The Commentariat -- March 10

Vow of Bigotry. There have been numerous protests and newspaper articles demonizing these hearings, but I wanted to let you know that I will not back down to the hysteria created by my opponents and will continue with the hearings. -- Rep. Peter King (R-NY), in an e-mail to supporters; includes a link for donations

Delusions of Grandstanding. Keep doing what you’re doing. All I’d be worried about is some congressman or senator who thinks he’s Dick Tracy or James Bond or tries to get cheap headlines by holding Sunday news conferences announcing some big ‘disclosure.’ -- Character in Peter King's novel Vale of Tears. Read more excerpts here. Really, do.

The only real testimony we have on it was actually from Sheikh Kabbani, who was a Muslim leader during the Clinton Administration, he testified, this is back in 1999 and 2000, before the State Department that he thought over 80 percent of the mosques in this country are controlled by radical Imams. Certainly from what I've seen and dealings I've had, that number seems accurate. -- Peter King, Jan. 24, 2011. Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post fact-checker, was going to give King "quite a few Pinocchios" until King told him he was taking back his claim ...

... Amy Sullivan of Time on Rep. Keith Ellison's (D-Minn.) testimony before King's panel -- literally a tearjerker. Update 1: C-SPAN has the video here. Rep. Ellison's remarks begin about 21 min. in. His closing remarks, which Sullivan highlights, begin at about 33 min. into the video. Update 2: Here are Ellison's closing remarks. ...

... Chris Good of The Atlantic has the full text of Ellison's remarks, as prepared. ...

... A little perspective from Josh Gerstein of Politico: "While King has been slammed for focusing solely on Muslims — the title of his investigation is 'The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response' — five Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearings since 2006 have had the phrase 'violent Islamist extremism' in their descriptions.... Observers and some Muslim activists said King’s plan triggered an intense reaction because of the congressman’s own past statements that Muslims found offensive...."

Nicholas Kristof, with a little help from Air Force Gen. Merrill McPeak, makes the case for imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. ...

... Scott Wilson of the Washington Post: "President Obama is content to let other nations publicly lead the search for solutions to the Libyan conflict, his advisers say, a stance that reflects the more humble tone he has sought to bring to U.S. foreign policy but one that also opens him to criticism that he is a weak leader."

Justice Scalia Objects -- to the "Utter Nonsense" of His "Unprincipled," "Irrational," "Incoherent" Fellow Justices. Linda Greenhouse, in the New York Times: "the question raised by Justice Scalia’s most recent intemperate display remains: what does this smart, rhetorically gifted man think his bullying accomplishes?" ...

... Stephen Colbert interviews Rep. Anthony Weiner about Justice Clarence Thomas' "objectivity" on healthcare legislation:

... Dahlia Lithwick, in Slate, on the Justices's views of privacy rights: "As they come to the realization that there are indeed no more private spaces in America, some justices might be more inclined to chip away at the First Amendment to protect what's left of them."

Greg Sargent: "In a situation where they had repeated opportunities to resolve this standoff and plausibly declare victory for themselves, [Wisconsin Republicans] have now ensured that this battle is only going to escalate.... A lawyer told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the move appeared to violate the state's open meetings law. One assumes this is headed for court, but let's just presume for the moment that the move will stand.... This kind of conduct is exactly what recalls are for." ...

... Lee Fang of Think Progress: "In an interview with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly..., State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), one of [Gov. Scott] Walker’s closest allies in the legislature, confirmed the true political motive of Walker’s anti-union push. Fitzgerald explained that 'this battle' is about eliminating unions so that 'the money is not there' for the labor movement. Specifically, he said that the destruction of unions will make it 'much more difficult' for President Obama to win reelection in Wisconsin." With video.

Tony Romm of Politico: "Democrats on the Senate’s newest privacy panel are urging Facebook to 'reverse' a plan that would allow app developers the ability to request access to users’ addresses, phone numbers and other contact information. It’s the strongest signal of concern yet coming from Capitol Hill, where other members have questioned Facebook’s new feature since the social network disabled it amid controversy in January."

Liam Stack & Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "The files have started flowing out of Egypt’s dreaded state security headquarters, part of the post-uprising rush to excavate some of the state’s darkest corners.... Egyptians want an accounting for years of arrest and torture, and a way to prevent any organization from gaining such powers in the future.... Charred pages blowing around the grounds of state security buildings underscored fears that much information was already being lost. On Saturday night, the sight of a dump truck emerging from the Cairo compound laden with shredded paper sent protesters into a fury, creating the momentum that drove the crowd past the army soldiers outside and into the hastily abandoned main building."

Dan Balz of the Washington Post remembers Post columnist & political reporter David Broder, who died Wednesday. ...

... Rick Hertzberg: "As a columnist, he was relentlessly, irritatingly 'centrist,' which, over the past couple of decades, usually meant splitting the difference between the views of moderate-to-liberal Democrats and those of very conservative Republicans. His reportorial shrewdness was impressive, but his wisdom was numbingly conventional. So I’ve done my share of knocking 'Broderism' over the years. But today I’m remembering David Broder simply as a kind man."

Right Wing World

Lies & the Lying Liars, a Media Matters video:

Like the proverbial monkey who types out the complete works of Shakespeare, sometimes David Brooks gets it right:

Newt Gingrich is not going to be President. I wouldn't let that guy run a 7-Eleven, let alone a country. No management skills.
-- David Brooks

Local News

Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's "misstatements, exaggerations and carefully constructed claims belie the national image he has built as a blunt talker who gives straight answers to hard questions, especially about budgets and labor relations. Candor is central to Mr. Christie’s appeal, and a review of his public statements over the past year shows some of them do not hold up to scrutiny." Here are paraphrases of a few whoppers: "New Jersey’s public-sector unions routinely pressure the State Legislature to give them what they fail to win in contract talks. Most government workers pay nothing for health insurance. Concessions by school employees would have prevented any cuts in school programs last year."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Emotions ran high at a much-anticipated hearing Thursday on the radicalization of American Muslims, with some witnesses describing what they called a stealth campaign to promote extremism and terrorism in American mosques and others expressing concern that such broad accusations could themselves alienate Muslims and empower Al Qaeda."

New York Times: "The state Assembly voted 53-42 Thursday on a bill that sharply curtails bargaining rights for government workers, sending the bill to Gov. Scott Walker who promised to sign it as soon as possible.... The police ... denied entry to legislators, including at least two Democratic Assembly members — David Cullen and Elizabeth Coggs. Mr. Cullen was turned away even after displaying his Assembly identification." ...

... Wisconsin State Journal: "Thousands of protesters rushed to the state Capitol Wednesday night, forcing their way through doors, crawling through windows and jamming corridors, as word spread of hastily called votes on Gov. Scott Walker's controversial bill limiting collective bargaining rights for public workers. The Capitol overnight crowd had gone mostly silent by 2:15 a.m. Thursday after a nearly continuous stream of protest songs, drumming and the occasional bagpiping since about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Protesters on the ground floor of the state Capitol rotunda led others in Woodie Guthrie's 'This Land Is Our Land' just after 2 a.m. then joined about 200 others snoozing in sleeping bags along the Capitol walls."

New York Times: "A first cousin of Afghanistan’s president was killed Wednesday during a night raid by NATO and Afghan forces in which they detained the man’s son as a suspected Taliban commander, as well as several of the family’s bodyguards. The case brought the sensitive issue of civilian casualties into the presidential palace and added to the already tense relationship between the Afghans and the Americans."

AP: "With fierce barrages of tank and artillery fire, Moammar Gadhafi's loyalists threw rebels into a frantic retreat from a strategic oil port Thursday in a counteroffensive that reversed the opposition's advance toward the capital of Tripoli and now threatens its positions in the east." ...

... BBC News: "Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's security forces detained and beat up a BBC news team who were trying to reach the strife-torn western city of Zawiya. Members of the three-man team were beaten with fists, knees and rifles, hooded and subjected to mock executions by Libyan troops and secret police. The three were detained on Monday and held for 21 hours, but have now flown out of Libya." With a compelling video.

... New York Times: "Moving ahead of its allies, France said on Thursday that it would become the first country to recognize Libya’s rebel leadership in the eastern city of Benghazi and would soon exchange ambassadors with the insurgents." ...

... Politico: "Defense Secretary Robert Gates is beginning consultations in Brussels with his defense counterparts on an issue that has divided Washington and capitals across Europe: Should NATO intervene militarily in Libya?"

The Hill: "Senate Democrats suffered a wave of defections Wednesday as their proposal to cut just over $6 billion from federal spending this year went down to defeat. The Democratic bill attracted two fewer votes than the rival GOP measure that would cut spending by another $57 billion this year."

New York Times: "Faced with growing protests throughout Yemen calling for him to step down, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced on Thursday that a new constitution to transfer power from the president to a parliamentary system would be drafted and put to a referendum by the end of this year."

Leading by Example. New York Times: "The Dalai Lama announced on Thursday he would formally relinquish his political leadership role in the Tibetan exile government, a decision intended to strengthen the democratic structure of the Tibetan movement on the eve of elections to choose a new generation of political leaders."

The Commentariat -- March 9

** The Terrorists I Love by Peter King.... Scott Shane of the New York Times: Rep. "Peter T. King, whose House committee is holding hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims, once fervently supported a terrorist group, the Irish Republican Army."

Janet Hook of the Wall Street Journal: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said that efforts to bridge the parties' $50 billion difference in proposed budget cuts for the remainder of fiscal-year 2011 could reach beyond domestic discretionary spending and move into tax policy and programs such as farm subsidies." ...

... Good Luck with That. Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Heidi Przybyla of Bloomberg News: "Almost 8 in 10 people say Republicans and Democrats should reach a compromise on a plan to reduce the federal budget deficit to keep the government running, a Bloomberg National Poll shows. At the same time, lopsided margins oppose cuts to Medicare, education, environmental protection, medical research and community-renewal programs." ...

... AND Harry Reid gets it really wrong on repeal of an aspect of healthcare reform. This is a little wonkish, but Harry's bright idea -- borrowed from House Republicans -- could end up costing you a bundle. Ezra Klein has a detailed explanation.

Glenn Greenwald on President Obama's indefinite detention policy for terror suspects incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay: "... Obama -- for reasons having nothing to do with Congress -- worked from the start to preserve the crux of the Bush/Cheney detention regime." ...

... Dafna Linzer of ProPublica: "Obama said he remained committed to closing the prison, a pledge he made on his first full day in office. That pledge, enshrined in his first executive order, was widely seen as a repudiation of the detention system his predecessor built. But the new order suggests that Obama's original pledge was more about dismantling a facility than a system."

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Spurred by memories of the World War II-era roundup and internment of 110,000 of their own people, Japanese Americans, especially on the West Coast, have been among the most vocal and passionate supporters of embattled Muslims. They've rallied public support against hate crimes at mosques, signed on to legal briefs opposing the indefinite detention of Muslims by the government, organized cross-cultural trips to the Manzanar internment camp memorial in California and held 'Bridging Communities' workshops in Islamic schools and on college campuses."

Ezra Klein wrote a post on Sunday briefly noting a book by Ed Glaeser titled The Triumph of the City. Based on his reading, Klein concluded,

... cities make us smarter, more productive and more innovative. To put it plainly, they make us richer. And the evidence in favor of this point is very, very strong. But it would of course be political suicide for President Obama to say that part of winning the future is ending the raft of subsidies we devote to sustaining rural living. And the U.S. Senate is literally set up to ensure that such a policy never becomes politically plausible. ...

      ... So Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack gave Klein a call to say he took the post as "a slam on rural America." Vilsack says farmers deserve subsidies because they're "good and hardworking people." Klein says his suburban parents are "good, hardworking people, too," but they're not getting equivalent subsidies. Klein provides a transcript of their conversation. I would say Klein gets the better of Vilsack. Of course, it's Klein's post. ...

... Speaking of farm subsidies, Sam Stein reports that at least three of those "good, hardworking" Republican Wisconsin state senators who plan to vote for some enforced belt-tightening for Wisconsin public workers receive substantial federal farm subsidies. CW: this of course follows the Republican political policy: "Slash spending unless it's spending for me."

On the Senate floor, ConservaDem Sen. Joe Manchin (WV) criticizes President Obama for not leading on the budget battle. Politico story by Jennifer Epstein & Scott Wong here:

Jay Newton-Small of Time loves cowboy poetry. But maybe not as much as Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid loves cowboy poetry.

Right Wing World

It's the Media's Fault. Mike Joyella of Mediaite: "Potential GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has more to say about Natalie Portman and the president’s roots in Kenya. For better or worse." With audio.

Shit Happens When You Work So Hard for America. There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate. Newt Gingrich to CBN's David Brody on why he had extra-marital affairs. Watch on an empty stomach:

There was a Congressional Research Service report that just was issued in February, and we discovered that secretly, unbeknownst to members of Congress, over $105 billion was hidden in the 'Obamacare' legislation to fund the implementation of 'Obamacare'. This is something that wasn't known. This money was broken up, hidden in various parts of the bill. -- Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), March 6, 2011

This is a crime against democracy. No one knew that Harry Reid, [Nancy] Pelosi and Obama put $105 billion in spending in the bill. ... This is a bombshell. -- Bachmann, March 8, 2011

There is no 'bombshell' except Bachmann's bombast. She is correct that Congress already has appropriated some spending in future years, but her claim that this money was "hidden" does not have credibility. The money for these programs was clearly described and analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office before the legislation was voted into law. -- Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post Fact-Checker

Wingers Fall Out of Love with Sarah Palin. Noreen Malone of The New Republic has the details.

Local News

Lizette Alvarez of the New York Times: "The Florida Legislature, convening its 60-day session on Tuesday, quickly set its sights on measures that would link the pay of new teachers to student performance and allow school boards to fire teachers more easily for mediocre results. The final bill is expected to clear the Legislature next week. Unlike last year, when similar legislation was vetoed by the former governor, who considered it too extreme, this slightly softened version is expected to win Gov. Rick Scott’s approval easily. The far-reaching bills ... would position Florida as a leader among those states taking on teachers’ unions." ...

... Disenfranchising Democrats. Peter Wallsten: Florida Repubicans are set to roll back voting rights for ex-felons. Because, guess what? -- A lot of them are black & they'll vote for Obama. ...

... Jeff Burlew of the Tallahassee Democrat: "A state Senate committee is set to hear Sen. Greg Evers' bill today that would allow guns to be carried openly by people with concealed-weapon licenses. The proposal also would allow guns on state university campuses, where they're currently banned. Last month, Robert Cowie of Orange Park, the father of Ashley Cowie, a Florida State University student killed Jan. 9 in an apparent rifle accident at an off-campus fraternity house, urged lawmakers not to push forward with the bill." Here's video of Dr. Cowie's testimony, which is heartbreaking:

 ... Miami Herald Update: "The NRA was handed a rare defeat Wednesday when Senate Republicans scrapped plans to allow some people to bring guns on college campuses. The defeat was born of a tragic frat house shooting at Florida State University on Jan. 9." CW: this is very good news, but it is not a lesson in the glory of democracy. The Herald story goes on to report that Cowie is a close friend of "one of the most powerful members of the Senate, John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine. As Rules Committee chairman, he wields considerable influence over which bills can reach the full floor of the Senate for a vote."

News Ledes

** Chicago Sun-Times: "Acting on perhaps the most significant issue he will ever face, [Illinois] Gov. [Pat] Quinn Wednesday signed landmark legislation to repeal the state’s 'seriously broken' death penalty and then commuted the death sentences of the 15 men on Death Row."

** New York Times: Wisconsin "Republicans voted to strip collective bargaining rights from public workers after discovering a way to bypass the [senate] chamber’s missing Democrats." ..

... Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D-Monona) said Democrats who have been boycotting the Senate for three weeks would return to Wisconsin once the bill passes the Assembly...." ...

... Wisconsin State Journal: "Gov. Scott Walker has offered to remove limits on wage negotiations and keep some other collective bargaining rights for public employees, according to e-mails his office exchanged with one of the 14 Democratic senators.... The e-mails were released by the governor's office Tuesday afternoon following public records requests from media outlets. The proposed changes, which also would allow collective bargaining for employees of the UW Hospital and Clinics to remain, are only a 'starting point' for reaching an agreement on the bill, said state Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar."

Washington Post: "David S. Broder, 81, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post and one of the most respected writers on national politics for four decades, died Wednesday at Capital Hospice in Arlington of complications from diabetes."

AP: "Muslim-Christian clashes in the Egyptian capital Cairo have killed 11 people and wounded more than 90, security and hospital officials said on Wednesday. The clashes broke out Tuesday night when a Muslim mob attacked thousands of Christians protesting against the burning of a Cairo church last week."

Washington Post: "The United States and its European allies are considering the use of naval assets to deliver humanitarian aid to Libya and to block arms shipments to the government of Moammar Gaddafi, even as they weigh the legality of imposing a no-fly zone without United Nations authorization, according to U.S. and European officials."

Reuters: "The Obama administration on Tuesday appealed a judge's ruling in Florida that struck down its landmark healthcare overhaul law as unconstitutional because it required Americans to buy healthcare insurance or face a penalty."

International Women's Day

Let's see how the United States is celebrating International Women's Day:

Fox Los Angeles. Here at home, "First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton marked the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day Wednesday by honoring 10 women from around the world with awards that recognize efforts they have made to further women's rights. During the 2011 Women of Courage Awards ceremony held at the State Department, Clinton called recipient of this year's awards 'remarkable,' while Obama lauded it as the 'one of the most important' events she will attend."...

... Also speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia and, get this, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein. Here's the reason for Blankfein's presence: he's going to spend a few bucks on the ladies. The State Department readout is here. Here's Clinton's speech:

... No mention in the official transcript of this exchange, supplied by Binoy Kampmark in Counterpunch:

The real interest came after the sugary, salutary speeches were concluded.  Questions asked of Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale, Assistant Secretary of Education Ann Stock and Clinton’s own chief of staff Cheryl Mills caught them off guard.  A Latin American woman (Voice of America News remains, as ever, generic) questioned whether the United States was even ready for a female president.  Mills answered that the country was ‘more than willing to support women in a leadership role and more than willing to actually see a woman as their leader’ though she had to admit that ‘that final hurdle’ had to be crossed.

Michelle Obama spoke late this afternoon at the White House:

Not enough? It's better than what's happening elsewhere:

Nicholas Kristof: "Bangladesh has a woman prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, who has done nothing much for women – and who now is pursuing a campaign of vilification against Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who has been a champion of impoverished women all around the globe.... It’s astonishing – and so disappointing – to see a woman prime minister who does nothing for her country’s women go after a man who has devoted his life to helping the neediest women. And it’s a reminder that the struggle to achieve gender equality is not a battle between the sexes, but something far more subtle. It’s often about misogyny and paternalism, but those are values that are absorbed and transmitted almost as much by women as by men."

Julie Ioffe in Slate: "Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, the brainchild of socialist feminists at the turn of the 20th century. The idea was to give women a day to come together and push for equal rights. Though it isn’t really celebrated in the United States, many countries continue to mark the date with an official public holiday. Here in Russia, it is a major holiday with its own long weekend.... March 8 has become a travesty in modern Russia. In the 20 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has quickly shed all vestiges of egalitarianism and become ensconced in a deeply patriarchal social order."

Washington Post: Egypt. "According to Twitter reports from Cairo, a march planned for Tahrir Square in honor of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day was met by an even larger crowd of men deriding the women for being there and harassing them." ...

... Jenna Krajeski has a first-hand account of the strife in Tahrir Square. She concludes, "Mubarak is gone. Misogyny might be a tougher foe."

Tristan McConnell of Global Post: "In Sudan 60 women gathered on a busy street in Omdurman to protest against rape and rights abuses only to find themselves surrounded by 250 police. Ten minutes of chanting and banner waving was all the security men could bear before they quickly arrested half the women and threw them into a truck. The detained women continued to shout slogans so some of the men gave them a beating with sticks for good measure."

David Smith of the Guardian: "Marches by thousands of women in protest at Ivory Coast's president Laurent Gbagbo have ended in bloodshed after his army killed four people. The women made their stand on International Women's Day, less than a week after Gbagbo's soldiers killed seven women at a peaceful demonstration, earning worldwide condemnation. After a small women's march in the Treichville neighbourhood, one of several in Abidjan on Tuesday, security forces burst into the area and began shooting."

AOL News: the five worst countries to be born a woman. "Here are the five countries with the highest (that is, worst) scores on the 2008 Gender Inequality Index, the most recent ranking available": Yemen, Congo, Niger, Mali, Afghanistan.