The Commentariat -- July 13

I've posted an Open Thread on Off Times Square for today. Since I doubt the Times will publish it, I've added my comment on Maureen Dowd's column.

** "Do You Believe in Magic?" Paul Krugman says he's doesn't want to go tit-for-tat with the magical-thinking David Brooks, but he does. CW: to each and every one of my conservative commenters: read this post. It might not make you all better, but it will help you recover from your "Brooks is right" delusions.

Your Chart of the Day, from Ezra Klein, with explanation here: (as one commenter to Klein's blogpost wrote, "Obama has got to be the worst negotiator in history"):

"The Negotiators." Act 4, Scene 2, the White House, Tuesday, July 12: Eric Cantor demands that President Obama offer the details of his vision for a “grand bargain.”

Cantor (angrily, to Obama): Where’s your paper?

Obama (snapping): Frankly, your speaker has it.  Am I dealing with him, or am I dealing with you?

Sneerer-in-Chief. Dana Milbank: "What [House Majority Leader Eric] Cantor wants now is power — and he is prepared to risk the full faith and credit of the United States to get it. In a primacy struggle with House Speaker John Boehner, he has done a deft job of aligning himself with Tea Party House members in opposition to any meaningful deal to resolve the debt. If the U.S. government defaults, it will have much to do with Cantor."

Ezra Klein on Mitch McConnell's debt ceiling plan: "I kinda like it.... McConnell is proposing to permanently disarm the bomb that is the debt ceiling. He’d formalize the informal arrangement the parties have had in recent years, which is that the debt ceiling is used to embarrass the party in power, but it’s not allowed to threaten the American economy. If his plan passed, it’d become easier for the minority party to embarrass the majority party, but harder for them to threaten the economy. It’s win-win.... The cynical interpretation of McConnell’s motivations is that McConnell sees that the White House is winning the politics of this issue...." CW: see today's Ledes for the backstory. Also this WashPo story by Lori Montgomery, et al. ...

... Kevin Drum of Mother Jones: "... apparently McConnell had started to realize that shutting down the government over tax breaks for hedge fund billionaires and shorter depreciation schedules for corporate jet owners was really, really, not going to go down well, even among Republicans. So he pushed the eject button and tried to bail out. It probably won't work, though. The political cynicism of his proposal is almost certainly too much for some Democrats, and giving up on spending cuts will be too much for most Republicans. Still, it provides a hint about who has the upper hand in the debt ceiling negotiations right now. And it ain't McConnell." ...

... Josh Marshall of TPM: "McConnell's 'evil genius' move seems like all it does is make the Democrats go to the public with what they believe is best for the country and be accountable for it. I have a hard time seeing that as being a meaningful threat. Since that's what people who are given the power to govern are supposed to do." ...

... Markos Moulitsas: "So McConnell's plan gives Republicans the ability to bash Democrats for spending, which they would do anyway, and this is a big victory for them? Genius? Hardly. This is a capitulation. Just watching teabagger heads explode will be worth the price of admission."

This debt limit increase is his [Obama's] problem. -- John Boehner, yesterday

Steve Benen: "... by most measures, [John Boehner] has a legal obligation to protect the full faith and credit of the United States. But as of today, with the crisis quickly approaching, the Speaker of the House, one of the most powerful officeholders in our system of government, has decided this isn’t his 'problem.'” In the past, Boehner has repeatedly said, on the record, the Congress must raise the debt ceiling. ...

... Chris Moody of Yahoo! News: "Conservative groups that had been anxiously hoping to use this summer's debt ceiling vote as a rare opportunity to reduce government spending were furious Wednesday when Senate Republicans outlined a plan to raise the limit without ensured spending cuts."

... Larry Summers (yes, that Larry Summers) advocates for immediate economic stimulus in a Financial Times opinion piece: "Decisions about spending and taxing over the next year or two will have a significant impact on job creation over the next year, the economy over the next decade and on the path of US national debt over an even longer horizon." ...

... Loaves & Fishes, Republican-Style:

... David Leonhardt of the New York Times: sooner or later the free lunch has to end. The nostalgic view of the federal budget (CW: promulgated by Republicans) "depends on a misunderstanding of the budget. It imagines a budget in which the United States indefinitely has the world’s highest medical costs, its largest military, an aging population and, nonetheless, taxes that are among the world’s lowest." ...

... John Sides of the Monkey Cage: there are a number of possible outcomes to the debt ceiling talks, but "Obama’s reelection effort gets a boost from a budget deal only if the deal doesn’t itself hurt the economy and if the economy improves enough that the GOP needs another issue to campaign on." ...

... NEW. Krugman explains to those living & working in the Washington bubble that the average voter, much less the average "independent" (low-information) voter is just not that into you.

Michael Likosky in a New York Times op-ed: "While we have channeled capital into wars and debt, our competitors in Asia and Latin America have worked with infrastructure banks to lay a sound foundation for growth. As a result, we must compete not only with their lower labor costs but also with their advanced energy, transportation and information platforms, which are a magnet even for American businesses." Likosky advicates for a bill by Sens. John Kerry & Kay Bailey Hutchison to pump cash & loans into infrastructure projects.

Amy Goodman of "Democracy Now!" in a TruthDig commentary: "President Barack Obama just announced a reversal of a long-standing policy that denied presidential condolence letters to the family members of soldiers who commit suicide. Relatives of soldiers killed in action receive letters from the president. Official silence, however, has long stigmatized those who die of self-inflicted wounds. The change marks a long-overdue shift in the recognition of the epidemic of soldier and veteran suicides in this country and the toll of the hidden wounds of war."

Landon Thomas, Jr., of the New York Times on three generations of Prime Ministers Papandreou. CW: my husband, who knew Andreas, always used Andreas as an excuse for not taking me to Greece: he said Andreas would have him arrested! I think my husband just did not want to go to Greece. Besides, Italy has examples of Greek antiquity as fine as those in Greece. Or so my husband says.

At this point it’s starting to look as if News Corp is better viewed as a criminal enterprise than as a media organization. -- Paul Krugman ...

... Sarah Lyall & Graham Bowley of the New York Times: "... as the phone hacking scandal spreads, [British PM David] Cameron has been placed in the unaccustomed position of appearing vulnerable and behind the curve. He has been maneuvered into embarrassing U-turns nearly every step of the way, and on Tuesday performed the latest one: suddenly joining the opposition Labour Party, his bitterest foes, in calling for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation to withdraw its $12 billion bid to buy British Sky Broadcasting, known also as BSkyB."

Right Wing World *

Giant Demonic Idol.You know there's a statue in New York harbor called the Statue of Liberty. You know where we got it from? French Freemasons. Listen folks that is an idol, a demonic idol, right there in New York harbor.... It's a statue of a false goddess, the Queen of Heaven. We don't get liberty from a false goddess, folks; we get our liberty from Jesus Christ and that Statue of Liberty in no way glorifies Jesus Christ.... So I'm just telling you we practice idolatry in America in ways that we don't even recognize.
-- John Benefiel, a pastor prominently featured in literature for Gov. Rick Perry's (R-Texas) upcoming "giant prayer-fest to help tackle the nation's problems" (TPM has the video)

* Where there shalt not be "demonic idols" like the Statue of Liberty.

News Ledes

Guardian: "Mumbai, [India,] was struck by three powerful bomb blasts during the evening rush hour on Wednesday that killed at least 21 people and injured dozens more.... India's home minister, P Chidambaram, warned that the death toll could rise further. It is the fourth major attack by suspected terrorists on India's financial capital since 2003."

Guardian: the high court in London heard arguments today in the case of Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, who is appealing his extradition to Sweden. He remains in Norfolk, under house arrest, until the court renders its decision, which will be in about a month.

President Obama & Vice President Biden met with Congressional leaders on the debt ceiling talks this afternoon. ...

     ... Update: Washington Post, post-meeting: "Two top Republican leaders clashed Wednesday over a plan that could allow the government to avoid a potentially catastrophic default but would not ensure the deep cuts in federal spending that party members seek. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) ... offered a proposal this week that would allow President Obama to raise the federal debt limit without guaranteed spending cuts.... But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) rejected McConnell’s plan for resolving the debt stalemate, instead vowing to press ahead with the campaign to roll back government spending." ...

... New York Times: "The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, warned Wednesday that allowing a federal default could have disastrous political consequences for his party and 'destroy' the Republican brand."

Ronald Reagan repeatedly took steps that included revenue in order for him to accomplish some of these larger goals. And the question is, if Ronald Reagan could compromise, why wouldn't folks who idolize Ronald Reagan be willing to engage in those same kinds of compromises? -- Barack Obama

     ... Related Los Angeles Times story here. You can go to the CBS News site & click on the videos at the bottom of the page. And good luck; CBS News videos are just a mess.

New York Times: "... Ben S. Bernanke gave a subdued account of the economy’s health Wednesday, saying that he expected the economy to grow at a moderate pace during the rest of the year, with unemployment declining 'only gradually.' The unexpected weakness is forcing the Fed to reconsider its determination early this year to refrain from new efforts to stimulate growth. While no additional actions appear imminent, Mr. Bernanke said in Congressional testimony Wednesday that the Fed would be prepared to act if necessary.”

New York Times: "The Catholic Church in Ireland was still covering up sexual abuse of children by priests as recently as 2009, long after it issued guidelines meant to protect children, and the Vatican tacitly encouraged the cover-up by ignoring the guidelines, according to a scathing report issued on Wednesday by the Irish government." The full report via the NYT is here; however, I kept getting errors on the page; the Irish Times has a pdf of the full report here. The Irish Times' main story is here, & their main page for the report, with multiple links, is here. The IT has a very brief rundown of the Cloyne Report's main findings here.

New York Times: "One of the biggest revenue-raisers proposed by President Obama in negotiations with Congress is what he describes as an arcane change in the tax treatment of business inventories — things like steel, groceries and oil.... The effect of the change would be substantial. Lobbyists from companies of all sizes are swarming around Congress to kill the proposal, which would prohibit the use of an accounting technique known as last in, first out, or LIFO." ...

... New York Times: The ideas of budget negotiators "to cut Medicare and Medicaid they have managed to provoke opposition from almost every major group that represents beneficiaries and health care providers." Proposals by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) "touched off howls of protest from lobbyists and Democratic lawmakers who saw details for the first time on Tuesday."

New York Times: "President Obama raised more than $86 million for his re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the last three months, besting previous campaign fund-raising records for the quarter and far outpacing the Republicans who are hoping to replace him in the White House. Mr. Obama’s campaign, Obama for America, raised $47 million, while the president’s frequent fundraisers boosted the D.N.C.’s coffers by $38 million. Democrats had set a goal of raising a combined $60 million for both groups by the end of June." With video of Jim Messina giving a pitch.

Los Angeles Times: "In a hard-fought special congressional election marked by sharp divisions in ideology and even sharper personal attacks, Democrat Janice Hahn defeated underdog Republican Craig Huey on Tuesday. Unofficial election night returns showed Hahn won 54.6% to 45.4%."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Candidates backed by the Democratic Party won all six Senate primary elections, all but one of them by substantial amounts. They'll all go on to face the Republican incumbents on Aug. 9, in an attempt by Democrats to regain control of the state Senate and put the brakes on Gov. Scott Walker's agenda."

AP: "A CIA officer who oversaw the agency's interrogation program at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and pushed for approval to use increasingly harsh tactics has come under scrutiny in a federal war crimes investigation involving the death of a prisoner, witnesses told The Associated Press. Steve Stormoen, who is now retired from the CIA, supervised an unofficial program in which the CIA imprisoned and interrogated men without entering their names in the Army's books."

AP: Former First Lady Betty "Ford, who died Friday at age 93, was memorialized Tuesday by some 800 friends and family members, including no fewer than four current and former first ladies and one ex-president."

Guardian: "A key US senator has called for an investigation into whether any of News Corporation's organisations in the country have hacked US citizens. Senate commerce committee chairman Jay Rockefeller has asked the authorities to investigate if any journalists working for Rupert Murdoch had targeted US citizens, and warned of 'serious consequences' for the media group if that were the case." NBC News story here. ...

... New York Times: "The tremors from the phone-hacking scandal shaking Rupert Murdoch’s media empire spread yet further through the British political establishment on Wednesday as Prime Minister David Cameron urged Mr. Murdoch to abandon his ambitions to complete a takeover of the country’s biggest satellite broadcaster." ...

     ... Guardian Update: "Rupert Murdoch's media group News Corporation bowed to pressure from the public and parliament on Wednesday and withdrew its bid to take full control of pay-TV company BSkyB."

AP: "Italy's finance minister says the government's package of austerity measures will be strengthened and passed in both houses by Friday. Giulio Tremonti sought to reassure markets during a speech to a banker's association meeting in Rome that Italy would speed reforms and austerity measures that seek to balance the budget by 2014."

The Commentariat -- July 12

Poor David Brooks, who is dumber than a post, and who got his ass whupped by Krugman yesterday, writes, "The world economy is a complex, unknowable organism." ...

... I've added a Brooks page to Off Times Square. You might want to help out Our Mister Brooks, the Chauncey Gardner of the op-ed world. I've done my best. AND thanks to Driftglass, who has given up on "The Greatest Fraud in American Journalism," for the heads-up. ...

Art by Driftglass.

... Economics Nobel Laureate Joe Stiglitz in TruthOut: "... a resurgence of right-wing economics, driven, as always, by ideology and special interests, once again threatens the global economy – or at least the economies of Europe and America, where these ideas continue to flourish. In the US, this right-wing resurgence, whose adherents evidently seek to repeal the basic laws of math and economics, is threatening to force a default on the national debt." Thanks to commenter Carlyle for the link. ...

... History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes. -- Mark Twain  ...

... Historian Robert McElvaine in a Washington Post op-ed: "To the extent that our current history sounds like the 1930s, it is because of the lack of sense on the part of politicians. We know better than to slash spending and allow the rich to become even richer in a weak economy, but we’re set on doing it anyway. If there is a new Great Depression, it won’t be without rhyme, but it will be without reason." Thanks to Trish R. for the link. ...

... New York Times Editors: "A balanced [deficit reduction] plan, like the one Senator Kent Conrad is circulating among Senate Democrats, would cut spending and raise revenue equally, and would make it possible to pay for programs that kick-start the economy. Americans need to hear the hard economic truth that there is no way to both cut the deficit and revive the economy without finding additional sources of revenue." CW: a reminder: Kent Conrad, a ConservaDem has a plan that is more liberal than the one Obama is pushing. ...

... Mark Landler & Carl Hulse of the New York Times write an interesting report on Monday's debt ceiling negotiations. Unsurprisingly, the talks did not go well. ...

... President Obama Doesn't Care about Poor People. Igor Volsky of Think Progress: "... five separate sources with knowledge of negotiations have said that 'the president offered an increase in the eligibility age for Medicare, from 65 to 67, in exchange for Republican movement on increasing tax revenues.'" CW: okay, not just poor people, but anyone whose work involves physical labor. Volsky doesn't mention that raising the eligibility age would prove an inconvenience for many white-collar workers in the 65-67 age group, but it would work a true hardship on older blue-collar workers whose bodies are no longer adept at physical labor. In addition, it would force millions of older Americans to stay on the job for a few extra years, hanging onto jobs they don't want -- jobs younger Americans need and would often be more able to do. If these "five different sources" are right, this is one stupid & callous move on Obama's part. ...

     ... AND in his June 12 column, Paul Krugman explained why raising the eligibility age is a costly, terrible idea. CW: it now looks to me as if President Obama is just as smart as Joe Lieberman. And Joe Lieberman "isn't actually all that smart." ...

...NEW. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has introduced a Senate resolution to protect Social Security & Medicare (from President Obama's proposed "bipartisan" cuts). You can painlessly "write" to your senator in support of Whitehouse's resolution at this CREDO site. ...

... Dave Weigel of Slate wonders why President Obama is so bad at explaining the debt ceiling to the public. "How many Americans realize, for example, that if Paul Ryan got everyone drunk on $350 wine and got his budget signed into law, we would still exceed the debt limit many times into the future?" CW: well, Dave, maybe it's because he "isn't actually all that smart." ...

... Derek Thompson of The Atlantic poses a pretty good reason not to govern by opinion polls: "The massive financial bailout, which Americans still hate, could still make a profit of more than $100 billion. Meanwhile, not raising the debt ceiling, which Americans have supported, could cost the economy more than $100 billion."

Nelson Schwartz of the New York Times: "Tens of thousands of Bank of America’s most distressed borrowers could be evicted and lose their homes more quickly as a result of a proposed settlement between the bank, which is the country’s largest mortgage servicer, and investors in its troubled mortgage securities.... While powerful investors stand to benefit from the $8.5 billion settlement over the bank’s bundling of shoddy mortgages as securities, the fallout for the nearly 275,000 borrowers who took out those loans depends greatly on how deep they are in the foreclosure process and whether they earn enough money to dig themselves out.

Caesar's Wife. Keli Goff on the legacy of Betty Ford & the impossible standards First Ladies are supposed to meet:

... Rick Perlstein writes a lovely memorial to Ford on the New York Times op-ed page: "... few Americans changed people’s lives so dramatically for the better."

Nate Silver: "... first-term Republicans are considerably more conservative, relative to their districts, than those who also served in the 111th Congress." For this reason, and because the 2010 electorate was skewed Republican (the "enthusiasm" factor), their seats are highly vulnerable. CW: let's do something about that, Libruls!

Ahmed Sharai & Joseph Braude in a New York Times op-ed: "Morocco appears to have found a new model for political transition," a power-sharing arrangement, backed by a new constitution, between the king & a prime minister chosen by the parliament's elected majority.

An Interesting Aside: Saeed Shah of the Guardian: "The CIA organised a fake vaccination programme in the town where it believed Osama bin Laden was hiding in an elaborate attempt to obtain DNA from the fugitive al-Qaida leader's family.... CIA agents recruited a senior Pakistani doctor to organise the vaccine drive in Abbottabad.... The doctor, Shakil Afridi, has since been arrested by the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) for co-operating with American intelligence agents."

Right Wing World *

"Pray Away the Gay" (Then Deny You Tried Any Such Nonsense):

     ... Here's the print story. AND here's an earlier, more extensive, story from Mariah Blake of The Nation. ...

... "Her record of accomplishment is nonexistent":

     ... Conor Friedersdorf of The Atlantic: "Pawlenty is right.... [Bachmann] has no foreign policy experience, no executive experience, has never sponsored or co-sponsored a bill that became law, has never chaired a committee or subcommittee, and cannot even claim notable success outside the public sector like Mitt Romney." ...

... AND Bachmann calls the police. A lot. Marc Caputo of the Miami Herald pulls her complaints. Like the one where a former nun held Bachmann against her will in a ladies room. Uh-huh. Punchline: "None of the inquiries resulted in arrests."

* Where the definition of "gay" is "happy to be straight."

News Ledes

New York Times: "House Republicans on Tuesday failed to advance a measure that would repeal regulations that increase efficiency standards for light bulbs, rules that they have assailed as an example of government overreach.... But Democrats, despite being in the minority in the House, were able to defeat the repeal on a vote of 233 to 193 because the measure was brought up under rules that require a two-thirds majority for passage.

The BBC reports on former PM Gordon Brown's remarks re: the Murdoch empire's hacking of his personal information:

Guardian: "Rupert Murdoch will face the humiliation of the Commons issuing a unanimous all-party call for his scandal-ridden News Corporation to withdraw its £8bn bid for BSkyB, the great commercial prize he has been pursuing to cement his dominance of the British media landscape. In an extraordinary volte-face, David Cameron will disown the media tycoon by leading his party through the lobbies to urge him to drop the bid. Murdoch can defy parliament and press ahead with the bid, prompting a Competition Commission inquiry, but he risks finding himself ostracised by a political class that once scrambled to bend to his wishes." CW: oh, pardon my schadenfreude. ...

... Washington Post: "Parliament summoned [Rupert] Murdoch for questioning next week along with top executives overseeing his British subsidiary: his son James Murdoch, 38, and Rebekah Brooks, 43, a former editor of two of his papers."

Armageddon:

President Obama & Vice President Biden met with Congressional leaders to discuss you-know-what this afternoon. Update: New York Times post-meeting report: "From the White House and Congress to financial centers, pessimism spread on Tuesday about the prospects of a debt-limit deal between President Obama and Republicans, prompting the Senate Republican leader to propose a 'last-choice option' that piqued the administration’s interest but angered conservatives in his own party."

President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Army Sgt. Leroy Arthur Petry this afternoon. Washington Post post-event story here. New York Times story here.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "Voters get their first chance Tuesday to weigh in on the recall fever that's swept the state for the last four months when they vote in six primary races pitting Democratic recall challengers against 'fake' or 'protest' Democrats put up by the Republican Party. As election day approached, some activity was reported in favor of the Republican-backed candidates in at least four of the districts, but Democrats said they're confident their get-out-the-vote efforts will help their candidates survive."

Politico: Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who is running for president for a third time, will not seek re-election to the House.

Washington Post: "A sprawling coalition of Wall Street and Main Street business leaders sent an unmistakable message to lawmakers Tuesday: ... Get the debt ceiling raised. The message [was] sent in a letter to President Obama and every member of Congress.... Republicans rely heavily on corporations for political support and have regularly cited the opinions of these 'job creators' in their opposition to new tax revenues. Many of the House GOP freshman most opposed to a compromise were swept into office with the help of financial support from groups behind the letter."

Politico: Senate leaders from both parties are trying to figure out ways to cover their asses on some kind of complicated (everything in the Senate is complicated) series of voting procedures. CW: not exactly the wording of the reporters, but close enough.

AP: "Afghan President Hamid Karzai's powerful half brother [Ahmed Wali Karzai], a lightning rod for criticism of all that is wrong with the Afghan government, was assassinated by a bodyguard Tuesday at his home in the southern province of Kandahar, officials said." New York Times story here. ...

     ... Washington Post Update: "In the months before his death by an assassin’s bullets on Tuesday, Ahmed Wali Karzai had quietly rebuilt his relationship with the United States and emerged as the most influential ally for American commanders and diplomats seeking to quell the Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan. They believe Ahmed Karzai, President Hamid Karzai’s half-brother and the leader of Kandahar’s provincial council, had started to evolve earlier this year from a self-interested strongman to a regional leader willing to take nascent steps to share power with political and tribal rivals. U.S. officials were initially skeptical of Taliban claims of responsibility for the assassination but now believe that the killer, a trusted Karzai security official, was a Taliban sleeper agent."

Waste, Fraud & Abuse. Who Cares? AP: "The federal government's systems for analyzing Medicare and Medicaid data for possible fraud are inadequate and underused, making it more difficult to detect the billions of dollars in fraudulent claims paid out each year, according to a report released Tuesday. The Government Accountability Office report said the systems don't even include Medicaid data. Furthermore, 639 analysts were supposed to have been trained to use the system — yet only 41 have been so far, it said."

Washington Post: "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has lost the legitimacy to rule after pro-government demonstrators stormed the U.S. Embassy in Damascus on Monday in what U.S. officials described as an orchestrated attack. Regime supporters hurled rocks, smashed windows and tore down the American flag at the embassy, triggering the strongest U.S. condemnation yet of the Syrian government."

AP: "The United States and its partners in the international diplomatic 'quartet' on the Middle East failed on Monday to reach agreement on how to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, dealing a blow to urgent efforts to avert a looming confrontation at the United Nations over recognizing Palestine as an independent nation..... A Monday night meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was unable to produce a unified statement on how to proceed."

AP: "Michelle Obama and three former first ladies were among dignitaries heading to Palm Desert to pay tribute to Betty Ford at a funeral focusing on her twin passions: politics and her world famous Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and alcohol treatment." CW: read this one; it's interesting.

New York Times: "Shortly after Scotland Yard began its initial criminal inquiry of phone hacking by The News of the World in 2006, five senior police investigators discovered that their own cellphone messages had been targeted by the tabloid and had most likely been listened to. The disclosure, based on interviews with current and former officials, raises the question of whether senior investigators feared that if they aggressively investigated, The News of the World would punish them with splashy articles about their private lives. Some of their secrets, tabloid-ready, eventually emerged in other news outlets." ...

... NEW. New York Times: "Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown brought new and alarming charges on Tuesday to the broadening scandal enveloping Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in Britain, accusing one of the most prestigious newspapers in the group of employing 'known criminals' to gather personal information on his bank account, legal files and tax affairs." ...

... NEW. The New York Times' The Lede is following the latest developments on the Murdoch scandal. It's really a saga of one horrible intrusion after another. Includes videos.

The Commentariat -- July 11

President Obama's press conference today:

... AND Follow-up:

     ... Jonathan Cohn of The New Republic: "... what was new ... was [Obama's] direct criticism of Republicans on three separate grounds: rigidity (for refusing to compromise, when Democrats have made it clear they are prepared to do that), hypocrisy (for insisting that deficits are the major obstacle to economic growth and then balking now that an actual deal is under discussion), and lack of social conscience (for opposing higher taxes on the rich and seeking to reduce deficits almost entirely by cutting programs that benefit the poor and middle class)." Also, "The efforts to bring in major new revenue wouldn’t begin for a little while, until the economy is in better shape. This is a response to Republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who have been suggesting Obama and the Democrats want to raise taxes in the middle of a slump." ...

     ... Ezra Klein: "... though we continue to hear assurances that we’ll reach a compromise before August, it seems increasingly likely that we won’t, and it’ll be a market panic or a government shutdown that forces a deal.... It’s clear from Obama’s remarks as well as the negotiating positions of the two parties that the final deal is going to include a lot of very deep spending cuts but little-to-no taxes or stimulus." ...

I think the President's goal is exactly what he says it is: to do Big Things. I just don't think it matters much what the substance of those Big Things is. -- Digby

     ... Greg Sargent: "Far more than he has in the past, the President seems determined to make Republicans pay the maximum political price for their intransigence on taxes.... However, Obama also confirmed in his clearest terms yet that he is willing to give ground on Social Security and Medicare in a way that will certainly alienate many Democrats.... Finally, in a move that’s likely to annoy liberals, Obama explicitly endorsed the idea that the deficit issue is the primary obstacle to focusing on jobs." ...

     ... Steve Kornacki of Salon: "If [Obama] were to enjoy a brief polling bounce, it would vanish very quickly, because it isn't really the deficit that voters are worried about. It's the economy, and as long as it is stuck in neutral -- or reverse-- no amount of deficit reduction will meaningfully improve Obama's chances of winning reelection in 2012."

Paul Krugman writes a boffo column that is essentially a smackdown of the "self-satisfied pundit" David Brooks. "Our failure to create jobs is a choice, not a necessity — a choice rationalized by an ever-shifting set of excuses." CW: this is Krugman's most direct hit on Brooks. If you think I'm kidding, take a look at this Krugman post from earlier Sunday. ...

... AND Ross Douthat poses four premises that are mostly right, outlining some reasons for Republican intransigence. He just leaves out the real reasons. ... 

... I've posted a Krugman-Douthat page on Off Times Square. Karen Garcia & I have added our comments. ...

... Jonathan Cohn of The New Republic: "Does anything matter to Republicans more than protecting tax cuts for the very wealthy? Developments of the last 18 hours suggest very strongly that the answer is no.... Boehner isn't really in charge of the House Republican caucus. The lunatics are. And it looks like they've won." ...

... Motoko Rich of the New York Times: "Close to $2 of every $10 that went into Americans’ wallets last year were payments like jobless benefits, food stamps, Social Security and disability, according to an analysis by Moody’s Analytics. In states hit hard by the downturn, like Arizona, Florida, Michigan and Ohio, residents derived even more of their income from the government. By the end of this year, however, many of those dollars are going to disappear, with the expiration of extended benefits intended to help people cope with the lingering effects of the recession.... Economists fear that the lost income will further crimp consumer spending and act as a drag on a recovery that is still quite fragile." CW: Mr. Obama, are you listening? ...

... "The Glum & the Restless." Jim Tankersley of the National Journal: "Two years after the Great Recession officially ended, job prospects for young Americans remain historically grim. More than 17 percent of 16-to-24-year-olds who are looking for work can’t find a job, a rate that is close to a 30-year high. The employment-to-population ratio for that demographic ... has plunged to 45 percent. That’s the lowest level since the Labor Department began tracking the data in 1948. This is a dangerous proposition, economically (for the United States as a whole) and politically (for the president)." CW: Mr. Obama are you listening now?

Dim Bulbs. Robert Semple of the New York Times: "The House is scheduled to vote this week on a daft and destructive measure that — in the name of individual freedom — would repeal national energy efficiency standards for light bulbs enacted by Congress in 2007. Though utterly without merit, the bill stands a fighting chance in a legislative body where ideology now routinely trumps common sense.... What appears to have escaped these freedom-fighters is that the 2007 law actually expanded consumer choice, which has largely been limited to a technology essentially unchanged since Thomas Edison."

David Carr of the New York Times: Rupert Murdoch's "News Corporation has historically used its four newspapers — it also owns The Sun, The Times of London, and The Sunday Times — to shape and quash public debate, routinely helping to elect prime ministers with timely endorsements while punishing enemies at every turn.... Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International and previous editor of The News of the World, responded by saying that it was 'inconceivable' that she knew of the hacking. I’d suggest it was inconceivable she did not know." To wit: ...

... The Editor & the Ax Murderers. Jo Becker & Sarah Lyall of the Times report an instance in which Scotland Yard informed Brooks that one of the News of the World's senior editors had ordered illegal surveillance of a police detective as a favor to two men suspected of commiting an ax murder; the purpose of the surveillance was apparently to compromise the detective.

Right Wing World *

Alex Pareene of Salon: God told Michele Bachmann to be a tax-collecting attorney for the IRS, but His instructions may not help her political career -- CW: which, come to think of it, He also advised her to pursue. Does God had a devilish sense of humor? ...

... Bachmann, BTW, has taken a slight lead over the other candidates in a recent Iowa Republican poll.

A Bottle of Wine for Paul Ryan? $350. An Exposé by Susan Crabtree of TPM? Priceless. Crabtree identifies Paul Ryan's dinner companions (see the July 9 Commentariat). Ryan described them as "economists." Well, yeah. They do both hold Ph.D.s in economics, but one of Ryan's dinner partners was Cliff Asness, who runs the high-profile hedge fund AQR Capital, which received a $12.9 billion bailout ($10 billion of which it repaid in 2009). Asness, whom Jake Tapper of ABC News once described as having "a name and occupation right out of Dickens," is a virulent Obama basher. The other guy in the party is a University of Chicago business professor, & he even holds an endowed chair -- endowed by none other than his Ass-ness.

* Where the Ghost of Charles Dickens is writer-in-residence.

Local News

Jillian Rayfield of TPM: "S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) is reviewing the case of Lieutenant Gov. Ken Ard (R), following a settlement between Ard and the state's Ethics Commission over his illegal campaign expenditures on, among other things, a Playstation, women's clothing, and his wife's cell phone bill.... Last week, Ard settled his 107 ethics violations with the State Ethics Commission, agreeing to pay a $48,400 fine, cover the cost of the investigation, and reimburse his campaign for $12,121 in illegal expenditures. Among those expenditures, the South Carolina Free Times reported, was more than $3000 at Best Buy for a 'Playstation 3, a flat-screen TV, an iPod Touch 8G, and two 3G iPads.' Ard initially claimed the purchases were 'computer equip' for 'campaign and office-related purposes.' The Commission also found that Ard lied about some of the expenditures during its investigation."

News Ledes

New York Times: "In a big step to carry out the new health care law, the Obama administration unveiled standards on Monday for insurance marketplaces that will allow individuals, families and small businesses in every state to shop for insurance, compare prices and benefits and buy coverage."

New York Times: "Stocks on Wall Street took a tumble on Monday, following Asian and European markets lower, as concerns about the euro zone debt crisis continued to overwhelm investors around the world.... After weeks of uncertainty related to bailouts for Greece, the Italian authorities moved to rein in short-selling on the Milan stock exchange as fears mounted that Italy could become the next victim of the sovereign debt crisis." ...

     ... AND a graph from Krugman on the Italian crisis.

President Obama will hold a news conference on the deficit negotiations at 11 am ET. Could be interesting. ...

     ... Washington Post post-presser Update: "President Obama, facing a bitter partisan stalemate over how to raise the federal borrowing limit, summoned congressional leaders to a new round of White House talks Monday and warned that he would not accept a temporary, stopgap measure." Video in left column. ...

     ... New York Times post-press conference report: "President Obama on Monday morning challenged Republicans to live up to their demands to cut the nation’s deficit and address its long-term debt by enacting spending cuts, revenue increases and changes to entitlement programs.... The president also called on Congressional Democrats to be open to a deal that would makes changes to entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare...."

It's very hard, but it's doable.
-- Gen. David Petraeus, on Afghanistan's ability to govern & secure itself

New York Times: "Just days away from the end of his tour as the supreme military commander in Afghanistan, and the end of a 37-year military career, Gen. David H. Petraeus said he was leaving in the belief that his plan to turn around the war and hand over security to the Afghans could be achieved."

AP: "The U.S. will not 'walk away' from the challenge of Iran's stepped-up arming of Iraqi insurgents who are targeting and killing American troops, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday." New York Times story here.

New York Times: "Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Monday became the most senior official to publicly urge Rupert Murdoch to drop a $12 billion bid by his embattled News Corporation for Britain’s most lucrative satellite broadcast company, British Sky Broadcasting, as the government sought advice on possible regulatory proceedings. The developments deepened the fallout from The News of the World phone-hacking scandal which has been transformed from a long-simmering controversy into a full-blown crisis swirling around Mr. Murdoch’s British operation, News International, and its chief executive, Rebekah Brooks." Guardian story here. ...

     ... NEW. Worse & Worser. Guardian: "Journalists from across News International repeatedly targeted the former prime minister Gordon Brown, attempting to access his voicemail and obtaining information from his bank account and legal file as well as his family's medical records. There is also evidence that a private investigator used a serving police officer to trawl the police national computer for information about him.... Separately, Brown's tax paperwork was taken from his accountant's office apparently by hacking into the firm's computer. This was passed to another newspaper. Brown was targeted during a period of more than 10 years, both as chancellor of the exchequer and as prime minister. Some of the activity clearly was illegal...." ...

     ... NEW. Guardian: "Police have warned Buckingham Palace that they have found evidence that the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall may have had their voicemail hacked by the News of the World."