A Message from Barbarossa

Hello. it's Bob Hicks aka Barbarossa (with Marie's kind permission) back for another round of fundraising for the fight against ALS. I wouldn't ask again were it not for the fact that I still have ALS and there's still no cure and still nobody knows what causes ALS.  Through the kind generosity of RC'ers, I raised over $1500 toward my final total of around $3200 in 2014. Doing what I can keeps me going.


To contribute, follow this link.

The Commentariat -- April 4, 2015

Internal links removed.

White House: "In this week's address, the President described the historic understanding the United States -- with our allies and partners -- reached with Iran, which, if fully implemented, will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and will make our country, our allies, and our world safer":

... "The Mullahs in the Mirror." digby: "Am I the only one who finds it just a little bit odd that the American officials loudly claiming Iran cannot be trusted to fulfill any deal are simultaneously pledging that they will not fulfill any deal? Is it possible they have such little self-awareness?"

Liam Stack of the New York Times: "Sarah Brady, who became a tireless gun control activist after her husband, the White House press secretary James S. Brady, was shot and left partly paralyzed in the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, died on Friday in Alexandria, Va. She was 73." ...

... The Washington Post's obituary, by Jon Thurber, is here. It is excellent.

The President of All of Us. Peter Baker of the New York Times: President Obama ventures into the reddest of states. ...

... ** BUT Colbert King of the Washington Post notes a number of GOP nullification efforts that suggest a pre-Civil War frame of mind. "This country has drifted far beyond the rough-and-tumble give-and-take that historically occurs between the parties." ...

... CW: Is civil war unthinkable? I think it's highly unlikely, but not out of the question. After all, Americans have elected people like Rick Perry, Mitich McConnell, Tom Cotton, the son of secessionist Ron Paul & untold numbers of bellicose bozos to hold state & local offices. Don't blame the bozos. There will always be bozos. The problem is that the people picked the bozos to represent them.

American "Justice," Ctd. Abby Phillip of the Washington Post on the release of longtime Alabama death-row inmate Anthony Ray Hinton, who was wrongfully convicted & who has been on death row since 1985 for murders he in all likelihood did not commit. "... there were no eyewitnesses linking Hinton to the crimes, no fingerprints linking him to the scene, and no other physical evidence except for the questionable link between a set of bullets and a gun found in Hinton's home.... And time and time again, despite witnesses testifying that they couldn't link the bullets to Hinton, Alabama refused to re-consider his case." (See also yesterday's Ledes.)

Elizabeth Taylor & Jane Perkins in Think Progress: "... a case decided this week, Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc., has raised significant concerns for the availability of quality health care for those who need it most. In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court turned against decades of legal precedent and ruled that Medicaid providers cannot use the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution to stop state provider payment policies that are inconsistent with the federal Medicaid Act's requirement for adequate reimbursement rates. That may sound like a bunch of legalese, but the outcome has a real impact on the 68 million-plus people relying on Medicaid.... The Supreme Court has turned its back on more than 40 years of legal precedent."

CW: Finally, someone stands up for women in response to this "religious freedom" charade. Gail Collins: "The nation is becoming more rational about gay sex and more irrational about heterosexual sex.... The business community certainly didn't rise up when Indiana became one of the first states to enact a ban on abortions after 20 weeks. Nobody called for a boycott when the State Legislature required that women seeking to end their pregnancies be informed that life begins at conception."

Tim Mak of the Daily Beast: "House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, who oversees the Secret Service, never disclosed that he had applied for and was rejected from the agency in the early 2000s.... Chaffetz, who was elected to Congress in 2008 and has chaired the Oversight Committee since January, has been on a mission to root out the causes of the Secret Service's dysfunction." ...

... The Follow-Up. Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "Senior staffers for a House committee overseeing the Secret Service have asked the Obama administration to investigate complaints that agency employees circulated private personnel information revealing that the panel's chairman [Jason Chaffetz] was once rejected for a job as an agent, according to people familiar with the discussions."

Beyond the Beltway

** Cole Stangler of International Business Times: Most of the companies that have faulted or threatened Indiana Gov. Mike Pence for signing anti-gay legislation supported his gubernatorial campaign with piles of cash "even as he outspokenly opposed efforts to legalize same-sex marriage and to outlaw employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation....

In the early stages of his congressional career, Pence emerged as a leading voice against a federal proposal to extend civil rights protections to LGBT people, saying they are not 'entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities.' In Congress, he backed proposals to ban same-sex marriage, voted against the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and argued that legislation to prevent companies from discriminating against gay and lesbian employees would 'wage war on the free exercise of religion in the workplace.' Despite those declarations, Pence raised large sums of money from political action committees and employees of at least 30 companies that publicly support equal rights. Via Charles Pierce.

... CW: So much for the "souls" of the corporate persons. Their purported souls are conveniently attached to their bottom lines. Mike Pence doesn't give a whit about the Indiana economy; his itty-bitty pirouette on the state law was just a modest dance step to entertain his masters -- & to make sure they backed his future political career. The whole show is an exemplar of how we really live here in the Land of the Oligarchs. Is Bob Menendez -- who did favors for a personal friend who also make a big ole contribution to Harry Reid's PAC -- more corrupt than Mike Pence? Is the friend Salomon Melgen more corrupt than Pence's big backers? Looks like the same game to me. The essential difference is that Pence's masters wrapped their ruling in a popular measure -- this time. Should equal rights become a burden upon his corporate masters, Mike Pence will no longer have to pretend he opposes discrimination & can dance to a tune he prefers. ...

... Sandhya Somashekhar of the Washington Post: "Amid the backlash over Indiana's controversial religious liberties law, Gov. Mike Pence (R) and other state officials insisted the measure was never intended to permit business owners to deny service to gays and lesbians. But that is not entirely true. For the socially conservative organizations that proposed the measure, protecting the right of Christians to opt out of any involvement in gay marriage ceremonies was a primary goal. And they underscored that fact two weeks ago, immediately after Pence signed the measure into law." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... MEANWHILE, in the Bucks for Bigotry Sweepstakes. Eric Dolan of the Raw Story: "At the current pace of donations, the owners of a small pizza parlor in Indiana who stated they wouldn't cater same-sex functions will be millionaires by Easter. A fundraising page set up by a conservative news website on Wednesday has already raised more than $725,000 for Memories Pizza in the small town of Walkerton -- home to little over 2,000 people." Thank you, Jesus.

Greg Blustein of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Georgia's 'religious liberty' legislation succumbed to a quiet death on Thursday, but it will surely return in January just in time for election-year politicking. Gov. Nathan Deal offered some timely advice for lawmakers who seek to revive the legislation for a third try. First, stick to the language of the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. And secondly, make sure to include an anti-discrimination clause." ...

... CW: It is encouraging to see reporters routinely put "religious liberty" or "religious freedom" is scare-quotes, just as many do with "right-to-work" laws. ...

... CW: The New Deal? Nathan Deal, BTW, is evolving into a different kind of Southern Republican. Earlier this week, Ed Kilgore pointed to Deal's leadership on criminal justice reform.

Mike Nowatzki of Inforum: "For the third time in six years, North Dakota lawmakers have killed legislation that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, despite warnings from some Democrats and Republicans that it could tarnish the growing state's image and attract backlash similar to what Indiana and Arkansas have faced in recent days.... Gov. Jack Dalrymple, a Republican, said the state should have at least established protections in the areas of housing and employment.... Senate Bill 2279, which passed the Senate 25-22 in February and would have added sexual orientation to state law" that protects other groups. The House soundly defeated the bill.

Wesley Lowery & Kimberly Kindy of the Washington Post: "City officials in Ferguson, Mo., on Thursday evening released the full, unredacted content of racially charged and religiously insensitive e-mails sent by the city's former court clerk as well as two former supervisors in the police department. The e-mails, released to The Washington Post in response to a public-records request, were sent and received by Mary Ann Twitty, who was Ferguson's court clerk, as well as former Ferguson police captain Rick Henke and former police sergeant William Mudd. All three were removed from their jobs...." ...

... CW: Henke's e-mail confuses me. He seems to be condemning a racist remark about Obama -- made by another person -- not condoning it. Absent other evidence, I surely don't see the e-mail presented in the story as a firing offense. See what you think.

Bob Salsberg of the AP: "Some police officers involved in tracking down the Boston Marathon bombers days after the attacks showed a lack of 'weapons discipline' during a firefight with the brothers and in the eventual capture of one of them, resulting in dangerous crossfire, according to a report released Friday.... A transit police officer, Richard Donohue, was critically wounded in the initial confrontation with Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.... The report doesn't say whether Donohue was shot by fellow officers. The report also reveals that shortly after the shootout, which led to Tamerlan Tsarnaev's death, an officer near the scene fired on an unmarked state police vehicle after it was mistakenly reported as stolen.... Later in the day, when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was discovered wounded and hiding in a boat, a police officer 'fired his weapon without appropriate authority,' causing many other officers to believe the bomber was firing at them and leading them to open fire on the boat, according to the report."

The Commentariat -- April 3, 2015

Internal links removed.

Afternoon News:

Sandhya Somashekhar of the Washington Post: "Amid the backlash over Indiana's controversial religious liberties law, Gov. Mike Pence (R) and other state officials insisted the measure was never intended to permit business owners to deny service to gays and lesbians. But that is not entirely true. For the socially conservative organizations that proposed the measure, protecting the right of Christians to opt out of any involvement in gay marriage ceremonies was a primary goal. And they underscored that fact two weeks ago, immediately after Pence signed the measure into law."

AFP: "Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Friday a nuclear deal with world powers would open a 'new page' for the country's international relations and lead to greater cooperation. In a live televised address, Rouhani also said a final agreement would depend on both sides living up to their commitments."

*****

Thank you, John Kerry. -- Constant Weader

Michael Gordon & David Sanger of the New York Times: "Iran and the world powers said here Thursday that they had reached a surprisingly specific and comprehensive general understanding about the next steps in limiting Tehran's nuclear program, though Western officials said many details needed to be resolved before a final agreement in June. Both Germany's foreign office and President Hassan Rouhani of Iran said that the major parameters of a framework for a final accord had been reached, after eight days of intense debate between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif.... Speaking from the White House, President Obama made a strong case for the deal, saying that it 'cuts off every pathway' for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and that it establishes the most intrusive inspections system in history. 'If Iran cheats,' he said, 'the world will know it'":

... Here's the U.S. State Department statements which lays out the parameters of the deal. ...

... Fred Kaplan of Slate: "... it is a profoundly good deal; there has never been a nuclear deal, with any country, that is so comprehensively restrictive. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. Congress to demand 'a better deal,' but his definition of such a deal -- one that bans uranium enrichment, dismantles all its facilities, and insists on a drastic change in Iran's foreign policy -- is unattainable, and, more to the point, he knows it." ...

... Robin Wright of the New Yorker: "The deal still has to go through formal drafting, but the terms announced by Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the majority of issues with more specificity than expected. Iran's capabilities will be seriously curtailed -- some for ten years, some for fifteen years, and some indefinitely -- in exchange for a phased easing of sanctions imposed separately by the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union." ...

... Ed Kilgore: "Obama's making a lot of sense, and he can already register one solid accomplishment this very day: Iran's government TV carried his Rose Guard announcement -- criticisms of Tehran and all -- live." ...

... Amy Davidson of the New Yorker: "If it is good -- and that will depend on getting the final settlement done and signed between now and June -- it will be in large part because the President avoided the temptations of resentment and self-pity. And Republicans in Congress will have failed to thwart it because they embraced them. The G.O.P. did everything that it could to scuttle this deal." ...

... Washington Post Editors characterize the deal as a gift to Iran. ...

... Mike DeBonis, et al., of the Washington Post: "Congress greeted news of a framework agreement to curtail the Iranian nuclear weapons program much as it has reacted to the months of negotiations that preceded it -- with criticism from most Republicans, optimism from most Democrats, and a strong desire from both sides to play a direct role in the deal." ...

Yes, this is an actual winger reaction, only the original is a gif/movie, which I can't figure out how to load here.... Luke Brinker of Salon: "For the crowd that believes war is always the answer, Thursday's announcement represented an utter catastrophe." Brinker shares some of their "thoughts"/hysterical howls. ...

...digby: "... the dreams of All American omnipotence and glory are hardwired into the right and very strong in the culture at large. And it's dangerous as hell. Everyone should want to negotiate peace as the default position. If there's anything on earth that should be avoided unless there is absolutely no other choice, it's war. You'd think that would be common sense but this rather silly belief in America's godlike military power is leading a whole lot of people to take us into some very dangerous territory." ...

... Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast: "... it's laughably easy to figure out what to be against: reflexive and dogmatic opposition undertaken for the purposes of making sure you get your anti-Obama ticket stamped that will hasten the day either that a) Iran gets the bomb or b) we start a war to prevent that. Maybe it's a little cliched to say give peace a chance, but thanks to the neoconservatives, we've given war plenty of chance, and all it's done is strengthened Tehran and given us ISIS. Will these people ever look in the mirror?"

... William Booth of the Washington Post: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the framework agreement announced Thursday by six world powers and Iran to curtail the latter's nuclear ambitions 'would threaten the survival of Israel' and pave the way to an Iranian nuclear bomb. Netanyahu, who has threatened to use military force to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, spoke with President Obama on Thursday night and expressed Israel's strong opposition to the preliminary agreement, according to the prime minister's office." CW: Sorry, but Bibi reminds me of Rumpelstiltskin.

... Dan Williams & Allyn Fisher-Ilan of Reuters: "Israel dismissed celebration of a nuclear framework deal between major powers and Iran on Thursday as detached from reality and vowed to continue lobbying to prevent a what it called a bad final agreement. Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said after the announcements in Switzerland that 'the smiles in Lausanne are detached from grim reality in which Iran refuses to make any concessions on the nuclear issue and continues to threaten Israel and all other countries in the Middle East.'" ...

... Former U.S. Career Ambassador William Burns, with an important message to important wingnuts: "The history of the Iranian nuclear issue is littered with missed opportunities. It is a history in which fixation on the perfect crowded out the good, and in whose rearview mirror we can see deals that look a lot better now than they seemed then. With all its inevitable imperfections, we can't afford to miss this one." CW: Burns -- who has been a high-ranking State Department official under three presidents -- initiated the Iranian talks, & his essay on the New York Times op-ed page provides a sober -- and likely accurate -- assessment of the accord announced yesterday.

Seung Min Kim of Politico: "Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) pleaded not guilty on Thursday to 14 federal corruption charges stemming from allegations that he improperly aided a wealthy donor. In federal court [in Newark, N.J.], Judge William Walls agreed to release Menendez on his own recognizance, but ordered him to surrender his personal passport. Menendez will be allowed to retain an official passport that he has in his capacity as a U.S. senator." ...

... Nicholas Confessore & Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: "... Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the Supreme Court's opinion in Citizens United ... that independent expenditures 'do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption.' But federal lawyers do not seem to agree.... 'The indictment of Senator Robert Menendez illustrates in stark terms the corrupting role that super PACs now play in our political system,' said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, which advocates stricter limits on campaign money. 'The super PAC was used as the vehicle to buy corrupting influence with Senator Menendez.'" ...

... Indictments Matter. Sarah Mimms of the National Journal: "With Ben Cardin [D-Maryland] taking the indicted Robert Menendez's slot as the Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, the White House is losing its staunchest intraparty opponent on two of the biggest foreign policy issues facing the administration -- Iran and Cuba -- and gaining an important ally. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's office made it official Thursday that Cardin will step into Menendez's role -- temporarily, at least -- while Menendez fights federal corruption charges. In style and some issues of substance, the two Democrats could not be more different."

The Many Faces of Mark

Burgess Everett of Politico: "Attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch won't need Vice President Joe Biden's vote after all. Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, who was complimentary of Lynch after meeting with her last month, said at a Thursday event in Chicago that he would vote to confirm her." ...

... Shortly thereafter Kirk compared Lynch's soon-to-be boss to Neville Chamberlain. ...

... AND Then. Nick Gass of Politico: "Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) blasted Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's decision to sign the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, calling it a form of bigotry."

Harold Meyerson of the Washington Post: "The raise at McDonald's, even though it applies only to a small fraction of the employees who work at the Golden Arches, is one of a series of remarkable, if incomplete, victories that low-wage U.S. workers have won in recent months." ...

... People Are Not Soybeans. Paul Krugman: "... there's a lot more wiggle room in wage determination than conventional wisdom would have you believe. We can, in fact, raise wages significantly if we want to.... Raising the minimum wage makes jobs better; it doesn't seem to make them scarcer.... There's no excuse for wage fatalism."

Tim Egan: "... the free market in tandem with the First Amendment has worked pretty well in a clamorous democracy such as ours. It's only when activist judges -- thy names are Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and John G. Roberts -- have tried to broaden the intent of the founders that we've gotten into trouble. In 2010, those five judges created the notion of corporate personhood -- giving companies unfettered right to dominate elections.... And in 2014, those five judges gave corporations a soul, a further expansion of business entity as a citizen. Well, they tried to. As the saying goes, a corporation will never truly be a citizen until you can execute one in Texas."

In the New York Times Magazine, Mark Leibovich has a brief interview of Tom Cotton. I don't think it's a spoof. The guy's just a walking joke.

Jeanine Lister, in a Washington Post op-ed, on the indignities of poverty.

Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: "The co-pilot thought to have deliberately crashed Germanwings Flight 9525 had been trawling the Internet for ways to commit suicide and information about the safety mechanisms on cockpit doors, German prosecutors said Thursday. The revelations about Andreas Lubitz's surfing activities came as another break in the case emerged in France, where authorities said Thursday that they had found the second of the Airbus A320's two 'black boxes' among the wreckage in the French Alps."

Presidential Race

Annie Karni of Politico: "Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed cautious support late Thursday for President Barack Obama's Iran deal, calling it an 'important step' toward a comprehensive agreement that would prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.... Clinton treated Thursday's agreement as a good step in a long process. 'There is much to do and much more to say in the months ahead,' she said in the statement, 'but for now diplomacy deserves a chance to succeed.'" CW Translation: They couldn't do it without me. ...

... Annie Karni: "The lease is signed: Hillary Clinton's campaign headquarters will work out of 1 Pierrepont Plaza in Brooklyn Heights, according to a source familiar with the deal."

Pick Me! Pick Me! I'm a Genuine Dangerously Ignorant Hick. Or Why Republicans Inevitable Put Americans at Risk. Greg Sargent: In "a new interview that Scott Walker gave to a Wisconsin radio personality..., he said that not only would he undo any deal with Iran on his first day as president; he would do so even if our European allies wanted the deal to continue." ...

Not So Fast, Scottie! We're Pea-Brained Warmongers, Too. Kendall Breitman of Politico: "Potential Republican presidential contenders on Thursday accused the Obama administration of striking a seriously flawed nuclear deal with Iran that gave way too much for far too little in return." ...

... Yeah, But Walker Is Still Really Stupid. Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday much of the outrage over Indiana's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act comes from 'people who are chronically looking for ways to be upset about things.'... Asked about what would happen to a baker who did wanting to provide services to a same-sex wedding in the state, Walker didn't address the scenario...."

In the Toilet with Ted. Well, actually Heidi Cruz. A lav is a lovely place to talk up Ted.

Beyond the Beltway

Unfuckingbelievable. Judd Legum of Think Progress: "Appearing yesterday on CNN, Senator Tom Cotton (R) urged critics of Indiana's 'religious freedom' law to get 'perspective,' suggesting the treatment of LGBT people in Indiana compared favorably to countries where gay people are executed. 'I think it's important we have a sense of perspective,' Cotton said. 'In Iran they hang you for the crime of being gay.'" ...

... Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times: Local groups react with appropriate horror to Cotton's remarks. ...

... Simon Miloy of Salon: "It could be worse: you could be hanged by your government for being gay sets the standard for bigotry so low that it becomes functionally nonexistent." ...

... Laura Clawson of the Daily Kos unpacks Cotton's complete remarks. ...

... Charles Pierce reminds us that Tom Cotton is "pen-pal to the mullahs." ...

... Jonathan Chait: Oh, why can't liberals see the "obvious similarities" between Iran & Indiana? CW: It turns out that Cotton's putting gay rights "in perspective" is just parroting right-wing talking points. ...

... Mollie Reilly of the Huffington Post: "Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed a revised version of the state's Religious Freedom Reformation Act on Thursday, one day after refusing to sign an earlier version of the bill over concerns about discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. Earlier Thursday, the Republican-controlled state legislature passed a new version of the bill at the governor's request, amending provisions that would have allowed businesses to discriminate against LGBT customers. The amended legislation mirrors the federal RFRA." ...

... Tom LoBianco & Tony Cook of the Indianapolis Star: "After a week of tumult in Indiana, Gov. Mike Pence signed a revision to the state's 'religious freedom"' law late Thursday that eliminates the potential erosion of LGBT protections in communities, including Indianapolis, that have local anti-discrimination ordinances protecting sexual orientation and gender identity. But the change was not universally hailed because it does nothing to provide those protections in much of Indiana where such local ordinances do not exist." ...

... Jeff Swiatek of the Indianapolis Star: "Angie's List calls the fix to the 'religious freedom' law 'insufficient,' becoming the first major local company to reject the deal hammered out by Indiana legislators, the business community and others." ...

... Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: "The fix [Indiana GOP legislators are proposing] does nothing to expand LGBT rights beyond where they stood on the day before Gov. Mike Pence (R-IN) signed the new Indiana law. Nevertheless, it appears to be expansive enough to neutralize attempts to wield the Indiana law as a sword to cut down LGBT rights protections at the local level."

... Charles Riley of CNN Money: "Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is helping employees who are uncomfortable with Indiana's controversial religious freedom law to transfer out of the state. Benioff told CNN's Poppy Harlow on Wednesday that several employees have asked for transfers -- and he has agreed, even supplying relocation packages." ...

... Justin Moyer of the Washington Post: "... Memories Pizza ... is feeling the heat of a great debate about religious freedom and gay rights.The dust-up has proved a windfall of sorts for Memories. A GoFundMe page called 'Support Memories Pizza' set up to raise $35,000 for the embattled restaurant got almost $50,000 from more than 1,300 donors in 11 hours -- and donations continue to come in." ...

... Kathleen Gray of the Detroit Free Press: "The business community and progressives breathed a sigh of relief Thursday while social conservatives reacted with frustration to Gov. Rick Snyder's promise to veto a Religious Freedom Restoration Act if the bill makes it to his desk."

Mike Levine & Aaron Katersky of ABC News: "Federal authorities have arrested two women who were allegedly planning to detonate a bomb somewhere in the United States after being radicalized at least in part by ISIS, sources familiar with the arrests told ABC News. The public was never in danger, as it was all part of a lengthy undercover FBI operation. And court documents suggest any plotting was more aspirational than operational."

Matt Vasilogambros of the National Journal: Gwinnett County, Georgia, "the most diverse county in the Southeast is run almost entirely by white politicians." Love the lede graf:

Three days after being sworn in as the first Latino state legislator in Georgia's history, Pedro Marin had an ethics complaint filed against him. It said that he was a 'Mexican federal government agent infiltrated in the Georgia General Assembly.' There were a couple of problems with that charge: 1) Marin is Puerto Rican; 2) He's never been to Mexico.

News Ledes

AP: Ray Hinton, "a man who spent nearly 30 years on Alabama's death row, was freed Friday after prosecutors finally acknowledged that the only evidence they had against him couldn't prove he committed the crime."

Bloomberg News: "Employers in March added the fewest workers since December 2013 and the jobless rate held at 5.5 percent as companies sought to bring U.S. headcounts in line with an economy that throttled back at the start of the year."

New York Times: Somali terrorists targeted Christians in a massacre at a Kenyan university. "Officials said that by the time Kenyan commandos cornered and killed the attackers on an upper floor, 147 people lay dead. Despite new security laws, significant Western help and a heightened state of vigilance that has already put police officers on almost every major street corner in the capital, Nairobi, Kenya remains squarely in the cross hairs of the Shabab, the Somali terrorist group that immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on Thursday."

Astounding. Guardian: "A man whose family reported him missing at sea more than two months ago has been found sitting on the overturned hull of his 35ft boat far off the North Carolina coast." ...

     ... The Guardian has an updated story.