The Commentariat -- June 14, 2013

Karen DeYoung & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "The United States has concluded that the Syrian government used chemical weapons in its fight against opposition forces, and President Obama has authorized direct U.S. military support to the rebels, the White House said Thursday."

Kimberly Dozier of the AP: "Two senior Republican lawmakers said Thursday that terrorists are already changing their behavior after leaks about classified U.S. data gathering programs, but they offered no details. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said it's part of the damage from disclosures by National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of two NSA programs...." ...

... David Ingram & Patricia Zengerle of Reuters: "FBI Director Robert Mueller said on Thursday that authorities would move aggressively to track down Edward Snowden and hold him accountable for leaking the details of extensive and top-secret U.S. surveillance efforts. Mueller confirmed that a criminal investigation had been launched into the leaks and said public reports about the National Security Agency's efforts to monitor Internet and phone data had hurt U.S. national security." ...

... Mueller Takes a Hard Line. Dan Roberts of the Guardian: "The FBI has shrugged off growing congressional anxiety over its surveillance of US citizens, claiming such programs could have foiled the 9-11 terrorist attacks and would prevent 'another Boston'.... In a frequently heated debate [before the House judicial oversight committee] over balancing privacy and security, [FBI Director Robert] Mueller went further than other government officials in claiming that the collection of data on all American phone calls had become an essential part of counter-terrorism efforts and would make the US 'exceptionally vulnerable' if watered down." ...

... No Kidding. Keith Bradsher of the New York Times: "The decision by a former National Security Agency contractor to divulge classified data about the U.S. government's surveillance of computers in mainland China and Hong Kong has complicated his legal position, but may also make China’s security apparatus more interested in helping him stay here, law and security experts said on Friday. The South China Morning Post, a local newspaper, reported on Friday that Edward J. Snowden, the contractor, had shared detailed data showing the dates and Internet Protocol addresses of specific computers in mainland China and Hong Kong that the National Security Agency penetrated over the last four years. The data also showed whether the agency was still breaking into these computers, the success rates for hacking and other operational information.... Kevin Egan, a former prosecutor [in Hong Kong] who has represented people fighting extradition to the United States, said that Mr. Snowden's latest disclosures would make it harder for him to fight an expected request by the United States for him to be turned over to American law enforcement. 'He's digging his own grave with a very large spade,' he said. But a person with longstanding ties to mainland Chinese military and intelligence agencies said that Mr. Snowden's latest disclosures showed that he and his accumulated documents could be valuable to China, particularly if Mr. Snowden chooses to cooperate with mainland authorities."

... Margaret Hartmann of New York: "The British government sent a travel alert to airlines around the world warning them not to let [Edward Snowden] fly to the country because 'the individual is highly likely to be refused entry to the UK." A British diplomat tells the Associated Press that ... any airline that does fly him to the U.K. is likely to be fined £2,000. It looks like he can cross 'crashing with Julian Assange' off his list of places to stay."

... Spencer Ackerman of the Guardian: "Two prominent Senate critics of the NSA's dragnet surveillance have challenged the agency's assertion that the spy efforts helped stop 'dozens' of terror attacks. Mark Udall and Ron Wyden, both members of the Senate intelligence committee, said they were not convinced by the testimony of the NSA director, General Keith Alexander, on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, who claimed that evidence gleaned from surveillance helped thwart attacks in the US." ...

Jayne Mayer & James Surowiecki of the New Yorker discuss the Snowden leaks with Dorothy Wickenden:

... When "American Exceptionalism" Meets American Blunders. Ian Bremmer of Reuters: "The United States is so eager to cast itself as a pinnacle of various behaviors and values that when it inevitably falls short, it leads to awkward contradictions. That's a shame, because the United States actually does have substantive differences from many other countries on civil liberties, human rights and democracy. It's just that its stance ensures any slipups and embarrassments overshadow everything else.... When the United States projects its standards upon the rest of the world, it makes it all the more glaring when the United States falls short of its own mark."

Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "When Senator Carl Levin of Michigan stripped a measure aimed at curbing sexual assault in the military out of a defense bill this week, it was widely seen as a trampling by a long-serving male committee chairman on female lawmakers seeking justice for victims. But the truth reflects a more complex battle driven by legislative competition, policy differences and the limits of identity politics in a chamber where women's numbers and power are increasing." CW: I'm still seeing it as a trampling. Levin is retiring; is enabling sexual assaults what he wants to leave as his legacy?

Frank Rich on Snowden, immigration reform, etc., etc.

The White House Mole. Massimo Calabresi of Time on CIA Director John Brennan's surprise pick of NSA lawyer Avril Haynes for deputy director.

Paul Krugman: "... the only way we could have anything resembling a middle-class society -- a society in which ordinary citizens have a reasonable assurance of maintaining a decent life as long as they work hard and play by the rules -- would be by having a strong social safety net, one that guarantees not just health care but a minimum income, too. And with an ever-rising share of income going to capital rather than labor, that safety net would have to be paid for to an important extent via taxes on profits and/or investment income." ...

... CW: another -- and perhaps better or more "capitalistic" -- alternative, which I'm surprised Krugman doesn't mention, is by requiring corporations (by law & by union pressure) to pay workers better wages for fewer hours. This also, of course, is "redistributing the wealth," but in this scenario, the wealth would presumably be redistributed on a somewhat more meritorious basis: i.e., the better, or more skilled, or more needed workers would get a bigger piece of the pie than the unskilled or "obsolete" workers. Yes, the social safety net is essential, but it is just as essential to give people incentives to "get ahead" & rewards for when they do. ...

... AND, speaking of unions, Brad Plumer of the Washington Post outlines some of the huge challenges they face. Whether you prefer my scenario or Krugman's, neither is going to happen in a country where the people who most need help vote for Jeff Sessions & Mitch McConnell, et al.

"They. Just. Don't. Care." Paul Waldman of the American Prospect: "Ramesh Ponnuru has a long piece at National Review imploring conservatives to come up with a health-care plan they can swiftly put in place when Obamacare inevitably collapses under the weight of its disastrous big-government delusions. Though I disagree with almost every point Ponnuru makes along the way..., I'll give him credit for trying to get his ideological brethren to come up with a proposal to solve what they themselves keep saying is a terrible problem.... The biggest problem with this kind of appeal is that he will never, ever get anything beyond a tiny number of Republicans to invest any effort in coming up with a health-care plan. That would involve understanding a complex topic, weighing competing values and considerations against one another, and eventually getting behind something that will be something of a compromise. And let me say it again: They. Just. Don't. Care."

Yesterday Charles Pierce did a number of Rep. Jeff Duncan (RStupid-S.C.), who is right upset that IRS bookkeepers are going to pull out their government-issue assault weapons and mow down bands of patriotic Tea Partiers. Pierce notes that Duncan is "the one who said that, if we expand background checks on firearms purchases, the United States will become Rwanda." CW: what we must realize here, of course, is that certain voters have elected to Congress men & women who believe the citizens must be armed against the government, & some of these members of Congress are happy to incite their constituents to violence. As Pierce concludes, "Somebody's going to get hurt behind this stuff."

I wonder what Marco Rubio's problem is with equal rights for gays. Perhaps he's using his "tough stand against equality" as a sop for the GOP winger contingent, but I don't see where discrimination against gays will make much of an impression on Tea Party members of Congress who don't want any ferinners -- straight or gay -- to sully our sacred soil.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Human genes may not be patented, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday. The decision is likely to reduce the cost of genetic testing for some health risks, and it may discourage investment in some forms of genetic research." ...

... Lyle Denniston of SCOTUSblog explains the ruling "in plain English."

Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) makes it a triple as he slides into third base during the annual Congressional baseball game. Roll Call photo.Democrats Beat Republicans in a Landslide Third-Base Slide. Meredith Shiner of Roll Call reports on the annual Congressional baseball game: Rep. Cedric "Richmond [D-La.], donning an old-school Brooklyn Dodgers No. 42 jersey in honor of the late Jackie Robinson, dominated the game, pitching 7 shutout innings, notching 4 hits and driving in 2 runs, to lead the Democrats to the most lopsided win in 52 years of CQ Roll Call Congressional Baseball, 22-0.... Rep. Linda T. Sánchez, D-Calif., the only female player, was a fan favorite, getting to first base twice and taking second base on an error in the 5th inning after notching a single." Richmond was a varsity pitcher at Morehouse College.

Local News

** AP: "The Arizona Legislature embraced a signature component of President Barack Obama's health care law Thursday after a drawn out battle that divided the state's Republican leadership and saw GOP Gov. Jan Brewer work closely with Democratic lawmakers to expand Medicaid access. The Legislature passed Brewer's $8.8 billion state budget and Medicaid expansion after months of stalled negotiations, tense debates and political maneuvering from both sides. Brewer called it a 'sweet victory' for Arizona's budget and its people. The expansion will provide health insurance to an additional 300,000 poor Arizonans under a key provision of the Affordable Care Act."

Steve Benen: Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, vetoed a state bill expanding background checks, a bill supported by 86 percent of Nevadans, including 78 percent of self-identified conservatives.

News Ledes

Reuters: "Millions of Iranians voted to choose a new president on Friday, urged by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to turn out in force to discredit suggestions by arch foe the United States that the election would be a sham. The 50 million eligible voters had a choice between six candidates to replace incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but none is seen as challenging the Islamic Republic's 34-year-old system of clerical rule."

Washington Post: "Turkey's leader offered protesters concessions early Friday, officials and protesters said, in a step that may help quiet the demonstrations that have swept the country for two weeks. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a delegation of protesters in a closed-door meeting in Ankara that he would be willing to soften his approach to redevelopment in Istanbul's central Gezi Park, the issue that originally sparked demonstrations."

The Commentariat -- June 13, 2013

I won't be able to do any more today, but I should be back at work more-or-less full-time tomorrow. Thanks for your patience. -- Marie

Lee Ferran & Akito Fujita of ABC News: "Alleged NSA leaker Edward Snowden claimed today to have evidence that the U.S. government has been hacking into Chinese computer networks since at least 2009 -- an effort he said is part of the tens of thousands of hacking operations American cyber spies have launched around the world... The South China Morning Post reported it had conducted a lengthy interview with the 29-year-old former NSA contractor.... The Post said Snowden provided documents, which the paper described as 'unverified,' that he said showed U.S. cyber operations targeting a Hong Kong university, public officials and students in the Chinese city. The paper said the documents also indicate hacking attacks targeting mainland Chinese targets, but did not reveal information about Chinese military systems." ...

     ... The New York Times story, by Keith Bradsher, is here. The Guardian story, by Ewen MacAskill & Tania Branigan, is here. ...

     ... CW: I would say this revelation helps answer the question my local paper asked this morning: Snowden, traitor or hero? I cannot see how U.S. citizens benefit from this latest revelation, & there are obvious downsides. ...

... Andrew Rafferty of NBC News: "The expansive government surveillance programs made public last week have helped prevent 'dozens' of terrorist attacks, National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander told a Senate committee Wednesday. It is unclear, however, what specific surveillance practices helped thwart the alleged plots. And Alexander, an Army general, was quick to clarify that in most cases multiple programs have successfully been used together to stop attacks both in the United States and abroad." ...

     ... The Washington Post story, by Ellen Nakashima & Jerry Markon, is here.

... Ed Pilkington & Nicholas Watt of the Guardian: "Lawyers and intelligence experts with direct knowledge of two intercepted terrorist plots that the Obama administration says confirm the value of the NSA's vast data-mining activities have questioned whether the surveillance sweeps played a significant role, if any, in foiling the attacks." ...

... Not too worried about the Obama administration's little lapses? Paul Waldman of the American Prospect is: "when President Paul Ryan or whoever takes office and meets with his national security team, what he'll say is, 'Let's see here. I can get every American's phone records, I can read their emails, I can send drones out to kill an American citizen anywhere in the world if I decide that person is a threat, and hell, I can even start a little war without bothering to get Congress' permission if I want to. I'll certainly be using these powers with restraint -- 'ha ha!' And don't forget that when that next Republican president does come along, his administration is going to be stocked to the gills with people who worked for George W. Bush, just because that's how things work in Washington." ...

... Obama 2.0. Karen DeYoung & Greg Miller of the Washington Post: "The CIA's deputy director plans to retire and will be replaced by White House lawyer and agency outsider Avril D. Haines, Director John O. Brennan said Wednesday. Haines, who will succeed career officer Michael Morell on Aug. 9, has served for three years as President Obama's deputy counsel in charge of national security issues and as legal adviser to the National Security Council.... The surprise move gives Brennan an ally in the CIA's executive suite who helped him with the revision of drone-campaign rules that was recently announced by Obama. Unlike an agency insider, Haines has no direct investment in any of the counterterrorism programs that Brennan has indicated he will seek to rein in."

Michael McAuliff & Sabrina Siddiqui in the Huffington Post: some GOP Senators -- e.g., Mitch McConnell -- who thought gun background checks were way too intrusive are A-okay with NSA surveillance of Americans' phone records. CW: nice to know that consistency is not among the hobgoblins of their little minds.

The Grand Old Misogynist Party, Ctd.

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday signed off on a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill would narrow the window currently set out by federal law and the Supreme Court, which bans most abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Some Republican-controlled state legislatures have passed similar laws in recent months. The bill passed committee by a 20-12 vote and is headed for the House floor." ...

... Dana Milbank: "... the nameplates on the majority side told the story: Mr. Goodlatte. Mr. Sensenbrenner. Mr. Coble. Mr. Smith. Mr. Chabot. Mr. Bachus. Mr. Issa. Mr. Forbes. Mr. King. Mr. Franks. In all, the nameplates of 23 misters lined both rows on the GOP side; there isn't one Republican woman on the panel. The guys muscled through a bill that, should it become law, would upend Roe v. Wade by effectively banning all abortions after 20 weeks."

Congressional Races

David Bernstein of Boston Daily: President Obama traveled to Massachusetts to a get-out-the-vote rally for U.S. Senate candidate Ed Markey.

Gail Collins on Michael Bloomberg's brilliant plan to defeat anti-gun-safety Democratic Senators Mark Pryor (Arkansas) & Mark Begich (Alaska), thus greatly increasing the likelihood that the entire Senate will fall to the Grand Ole Shoot-'em-up Party. Here's the ad against Pryor:

... Here's Mark Pryor's response. CW: I'm not sure the Mayors Against Gun Violence ad will hurt him a great deal in Arkansas:

News Ledes

Orlando Sentinel: "The judge presiding over George Zimmerman's trial in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin announced Thursday that the jury will be sequestered. None has yet been seated in the case...."

AP: "An argument inside a St. Louis home health care business escalated into gun violence Thursday when a man shot three other people before turning the gun on himself, police said. The shooting occurred at AK Home Health Care LLC.... Authorities said the shooter either owned or was a co-owner of the small business and his three victims were employees."

The Commentariat -- June 12, 2013

I know there's lots more out there, but I haven't time to look for it today. Please use the Comments section to share what you find. Thanks. -- CW

Seung Min Kim of Politico: "The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly agreed to launch a major effort to rewrite U.S. immigration laws, setting the stage for weeks of debate on securing the nation's borders, legalizing undocumented residents and modernizing the country's immigration system. Senators voted 82-15 to move forward on the Gang of Eight immigration bill; 60 votes were needed for passage. All 15 votes against the motion were from Republicans. The bill cleared a second procedural vote later Tuesday." ...

... Suicide by Bigotry. Francis Wilkinson of Bloomberg News: " ... it's impossible to know how effectively [House Speaker John] Boehner can manage his unruly troops -- or how far to the right his definition of 'immigration bill' will ultimately be. Last week, House Republicans voted to overturn President Barack Obama's executive order enabling young undocumented immigrants -- who had been brought to the U.S. as children -- to avoid deportation. As policy, the vote was pointlessly cruel. As politics, it was disastrous, targeting the most sympathetic group of undocumented immigrants for punishment, and revealing a Republican rank and file marching behind their most virulently anti-immigrant colleagues. Writing in U.S. News under the headline 'A Finger in the Eye of Hispanic Voters,' Robert Schlesinger asked the obvious question: 'Does this party have a death wish?' We'll soon learn the answer." ...

Markos Moulitsas: it'll be a blue Texas soon, & anti-immigration stances like Ted Cruz's could speed up the state's metamorphosis.

The Grand Old Misogynist Party

Awwwk-ward! Scott Shane & Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "For years, intelligence officials have tried to debunk what they called a popular myth about the National Security Agency: that its electronic net routinely sweeps up information about millions of Americans.... Since the disclosures last week showing that the agency does indeed routinely collect data on the phone calls of millions of Americans, Obama administration officials have struggled to explain what now appear to have been misleading past statements." ...

... Fred Kaplan of Slate: "If President Obama really does welcome a debate about the scope of the U.S. surveillance program, a good first step would be to fire Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Back at an open congressional hearing on March 12, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked Clapper, 'Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?' Clapper replied, 'No sir ... not wittingly.;' As we all now know, he was lying." ...

... Dan Roberts, et al., of the Guardian: "Anger was mounting in Congress on Tuesday night as politicians, briefed for the first time after revelations about the government's surveillance dragnet, vowed to rein in a system that one said amounted to 'spying on Americans'." ...

... Adam Serwer of NBC News: "Seeking to drag the shadowy world of U.S. national security law into the light, a bipartisan group of senators has proposed a bill that would declassify significant legal opinions reached by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The court is charged with approving intelligence agency requests for surveillance on suspected foreign agents." ...

... Sahil Kapur of TPM: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) both defended the National Security Agency's surveillance program on Tuesday." ...

... Craig Timberg & Cecilia Kang of the Washington Post: "Technology companies stung by the controversy over the National Security Agency's sweeping Internet surveillance program are calling on U.S. officials to ease the secrecy surrounding national security investigations and lift long-standing gag orders covering the nature and extent of information collected about Internet users." ...

... Do We Really Need to Know This? Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "U.S. intelligence operatives covertly sabotaged a prominent al-Qaeda online magazine last month in an apparent attempt to sow confusion among the group's followers, according to officials." As Robert Chesney & Benjamin Wittes pointed out, the Post's story on PRISM (but not the Guardian's) was likely damaging to national security. This one can't be helpful, either.

Twivial Pursuits. Maureen Dowd is so past Obambi & is throttling up the old Clinton scandal train, this time focussing on Hillary's new Twitter account, which she morphs into something to do with a U.S. ambassador & prostitutes.