The Commentariat -- April 30, 2013

Zachary Goldfarb & Scott Wilson of the Washington Post: "President Obama said he would take another stab in his second term at closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, a first-term campaign promise that a Democratic-led Congress rejected. With reports that about 100 of Guantanamo's 166 detainees are on hunger strike, Obama said at a news conference at the White House that the existence of the facility is harmful to U.S. interests and he will reach out to lawmakers to try to shut it down."

Greg Miller of the Washington Post: "President Obama defended U.S. law enforcement's efforts to scrutinize the Boston Marathon bombing suspects in the year leading up to the attacks, and lashed out at critics he accused of chasing headlines. In his first news conference since the Boston attack, Obama also said that law enforcement agencies had performed in 'exemplary fashion' in the hunt for the bombers. Dismissing critics on Capitol Hill, Obama rebuked Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C) for suggesting last week that the bombings in Boston showed that U.S. security measures were slipping":

Pardon My Schadenfreude. Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling: "New PPP polls in Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, and Ohio find serious backlash against the 5 Senators who voted against background checks in those states. Each of them has seen their approval numbers decline, and voters say they're less likely to support them the next time they're up for reelection. That's no surprise given that we continue to find overwhelming, bipartisan support for background checks in these states." ...

... Igor Volsky of Think Progress: "... the National Rifle Association ... is running radio ads thanking [Sen. Kelly] Ayotte [R-N.H.] for focusing on 'meaningful bipartisan solutions' and opposing 'misguided gun control laws that would not have prevented Sandy Hook.'” Ayotte voted against the Manchin-Toomey amendment. ...

... Elizabeth Drew in the New York Review of Books: "The nonsense about what it takes for a president to win a victory in Congress has reached ridiculous dimensions. The fact that Barack Obama failed to win legislation to place further curbs on the purchase of guns -- even after the horror of Newtown, Connecticut — has made people who ought to know better decide that he’s not an 'arm-twister.'”

Justin Sink of The Hill: "Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said in an interview published this weekend that she is no longer certain that the Supreme Court should have taken Bush v. Gore, the controversial case that ended the 2000 Florida recount and decided that year's presidential election." CW: Ah, well, no harm done, Justice O'Connor. ...

... Ian Millhiser of Think Progress has more.

John Harwood of the New York Times: "... an immense challenge fac[es] the Obama administration as it puts in place the most significant parts of the 2010 [Affordable Care Act]. Few government initiatives reach so many corners of the American economy and society -- and have as much potential to generate trouble for the party in the White House. Among the complex imperatives: pushing reluctant states to set up insurance marketplaces and expand Medicaid programs, keeping an eye on insurance companies as they issue new rate schedules, measuring the law's effects on small-business hiring, and coaxing healthy young people to buy coverage so the system works economically for everyone else." CW: in reading Harwood's report, it would appear that one is the biggest problems is beating back the lies about the law coming out the GOP propaganda machine. ...

... Jonathan Cohn of The New Republic: don't believe all the horror stories you hear about ObamaCare. Because it is so complex, it may get off to a rocky start, but most people will be better off either when the plan is implemented or later on.

Jason Collins in Sports Illustrated: ""I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay." ...

... Some positive responses via Twitter, from, among others, Bill Clinton & Barack Obama. ...

... BUT Annie-Rose Strasser of Think Progress: "An ESPN sportscaster went on the air on Monday to publicly gay-bash Jason Collins, the NBA player who came out Monday morning in an emotional op-ed, the first active male player of a major American sport to come out. Speaking on ESPN's Outside The Lines, Chris Broussard said that he would 'not characterize [Collins] as a Christian.' He made the comments in front of his openly gay colleague, LZ Granderson." ...

     ... UPDATE. David Bauder of the AP: "ESPN says that it regrets the 'distraction' caused by one of its reporters who described Jason Collins as a sinner after the NBA center publicly revealed that he was gay. Chris Broussard, who covers the NBA for ESPN, had said on the air that Collins and others in the NBA who engage in premarital sex or adultery were 'walking in open rebellion to God, and to Jesus Christ.' Broussard, a former reporter for The New York Times, spoke during ESPN's 'Outside the Lines' program Monday discussing Collins' announcement." ...

... Benoit Denizet-Lewis in The New Republic: "Many gay black men in America grow up feeling they have to choose between their skin color and their sexuality. Afraid of being shunned by their families or churches and of finding no real home in mainstream gay culture ('The gay identity has long been constructed in the media as white and privileged,' says openly gay black writer Keith Boykin), many black men with same-sex attractions believe they have no choice but to live secret sexual or romantic lives. To say 'I'm black, and I'm gay' is to try to upend that narrative." ...

... Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones: "Although his coming out in Sports Illustrated is big news, NBA star Jason Collins is not the 'first openly gay athlete in professional North American team sports,' as some have claimed. Claiming as much implies that either women's sports don't matter as much (or don't exist at all), or that coming out is somehow less of a big deal for professional athletes who happen to be women." Sheppard lists a few of them. CW: One of the tweets reported in the story above was from Martina Navratilova, who came out in 1981.)

Bad News for Bob. Rosalind Helderman & Jerry Markon of the Washington Post: "FBI agents are conducting interviews about the relationship between Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, his wife, Maureen, and a major campaign donor who paid for the food at the wedding of the governor's daughter, according to four people familiar with the questioning. The agents have been asking associates of the McDonnells about gifts provided to the family by Star Scientific chief executive Jonnie R. Williams Sr. and actions the Republican governor and his wife have taken that may have boosted the company, the people said." CW: this is the lede story in the Post's online edition. This can't be helping Bob's chances to be President Bob.

New York Times Editors: "To hear Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tell it, the way forward on Syria is clear. The United States should be doing more -- directly arming the rebels seeking overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, establishing a no-fly zone.... What the senators and like-minded critics have not offered is a coherent argument for how a more muscular approach might be accomplished without dragging the United States into another extended and costly war and how it might yield the kind of influence and good will for this country that the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan have not.... Mr. Obama must soon provide a clearer picture of how he plans to use American influence in dealing with the jihadi threat and the endgame in Syria." ...

... Andy Borowitz: "A growing chorus of Republican lawmakers are demanding that President Obama take some action in Syria so that they can attack whatever action he took in Syria."

O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
-- "To a Louse," by Robert Burns ...

... To a Louse, by Peter Hart, in Common Dreams, writing on the "sick madness" of Tom Friedman. Thanks to Bonnie for the link; Bonnie suggests reading some of the comments, too.

The Distinguished Gentleman from Texas. Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "In his short time at the Capitol, Senator Ted Cruz, a freshman Republican from Texas, has shown little regard for long-standing rules of decorum. But on Friday, he publicly discussed the closed-door dealings of the Senate Republican Conference -- and trashed his colleagues in the process. Stopping by a Texas meeting of the Tea Party-aligned group FreedomWorks, Mr. Cruz called many of his colleagues 'squishes,' forced to stand on conservative principles by the uncompromising stands of a triumphant trio of Republican 'constitutionalists': himself and Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky." CW: Joe Lieberman's retirement broke up the old Three Stooges of the Senate. So it's nice to know we have a brand-new worser version. ...

... Liberals Can Fear-Monger, Too: Climate Change Will Force Women into Prostitution. Peter Kasperowicz of The Hill: "Several House Democrats are calling on Congress to recognize that climate change is hurting women more than men, and could even drive poor women to 'transactional sex' for survival. The resolution [comes] from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and a dozen other Democrats."

Congressional Races

Today is primary day in Massachusetts for the U.S. Senate special election.

When we talk about fiscal spending and we talk about protecting the taxpayers, it doesn’t mean you take that money we saved and leave the country for a personal purpose. -- Elizabeth Colbert Busch, in her debate with former Appalachian-trail hiking fraudster Mark Sanford. Sanford & Busch are running for a Congressional seat vacated when Gov. Nikki Haley appointed Rep. Tim Scott to the Senate.

Commentariat Conversations

... Watching Fox news cuts into my daily visits to Breibart's grave. -- Diane, in response to Akhilleus

Bad news for Diane. (Via Kate Madison) -- Constant Weader:

News Ledes

he Hill: "A dust mask allegedly discarded by the man accused of sending ricin-laced letters to President Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) tested positive for the poison, according to a court document made public on Tuesday." ...

... When the FBI Comes Knocking (OR, Actually, Breaking Down the Door). AP: "Attorneys for a Mississippi man who was briefly charged with sending ricin-laced letters to the president and others are encouraged after speaking with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office about repairing or replacing the man's house after an intensive search left it uninhabitable."

CBS News: "George Zimmerman told a judge in court Tuesday morning that he will not seek a 'stand your ground' immunity hearing before his trial on charges of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin."

AP: "Willem-Alexander became the first Dutch king in more than a century Tuesday as his mother, Beatrix, abdicated after 33 years as queen. The generational change in the House of Orange-Nassau gave the Netherlands a moment of celebration, pageantry and brief respite as this trading nation of nearly 17 million struggles through a lengthy recession brought on by the European economic crisis." ...

     ... Reuters UPDATE: "Willem-Alexander - who is a water management specialist, a useful expertise in a country where much of the land is below sea level - and his wife Maxima, a former investment banker from Argentina, are expected to bring a less formal touch to the monarchy at a time of national austerity and budget cuts. April 30, or Queen's Day, has always been an occasion for partying in the Netherlands, and Amsterdam has been awash with orange - the color of the House of Orange - for days."

Boston Globe: Massachusetts holds primaries today for the special election of a U.S. Senator to replace John Kerry.

Washington Post: "FBI special agents spent about 90 minutes Monday inside the Rhode Island home of the parents of Katherine Russell, the widow of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, an FBI spokesman said.... Two law enforcement officials said that investigators found female DNA on a piece of one of the bombs from the marathon. The DNA could have come from a woman who helped the suspects make the bombs or from a person in a store who handled the materials the suspects bought, said the officials...." ...

... New York Times: "Federal authorities are closely scrutinizing the activities of the wife of the dead Boston Marathon bombing suspect in the days before and after the attacks."

The Commentariat -- April 29, 2013

AP: "Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday said he would re-introduce a measure that would require criminal and mental health background checks for gun buyers at shows and online. The West Virginia Democrat says that if lawmakers read the bill, they will support it." ...

... Here's the piece by John Cassidy of the New Yorker, which contributor MAG also linked in the Comments section. "In a country where each life (and death) is supposed to count equally, surely the victims of gun violence should be accorded the same weight as the victims of bomb violence. And the perpetrators should get equal treatment, too. But, of course, that's not how things work."

Obama 2.0. CNN: "President Barack Obama will tap Anthony Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday to become his next transportation secretary, a White House official with knowledge of his decision said Sunday. If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx would replace Ray LaHood, who said in January he wouldn't serve a second term."

Jonathan Chait: "House Republicans are prepared to refuse to raise the debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to let them cut tax rates without increasing revenue. Their extraordinary threat, first presented as a way to force a reduction in the deficit, is now being wielded to prevent a reduction in the deficit." ...

... Washington Post Editors: "Led by conservative Republicans and whipped into a froth by right-wing radio talk-show hosts, opponents of [immigration] reform are banking on derailing the measure with a strategy of delay and dismemberment.... On Thursday, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and an opponent of a pathway to citizenship, served notice that the delay-and-dismemberment plan was under way. Rather than wait for a comprehensive immigration bill to wend its way through the Senate, or for a roughly similar plan to emerge from a bipartisan group in the House, Mr. Goodlatte said his committee would consider a series of smaller bills. That strategy gives conservatives a chance to say they were for immigration reform before they were against it."

Annie Lowrey of the New York Times: "Millions of Americans suffered a loss of wealth during the recession and the sluggish recovery that followed. But the last half-decade has proved far worse for black and Hispanic families than for white families, starkly widening the already large gulf in wealth between white Americans and most minority groups, according to a new study from the Urban Institute."

If It's Working, Shut It Down. Ezra Klein: "Health Quality Partners [of Doylestown, Pennsylvania,] enrolls Medicare patients with at least one chronic illness and one hospitalization in the past year. It then sends a trained nurse to see them every week, or every month, whether they're healthy or sick.... According to an independent analysis..., HQP has reduced hospitalizations by 33 percent and cut Medicare costs by 22 percent.... Now Medicare is thinking of shutting it off.... Keeping [people] from getting very sick ... requires someone who has a relationship with them to stop by once a week to see how they're doing. The problem is, it's hard to make money off it."

E. J. Dionne states the obvious: "It's outrageous that Congress and the administration are moving quickly to reduce the inconvenience to travelers -- people fortunate enough to be able to buy plane tickets -- by easing cuts in air traffic control while leaving the rest of the sequester in place. What about the harm being done to the economy as a whole? What about the sequester's injuries to those who face lower unemployment benefits, who need Meals on Wheels or who attend Head Start programs?"

** Let He Who Is without Sin Google the Neighbors. Bill Keller: if your arrest &/or conviction record is erased, should published reports on them be erased, too? CW: I agree with Keller's conclusion on this. If you are as old as I am, there is probably some record somewhere of your doing something way back when that you wouldn't want the neighbors -- or potential employers -- to know. AND, if you're as old as I am, you're probably in luck; those records are buried in some archive somewhere or have been completely lost to time. But younger people, who are busy cooking up their own youthful transgressions, are likely to find reports of those mistakes perched on the Intertoobz forever -- & forever accessible to inquiring minds smart enough to use a search engine. ...

... Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "A government task force is preparing legislation that would pressure companies such as Facebook and Google to enable law enforcement officials to intercept online communications as they occur.... Driven by FBI concerns that it is unable to tap the Internet communications of terrorists and other criminals, the task force's proposal would penalize companies that failed to heed wiretap orders.... There is currently no way to wiretap some of these communications methods easily, and companies effectively have been able to avoid complying with court orders."

Paul Krugman: "... would it really be ... easy to end the scourge of unemployment [by increasing government sending]? Yes — but powerful people don't want to believe it. Some of them have a visceral sense that suffering is good, that we must pay a price for past sins (even if the sinners then and the sufferers now are very different groups of people). Some of them see the crisis as an opportunity to dismantle the social safety net. And just about everyone in the policy elite takes cues from a wealthy minority that isn't actually feeling much pain." ...

... Ben White & Tarini Parti of Politico write a well-balanced piece on the great divide between deficit doves & hawks. Maybe their report makes up for this:

... Perhaps -- like me -- you thought reporters ask their subjects all those dumb questions because they're not too good at thinking on their feet. Nope. It's worse than that. The dumb questions are planned in advance. Gabrielle Bluestone of Gawker found a copy of "Politico's White House Correspondents Dinner memo, left behind at a party last night and obtained by Gawker.... Rhe lengthy section of the memo focused on questions for visiting celebrities like Jon Bon Jovi ('What was Air Force One like?'), Kerry Washington ('Do you think the Obamas have a strong marriage?'), Conan O'Brien ('Are you nervous?'), and Scarlett Johansson ('Do you ever e-mail with President Obama anymore?')." Bluestone reproduces the whole Politico memo with her post. I hope Charles Pierce doesn't get the memo. He'll die of anti-freeze poisoning.

"Ghost Money." Matthew Rosenberg of the New York Times: "For more than a decade, wads of American dollars packed into suitcases, backpacks and, on occasion, plastic shopping bags have been dropped off every month or so at the offices of Afghanistan's president -- courtesy of the Central Intelligence Agency. All told, tens of millions of dollars have flowed from the C.I.A. to the office of President Hamid Karzai.... The C.I.A. ... has long been known to support some relative and close aides of Mr. Karzai. But the new accounts of off-the-books cash delivered directly to his office show payments on a vaster scale, and with a far greater impact on everyday governing. Moreover, there is little evidence that the payments bought the influence the C.I.A. sought. Instead, some American officials said, the cash has fueled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington's exit strategy from Afghanistan."

Scott Shane & David Herszenhorn of the New York Times: "F.B.I. agents are working closely with Russian security officials to reconstruct Tamerlan Tsarnaev's activities and connections in Dagestan during his six-month visit last year, tracking meetings he may have had with specific militants, his visits to a radical mosque and any indoctrination or training he may have received, law enforcement officials said Sunday. At the same time, the bureau is also still looking for 'persons of interest' in the United States who may have played a role in the radicalization of Mr. Tsarnaev, 26, and his younger brother Dzhokhar, 19...."

Harold Meyerson of the Washington Post: "The bankers' men on the [Chicago] Tribune board likely view the sale of the papers [it owns] as a financial transaction, pure and simple. But [Los Angeles] Times readers (and the Koch brothers themselves) would view a sale to the Kochs as a political transaction first and foremost, turning L.A.'s metropolitan daily into a right-wing mouthpiece whose commitment to empirical journalism would be unproven at best. A newspaper isn't just a business; it's also a civic trust. The money men who have been plunked down on the Tribune board should remember that as they sell off the civic chronicles of some of America's great cities."

Wayne Parry of the AP: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Monday that President Barack Obama 'has kept every promise he's made' about helping the state recover from Superstorm Sandy. Speaking on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' program on the 6-month anniversary of the deadly storm, the Republican governor said presidential politics were the last thing on his mind as he toured storm-devastated areas with Obama last fall."

Mary Wisniewski of Reuters: "In an emotional ceremony filled with tears and applause, a 70-year-old Kentucky woman was ordained a priest on Saturday as part of a dissident group operating outside of official Roman Catholic Church authority. Rosemarie Smead is one of about 150 women around the world who have decided not to wait for the Roman Catholic Church to lift its ban on women priests, but to be ordained and start their own congregations."

News Ledes

The Hill: "Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer was hospitalized after a bicycle accident on Friday.... Breyer had surgery at a Washington hospital after fracturing his collarbone when he fell off his bike...." This is at least Breyer's third serious cycling accident. CW: Time for a stantionary bike, Mr. Justice.

New York Times: The trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who is charged with murdering live-born infants during late-term abortions, "wrapped up [in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] on Monday with summations by both sides."

AP: "A powerful explosion badly damaged an office building in the center of [Prague,] the Czech capital, Monday, injuring up to 40 people. Authorities believe people may still be buried in the rubble. It was not certain what caused the blast in Divadelni Street, in Prague's Old Town, at about 10 a.m., but it was likely a natural gas explosion...."

New York Times: "Syrian official, Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi survived what appeared to be an assassination attempt Monday in an upscale neighborhood of the capital, Damascus, when a car bomb exploded near his convoy, according to state-run media and opposition reports saying that a bodyguard was killed."

New York Times: "The collapse of the [Bangladesh garment] building, the Rana Plaza, is considered the deadliest accident in the history of the garment industry. It is known to have claimed at least 377 lives, and hundreds more workers are thought to be missing still, buried in the rubble. The Rana Plaza building contained five garment factories, employing more than 3,000 workers, who were making clothing for European and American consumers. Labor activists, citing customs records, company Web sites or labels discovered in the wreckage, say that the factories produced clothing for JC Penney; Cato Fashions; Benetton; Primark ... and other retailers."

The Week: "On Saturday, anonymous law enforcement sources ... [said] the FBI had identified Misha, they told The Associated Press, but found he had no ties to terrorism generally or the Boston bombings specifically. On Sunday evening, Christian Caryl at the New York Review of Books introduced the world to the man he says is Misha." According to Caryl's report, Misha "confirmed he was a convert to Islam and that he had known Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but he flatly denied any part in the bombings. 'I wasn't his teacher. If I had been his teacher, I would have made sure he never did anything like this.'" The NYRB post is here.

The Commentariat -- April 28, 2013

Unstable People. Both the Washington Post, here, and the New York Times, here, have long pieces examining the lives of the Tsarnaevs. Bottom line: things weren't working out all that well for them, even though they got a lot of public help, so they decided to bomb the place. I'm liking the crazy mother as a co-conspirator.

C-SPAN has live coverage of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday night, beginning at 6:15 pm ET, at which time everyone has the opportunity to see Mr. & Mrs. David Gregory waltz down the red carpet. Sadly, Tom & Mrs. Tom Brokaw will be no-shows. ...

     ... Update. President Obama's full remarks:

... If you don't watch Obama's entire remarks, at least watch this behind-the-scenes trailer for "Obama," the movie, wherein Steven Spielberg proves the old adage that a good director can get a fine performance out of any actor:

... Joel Achenbach & Amy Argetsinger of the Washington Post: "Washington, New York and Hollywood held their annual schmoozefest Saturday night, and the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner (#nerdprom on Twitter) showed new evidence of being completely overrun by red-carpet-posing actors, singers, sports superstars, models and other outsiders who couldn't possibly name the ranking Democrat of the House Ways and Means Committee, much less its chairman." *

Paul Krugman on why George W. Bush was a terrible president: he uses words like "lies," "fraud" and "con man." CW: I suspect he'd find worse words if he weren't writing in the New York Times. ...

... Wherein Maureen Dowd accidentally says something nice about President Obama: "For the first time, [Barbara Bush,] the 87-year-old former first lady acknowledged, in essence, that W. had worn out the family's welcome in the White House. W. and other Bush officials continue to say they could not possibly have known that Saddam had no W.M.D. But I'm now told that Saddam sent word through the Saudis to the Bushies over and over that he had no W.M.D. and was only blustering to keep his nemesis in the neighborhood, Iran, at bay. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld weren't looking for the truth, and they weren't hitting the pause button the way President Obama is with Syria right now, sensitive to the quicksand nature of the region.

Sorry, Nino, Sir Thomas More was smarter than you are. And he still lost his head.Prof. Gary May in a Washington Post op-ed: Antonin "Scalia is woefully ignorant of the [1965 Voting Rights Act]'s history.... The act protects all voters, especially in the states and districts covered by Section 5, from any obstacles that might be put in their way. That was true in 1966 and remains true today as efforts to suppress the minority vote continue. Scalia needs to do his homework before the court determines the act’s future."

Will Weissert of the AP: "Gov. Rick Perry is expressing 'disgust and disappointment' at a cartoon in a California newspaper that depicts him boasting about business booming in Texas just before a major explosion.... In a letter to the Bee's editor Friday, Perry said he wouldn't stand for 'someone mocking this tragedy.' He demanded an immediate apology for the newspaper's 'detestable attempt at satire.'" See yesterday's Commentariat for context. I stand with the cartoonist Jack Ohman. Ohman wasn't "mocking the tragedy"; he was mocking a clueless governor who has been lobbying on the very laissez-faire policies that allowed the owner of the fertilizer plant to operate in a highly-unsafe and careless manner. ...

... Here's Perry's letter, published in the Bee, and an apt response from editorial page editor Stuart Leavenworth.

Sometimes even Paul Ryan is right -- as when he blamed the Romney-Ryan loss on "the urban vote." Hope Yen of the AP: "America's blacks voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time.... Had people voted last November at the same rates they did in 2004, when black turnout was below its current historic levels, Republican Mitt Romney would have won narrowly, according to an analysis conducted for The Associated Press." Thank you, urban people. Keep up the good work. The vote suppressors, busy as they were in 2012, will try harder next time.

* Sander Levin (D-Mich.); Dave Camp (R-Mich.) CW: yeah, I hadda look it up.

Congressional Race

Kim Severson of the New York Times tries to get past the sleaze & find the candidates' positions on the issues in South Carolina's special Congressional race between Mark Sanford & Elizabeth Colbert Busch.

Right Wing World *

John Avlon of Newsweek: "... conservative state legislators and even congressmen [are] entertaining conspiracy theories that are creepy and unseemly coming from average citizen, but a sign of civic rot when they start getting parroted by elected officials.... [Last week] Republicans Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jason Chaffetz of Utah held a hearing 'to examine the procurement of ammunition by the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.' Despite the innocuous language, the hearing represented a capitulation, if not an outright endorsement, of conspiracy theories ... that the Homeland Security Department is stockpiling ammunition to use against Americans in a massive imposition of martial law.... Perhaps the highest profile impact of conspiracy theories to date on national policy was the defeat of the universal background check bill -- specifically the widespread claims threat that closing existing loopholes would be a first step toward a national gun registry that would in turn bring Hitler-style confiscation to America." ...

... Tyler Hansen of Media Matters: "The [Jordan-Chaffetz] hearing ... inspired new legislation that's now before Congress. On April 26, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) introduced bills in both chambers of Congress in order to limit federal agencies from stockpiling ammunition."

* The only thing we have is fear itself.

News Ledes

Reuters: "Gunmen surrounded Libya's foreign ministry on Sunday to push demands that officials who had worked for deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi's regime be banned from senior positions in the new administration. At least 20 pick-up trucks loaded with anti-aircraft guns blocked the roads while men armed with AK-47 and sniper rifles directed the traffic away from the building, witnesses said." Al Jazeera story here.

Reuters: "The owner of a factory building that collapsed in Bangladesh killing hundreds of garment workers was arrested on Sunday trying to flee to India, police said, as fears grew that the death toll could rise sharply with as many as 900 still missing. Mohammed Sohel Rana, a leader of the ruling Awami League's youth front, was arrested ... in the Bangladesh border town of Benapole...."

Al Jazeera: "The Taliban has claimed re[s]ponsibility for two bomb blasts have killed nine supporters of two Pakistani politicians at their campaign offices in the country's northwest, the latest violence ahead of polls next month. Violence has marred the campaign for the landmark May 11 general election, with more than 50 people dead in blasts and suicide attacks since April 11, according to a tally by the AFP press agency, including more than 20 in the past three days."

The New York Times has more on the 2011 phone calls between Tamerlan & Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, which the Russians intercepted. (The original AP story is linked in yesterday's Ledes.) ...

... Boston Globe: "U.S. officials say investigators have found no evidence that a conservative Muslim friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev ... known to the family as Misha ... had any connection to the Boston Marathon bombing.... Two U.S. officials close to the investigation say the FBI has identified an individual believed to be Misha. The officials would not say whether the FBI has spoken to him but say they've found no ties to the attack or terrorism in general." ...

... AP: " The father of the two Boston bombing suspects says he is postponing a trip to the United States because of poor health. Anzor Tsarnaev told The Associated Press on Sunday that he is 'really sick' and his blood pressure had spiked."