The Commentariat -- August 20

The President's Weekly Address:

     ... The transcript is here. AP story here.

I've posted an Open Thread on Off Times Square.

** Prof. Alexander Keyssar, in a Washington Post op-ed, puts the Republican agenda in historical perspective: "... viewed collectively, it’s difficult not to see a determined campaign to dismantle a broad societal bargain that served much of the nation well for decades. To a historian, the agenda of today’s conservatives looks like a bizarre effort to return to the Gilded Age, an era with little regulation of business, no social insurance and no legal protections for workers. This agenda, moreover, calls for the destruction or weakening of institutions without acknowledging (or perhaps understanding) why they came into being." CW: next question: why isn't President Obama telling this story? Perhaps he's one who doesn't understand it.

** Henry Blodgett, the Business Insider: "A former senior analyst at Moody's has gone public with his story of how one of the country's most important rating agencies is corrupted to the core. The analyst, William J. Harrington, ... has made his story public in the form of a 78-page 'comment' to the SEC's proposed rules about rating agency reform, which he submitted to the agency on August 8th. The comment is a scathing indictment of Moody's processes, conflicts of interests, and management."

Colleen Curtis of the White House: "Creating a judicial pool for the 21st Century, one with intellect, fair-mindedness and integrity that resembles the nation that it serves, is a top priority for President Obama and his administration. In fact, the President’s nominations for federal judges embody an unprecedented commitment to expanding the racial, gender and experiential diversity of the men and women who enforce our laws and deliver justice. Unfortunately, the delays these nominees are encountering on Capitol Hill are equally unprecedented:"

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: "By the standard definition of job creation during a presidency, [Obama] is on track to be the first president to have negative growth in the modern era.... The president and his supporters have to cook the books a bit to make the job numbers sound good." For the book-cooking, Kessler dings the President with a Pinocchio.

Charles Blow: "America needs the electrifyingly charismatic candidate Barack Obama once was, not the eerily inhuman robot of a president that he has become." ...

... No Electricity or Charisma in Sight. Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling (CW: a reliable, left-leaning polling firm): "There's been plenty of bad news for Barack Obama this month in the form of his approval numbers, but our polling finds that his problems go deeper than that. Democratic enthusiasm about voting in next year's election has hit a record low this month."

Greg Sargent: Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) has been pushing for a super-committee on jobs and has developed several possible ways to move forward on it. He & other Democrats will ask Congress to choose from among the proposals. Key to two of the proposals: they would contain a "trigger" that would kick in if the committee couldn't agree on jobs legislation. If Republicans just say no, Larson's proposals will at least have called their bluff. ...

... Ezra Klein Sarah Kliff of the Washington Post: "House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) office ...immediately shot down [the Larson proposals]. The response: Deficit reduction will spur job creation and, therefore, the supercommittee does not need to take on an additional mission."

Kurt Andersen, writing in the New York Times, likens our current political malaise to an autoimmune disease: "debilitating..., treatable, but ... incurable.... The most troubling thing about [Rick] Perry (and Michele Bachmann and so many more), what’s new and strange and epidemic in mainstream politics, is the degree to which people inhabit their own Manichaean make-believe worlds. They totally believe their vivid fictions."

Another Weekend at Bernie's:

     ... John Amato of Crooks and Liars: "This Saturday [Sen.] Bernie [Sanders (D-Vt.)] will be joining in discussion with the Blue America community for a question and answer session at Crooks and Liars at 2pm (ET). We hope you will be able to join in the discussion."

On Wisconsin. New York Times Editors: "Harsh state judicial campaigns financed by ever larger amounts of special interest money are eating away at public faith in judicial impartiality. There are few places where the spectacle is more shameful than Wisconsin, where over-the-top campaigning, self-interested rulings, and a complete breakdown of courthouse collegiality and ethics is destroying trust in its Supreme Court."

Right Wing World *

"Man-made Climate Change Myth." Joel Achenbach & Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "That the planet has warmed is a fact hardly anyone disputes — it has been measured with instruments on land and sea and in space. That humans have contributed to the warming through industrial activities is a theory supported by multiple scientific organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA." Tell that to Republican presidential candidates who know that denying climate-change science has becme a litmus test.

They're snuffing out the America that I grew up in. -- John Boehner, on President Obama & the 111th Congress, July 2010 ...

... Matt Yglesias: "John Boehner was born in 1949. Does he feel nostalgic for the higher marginal tax rates of the America he grew up in? For the much larger labor union share of the workforce? The threat of global nuclear war? It’s difficult for me to evade the conclusion that on an emotional level, conservative nostalgics like Boehner are primarily driven by regret at the loss of social privilege by white men."

Clay Risen, who wrote the Opinionator blog for the Times this week, runs down some reactions to Rick Perry, most of the negative, whether from left or right. Funny thing is, Perry is leading in Republican polls by a wide margin. ...

... Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune: Five Myths about Rick Perry. CW: on Myth 3, Smith doesn't say that the obvious reason Perry pushed for the mandatory inoculation of young girls with the human papillomavirus vaccine was that the vaccine producer Merck has numerous ties to Perry & is a Perry campaign contributor (see this undated AP story). ...

... Texas Ranks Dead Last in Job Creation/Labor Force. Think Progress: "While over 126,000 net jobs were created in Texas over the last two and a half years, the labor force expanded by over 437,000, meaning that overall Texas has added unemployed workers at a rate much faster than it has created jobs." Includes a swell dead-last chart. Thanks to Bob M. for the link. ...

... AND there's this, from a July Wall Street Journal report by Ana Campoy & Sara Murray: "About 300,000 of the new Texas jobs were in government. Well over half of them, fueled by the surging population, were at public schools. Employment in the state's public sector has jumped 19% since 2000 [when Perry took office]. Now layoffs loom. State budget cuts, championed by Mr. Perry to address a big budget shortfall, are prompting school districts around the state to lay off hundreds of teachers and other workers...." The rise in the private sector, only 9 percent.

... Marie Diamond of Think Progress: "A top Bank of America executive was caught on camera yesterday whispering to Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), 'Bank of America. We’ll help you out.' ... It’s no mystery why banking executives are rushing to give Perry their support. Of all the GOP candidates, Perry is the most fervently opposed to banking regulation. As Matt Yglesias pointed out, in his book Fed Up, Perry expresses the extreme view that all banking regulation and consumer financial protection is unconstitutional." With video. ...

... Here's Matt Yglesias' post, "The Ten Weirdest Ideas in Rick Perry's Fed Up."

Secret Agent Bachmann. I went to work in that system because the first rule of war is ‘know your enemy.’ -- Michele Bachmann, explaining why she worked for the IRS ...

... Washington Post Editors: "We find it disturbing that someone seeking to lead this country and become its government’s CEO would view any of its agencies as the enemy and government service as honorable only if it takes the form of undercover opposition.... The Internal Revenue Service and the 107,621 (as of fiscal 2010) people who work there aren’t responsible for the law or the level of taxation. For those, you can thank Ms. Bachmann and her fellow members of Congress."

* Where scientists are conniving, lying, fearmongering conspirators against god or something.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Leaders of the unions that have been on strike against Verizon Communications announced on Saturday that they were ending the walkout even though the two sides had not reached an overall settlement for a new contract."

Los Angeles Times: "Iranian authorities sentenced two Americans arrested and detained along the Iran-Iraq border to eight years in prison, state television cited an unnamed judicial source as saying on Saturday. The men, who have already been held in prison for more than two years in Iran, have 20 days to appeal their convictions on charges of illegal entry onto Iranian territory and espionage."

New York Times: "Six months after the outbreak of the revolt against his 42 years in power, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s hold on his Tripoli stronghold shows signs of slipping. Residents of Tripoli, the capital, who for months had hesitated to talk openly over the phone, said in calls Friday night that they believed Colonel Qaddafi’s flight or ouster could be imminent." ...

... Guardian: "Muammar Gaddafi's 41-year grip on power in Libya looked more precarious than ever on Friday night, as rebel forces advanced on the capital from three directions after breaking out of the once-besieged town of Misrata.... Gaddafi's army outside Tripoli is trapped in a series of besieged and shrinking enclaves, with rebels controlling more than two thirds of the country." ...

... Al Jazeera has a liveblog on Libya here.

New York Times: "Egypt said on Saturday that it would recall its ambassador to Israel, the latest development that threatened to undermine a decades-old cold peace between the two countries that had begun to fray since the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt." ...

     ... New Lede: "Diplomats scrambled to avert a crisis in relations between Egypt and Israel on Saturday, and the Israeli government issued a rare statement of regret for the killing of three Egyptian security officers by an Israeli warplane."

New York Times: "Federal officials and lawmakers, along with the drug industry and doctors’ groups, are rushing to find remedies for critical shortages of drugs to treat a number of life-threatening illnesses, including bacterial infection and several forms of cancer.... So far this year, at least 180 drugs that are crucial for treating childhood leukemia, breast and colon cancer, infections and other diseases have been declared in short supply — a record number."

New York Times: "After nearly two decades in prison for the murder of three young boys, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., commonly known as the West Memphis Three, stood up in a courtroom here on Friday, proclaimed their innocence even as they pleaded guilty, and, minutes later, walked out as free men.... An award-winning documentary, 'Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills,' was released after their convictions, bringing them national attention."

Guardian: "Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, has been ordered by a court to reveal who instructed him to access the voicemails of model Elle Macpherson and five other public figures, including Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader. Mulcaire is due to reveal these details by the end of next week in a move that will throw further light on the scale of phone hacking at the now defunct News International tabloid."

Cape Cod Times: President Obama & his daughters went book-shopping in Vineyard Haven before the President headed to the links.

Still Crazy in Arizona. KTAR: "Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has denied that he 'promised' Tea Party leaders in Arizona to investigate the validity of Barack Obama's long-form birth certificate to determine the president's eligibility for the 2012 election ballot. Arpaio said he met in his office Thursday with a Tea Party group which presented him with 242 signatures asking for the investigation."

Ron Paul for President -- Really?

During this past week, a number of liberal bloggers -- and Jon Stewart! – have rightly criticized the mainstream media for shutting out coverage of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, who nearly won the Iowa Straw Poll, and as I have argued, would have won had he bought a few more tickets for his supporters.

The reaction among some liberals to this criticism has been more than dismaying. For some, their distaste for President Obama is so all-consuming and irrational that they are now thinking Ron Paul would be a good alternative. Sure, they say, Paul is wrong on abortion, but, hey, we can overlook that because his non-interventionist policy jibes with our own anti-war agenda.

Okay, let’s look at a few of Paul’s other ideas:

He opposes any kind of amnesty for undocumented workers. Further, he says mandated hospital emergency treatment for illegal aliens should stop. He’s okay with charities providing medical treatment to undocumented people, but anybody who can’t get it is out of luck. Paul is a medical doctor; evidently he doesn’t think the Hippocratic Oath crosses international borders. He also has called for a Constitutional amendment to revise the Fourteenth Amendment principles and "end automatic birthright citizenship."

He opposes universal health care.

He would completely eliminate the income tax. He supports repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment, which authorized the income tax. Despite the amendment, for some reason Paul still thinks the income tax is unconstitutional. Nonetheless, he’s expressed support for a regressive flat tax.

He has signed Grover Norquist’s no-new-taxes pledge.

He wants to return to the gold (and silver) standard & eliminate the Federal Reserve, which he believes causes recessions & depressions.

He says prayer in public schools should not be prohibited & opposes “a rigid separation between church and state.” In 2005, he introduced a bill that “would permit state, county, and local governments to decide whether to allow displays of religious text and imagery and whether to ban atheists from public office.”

He is a huge Second Amendment advocate. He has said he thinks it’s fine for individuals to own machine guns.

He opposes any form of campaign finance reform, calling it a free-speech violation.

He opposed affirmative action laws, calling them “special interest laws.” He wrote a treatise against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, calling it unconstitutional.

He wants to repeal the Seventeenth Amendment, which brought us direct election of U.S. senators. He wants to return to the day when state legislators chose senators.

He opposes a Constitutional amendment to directly elect the president.

Paul says he’s against all federal laws defining marriage, yet – curiously – he defended DOMA. He opposed the Lawrence v. Texas decision (rendering sodomy laws unconstitutional) because he doesn’t think the federal government should have any say in marriage law.

He is “an unshakeable foe of abortion.” Although he says the Constitution requires that abortion legislation be left to the states, he voted in favor of a federal ban on partial-birth abortion in 2000 and 2003.

He says climate change is “not a major problem.” He believes the federal government has no right to impose clean air standards. He’s says pollution can be best addressed by lawsuits against companies that pollute the air of their neighbors.

He strongly opposes international treaties like the Kyoto Protocol to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and also opposes domestic progams like cap and trade. He opposes imposing fuel efficiency standards (too bad on this -- Obama just got the auto industry to agree to signficantly higher standards). Paul is against investment in public transportation, and he voted to repeal the federal gas tax. But he strongly favors public tax breaks for domestic oil drilling (Alaska? Yes! Offshore drilling? Yes!) & voted no on revoking oil & gas subsidies.

Paul would eliminate many federal government agencies & Cabinet positions, such as the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security. He also wants to get rid of FEMA, the Interstate Commerce Commission and the IRS.

He has repeatedly said he would "never vote for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution." That would include such “unconstitutional” programs as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Americans with Disabilities, civil rights legislation, etc. etc.

Is this the guy you want to hold the veto pen? Really? Get a grip, liberals.

Source: WikiPedia. “Political Positions of Ron Paul.”

The Commentariat -- August 19

I've posted an Open Thread on Off Times Square.

New York Times Editors: "... leaders on both sides of the Atlantic seem determined to handcuff fiscal policies — the main tools that can increase jobs, consumer demand and economic growth — with an unquestioning devotion to rigid austerity.... But Europe’s broad downward trajectory can only be turned around if governments — both those of lenders and debtors — spend more in the near term to put people back to work and get consumers back to spending.... Voters on both sides of the Atlantic need to demand more from their leaders than continued austerity on autopilot." CW: why are the editors of the New York Times smarter than the leaders of the free world? ...

... What Obama Should Propose. Jonathan Cohn of The New Republic: "The ideal jobs package would inject hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy as quickly as possible – but in a way that paid for itself over the long run and, ideally, diminished automatically once a strong recovery is under way. The administration could do a portion of this on its own.... The Fed could obviously lend a hand, maybe a big hand, as well. But ... Congress would have to take some action. Is there a chance Congress would do that? Not right now. Among the proposals circulating on Capitol Hill, the initiative from progressive House Democrats comes closest."

... Cohn: "... the unemployment rate in Michigan ... is up to 10.9 percent, the third consecutive month that it's risen. The story seems to be the same across the Great Lakes region.... The precipitous drop in unemployment in this part of the country has been one of the better, if under-appreciated, economic stories of the last year -- testimony to a rebound in the manufacturing sector bolstered, in part, by the government's rescue of General Motors and Chrysler.... The situation is still markedly better than a year ago, when unemployment in Michigan was 12.4 percent. But this is obviously sobering news -- and a reminder that the economy needs a lot of help." ...

... Michael Cohen, in Time: "It’s not that [President Obama] necessarily believes that deficits should be the country’s top priority, but rather that without fiscal responsibility Americans will continue to view government in an unsavory light. Relying on class warfare attacks or strident defenses of entitlements might provide a short-term political boost for Democrats. It might even win them the 2012 election. But the larger challenge for liberalism is restoring faith in government and making the case to a skeptical electorate for greater public sector activism.

Digby states the obvious: "I would never have thought that Democrats would greet a major economic downturn with promises to cut [social safety-net] programs. It increases people's anxiety about their personal future and takes away the most important rationale for trusting Democrats. It's extremely odd to see this happening." CW: at least obvious to everybody but President Obama & his Administration. ...

... BUT Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "... since the showdown over raising the debt ceiling, Democrats have been unusually eager to embrace tax increases, gambling that voters will see the Republican refusal to consider higher taxes for the wealthy as recalcitrant and out-of-touch.... Democrats dubbed their efforts 'Accountability August,' targeting vulnerable Republicans through radio ads, billboards and phone banks in an effort to convince voters that the GOP wants to save tax breaks for millionaires and subsidies for oil companies at the expense of Medicare."

Paul Krugman: "Finally, Someone to Run Against Wall Street. One of the truly amazing things about American politics in the Lesser Depression is that nobody in political life has been willing to run as the champion of ordinary Americans against the financial wheeler-dealers who brought this disaster on us.... So I’m glad to hear that Elizabeth Warren will apparently run for Senate.... She’s got the best credentials on the financial crisis of any prominent figure in American life."

Right Wing World

Tax the Poor! Jonathan Weisman of the Wall Street Journal: The "2012 election campaign ... has produced the ... critique that too many Americans pay no income tax at all, a point made by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann in July and more recently by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.... Pressed on how they would bring more people into the tax system, none of the top three campaigns offered details." CW: if you want to a good summary of why half of American households pay no federal income tax, this is it. ...

... OR, you could settle for Jon Stewart's explanation. The second segment is right on point, but the first is a swell lead-in:

NEW. Karen Garcia: if you like carbon dioxide (it's completely natural!), you'll love the Republican slate of presidential candidates and their Big Business/Big Polluter backers. President Obama, too, has caved, delaying once again the imposition of stricter "jobs-killing" EPA ozone standards.

Bachmann Staff Plays Beat the Press. Literally. Ben Smith & Jonathan Martin of Politico: "In less than two months since entering the 2012 race, [Rep. Michele] Bachmann’s campaign staff has become embroiled in at least five unusually hostile encounters with the traveling media marked by pushing, shoving and, in one instance, the allegation of a threat of violence to a reporter. Some of it has unfolded in full public view..." as this video illustrates: ...

... Steve Stromberg of the Washington Post: Bachmann promises to bring gas prices down to less than $2/gallon, evidently by decimating the economy again. CW: and you thought her refusal to raise the debt ceiling was nuts? No, no. It was probably part of her master plan to reduce gas prices. Or something. CW: Read Stromberg; this woman is nuts, stupid or both.

Alex Seitz-Wald of Think Progress: Mitt Romney criticizes President Obama for going on vacation to Martha's Vineyard. Romney noted there were "a lot of Democrats in Martha's Vineyard." Apparently, there are a lot of well-heeled Republicans, too. Romney will hold a fundraiser on the Vineyard while the Obamas are there. Funny thing -- Romney didn't mention his own Vineyard turn when he criticized Obama.

... George Condon of the National Journal: "In the two centuries since John Adams was the first president to seek solace outside Washington and the 109 years since Theodore Roosevelt invented the modern presidential vacation, the critics have always been there to attack. Now, it's Obama’s turn to weather the storm."

Dave Mann of the Texas Observer in a New Republic post: "... it’s no secret that some of [Texas's] conservatives and libertarians dispute [Gov. Rick Perry's] conservative credentials.... The closer you look at Perry’s record in Texas, the harder it is to discern any coherent ideology at all." Mann provides examples of Perry's "conservative heresy.... When Perry does involve himself in policy debates, the most consistent thread is that he has sided with big business — that is to say, with industries big enough, or fortuitous enough, to have strong connections with the state government.... If there’s one phrase that best describes Perry’s governing ideology, it isn’t 'conservative.' It’s crony capitalism." ...

... NEW. AND Ben Adler of The Nation: "Perry turned Texas into a corporate welfare agency. What did Texas get in return? Not much...."

... Matt Latimer in the Daily Beast: "For years, [Karl] Rove has made it a hobby of sorts to deflate conservatives more popular with the base than he is....Now he and his henchmen are undertaking their most serious gamble. Rick Perry managed to shine in Texas without Rove's permission, and now threatens to become the current Republican frontrunner without Rove’s blessing. This, Rove has decreed, must be stopped, even if his party is destroyed in the process." CW: frankly, I do enjoy watching Republicans squabble. ...

... Jake Tapper of ABC News: Hecklers & protesters confront Perry in New Hampshire. At one point, Perry opts for ...

... The Popover Defense. CW: One thing about the Republican primary: a good percentage of the stories make you laugh out loud. Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: Rick Perry, when confronted with a question about his position that Social Security is unconstitutional, stuffed a popover in his mouth and said he couldn't answer because he had "a big mouthful." ...

Your mom is asking about evolution. You know, that’s a theory that’s out there; it’s got some gaps in it. In Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools — because I figure you’re smart enough to figure out which one is right. -- Gov. Rick Perry, to a New Hampshire boy ...

... Steve Benen: "... if they’re teaching 'both creationism and evolution,' they’re violating the law. It’s not even a gray area — the Supreme Court has already struck down a law that called for 'balanced treatment for creation-science and evolution-science in public school instruction,' concluding that the law violated the separation of church and state." As to letting students "figure out which one is right," Benen says, "Reality is not multiple choice. Public school curricula are not supposed to present fact and fiction, only to leave it ambiguous which is which." ...

Via Salon.... Justin Elliot of Salon: Robert Morrow, "an Austin Ron Paul supporter, has taken out a full-page ad in the local alt weekly newspaper seeking any 'stripper ... escort ... or "young hottie'" who has slept with Rick Perry, part of his single-minded jihad against the presidential candidate.... At the bottom of the ad is a nod to the longtime (and equally unsubstantiated) rumors that Perry, who has pursued sundry anti-gay policies, is himself gay. "Note to gay people: If you know the truth about Rick, please QUIT covering for him," it reads.... Back in 2008, [Morrow] paid for (and personally voiced) an anti-Hillary robocall in South Carolina that made the unsubstantiated claim that 'Hillary knew about and helped cover up Bill's rape of Juanita Broaddrick.'"

Jim Newell of Gawker: "Sen. Tom Coburn [R-Okla.] Has Lost His Mind." In one townhall meeting, Coburn said (1) medical treatment of the elderly was better before Medicare though "doctors and hospitals often went unpaid for their efforts, or accepted baked goods or chickens in partial payment"; (2) he wants to shoot up the Senate which is "a class of career elitists" and "cowards," but he isn't allowed to "pack a gun on the Senate floor"; and (3) and Obama favors safety-net programs because "As an African-American male... [Obama received] tremendous advantage from a lot of these programs." O-Kaaay. ...

     ... Jonathan Chait of The New Republic: "Keep in mind that the only area where Obama has attempted to create a new entitlement is health care, which is the same goal pursued by Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Harry Truman, and other non-black politicians."

Chait: Rick Santorum says gay marriage, abortion & eliminating school prayer are "the root causes" of the financial crisis; i.e., general social "immorality" begets (the biblical verb is so appropriate here) Wall Street immorality. CW: so I guess we can see how President Santorum would handle the recession. "Get thee to a nunnery, Lloyd Blankfein."

Local News

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "A week after launching a listening tour of Massachusetts, former White House official Elizabeth Warren has filed an exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission as she prepares to challenge Sen. Scott Brown in 2012." The Website of the exploratory committee is http://elizabethforma.com

Laura Clawson of Daily Kos: We Are Ohio, a group campaigning to repeal a law eliminating collective bargaining rights for public employees, yesterday rejected Ohio Gov. John Kasich's (R) offer to compromise with him. The group said they could talk once the bill was repealed.

News Ledes

Former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) says he won't run for Senate in 2012 or run against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (RTP) in a 2012 recall election. He also says, "I will be working to re-elect [President Obama] and hope to play a significant role in that effort."

New York Times: "Stock markets in Europe opened sharply lower Friday, a second day of brutal losses, as investors once again took fright at the debt and economic woes that are roiling Europe and the United States."

AP: "White House budget chief Jacob Lew has ordered agency heads to submit spending plans for the upcoming budget at least 5 percent below this year's levels. He also wants them to propose ways to trim a total of at least 10 percent of their spending."

New York Times: "The United States and several of its major allies on Thursday called on Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, to give up power.... Almost simultaneously, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany issued a joint statement urging Mr. Assad 'to face the reality of the complete rejection of his regime by the Syrian people and to step aside in the best interests of Syria and the unity of its people.' Canada made a similar appeal, as did the European Union. The United Nations human rights office in Geneva issued a damning, 22-page report that concluded that Syrian government forces might have committed crimes against humanity...."

Reuters: "U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Friday said China had 'nothing to worry about' concerning the safety of its vast holdings of Treasury debt, while China's Premier Wen Jiabao gave a ringing endorsement of the resilience of the debt-ridden U.S. economy. The exchange came on the second day of Biden's five-day visit to China where he is seeking to reduce distrust between the world's two largest economies and build relations with Chinese leaders."

AP: "A bomb exploded in a mosque in a Pakistani tribal region as hundreds were gathered for prayers Friday, killing at least 40 people and wounding 85 others in the first major attack in the country during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan."

AP: "Suicide attackers stormed a British compound in the Afghan capital on Friday, killing at least 10 people in a five-hour gunfight on the anniversary of the country's independence from Britain. A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack on the British Council in the western part of Kabul."

Al Jazeera: "Israeli aircraft have struck Hamas security installations in Gaza, killing at least six Palestinians, in further retaliation for attacks along the Egyptian border in which eight Israelis died." CW: ... because the best way to handle an atrocity is to commit another atrocity.