Ides of March 2014
Internal links removed.
Craig Timberg of the Washington Post: "U.S. officials announced plans Friday to relinquish federal government control over the administration of the Internet, a move that pleased international critics but alarmed some business leaders and others who rely on the smooth functioning of the Web.... The change would end the long-running contract between the Commerce Department and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a California-based nonprofit group."
** Joan Walsh of Salon: "The backlash to the president's overtime-pay expansion just makes clear what we've known for a long time: [Republicans] oppose every attempt by government to reward hard work and protect the rights of workers -- unless it applies to the very wealthy."
Michael Lind, in Salon, on how to reduce U.S. poverty right now. Hey, it's simple.
Anne Gearan & Kathy Lally of the Washington Post: "An eleventh-hour U.S. effort to resolve the growing confrontation with Russia over Ukraine failed Friday, and Moscow shipped more troops and armor into the flash-point Crimea region ahead of a planned vote on breaking away from Ukraine and rejoining Russia. Secretary of State John F. Kerry warned against a 'backdoor annexation' by Russia of the strategic Black Sea peninsula." ...
... The Guardian story, by Ewen MacAskill & Alec Luhn, is here. ...
... ** C. J. Chivers & Patrick Revell of the New York Times: "With a mix of targeted intimidation, an expansive military occupation by unmistakably elite Russian units and many of the trappings of the election-season carnivals that have long accompanied rigged ballots across the old Soviet world, Crimea has been swept almost instantaneously into the Kremlin's fold."
** Charles Pierce: "Either CIA director John Brennan gets to the bottom of what his people were doing and publicly fires everyone involved, or John Brennan becomes the ex-director of the CIA. By the Constitution, this isn't even a hard call. The Senate has every legal right to investigate what was done in the name of the American people during the previous decade.... That the president has not [given Brennan this ultimatum] yet -- indeed, that he seems to have thrown his support behind Brennan -- is not merely a mistake, it is a demonstration of the practical limits of the political appeal that got him elected in the first place."
Stupid Democratic Tricks. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Facing a possible defeat in the Senate, the White House is considering delaying a vote on President Obama's choice for surgeon general or withdrawing the nomination altogether, an acknowledgment of its fraying relationship with Senate Democrats. The nominee, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, an internist and political ally of the president's, has come under criticism from the National Rifle Association, and opposition from the gun-rights group has grown so intense that it has placed Democrats from conservative states, several of whom are up for re-election this year, in a difficult spot. Senate aides said Friday that as many as 10 Democrats are believed to be considering a vote against Dr. Murthy, who has voiced support for stricter gun-control laws."
The President's Weekly Address:
New York Times Editors: "An escalating campaign by immigration advocates against President Obama's get-tough policies (nearly two million deportations and counting) is having an effect on the deporter in chief."
Sierra Marquina of Ryan Seacrest's show: "Barack Obama phoned in to "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" on Friday to encourage young people to sign up for the Affordable Care Act and revealed how he was able to keep a straight face during his comical appearance on Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis." A fairly enjoyable interview:
... Dana Milbank on why young people have abandoned President Obama -- and how their abandonment is hurting the implementation of ObamaCare. ...
... Rick Hertzberg & Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker talk with Dorothy Wickenden about the ACA & its political implications:
Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report: At the request of President Obama, Miami Heat star LeBron James will cut "a 30-second public service announcement, released in time for March Madness, in which the four-time MVP speaks about the importance of health care coverage."
CW: I am ashamed to say that I missed David Brooks' best column evah: the one where he explains love & sex to shut-ins. I'll admit I didn't really read it, but there something about "dopamine" & "naked women" & Paul Tillich. I know I should feel sorry for him. ...
... I am not ashamed to say I didn't read this from the New York Times op-ed page: John McCain: Obama has made America look weak." No link.
Aaron Blake & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "The documents released Friday [by the Clinton Library] shed light on White House strategy and decisions in areas ranging from health-care policy to national security to the official state visits of foreign dignitaries." Blake & Rucker run down some of the highlights.
Beyond the Beltway
At this point, all signs indicate that, in the eyes of the United States Constitution, the plaintiffs' marriages will be placed on an equal footing with those of heterosexual couples and that proscriptions against same-sex marriage will soon become a footnote in the annals of American history. -- U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger ...
... Chris Geider of BuzzFeed: "A federal judge [Aleta Trauger] in Tennessee Friday ordered state officials to recognize the marriages of three same-sex couples during the consideration of their lawsuit challenging the validity of the state's ban on recognizing such marriages."
Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times: "Three nonprofit groups offering homeowner counseling sued Gov. Jerry Brown of California on Friday, demanding the state replace $369 million that had been earmarked to help troubled borrowers but was used instead to pay down the state's debt. As part of the $25 billion national mortgage servicing settlement two years ago, California and other states won a portion for home loan counseling and other educational services to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure. Kamala Harris, the state's attorney general, secured the funds after long and tense negotiations with the banks."
Senate Race
It's about time that South Carolina (says) hey, we're tired of the ambiguously gay senator from South Carolina. We're ready for a new leader to merge the Republican Party. We're done with this. -- GOP Senate candidate Dave Feliciano, on Sen. Lindsey Graham (R)
Might be a good time for Graham to come out as less ambiguously gay. -- Constant Weader
News Ledes
Washington Post: "Russia's military staged a provocative new act of aggression on Saturday, occupying a natural gas distribution center and village on a strip of Ukrainian land near the Crimean Peninsula and prompting Kiev's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to denounce 'a military invasion by Russia.' The incident marked the first face-to-face standoff between the Ukrainian and Russian militaries outside the Crimean Peninsula, suggesting that Moscow is testing the will of Kiev amid fears of further Russian incursions in eastern and southern Ukraine."...
... Washington Post: "Opposition to Russia's intervention in Ukraine sparked an unexpectedly large protest march [in Moscow] Saturday, as tens of thousands of demonstrators waving Ukrainian, Russian and European Union flags chanted 'No war!' and 'Russia without Putin.' They wore armbands and ribbons in the Ukrainian colors of blue and yellow, ribbons in Russia's white, blue and red, and the plain white ribbons that were a hallmark of the large rallies against President Vladimir Putin that blossomed and then faltered in 2012."
New York Times: "Russia on Saturday registered the sole veto against a United Nations Security Council resolution that declared a planned Sunday referendum on secession in Crimea illegal. China, Russia's traditional ally on the Council, abstained. As a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia has the right to reject any measure proposed in the body. The Russian ambassador, Vitaly I. Churkin, preceded his no vote by saying that Russia would respect the results of Sunday's referendum, without saying anything about exactly what it would do afterward."
New York Times: "Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia announced on Saturday afternoon that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 left its planned route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing as the result of 'deliberate action' by someone aboard. Mr. Najib also said that search efforts in the South China Sea had been ended, and that technical experts now believed that the aircraft could have ended up anywhere in one of two zones -- one as far north as Kazakhstan in Central Asia, and the other crossing the southern Indian Ocean."