The Commentariat -- March 28

President Obama speaks about Libya at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.:

     ... Here's the text of his remarks.

Jon Lee Anderson of the New Yorker has been hanging out with Libyan rebels. Opponents of the rebels here & in Libya like to describe them as terrorist Islamic extremists with connections to Al Qaeda. Anderson writes,

The hard core of the fighters has been the shabab—the young people whose protests in mid-February sparked the uprising. They range from street toughs to university students (many in computer science, engineering, or medicine), and have been joined by unemployed hipsters and middle-aged mechanics, merchants, and storekeepers. There is a contingent of workers for foreign companies: oil and maritime engineers, construction supervisors, translators. There are former soldiers.... And there are a few bearded religious men ... who appear intent on fighting at the dangerous tip of the advancing lines. It seems unlikely, however, that they represent Al Qaeda.

William Cronon.Paul Krugman on Wisconsin Republicans' attempt to intimidate a prominent University of Wisconsin history professor: "What’s at stake here ... is whether we’re going to have an open national discourse in which scholars feel free to go wherever the evidence takes them, and to contribute to public understanding. Republicans, in Wisconsin and elsewhere, are trying to shut that kind of discourse down. It’s up to the rest of us to see that they don’t succeed." ...

... Krugman Commenter #89, Andrea from Madison, Wisconsin, adds some interestng new (to me) information on the Cronon case. She points to a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in a case of parents attempting to access -- via the state's open-records law -- a teacher's personal e-mails written on a school district's e-mail system. The court held:

The contents of the personal e-mails that the Teachers created and maintained on government-owned computers pursuant to the government employer's permission for occasional personal use of the government e-mail account and computer are not 'records' under Wis. Stat. § 19.32(2). The personal contents of these e-mails are not subject to release to a record requester merely because they are sent or received using the government employers' e-mail systems and then stored and maintained on those systems.

... They Don't Know How Ridiculous They Are. Mark Jefferson, head of Wisconsin's Republican party, is "appalled" by Prof. Cronon's "deplorable tactics" of "intimidation" of upstanding neo-McCarthyites:

I have never seen such a concerted effort to intimidate someone from lawfully seeking information about their government. Further, it is chilling to see that so many members of the media would take up the cause of a professor who seeks to quash a lawful open records request.... Finally, I find it appalling that Professor Cronin [sic.] seems to have plenty of time to round up reporters from around the nation to push the Republican Party of Wisconsin into explaining its motives behind a lawful open records request, but has apparently not found time to provide any of the requested information. -- Mark Jefferson

     ... CW: whoever this Cronon/Cronin guy is/are, I wish he would stop "rounding up reporters." ...

... Anthony Grafton of the New Yorker: this is "an effort to intimidate Cronon, and any other state employee, by making clear that it can be dangerous to take a position that Republicans don’t like on the issues of the day. After all, Cronon’s mails, like those of most professors, include materials meant to be confidential: messages to and about students or colleagues."

Andrew Cohen of The Atlantic: "On Tuesday morning, the United States Supreme Court will hear argument in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, an already-epic battle between the world's largest corporation and perhaps as many as one million current and former employees, all of them female, who as potential plaintiffs claim the giant retailer engaged in an unlawful pattern and practice of gender discrimination. It is easily one of the biggest cases of the Court's present term and, by many accounts, the biggest class-action discrimination case ever fought." ...

... Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The number of women who could be included in the sex discrimination class-action suit is measured in millions. The amount of damages for which the nation’s largest private employer could be liable is estimated in billions.... There seems little doubt about how a ruling for Wal-Mart would be portrayed by liberal groups already suspicious of the [Supreme] Court and the huge company." ...

... Also by Barnes: How Do We Lie? An Appeals Court Judge Counts the Ways.... and concludes that the Stolen Valor Act, which punishes those who falsely claim receiving military honors, violates the First Amendment free speech guarantee, but not all of his colleagues agree, and a test of the law is likely headed to the Supreme Court. You can read Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski's entertaining treatise on lying in his concurring opinion, reproduced in this pdf. It begins on page 3758 (no, it's not that long; just cursor forward or search "living means lying.")

Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Even as the Obama administration defends the NATO-led air war in Libya, the latest violent clashes in Syria and Jordan are raising new alarm among senior officials who view those countries, in the heartland of the Arab world, as far more vital to American interests."

Michael Ettinger & Michael Linden of the Center for American Progress: "It’s beginning to look like the 2011 federal budget process could degenerate into a passive compromise that ends up precisely where the House Republican leadership started out nearly two months ago. That would be a very strange outcome for the Senate Democrats and the president to allow." CW: in a way, this is the most depressing story of the day, although it's hardly news -- just another chapter in the continuing saga "Triumph of the Oligarchy." ...

... Corey Boles & Janet Hook of the Wall Street Journal: "House Republicans are preparing to propose a major shake-up of the Medicaid health-care program for the poor, a first step in their drive to overhaul federal entitlements, according to a member of the House Budget Committee." CW: whaddaya bet -- once again Democrats will cave, further abetting atrocities like Florida Gov. Rick Scott's soon-to-be-successful attempt to "reform" Medicaid in a way that reduces benefits for the poor but still adds millions to Scott's personal fortune. ...

... AND in another Screw-the-Little-Guy movement, Amanda Becker of the Washington Post report, "The Senate's recent passage of the America Invents Act has been hailed as the first meaningful overhaul of the country's patent process in more than 50 years.... No provision generated more interest among the organizations that weighed in than the switch from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file system used in most other countries, which would grant a patent to the first inventor to file an application even if others conceived of a similar idea first.... The shift was a victory for big companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly and General Electric, which are adept at filing patents often and early...."

Peter Wallsten of the Washington Post: "... as [President] Obama keeps the White House press corps at a distance, he has sat for more than a dozen interviews with their colleagues from local TV stations — with unpredictable and sometimes illuminating results."

First Amendment -- Closeted Edition. Jake Tapper: Joe Biden's staffer to veteran Orlando Sentinel reporter: sorry about stuffing you in the closet during the Vice President's fundraiser. Well, sorta sorry. Glad you understand. CW: oh, the right is loving this story.

Right Wing World *

Glenn Greenwald psychoanalyzes the delusional, persecution-complex-impaired Koch brothers based on their bizarre, nonsensical remarks to a Weekly Standard reporter.

Pro-Life -- Except for Undocumented Babies. Andrea Nill of Think Progress: Nebraska's law that prevents undocumented women from receiving prenatal care has been responsible for at least five in-utero infant deaths. And, look, "100 percent pro-life" Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has proposed the same restrictions on women in Wisconsin. CW: evidently infanticide is one way Republicans are limiting the scope of the 14th Amendment which states that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States ... are citizens of the United States."

* Where facts never intrude.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Highly contaminated water is escaping a damaged reactor at the crippled nuclear power plant in Japan and could soon leak into the ocean, the country’s nuclear regulator warned on Monday." ...

... Washington Post: "As radiation levels at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant reached a new high Sunday, workers contended with dark, steamy conditions in their efforts to repair the facility’s cooling system and stave off a full-blown nuclear meltdown.... Leaked water sampled from one unit Sunday had 100,000 times the radioactivity of normal background levels, although the Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the plant, first calculated an even higher, erroneous, figure it didn’t correct for hours." Los Angeles Times story here.

New York Times: "... a damning internal report by Afghanistan’s own Central Bank ... depicts the Afghan political elite as using Kabul Bank, the country’s biggest financial institution, as their own private piggy bank. The report both raises questions about why the authorities did not act sooner, and suggests the answers lay in the political connections of the bank’s officers and shareholders — the recipients of most of the roughly $900 million in bad loans."

Rogue State. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Gov. Scott Walker's administration is no longer collecting dues on behalf of state unions and as of Sunday began charging employees more for health care and their pensions, even though nonpartisan legislative attorneys say the changes are not yet law.... Before [Judge Maryann] Sumi issued the restraining order [blocking the state from publishing the law], [Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug] La Follette had set Friday as the date to publish the law. He later rescinded it, but [Walker's Administrative Secretary Mike] Huebsch said he did not believe La Follette had the power to do that."

Washington Post: "Rebels surged westward along Libya’s coast Sunday, seizing at least three more key towns and capitalizing on their new momentum after more than a week of airstrikes by an international coalition. The rebel stronghold of Benghazi erupted in gunfire and rockets early Monday amid rumors that that Sirte, the home town of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, had fallen. But those reports appeared to be unfounded." Los Angeles Times story here.

Washington Post: "Gangs of young men, some armed with swords and hunting rifles, roamed Sunday through the streets of [Latakia,] a Syrian seaside city, closing alleys with barricades and roughly questioning passersby in streets scarred by days of anti-government unrest." ...

... Los Angeles Times: "Two journalists from the Reuters news agency are missing [in Syria] and two U.S. citizens have been detained during the unprecedented  nationwide mass protests that have posed the greatest challenge to President Bashar Assad since he came to power 11 years ago, media reports say."

Los Angeles Times: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel was dealt a humiliating defeat Sunday when voters booted her party from power in a state election that could bode ill for her leadership on the national stage."

The Commentariat -- March 27

Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times: "The ailing economy and the Tea Party’s demand for smaller government have dominated Republican politics for two years, but a resurgent social conservative movement is shaping the first stage of the presidential nominating contest, complicating the strategy for candidates who prefer to focus on fiscal issues over faith." ...

... Red Meat. Maggie Haberman of Politico: Michele Bachmann "gave the best-received speech of the potential 2012 hopefuls appearance at [crazy-evil] Rep. Steve King's conference and the crowd wildly applauded her brand of populism." ...

... Andy Barr of Politico: "In the latest Gallup poll released Friday, [Mike Huckabee is] the Republican leader, ahead of 16 other presidential prospects. Regardless of what’s being polled, who’s doing the polling or how the question is asked, among Republicans Huckabee typically finishes on top. ...

... BUT Buffalo Beast editor Ian Murphy -- a/k/a Fake Koch -- announces his candidacy for the Upstate New York Congressional seat vacated by CraigsList contributor, barechested Rep. Chris Lee in a better campaign announcement video than any Republicans could devise:

Prof. Juan Cole, an unabashed lefty, writes "an open letter to the left on Libya: ... I am unabashedly cheering the liberation movement on, and glad that the UNSC-authorized intervention has saved them from being crushed." He outlines why the coaltion action against Gaddafi forces is warranted & why leftists' arguments against the action are wanting. CW: if, like me, you've been conflicted about the military action, reading Cole is essential.

Nicholas Kristof: "Mubarak is gone, but an Egyptian woman’s story of torture depicts a revolution far from over.... The lesson may be that revolution is not a moment but a process, a gritty contest of wills that unfolds painstakingly long after the celebrations have died and the television lights have dimmed."

Local News

These changes to Medicaid are basically nothing but a business plan for Rick Scott's Solantic. -- Eric Jotkoff, Florida Democratic Party spokesman ...

... Suzy Khimm of Mother Jones: "Republican governor Rick Scott's push to privatize Medicaid in Florida is highly controversial — not least because the health care business Scott handed over to his wife when he took office could reap a major profit if the legislation becomes law. Scott and Florida Republicans are currently trying to enact a sweeping Medicaid reform bill that would give HMOs and other private health care companies unprecedented control over the government health care program for the poor. Among the companies that stand to benefit from the bill is Solantic, a chain of urgent-care clinics.... The Florida governor founded Solantic in 2001, only a few years after he resigned as the CEO of hospital giant Columbia/HCA amid a massive Medicare fraud scandal. In January, he transferred his $62 million stake in Solantic to his wife, Ann Scott, a homemaker involved in various charitable organizations. ...

... In the 1990s, [Scott] made his money off single-payer health-care programs by cheating them. Today, he's making his money off single-payer health-care programs by running them. No matter how you look at it, it's a step up. -- Ezra Klein ...

... "The Moral of the Story: Don't Elect a Criminal to Be Governor." Steve Benen: "This happens to coincide with a new Scott initiative: mandatory drug testing for state employees, state job applicants, and welfare recipients. Care to guess what Florida company would stand to make a lot of money administering these wildly unnecessary drug tests? If you guessed, 'Solantic,' you're right." ...

... Florida! Where Bestiality Is Legal! The dysfunctional Florida legislature is trying for a third time to pass a law making bestiality a crime. So far, they have not been able to pass what should be an uncontroversial law even though proponents of the bill -- inspired by the sexual abuse & asphyxiation of a goat -- have come up with great motivational slogans like "Baaa Means No." ...

... CW: you may ask me why I'm still living in a state like this. I'm beginning to wonder myself.

Right Wing World

Politico: "Pressed on 'Fox News Sunday' about his adulterous past, Newt Gingrich said it was not hypocritical for him to impeach Bill Clinton while he cheated on his own wife because he never lied under oath." Update: here's the videotape:

Mormons, Sí; Muslims, No. Freedom of Religion for You and Me. Steve Benen: after describing an anti-Muslim rant by Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, Benen reminds us that "In the fall of 2007, [Mitt] Romney said he would not consider Muslim Americans for his cabinet. Indeed, he said this more than once, in front of plenty of witnesses." Romney, unlike Cain, is a front-runner. ...

... Based upon the little knowledge that I have of the Muslim religion, you know, they have an objective to convert all infidels or kill them.
-- Herman Cain ...

... Scott Keyes of Think Progress has more, including a video, of Cain's views & misunderstanding of the First Amendment.

News Ledes

AP: "A magnitude-6.5 earthquake shook eastern Japan off the quake-ravaged coast on Monday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, prompting Japan to issue a tsunami alert. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, but the Japan Meteorological Agency announced that a tsunami of up to 1.6 feet (a half meter) may wash into Miyagi Prefecture." ...

... Los Angeles Times: "Puddles with 10 million times more radioactivity than would be found in water in a normally functioning nuclear reactor have been discovered at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi facility, Japanese officials said Sunday, raising new questions about the extent of damage to reactor No. 2 and the threat to workers there." ...

... AP: "Nevada has joined several western states in reporting that minuscule amounts of radiation from Japan's damaged nuclear plant are showing up. But as with the other states, scientists say there is no health risk."

WISC: Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug La Follette (yes, of that La Follette family) said the state's budget repair bill has not been published & therefore cannot go into effect, despite Republican plans to implement it anyway.

New York Times: "The United States military intervention in Libya has saved perhaps tens of thousands of lives, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday, as she and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates defended a mission they acknowledged is drawing increasing skepticism from both liberals and conservatives."

Reuters: "NATO agreed on Sunday to take full responsibility for coalition military operations in Libya, ending a week of heated negotiations over the command structure."

The Hill: "The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said on Sunday that Col. Moammar Gadhafi is 'on his heels' and Libyan people need to take advantage of the situation and remove their dictator. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) heralded the ongoing U.S., British, and French air strikes, and bucked criticism of President Obama’s communication with the Congress, saying that he has clearly laid out the U.S.’s end game in the North African country."

Los Angeles Times: "Libyan rebels took back a key oil town on Sunday in their westward push toward the capital,seizing momentum from the international airstrikes that tipped the balance away from Moammar Kadafi's military. Brega, a main oil export terminal in eastern Libya, fell to rebels after a skirmish late Saturday, said Ahmed Jibril, a rebel commander manning a checkpoint on the westernmost edge of town." ...

... CBS News: "On 'Face the Nation' airing Sunday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told CBS News chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer that intelligence reports indicate Muammar Qaddafi's forces are planting dead bodies of civilians at sites attacked by coalition forces." CW Note: this is more or less the same "classified secret" Glenn Greenwald wrote about last week.

New York Times: "A day after he said he was ready to yield power to 'safe hands,' President Ali Abdullah Saleh asserted Saturday that his departure was not imminent, leaving unclear when and under what terms he would agree to step down."

AP: "Millions of retired and disabled people in the United States had better brace for another year with no increase in Social Security payments. The government is projecting a slight cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits next year, the first increase since 2009. But for most beneficiaries, rising Medicare premiums threaten to wipe out any increase in payments, leaving them without a raise for a third straight year."

Guardian: "More than 200 people are in police custody after trouble flared in central London following a peaceful march and TUC rally against the government's spending cuts. Eighty-four people, including at least 31 police officers, were reported to have been injured in the violence as a minority of anarchists attacked symbols of wealth in Piccadilly, Oxford Street and Regent Street."

The Commentariat -- March 26

The President's Weekly Address, March 26    

The President says that thanks to our men and women in uniform, the military mission in Libya is succeeding even as responsibility is transferred to our NATO allies and partners.

... Here's the transcript. AND here's an AP report.

I had been thinking of featuring an Outrage of the Day. But there are so many. -- Constant Weader ...

... ** Karen Garcia: "Honeywell International, whose CEO [David Cote] is a member of President Obama's Bipartisan Deficit Reduction ('Cat Food') Commission, has pleaded guilty to knowingly storing hazardous radioactive waste without a permit, and has been sentenced in federal court to pay a criminal fine of $11.8 million." CW: you won't find this horror story in the major media, but it should have been front-page news. ...

... But unless you're a rich criminal like David Cote or Angelo Mozilo (see below), the government will go to practically any lengths to put you in jail on the slightest excuse. ...

... Joe Nocera's last "Talking Business" column -- he's moving to the New York Times op-ed page -- will fucking infuriate you: "A few weeks ago, when the Justice Department decided not to prosecute Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of Countrywide, I wrote a column lamenting the fact that none of the big fish were likely to go to prison.... [But] there was, in fact, someone behind bars for what he’d supposedly done during the subprime bubble.... Charlie Engle wasn’t a seller of bad mortgages. He was a borrower. And the 'mortgage fraud' for which he was prosecuted was something that literally millions of Americans did during the subprime bubble. Supposedly, he lied on two liar loans." You must read Nocera's whole column to see the extraordinary effort the government made to prosecute Engle. Their "best evidence," acquired via an attractive female IRS agent wearing a wire, couldn't be more flimsy. ...

... Along similar lines, Thom Hartmann writes, "American in the 21st century is bringing back debtors’ prisons.  People who can’t pay off their credit cards can be thrown in jail in a third of the states in our nation – and since the start of 2010 – over 5,000 arrest warrants have been issued against people who owe as little as $1,000 to massively profitable corporations like Capital One." ...

... Sorry, this is not a government of, by and for the people. ...

... ** Bob Herbert writes his last column for the New York Times: "Limitless greed, unrestrained corporate power and a ferocious addiction to foreign oil have led us to an era of perpetual war and economic decline.... Nearly 14 million Americans are jobless and the outlook for many of them is grim.... Income and wealth inequality in the U.S. have reached stages that would make the third world blush.... The corporations and the very wealthy continue to do well. The employment crisis never gets addressed. The wars never end. And nation-building never gets a foothold here at home." ...

... Noam Cohen of the New York Times: "... as a German Green party politician, Malte Spitz, recently learned, we are ... continually being tracked whether we volunteer to be or not. Cellphone companies do not typically divulge how much information they collect, so Mr. Spitz went to court to find out exactly what his cellphone company, Deutsche Telekom, knew about his whereabouts.... In a six-month period..., Deutsche Telekom had recorded and saved his longitude and latitude coordinates more than 35,000 times.... In the United States, telecommunication companies do not have to report precisely what material they collect...," but Schmitt broadly impolies they're selling info about you to marketers. ...

... This is not a love song. It is, after all, a "Police" "Sting":

Josh Rogin of Foreign Policy on why the Libyan war coalition is the smallest multinational war coalition in decades. ...

... Bruce Ackerman of Foreign Policy: "In taking the country into a war with Libya, Barack Obama's administration is breaking new ground in its construction of an imperial presidency -- an executive who increasingly acts independently of Congress at home and abroad. Obtaining a U.N. Security Council resolution has legitimated U.S. bombing raids under international law. But the U.N. Charter is not a substitute for the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress, not the president, the power 'to declare war.'"

... Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: U.S. Air Force Capt. Ryan Thulin tells of his raid over Libya.

Paul Krugman deplores the Wisconsin GOP's attempt to intimidate UW-Madison Prof. William Cronon for having the audacity to write a New York Times op-ed on the history of Wisconsin's Republican progressivism. See yesterday's Commentariat for the backstory. As Krugman writes of the GOP's open-records request for Cronon's personal e-mails, "Cronon has a wisconsin.edu email address — but nobody, and I mean nobody, considers such academic email addresses something specially reserved for university business." CW: my husband & I get plenty of e-mails from academics writing on dot.edu's, & many of them are of a highly personal nature. I consider this Republican witchhunt worse than an assault on academic freedom or an attempt at intimidation -- it's invasion of privacy. Do you want the world reading your e-mails? ...

... Jonathan Adler of the Volokh Conspiracy adds an interesting twist to the story: it seems the GOP was upset not by Cronon's op-ed but by an earlier blogpost he wrote in which he wrote about "the American Legislative Exchange Council, largely crediting ALEC with the push for anti-public-sector-union legislation in many states." How does Adler know? Because Cronon's blogpost appeared March 15, the GOP records request was made March 17, and the Times didn't published Cronon's op-ed till March 21. In fact, Adler contends -- absent evidence -- that Cronon wrote his op-ed in retaliation for the records search:

The open records request infuriated Prof. Cronon, and with good reason. Even if justified under Wisconsin state law, the request looks like an effort to intimidate a prominent critic by conducting a fishing expedition through private communications — an expedition aimed at producing fodder for additional attacks on his reputation. ...

... Update. BUT the editors of the New York Times say they asked Cronon to write his op-ed "earlier this month" and that Cronon wrote his blogpost as a result of the research results for the op-ed. Kinda shoots the hell out of Adler's revenge theory. The editoris say the "shabby crusade" of the Wisconsin Republicans makes them "appear vengeful and ridiculous." ...

... The Times has a story here, but it's by A. G. Sulzberger, the Times family scion, & he is known for not getting his stories too straight.

Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times: "Nine years after a scandal in Boston prompted America’s Roman Catholic bishops to announce sweeping policy changes to protect children from sexual abuse by priests, the bishops are scrambling to contain the damage from a growing crisis in Philadelphia that has challenged the credibility of their own safeguards.... Church officials are ... deeply troubled by how it is possible that in the bishops’ most recent annual 'audit' — conducted by an outside agency to monitor each diocese’s compliance with the policy changes — Philadelphia passed with flying colors...."

Right Wing World *

The Many Flip-Flops of Newt:

Obviously, my analysis is going to change as the facts on the ground change." -- Newt Gingrich. Translation: If Obama does it, it's wrong.

... Here's the TPM print story by Benjy Sarlin. ...

... He just can't shut up. Until you replace this president and until you have the Congress and the new president replace large parts of our bureaucracies, we’re going to continue to be dominated by a secular, anti-Christian and anti-Jewish elite, which is seeking to impose on us rules that make zero sense. -- Newt Gingrich

... Kendra Marr of Politico: "Newt Gingrich says he could sign as many as 200 executive orders on his first day as president, accomplishing everything from abolishing a circuit court to further tightening restrictions on federal funding for abortions." CW: oh, Newt, why not just sign them now, as you're just as likely to be president now as you will be in January 2013.

* Where facts never intrude.

Local News

Lawrence Journal World: "A group of Hispanic advocates on Friday delivered to the Statehouse petitions signed by nearly 60,000 people, calling for state Rep. Virgil Peck, R-Tyro, to resign from office for his remarks about shooting illegal immigrants. Representatives from several Hispanic groups delivered petitions to Gov. Sam Brownback and House Speaker Mike O'Neal.... Members of the group said they feared Peck's comment could incite violence against Hispanics and said Gov. Sam Brownback and House Speaker Mike O'Neal, both Republicans, should insist Peck step down."

Fort Myers News-Press: "U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV announced today that he is not running for the Senate seat held by Democrat Bill Nelson. He said that he would seek re-election to his fifth term in District 14 as a member of the House of Representatives." CW: bad news for me. Connie Mack, or CoMa to me, is my useless congressman. I was so hoping he would run & Nelson would dispose of him.

News Ledes

AP: "A quarter-million mostly peaceful demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday against the toughest cuts to public spending since World War II, with some small breakaway groups smashing windows at banks and shops and spray painting logos on the walls." My friend Peter S. sent me this link to the Guardian's photos of the protests.

New York Times: Canadian "Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Saturday that Canadians would vote on May 2, the shortest possible campaign period under the country’s laws."

New York Times: "Rebels in Libya seized Ajdabiya on Saturday, witnesses said, succeeding in an effort to retake a key town in the east following another night of allied air strikes against forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi." ...

... Washington Post: "The United States and its allies are considering whether to supply weapons to the Libyan opposition as coalition airstrikes fail to dislodge government forces from around key contested towns, according to U.S. and European officials. France actively supports training and arming the rebels, and the Obama administration believes the United Nations resolution that authorized international intervention in Libya has the 'flexibility' to allow such assistance...."

Washington Post: "A new sense of national identity is spreading across Yemen’s divided society as rival tribesmen and political foes unite to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who on Friday said he would step aside as long as he could deliver power to 'safe hands.'”

Washington Post: "Syrian security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas rounds at protesters Friday, killing an undetermined number of people, as unrest that had been mostly contained in a small southwestern city erupted across the country, including the capital, Damascus."

New York Times: "With time running short and budget negotiations this week having reached an angry impasse, Congressional leaders are growing increasingly pessimistic about reaching a bipartisan deal that would avert a government shutdown in early April."

Washington Post: "Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt said Friday that he will revamp air traffic control guidelines nationwide after an incident in which the lone supervisor on duty in the Reagan National Airport tower slept while two airliners landed on their own.... The National Air Traffic Controllers Association urged that staffing be doubled at other airports that have one person in the tower during overnight shifts. The controllers union said those include San Diego; Sacramento; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Tucson; Orlando; Reno, Nev.; and Burlington, Vt."

Los Angeles Times: "A hiring surge led by California's hallmark industries — high tech, movies and tourism — generated nearly 100,000 net new jobs in February and offered the strongest sign yet that the state economy is on the mend. The 96,500-job jump was the biggest monthly increase since the current record system began in 1990, state officials said. California had added a paltry 700 jobs in January."

New York Times: "A law to limit collective bargaining rights for public workers in Wisconsin was unexpectedly published by a state agency on Friday despite a temporary restraining order barring publication, sparking confusion and more animosity among legislators who have fiercely debated the issue for weeks.... Democrats argued on Friday that the law would not go into effect on Saturday because it still required official publication by the secretary of state.... But Republicans said they believed the law would take effect on Saturday."