he can return to in a 2016 stump speech. On his monthly radio call-in show, 'Ask the Governor,' he ... blamed the bad headlines on 'the national media following you around trying to justify their air fare going over there.'" ...

... Paul Krugman: "Gail [Collins (column linked here yesterday)] thinks [the New Jersey pension brouhaha] is the end of [Chris] Christie’s presidential ambitions; I think this gives his party too much credit for caring about reality. Christie probably is toast ... because ... he apparently doesn't know when to stop bellowing -- you do need to make nice to the big money, and he hasn't.... The Christie affair is yet another demonstration that there are no true fiscal hawks on the right, only deficit peacocks who strut around and preen themselves on their supposed fiscal virtue, but never show themselves willing to make any sacrifices for the cause."

Olivia Nuzzi of the Daily Beast: "Ted Cruz, CPAC's favorite travelling salesman, was back and selling his favorite product: himself." With an assist from ruthless interrogator sidekick Sean Hannity.

Jonathan Topaz of Politico: "On Friday..., [Jeb Bush ]will appear at the Conservative Political Action Conference, taking part in a Q&A with Fox News host Sean Hannity. How the crowd reacts could indicate just how steep a challenge Bush will face in winning over the GOP grass roots, especially during the primary. CW: I wonder of Hannity will ask him why he loves America.

McKay Coppins of BuzzFeed: "To an extent that would have been unthinkable in past elections, one of the leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination has stocked his inner circle with advisers who are vocal proponents of gay rights. And while the Bush camp says his platform will not be shaped by his lieutenants' personal beliefs, many in the monied, moderate, corporate wing of the GOP -- including pragmatic donors, secular politicos, and other members of the establishment -- are cheering the early hires as a sign that Bush will position himself as the gay-friendly Republican in the 2016 field."

Nick Gass of Politico: "Ben Carson kicked off the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference with a speech that laid out his vision for the economy, foreign policy and domestic issues. The retired Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon offered up red meat to the early-morning crowd...."

Beyond the Beltway

There is no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you. -- Will Rogers

... Tim Egan: "Oklahoma ... is facing a $611 million budget shortfall. So, of course, the politicians who run this fine piece of the prairie are busy with legislation to keep children ignorant, and to protect gay conversion therapy -- the emotionally abusive and psychologically unsound attempt to, you know, fix the homosexuals. The push against professional educators is part of a larger national effort by conservatives to get rid of the history they don't like.... The party of science denial is now getting into history denial.... If you believe in American exceptionalism, then empower students with critical thinking skills so they can defend it. Don't give them a Bible lesson."

Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "A long-fought legal battle to recover $8.9 billion in damages from Exxon Mobil Corporation for the contamination and loss of use of more than 1,500 acres of wetlands, marshes, meadows and waters in New Jersey has been quietly settled by the state for around $250 million.... Richard B. Stewart, a New York University law professor and a former head of the Justice Department's environmental division, noted the 'striking disparity between the damages claimed, which have been exhaustively litigated, and the settlement amount,' particularly with a judicial ruling expected soon." ...

... CW: Exxon always wins. Big.

Kyle Cheney & Nick Gass of Politico: "Missouri state Auditor Tom Schweich, a leading Republican candidate for governor in 2016, died Thursday in 'an apparent suicide,' police said. Schweich, 54, was hospitalized earlier Thursday following a single self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in suburban St. Louis. He was pronounced dead at Barnes Trauma Center, according to Clayton, Mo., Police chief Kevin Murphy."

News Ledes -- R.I.P.

Guardian: "Prominent Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov has been shot dead in Moscow. Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and a sharp critic of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was reportedly shot four times in the chest by a killer in a passing car. The killing took place in the very centre of Moscow late on Friday evening on a bridge near St Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin, two days before Nemtsov was due to lead a major opposition rally in Moscow."

New York Times: "Leonard Nimoy, the sonorous, gaunt-faced actor who won a worshipful global following as Mr. Spock, the resolutely logical human-alien first officer of the Starship Enterprise in the television and movie juggernaut 'Star Trek,' died on Friday morning at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 83."

New York Times: "The Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, the scrappy former president of the University of Notre Dame who stood up to both the White House and the Vatican as he transformed Catholic higher education in America and raised a powerful moral voice in national affairs, died late Thursday. He was 97."

New York Times: "Earl Lloyd, who became the first black player to appear in an N.B.A. game when he took the court for the Washington Capitols in October 1950, three and a half years after Jackie Robinson broke modern major league baseball's color barrier, died on Thursday in Tennessee. He was 86."

The Commentariat -- Feb. 26, 2015

Internal links removed.

Christi Parsons & Lisa Mascaro of the Los Angeles Times: "Senate leaders moved toward a deal Wednesday to avoid a shutdown of the Homeland Security Department, sidestepping a fight over immigration policy, as President Obama declared his administration would curtail deportations of immigrants in the country illegally despite losing a court fight on the issue this month." ...

... Washington Post Editors: "CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS are so busy this week flirting with a partial government shutdown -- their target is the Department of Homeland Security and its 240,000 employees -- that they may have missed fresh evidence of how badly out of step with the American public they are on the issue of illegal immigration.... In a large and important new survey, majorities in all 50 states favored a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants." ...

... Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald: "Likening immigration reform to the great civil-rights movements in U.S. history, President Barack Obama vowed in Miami on Wednesday to veto any legislation from Congress undoing his executive order protecting from deportation up to 5 million people who are in the country illegally." ...

... Mike Lillis of the Hill: "A top House Democrat said Wednesday that President Obama is eying a partial launch of his new deportation-relief programs, despite a federal court's recent decision to block them. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) said the administration is weighing whether it has the authority to initiate the executive actions in the states not involved in a lawsuit against them." ...

... Dana Milbank: "John Boehner ... can defy conservatives by abandoning their fight to undo President Obama's immigration actions and perhaps lose his speakership in the process. Or he can stand with the conservatives and be blamed for shutting down the Department of Homeland Security." Milbank goes on to the recount Boehner's responses -- make that "response" -- at his press conference Wednesday. It's not nice to laugh at someone when he's down, but my lips keep'a curling upward. ...

... CW: Boehner may be about to lose his speakership, and what does he do? ...

... He Enforces the Dress Code. Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) halted floor proceedings Wednesday to remind members of chamber decorum. During the final vote series of the day, Boehner reiterated the rules for proper behavior on the House floor. Boehner, who is known for ribbing lawmakers and reporters for their attire, has made reminding members of House rules a regular practice."

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Almost four months after Loretta E. Lynch was picked by President Obama to be the next attorney general, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to approve her nomination on Thursday, with a handful of Republicans joining the committee's Democrats in backing her. Ms. Lynch, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, will then face a challenge on the Senate floor from Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, and other staunch conservatives. They have called on all Senate Republicans to reject her nomination, in part because she has defended Mr. Obama's executive actions on immigration." ...

     ... UPDATE. Sari Horwitz of the Washington Post: "The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to confirm U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch as the next attorney general, sending her nomination to the full Senate, where it is expected to be voted on in the coming days.... Sens. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) voted with the committee's nine Democrats to approve Lynch's nomination.... A vote on the Senate floor could come as early as next week."

Dominic Rushe of the Guardian: "The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) looks set to pass strict new rules to govern broadband internet in the US on Thursday, following one of the most intense -- and bizarre -- lobbying battles Washington has ever seen.... At [today's] meeting the commission's two Democrat members, Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, are expected to approve the plan put forward by the Democratic chairman, Tom Wheeler, with some objections. They will overrule the two Republican commissioners who have already lambasted the plan...." ...

... Mario Trujillo of the Hill: "The Senate Commerce Committee is slated to grill all five Federal Communications Commission members during an oversight hearing on March 18, according to Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.). FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the four other commissioners will answer questions about the agency's 'over-reaching' net neutrality order expected to be approved on Thursday."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren in a Washington Post op-ed on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement: "Agreeing to [Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions] in this enormous new treaty would tilt the playing field in the United States further in favor of big multinational corporations. Worse, it would undermine U.S. sovereignty. ISDS would allow foreign companies to challenge U.S. laws -- and potentially to pick up huge payouts from taxpayers -- without ever stepping foot in a U.S. court."

Jonathan Chait explains why a government loss in King v. Burwell would not permanently cripple the ACA. Short explanation: middle-class citizens of all political stripes who are already benefiting from the tax subsidies will raise hell. Also Chait doesn't think Chief Justice Roberts will decide for the plaintiffs, thus wasting the Court's political capital on a farcical lawsuit that would hurt Republicans & ultimately fail anyway. ...

... BUT Joshua Green of Business Insider: "The immediate effect of a ruling against the ACA would be to hurl the political system, and no small part of the economy, into chaos. Yet there's little sign that Washington is preparing for that scenario." ...

... Greg Sargent: A few Republicans get this: "... a Republican Senator, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, is sounding similar warnings in the Wall Street Journal. Sasse tells fellow Republicans they'd better have an alternative to deal with those who might lose insurance, to avert a political nightmare for Republicans: 'Chemotherapy turned off for perhaps 12,000 people, dialysis going dark for 10,000. The horror stories will be real.'"

... Sarah Ferris of the Hill: "Some Republicans say they simply do not believe that the Obama administration isn't developing a fallback plan in case the Supreme Court dismantles a piece of the healthcare law this summer. Sylvia Burwell, the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), has repeatedly said there is no plan B if the high court rules that subsidies for insurance cannot be distributed through the federal exchange HealthCare.gov." CW: I do believe "some Republicans" are right.

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court seemed inclined Wednesday to agree with a Muslim woman who charged that retailer Abercrombie & Fitch violated anti­discrimination laws when it denied her a job because her head scarf conflicted with the company's dress code."

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A Florida fisherman narrowly defeated the federal government at the Supreme Court Wednesday, winning a 5-4 ruling that the three undersized red grouper he threw overboard to avoid an inspector were not covered by an obstruction of justice provision in a financial fraud statute." CW: The Justices can be amusing.

Catherine Thompson of TPM: "Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to a potential nuclear deal with Iran, calling it as wrongheaded as the prime minister's backing of the Iraq War. 'Israel is safer today with the added time we have given and the stoppage of the advances in the nuclear program than they were before we got that agreement, which by the way the prime minister opposed,' Kerry said during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. 'He was wrong.'"

Seumas Milne & Ewen MacAskill of the Guardian: "Al-Qaida has developed a seaborne unit to attack targets around the Mediterranean, according to a confidential report from Russian intelligence, one of a cache of secret documents from spy agencies around the world tracking jihadi terrorist groups. According to the Russians, North African al-Qaida (Aqim -- al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb) has established a 60-strong team of suicide bombers to plant mines under the hull of ships and to use small, fast craft for kamikaze attacks."

Rosalind Helderman & Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post: "The Clinton Foundation accepted millions of dollars from seven foreign governments during Hillary Rodham Clinton's tenure as secretary of state, including one donation that violated its ethics agreement with the Obama administration, foundation officials disclosed Wednesday." ...

... Josh Gerstein: "In hundreds of documents released to Politico under the Freedom of Information Act, not a single case appears where the State Department explicitly rejected a Bill Clinton speech. Instead, the records show State Department lawyers acted on sparse information about business proposals and speech requests and were under the gun to approve the proposals promptly. The ethics agreement did not require that Clinton provide the estimated income from his private arrangements, making it difficult for ethics officials to tell whether his services were properly valued.... The pact ... imposed no vetting on donations to the Clinton Foundation by individuals or private companies in the U.S. or abroad."

Jessica Roy of New York: "A senior State Department official was arrested on Tuesday on charges of soliciting sex from a minor.... Director of Counterterrorism Daniel Rosen was busted in a sting operation by a detective posing as a child online, because life imitates To Catch a Predator. Rosen was charged with use of a communications device to solicit a juvenile, and shuttled off to jail in D.C.... The State Department is already working hard to distance itself from him...." Here's the AP story. ...

... CW Orange Alert: So how come the State Department's tippy-top counterterrorism "expert" can't tell a little girl from a police detective? If Rosen represents the high-water mark of expertise employed to defend us from slippery bad guys, this is the Scariest Story of the Day.

"The Chairman's Flight." Jessica Roy notes that it's great to be the chairman of the New York & New Jersey Port Authority. It appears to include "bespoke air travel.... Kids, one day you too could have your own airline route, if only you are rich in money or bankrupt in morals." CW: I'll bet United didn't break his guitar, either.

Mike DeBonis & Aaron Davis of the Washington Post: "Flanked by members of the D.C. Council and the city's top lawyer, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser announced on live television Wednesday that marijuana possession will become legal in the District at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. 'We believe that we're acting lawfully,' Bowser said, offering a direct retort to House Republicans who late Tuesday urged the mayor -- and even threatened prison time -- to reconsider moving forward with legalization.... House Republicans said Wednesday that they are not preparing to take legal action against the city should it proceed in defiance of a congressional funding rider. Instead, one congressman said, it would fall to the Justice Department to intervene -- a much less likely scenario under the Obama administration." ...

... Marc Fisher, et al., of the Washington Post provide some background & write that "legalization is ... a pivotal moment for the nation and the city." CW P.S.: Certain limited-government Congressional Republicans still think the limited government should boss around black people.

Annals of "Journalism, Ctd.

Lauren Gambino of the Guardian: "Craig Spencer, the doctor who was found to have Ebola days after returning to New York City from Guinea, wrote in an essay published on Wednesday that he was mistakenly cast as a 'fraud, a hipster, and a hero' by the media as he fought for his life from a hospital bed." Spencer's essay is here.... 'The media and politicians could have educated the public about Ebola,' he wrote. 'Instead, they spent hours retracing my steps through New York and debating whether Ebola can be transmitted through a bowling ball.'"

The Return of Forrest Gump. Olivia Marshall of Media Matters: "Bill O'Reilly has claimed repeatedly that he witnessed the execution of nuns while reporting in 1981 on the civil war in El Salvador, an apparent fabrication that is at odds with both history and what O'Reilly himself has said about arriving in the country after the event took place, according to new information unearthed by Media Matters." ...

... Geez, he even lies to his sainted mother:

Both Sides Do It. Charles Pierce: "One of our Beltway fave-raves, Ron (Keep Up The Fight) Fournier of the National Journal, is back with another survey of the deplorable fashion in which politics keeps getting involved in our politics. Like the veteran journalist that he is, Ron gets right to it in what we call the lede. "Who's at fault for the looming Homeland Security Department shutdown? Everyone in power." ...

... CW: BTW, Pierce's claim that Obama "had a nominal veto-proof majority in the Senate, where all the easily reached chokepoints are, from his inauguration day until Ted Kennedy died in September of 2009" is just wrong. There wasn't a 60-vote Senate majority (which included the Despicable Lieberman, et al., & Sen. Robert Byrd, who was sick & not in attendance most of the time) till Al Franken won the Minnesota vote recount & was sworn in in early July. Also, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick replaced Kennedy with Paul Kirk, a Kennedy factotum who was a reliable Democratic vote. The Democratic supermajority (in name only because of Byrd's last illness) lasted between July 7, 2009, till Scott Brown (R) was sworn in February 10, 2010."

Presidential Race

Ariel Edwards-Levy of the Huffington Post: "'The fundamental challenge for my side is the seemingly inexorable change in the composition of presidential electorates,' Republican pollster Whit Ayres ...said.... 'And there's no reason to believe that that's going to stop magically.' The demographic change poses little problem for the GOP in midterm elections, when young and minority voters are far more likely than older, white voters to stay home.... That's the stunning part for me in running these numbers -- to realize that the last Republican to win a presidential election, who reached out very aggressively to minorities, and did better than any Republican nominee before or since among minorities, still didn't achieve enough of both of those groups in order to put together a winning percentage' for 2016, Ayres said."

A War of His Own. Margaret Hartmann: "During a radio interview on Wednesday, [winger] host Hugh Hewitt brought up a concern about a third Bush presidency that probably hadn't occurred to most people: Would Jeb 'be overly cautious about using force for fear of having a "third Bush war" occur?' Everyone can rest easy, because the answer is no."

Jack Schafer of Politico: "A candidate like [Scott] Walker who can't answer a question that isn't in his briefing book or campaign white paper fails one of the most elemental tests for becoming president: how to handle the unexpected/undesired. Pouting or playing the victim when asked a hazing question just makes a bad situation worse. Just ask Sarah Palin."

Gail Collins writes that Chris Christie's presidential hopes just bit the dust in a pretty boring way: his "signature achievement" -- reforming the state's public pension system -- is a disaster.

Beyond the Beltway

... Mary Walsh of the New York Times: "First in Detroit, then in Stockton, Calif., and now in New Jersey, judges and other top officials are challenging the widespread belief that public pensions are untouchable. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey delivered the latest blow on Tuesday, when he proposed to freeze that state's public pension plans and move workers into new ones intended not to overwhelm future budgets or impose open-ended demands on taxpayers." ...

... Matt Arco of NJ.com: "Hours before Gov. Chris Christie delivers his annual budget address today, the state's largest teacher union is seeking to make clear today that a deal has not been struck between the union and the governor on overhauling New Jersey's ailing pension system.... The statement comes after Christie's office said Monday the governor will announce today he's teaming up with the NJEA on 'groundbreaking changes' to tackle New Jersey's pension woes. The governor's office did not say it had reached a deal with the union." ...

... Matt Arco: "The governor declared Tuesday during a joint legislative session that the commission he appointed to propose solutions to fixing New Jersey's pension system 'reached an unprecedented accord with the NJEA.' But the governor's declaration appeared to take the union by surprise." Christie blamed the media's "careless reporting" for any misunderstanding between the teachers' union & him.

Julie Bosman of the New York Times: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel "won more than 45 percent of [Tuesday's] vote to [Jesús 'Chuy'] Garcia's 34 percent, but the gap was close enough to raise sharp questions about whether Mr. Emanuel, a former congressman and chief of staff to President Obama, could easily shake off the insurgent." ...

... E. J. Dionne: "Garcia is unabashed in making this contest an ideological struggle. He has cast Emanuel -- who received an endorsement from his old boss, President Obama, and vastly outspent his opponent -- as a local reincarnation of Mitt Romney, 'Mayor 1 Percent.'"

American "Justice," Ctd. Spencer Ackerman of the Guardian: "Vic Suter, a protester arrested before the 2012 Nato summit in Chicago, has told the Guardian about her experience of being detained inside Homan Square, a warehouse where multiple detainees allege they have been unable to contact legal counsel. Suter described a situation in which she was neither booked nor permitted a phone call.... Suter's account echoes that of Brian Jacob Church, whose story of extended detention without public notification and delayed legal access was featured in a Guardian's exposé on Tuesday."

Peter Sullivan of the Hill: "Jonathan Gruber, the consultant who said ObamaCare became law due to the 'stupidity of the American voter,' was fired from the board of the Massachusetts health exchange on Wednesday.Gov. Charlie Baker (R) asked Gruber, an MIT professor, to resign, along with three other members of the board, according to the governor's office."

Oliver Laughland of the Guardian: "Three officers unloaded a volley of 17 bullets at Antonio Zambrano-Montes, of which 'five to six' struck the unarmed Mexican national during a fatal encounter with police in Pasco, Washington, the police unit investigating his death has revealed. Zambrano-Montes was killed on the evening of 10 February at a busy intersection in the majority Hispanic city. Video footage of the incident, uploaded to YouTube and viewed more than a million times, shows Zambrano-Montes running away from three officers, at one point raising his arms, before he turns to them and is gunned down."

News Ledes

New York Times: "An Argentine judge on Thursday dismissed the criminal allegations against President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner that had been brought by Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor who had accused her of conspiring to shield Iranian officials from responsibility for the deadly bombing of a Buenos Aires community center in 1994.The judge, Daniel Rafecas, decided that the criminal complaint Mr. Nisman put forward before his mysterious death last month was not sufficient to open an investigation into the president."

New York Times: "Continuing its assaults on a string of Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria, the Islamic State militant group has seized scores more residents over the past two days, bringing the number of captives to as many as several hundred, Assyrian organizations inside and outside Syria said on Thursday."

Guardian: "A British man has been identified as the knife-wielding militant who appears in Islamic State (Isis) videos claiming responsibility for the beheadings of US, British and other hostages. The Guardian understands that Mohammad Emwazi, a 26-year-old west Londoner and university graduate, is the militant."

Weather Channel: "Winter Storm Remus dumped as much as a foot of snow on the South, and its trek will continue up the East Coast on Thursday. In addition to heavy snow, the storm system left hundreds of thousands without power. Businesses and schools were closed as the entire region slowed to a halt when the snow began to fall. Northern Alabama's roads were extremely treacherous. Overnight Wednesday along Interstate 65, multiple motorists were stranded on the highway and had to spend the night in their vehicles, according to My Fox Alabama."

The Commentariat -- Feb. 25, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

NEW. Julie Davis of the New York Times: "President Obama, thwarted by a federal court from carrying out pieces of his immigration directive and barraged daily by congressional Republicans trying to gut or defund it, is in many ways frozen in place on his attempt to wield presidential authority to reshape the immigration system. So Mr. Obama is taking his message on the road, using a trip to Miami on Wednesday to exact a political price from Republicans for their opposition to his immigration policy and to consolidate gains he has made with Hispanics since announcing executive actions to shield millions of unauthorized immigrants from deportation. He plans to hold a town-hall-style meeting on immigration at Florida International University and to sit for an interview with Telemundo...."

A Lovely Day for Democrats

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Senior Republicans conceded on Tuesday that the grueling fight with President Obama over the regulation of Internet service appears over, with the president and an army of Internet activists victorious. The Federal Communications Commission is expected on Thursday to approve regulating Internet service like a public utility, prohibiting companies from paying for faster lanes on the Internet. While the two Democratic commissioners are negotiating over technical details, they are widely expected to side with the Democratic chairman, Tom Wheeler, against the two Republican commissioners."

Michael Shear & Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "President Obama on Tuesday rejected an attempt by lawmakers to force his hand on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, using his veto pen to sweep aside one of the first major challenges to his authority by the new Republican Congress. With no fanfare a 104-word letter to the Senate, Mr. Obama vetoed legislation to authorize construction of a 1,179-mile pipeline that would carry 800,000 barrels of heavy petroleum a day from the oil sands of Alberta to ports and refineries on the Gulf Coast." ...

... Emily Atkin of Think Progress: "All the veto means is that Congress isn't able to force the pipeline's construction through legislation -- the process is just going back to being centered on the State Department's administrative review procedure.... The State Department will ultimately make a recommendation to Secretary of State John Kerry on whether Keystone XL is in the national interest. Kerry will then make the official determination, which will likely sway the President's final decision.... There's been a fierce debate over how much of that oil would stay in the U.S. and how much would be exported.... A new study, released Monday by the analysis firm IHS Inc., said that the majority of it would stay in the country. Specifically, the study said that 70 percent of the Canadian heavy oil would stay in the country after being refined...." ...

... Wendy Koch of the National Geographic: "Obama's veto will do little to end the drama of the controversial pipeline. The reason? The multibillion-dollar project faces other challenges in Nebraska and South Dakota—two states that the 1,179-mile (1,897-kilometer) northern leg of the pipeline would cross as it moves oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska."

Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, on Tuesday offered a path to avert a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, saying he would allow a vote on a bill solely to fund the agency, followed by a second vote on legislation that would halt President Obama's 2014 executive actions on immigration. The move offered Republicans an avenue to break out of an embarrassing impasse as they try to prove their ability to govern as the majority party in Congress. But Mr. McConnell's proposal hardly settles the matter, and increases the likelihood that Congress will be forced to fashion a short-term spending bill to keep the department open." ...

... David Nakamura & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "House Republicans will huddle behind closed doors Wednesday morning. The unsettled DHS debate is expected to be the central focus of their discussion." ...

     ... Update. Jake Sherman & John Bresnahan of Politico: "Speaker John Boehner told a closed meeting of House Republicans Wednesday morning he has not spoken to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in two weeks, and added that it's up to the upper chamber to figure out how to avoid a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.... The speaker and his leadership team face a monumental test that could have major implications for the GOP and their own political future." ...

... Dana Milbank is feeling all sorry for Mitch McConnell, who's taking flak from Senate Democrats & House confederates. CW: Me, too. Boo-Fucking-Hoo.

Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post: "... after enduring (another) week in which the limits of his power within the Republican conference were on stark display, the operative question within GOP circles is how long [House Speaker John Boehner] can -- and wants to -- hold that coveted perch. Last week, Boehner (Ohio) allowed a 'clean' debt-ceiling increase to come to the floor, despite knowing that the vast majority of Republicans would oppose it. The measure passed the House with the support of just 28 of the 232 Republicans. (That's only 12 percent.) A formal effort to replace Boehner is underway, launched by the Senate Conservatives Fund."

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The federal judge in Texas who blocked President Barack Obama's latest executive actions on immigration signaled Tuesday that he isn't inclined to rush a decision on the Obama Administration's request to lift the injunction he imposed last week. U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen's order saying he'll give the states suing the federal government another week to respond means the issue of a possible stay in the case will likely be taken up by a federal appeals court before he rules one way or another."

Pete Williams of NBC News: "The Obama administration says there would be no way to fix the health care system administratively if the Supreme Court rules against the government in the Obamacare case to be argued next week." CW: I continue to believe they'll figure out something if they must, though they might not be able to do anything for residents of states with Republican legislatures & confederate governors. So the claim, it seems to me, is partially true.

Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times: Corporations & outsourcing firms routinely abuse the H-1B visa program to outsource American jobs to foreign workers. Darryl Issa (R-Calif.) is planning a 'reform' to make the situation worse. Legislation introduced by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and passed by the Senate in 2013 as part of a comprehensive immigration reform act would have" solved the problem. "The failure of Congress to take [appropriate] steps demonstrates that the H-1B visa program is not really about finding scarce talents to fill crucial jobs, but about creating a young, cheap, and indentured labor force.... The parties driving demand for this mess of a program are the Googles, Intels, Microsofts and SoCal Edisons, who reap all the benefits."

Julie Davis of the New York Times: "Susan E. Rice, President Obama's national security adviser, sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Tuesday over his plans to address a joint meeting of Congress next week, saying his actions had hurt his nation's relationship with the United States. Mr. Netanyahu's decision to travel to Washington to deliver the speech two weeks before the Israeli elections has 'injected a degree of partisanship, which is not only unfortunate, I think it's destructive of the fabric of the relationship,' Ms. Rice said in an interview on the PBS television program 'Charlie Rose.'" ...

We offered the prime minister an opportunity to balance the politically divisive invitation from Speaker [John] Boehner with a private meeting with Democrats who are committed to keeping the bipartisan support of Israel strong. His refusal to meet is disappointing to those of us who have stood by Israel for decades. -- Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Senate Minority Whip ...

... AP: "... Binyamin Netanyahu, has turned down an invitation to meet US Senate Democrats next week during his visit to Washington, saying the session 'could compound the misperception of partisanship' surrounding his trip.... Democratic senators Dick Durbin and Dianne Feinstein on Monday invited Netanyahu to meet in a closed-door session with Democrats during his visit." Thanks to safari for the link.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

As the Falafel Crumbles. Ben Dimiero, et al., of Media Matters: "Bill O'Reilly has repeatedly claimed he personally 'heard' a shotgun blast that killed a figure in the investigation into President John F. Kennedy's assassination while reporting for a Dallas television station in 1977. O'Reilly's claim is implausible and contradicted by his former newsroom colleagues who denied the tale in interviews with Media Matters. A police report, contemporaneous reporting, and a congressional investigator who was probing Kennedy's death further undermine O'Reilly's story.... In new interviews, O'Reilly former colleagues say O'Reilly wasn't even in Florida where the Kennedy witness committed suicide. Records show he reported the story based on telephone calls he made from Dallas, Texas. Read the whole report. Media Matters makes an airtight case against O'Reilly.

Jim Poniewozik of Time: "It's no accident that O'Reilly was a chief inspiration for Stephen Colbert's character on The Colbert Report, for whom he invented the concept of 'truthiness': that what your gut tells you is more important than what the literal facts say, that how the news feels is more important than what the news is.... The fact that charges exist becomes the best defense against the charges. Not only that, they only reinforce that O'Reilly is right: he has the right enemies [-- the 'liberal media' --] he must be on the right side." For Fox "News," "attacks" by the "liberal media" are a boon.

Amanda Terkel of the Huffington Post & O'Reilly staff stalker victim: "Threats are nothing new from O'Reilly. And as I know firsthand, he sometimes goes even further.... My best guess ... was that [O'Reilly producer Jesse Watters] staked out my apartment and followed me to Virginia.... He had behaved similarly toward dozens of other people before me, including judges, religious officials and journalists."

** Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: "Funny, catchy and also nonsense. [Jon] Stewart's riff is based on a false choice between either holding news figures accountable for their falsehoods or investigating war justifications. The media is large enough to do both.... If the Daily Show host really believes that everyone can see right through O'Reilly & Co...; why, then, has he spent the last oh-so-many years exposing the holes and contradictions and hypocrisies of Fox News?... Another reason why it may be a good time for Jon Stewart to hang it up." ...

... Steve M.: "... it would be nice if the mainstream media figured out that the mainstreaming of McCarthyites like O'Reilly ... over the past couple of decades is the real journalism scandal here."

Presidential Race

Alex Seitz-Wald of NBC News: "Hillary Clinton came as close as she has yet to announcing an expected presidential run in 2016, saying Tuesday she's 'obviously' thinking about a bid and is very close to completing her pre-decision checklist. Coming off a lengthy hiatus from her three-decades spent in the public eye, the all-but-declared presidential candidate chose a Silicon Valley women's conference to mark her reemergence and hone a message of economic and gender empowerment." ...

... Rory Carroll of the Guardian: "Hillary Clinton has softened her criticism of Edward Snowden and said that people felt betrayed by the National Security Agency's mass surveillance programmes. The former secretary of state dialled down her previous rhetoric about the whistleblower and hardened her tone towards the NSA while addressing a conference on women in Silicon Valley."

Sam Youngman of the Lexington, Kentucky Herald-Leader: "U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's push for a Republican presidential caucus in Kentucky, lending heavy weight Tuesday to a proposal that had raised concerns among some members of the state GOP's executive committee. Paul's push for a caucus in early 2016 would allow him to run for two offices during the 2016 Republican primary season without violating a Kentucky law that prohibits a candidate from appearing on the same ballot twice." ...

... Alex Kaczynski & Megan Apper of BuzzFeed: "Former Republican Rep. Ron Paul, the father of potential presidential candidate Rand Paul and a former presidential candidate himself, said the Congressional Black Caucus does not support war because they want that money for food stamps."

Alec MacGillis of Slate: "... no one should have been surprised by [Scott] Walker's stormy entry into the early primary season, because the conventional wisdom about him [-- that he was a quasi-moderate, crossover candidate --] was flawed all along.... Walker rose to power in Wisconsin less by reaching out to Democrats and swing voters than by appealing to the conservative base in a state that is as starkly polarized as any in the country.... There are those who believe the Republicans could take one more shot at winning the presidency with an overwhelmingly homogenous (i.e., white) base of support and unreformed platform, before doing so becomes simply inconceivable. That is the option that Walker is presenting to his party...." ...

... John Cassidy of the New Yorker: "Having cut taxes for the wealthy and stripped many of Wisconsin's public-sector unions of their collective-bargaining rights, [Walker] is now preparing to sign a legislative bill that would cripple unions in the private sector. Many wealthy conservatives, such as the Koch brothers, who have funnelled a lot of money to groups supporting Walker, regard him as someone who's turning his state into a showcase for what they want the rest of America to look like.... In a more just world, Walker's indecent and craven antics would disqualify him from playing any further role in the Presidential race. But in the current political environment, his tactics, far from hurting him, may well bolster a candidacy that is already thriving." ...

... Yup, It's Worrrking! NBC News: "Scott Walker leads the GOP pack in the key early caucus state of Iowa, a new poll from Quinnipiac University shows. The once little-known Wisconsin governor gets the support of 25 percent of likely Republican caucus participants, while potential rivals Sen. Rand Paul (13 percent), Ben Carson (11 percent), Mike Huckabee (11 percent) and Jeb Bush (10 percent) lag behind." CW: Worth noting: Iowa Republicans are the same gang who ushered in President Santorum in 2012 (by only 34 votes) & President Huckabee in 2008. ...

... Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling: "PPP's newest national Republican poll finds a clear leader in the race for the first time: Scott Walker is at 25% to18% for Ben Carson, 17% for Jeb Bush, and 10% for Mike Huckabee. Rounding out the field of contenders are Chris Christie and Ted Cruz at 5%, Rand Paul at 4%, and Rick Perry and Marco Rubio at 3%." CW: Surprise! Wingnuts prefer wingnuts. That's today's Republican party.

Paul Waldman: It's a good thing that the Republican National Committee has decided to use wingnuts to moderate their presidential nomination debates: the wingnuts can't be any worse than Blitzer & Co., & wingers might get some answers from candidates that matter to their base.

Senate Races

Michael Finnegan of the Los Angeles Times: "Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Tuesday that he would not enter the race for Barbara Boxer's seat in the U.S. Senate, leaving state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris as the only major candidate."

Jack Torry & Jessica Wehrman of the Columbus, Ohio, Dispatch: "Former Gov. Ted Strickland is expected to announce on Wednesday morning that he will challenge Republican Sen. Rob Portman next year, setting up what could be one of the top-tier Senate races of 2016.... Strickland's announcement will come a little over a week after he left his position leading the political arm of the progressive Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C." CW: I wouldn't expect Strickland to win this one.

Beyond the Beltway

Bill Ruthhart & Rick Pearson of the Chicago Tribune: Chicago Mayor "Rahm Emanuel failed to win a second term Tuesday, suffering a national political embarrassment as little-known, lesser-funded challenger Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia forced the mayor into the uncharted waters of an April runoff election. It's the first time Chicago has had a runoff campaign for mayor, which is what happens when none of the candidates eclipses the 50 percent benchmark in round one." ...

... "The Disappeared, Chicago Edition." Spencer Ackerman of the Guardian: "The Chicago police department operates an off-the-books interrogation compound, rendering Americans unable to be found by family or attorneys while locked inside what lawyers say is the domestic equivalent of a CIA black site." ...

     ... Spencer Ackerman: "Two former senior Justice Department officials are calling on their colleagues to investigate a secretive warehouse used for interrogations by Chicago police and likened to a CIA 'black site' facility." ...

... Tanya Basu of the Atlantic: "The story is especially timely given the mayoral elections occurring [yesterday], and it casts a shadow over Rahm Emanuel's handling of crime in the city. But Homan Square sits within a larger story of corruption and violence -- one that stretches back through Chicago's long murky history of fighting crime." ...

... "This Is a Country that Tortures." Charles Pierce: "... it might behoove some ambitious assistant US Attorney in Cook County to get Mayor Rahm Emanuel under oath and find out what he knows about how Chicago became East Germany.... This is what can happen if you normalize torture in the public mind the way that the Avignon Presidency and its acolytes did and then, when a new administration comes in, it declines to prosecute the people involved and, indeed, it fights to keep secret what was done in the name of the American people."

Kevin Johnson & Yamiche Alcindor of USA Today: "The Justice Department said Tuesday its independent investigation found 'insufficient evidence' to charge George Zimmerman with federal civil rights violations in the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin." The DOJ press release is here.

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "Eddie Ray Routh, the man who killed 'American Sniper' Chris Kyle and his friend in a rifle range rampage, will spend the rest of his life in prison."

News Ledes

Washington Post: "The Senate voted Wednesday to move ahead with a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security after Democratic leaders dropped an earlier pledge to block it unless they get assurances from House Republican leaders that it would pass their chamber. The bill advanced on a procedural vote by a 98-2 margin. The only dissenters were Republican Sens. James Inhofe (Okla.) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.)"

A Message from Homeland Security. New York Times: "Three men living in Brooklyn were arrested and charged on Wednesday with providing material support to the Islamic State, a terrorist organization that controls large parts of Iraq and Syria and has been actively recruiting Westerners to its fight. One of the men was arrested early Wednesday morning at Kennedy International Airport, where he was attempting to board a flight to Istanbul and then planned to travel to Syria, according to the authorities." ...

     ... Politico Update: "A man arrested on charges of planning to travel to Syria and join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant also mused about assassinating President Barack Obama, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday. Abdurasul Juraboev, a 24-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan, allegedly asked online, 'Is it possible to commit ourselves as dedicated martyrs anyway while here? What I'm saying is, to shoot Obama and then get shot ourselves, will it do?,' according to the Justice Department's complaint."