The Commentariat -- April 17, 2013

All in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington. -- Barack Obama ...

... President Obama just lashed out at the Senate & the gun lobby. I'll get up video when it becomes available. Update: C-SPAN has the video here. The President begins speaking about 5 min. in. ...

... John Bresnahan of Politico: "A visibly angry President Barack Obama blasted the Senate's rejection of a bipartisan proposal to expand background checks on gun sales, a vote that essentially ends any hope for major gun control legislation for the time being."

NEW. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "The Senate delivered a devastating blow to President Obama's agenda to regulate guns Wednesday by defeating a bipartisan proposal to expand background checks. It failed by a vote of 54 to 46, with 5 Democrats voting against it. Only 4 Republicans supported it. Democratic Sens. Mark Pryor (Ark.), Max Baucus (Mont.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Mark Begich (Alaska) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) voted against it. Reid supported the measure but voted against it to preserve his ability to bring the measure up again. GOP Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Susan Collins (Maine), Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Mark Kirk (Ill.) voted yes."

NEW. C-SPAN2 is carrying the Senate "debate" (& upcoming) vote. Right now (@3:42 pm ET) Ted Cruz is saying something, so naturally I have the sound off. Update: I tuned in about an hour later, & Cruz was speaking again. Total camera hog.

NEW. Amy Davidson of the New Yorker writes an eloquent piece on "The Saudi Marathon Man."

Francis Wilkinson of Bloomberg News: "We weigh the senseless carnage in Boston (death toll thus far: 3) against the senseless carnage of domestic gun violence (annual death toll: 30,000) and wonder why American society mobilizes with such impressive force against the smaller threat [link fixed] while shrugging at the larger one. (Gun violence produces the same number of victims as the Sept. 11 attacks almost every month, year in and year out.)"

     ... CW: what Wilkinson doesn't discuss -- and it is an important factor -- is the difference in our sense of personal control. Generally speaking, we think we are smart enough to stay away from gun-wielding loons, but we feel everyone is vulnerable to random terrorist attacks. It's the same reason people who suffer from fear of flying feel safe driving a car even though "There are more than 30,000 motor-vehicle deaths each year, a mortality rate eight times greater than that in planes." ...

... Heather Hurlburt, director of the National Security Network, in USA Today: "... the bombs killed fewer people than guns, automobiles or saturated fats in America today. Terrorists in Iraq killed 10 times as many people today as the Boston murderer(s) managed to do.... Not turning on each other, or our institutions, or our own freedoms, whatever the truth behind these terrible attacks proves to be ... can we keep it up?" ...

... Brian Beutler of TPM on the networks making a big story out of whether or not the President said "terrorism." CW: let me add that at the forefront of the enthusiasm for presidential rhetoric was NBC News' ever-brilliant UpChuck Todd.

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "A bipartisan group of lawmakers formally filed an 844-page immigration bill on the Senate floor early Wednesday morning, setting the stage for months of public debate over the proposal." ...

... Nakamura & Aaron Davis of the Post: "Leading Capitol Hill opponents of a Senate proposal to overhaul the nation’s immigration system are coalescing around a strategy to kill the bill by delaying the legislative process as long as possible, providing time to offer 'poison pill' amendments aimed at breaking apart the fragile bipartisan group that developed the plan, according to lawmakers and legislative aides." ...

... Jeff Mason of Reuters: "President Barack Obama put his weight behind legislation unveiled by a bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday to reform the U.S. immigration system and urged lawmakers to advance it quickly. 'This bill is clearly a compromise, and no one will get everything they wanted, including me. But it is largely consistent with the principles that I have repeatedly laid out for comprehensive reform,' Obama said in a statement after being briefed by two of the senators involved in crafting the bill, Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican John McCain."

... This Zucks. Peter Wallsten, et al., of the Washington Post: FaceBook lobbied itself into a carveout on the immigration bill, a provision which will allow it & other big tech companies to hire cheap foreign labor in lieu of U.S. workers.

Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "Supporters of a bipartisan background check plan were struggling Tuesday to find enough support as Senate leaders neared a deal to allow votes on other proposed changes to gun legislation.... The Senate will begin voting Wednesday on nine proposed changes to federal gun legislation, including efforts to expand background checks, ban assault weapons and increase funding for mental health programs." ...

... David Firestone of the New York Times: "Like many lawmakers who are opposing the Manchin-Toomey amendment for background checks, [Sen. Jeff] Flake [R-Arizona] needed an excuse to say no, so he simply invented one.... Many lawmakers of both parties would rather hide behind these flimsy excuses than offend the gun lobby and the credulous voters who follow it, putting passage of Manchin-Toomey in serious doubt." CW: they're not just lapdogs of the NRA; they are lying for the NRA & they know it.

I honestly just didn't believe GOP Senators would turn their back on 90% of Americans. I was naive. -- Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

... Steve Benen: "Republicans don't just intend to defeat the measure; they intend to filibuster it. I stress the distinction because today isn't a vote on the Toomey/Manchin amendment; it's a vote on whether to have a vote." Benen also exposes Sen. Dean Heller's (R-Nev.) ridiculous "objections" to the Manchin-Toomey amendment.

... ** The Internet Gun Bazaar. Michael Luo, et al., of the New York Times: "With no requirements for background checks on most private transactions, a Times examination found, Armslist and similar sites function as unregulated bazaars, where the essential anonymity of the Internet allows unlicensed sellers to advertise scores of weapons and people legally barred from gun ownership to buy them.... The examination of Armslist raised questions about whether many sellers are essentially functioning as unlicensed firearms dealers, in contravention of federal law."

Believe it or not, the second-biggest politics-related story on the Intertoobz Tuesday was about a couple of Harvard professors who fucked up big-time, which might upset the Very Serious People who relied on the professors' fucked-up data. But it won't upset the VSPs because their only interested in "facts" that justify or support their previously-held beliefs. The easiest-to-understand exposition comes from Matt Yglesias of Slate.

... The most thorough is by Mike Konczal. ...

... Paul Krugman cuts to the chase: "... this is embarrassing and worse for [the professors]. But the really guilty parties here are all the people who seized on a [previously] disputed research result, knowing nothing about the research, because it said what they wanted to hear." Krugman has a follow-up post here; the full response from Profs. Reinhart & Rogoff is here. ...

... Dean Baker: "If facts mattered in economic policy debates, this should be the cause for a major reassessment of the deficit reduction policies being pursued in the United States and elsewhere. It should also cause reporters to be a bit slower to accept such sweeping claims at face value."

Krugman recommends Barry Ritholtz's "12 Laws of Goldbuggery." Here No. 7 (in part): "Gold is the ultimate currency.... Get yourself some gold coins and a Glock and you will be just fine when the whole world goes to shit."

Maureen Dowd writes a book report on Mark Mazzetti's book, The Way of the Knife, which examines the CIA's killer drone program: "President Obama, who continued nearly every covert program handed down by W., clearly feels tough when he talks about targeted killings, and considers drones an attractive option. As Mazzetti says, 'fundamental questions about who can be killed, where they can be killed, and when they can be killed' still have not been answered or publicly discussed."

Somini Sengupta of the New York Times: "The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto a House bill that would allow private companies to share information about computer security threats with government agencies, signaling once again how difficult it is to balance civil liberties and security interests in the digital era."

Local News

AP: "Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed into law a measure that outlaws abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on the disputed premise that at that point a fetus can feel pain. The law signed Tuesday is the latest among a raft of measures passed in North Dakota this session that are meant to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until viability, usually at 22 to 24 weeks." ...

... Tara Culp-Ressler of Think Progress: North Dakota State Rep. Bette Grande, a primary backer of the bill, claims that the law "will effectively convince women that they don't want to have an abortion after all." ...

... Kat Stoeffel of New York: "As for all the women who don’t change their minds, the ongoing trial of Philadelphia abortion provider Kermit Gosnell is a good reminder of what happens when women can't access abortions, either because they can't afford them or laws restrict them: They get them illegally and in life-threatening conditions."

Congressional Race

Let's See How the Bickersons' Divorce Is Going. Bruce Smith of the AP: "Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's ex-wife has accused him of trespassing at her home in violation of their divorce settlement, and a judge set a hearing two days after the Republican will stand for election in his effort to mount a political comeback by winning a vacant congressional seat.... The complaint says Jenny Sanford confronted the former governor leaving her Sullivans Island home on Feb. 3 by a rear door, using his cell phone for a flashlight." According to Jenny Sanford's attorney, Mark Sanford repeatedly trespassed, despite his ex-wife's asking him to desist. CW: I'm guessing that sneaking into his former wife's house in the middle of the night is just one of the things that God told Mark would be A-okay. ...

     ... UPDATE. Cameron Joseph of the Hill: "National Republicans are abandoning former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) in the wake of his latest personal controversy, saying they won't help his House campaign in light of recent allegations from his ex-wife that he'd trespassed in her home." ...

     ... UPDATE. The Super Bowl Made Him Do It. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Former South Carolina governor and congressional candidate Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday that he entered his ex-wife's home in early February -- an apparent violation of the terms of their divorce settlement -- but said he did it so his son wouldn't have to watch the Super Bowl alone."

News Ledes

AP: "The wife of a former North Texas judge was charged with capital murder after confessing to her involvement in the three shooting deaths of the local district attorney, his wife and an assistant prosecutor, authorities said Wednesday. Kim Williams was arrested early Wednesday, a day after she told investigators that she and her husband, Eric Williams, were involved in the shootings of the Kaufman County district attorney, his wife and one of his prosecutors, according to documents in the case."

The Hill: "Authorities said Wednesday they had intercepted a letter to the White House that tested positive for ricin poison. The Secret Service acknowledged the letter addressed to President Obama contained a suspicious substance, and the FBI later said tests showed it was ricin, the same deadly toxin sent in a letter addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). The Wicker letter was made public on Tuesday.... Fox News reported that like the letter to Wicker, the letter to Obama was sent from Memphis, Tenn. Fox News said the letters to Obama and Wicker contained similar language and are signed identically." ...

... New York Times UPDATE: "Federal agents arrested a man on Wednesday who is suspected of sending letters believed contaminated by the poison ricin to President Obama and a Republican senator, according to two officials with knowledge of the case. The suspect was identified as Paul Kevin Curtis of Corinth, Miss."

Boston Globe: "An official briefed on the Boston Marathon bombing investigation said today that authorities have an image of a suspect carrying, and perhaps dropping, a black bag at the second bombing scene on Boylston Street, outside of the Forum restaurant." ...

... Washington Post: "Graduate student Lingzi Lu, who came to the United States from China to study mathematics and statistics, was identified Wednesday as the third person killed in the Boston Marathon bombings."

... NEW. The New York Times The Lede has updates; the latest, at 3:07 pm ET, is that the Boston Federal Courthouse has been evacuated.

** NEW. New York Times: "Investigators have found video footage of a man who they believe may have planted the deadly bombs at the Boston Marathon, a person briefed on the matter said Wednesday, saying that they had pinpointed the image on video that was captured shortly before the blast." ...

... Fox News Atlanta has crime-scene photos of fragments of the suspected bomb device -- pressure cookers -- in the Boston Marathon bombings, & a related story. ...

... The Boston Globe's lede story on developments in the investigation & public reaction to the bombings is here. ...

... AP: "Law enforcement agencies pleaded Tuesday for the public to come forward with photos, videos or any information that might help them solve the twin bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 170...."

Reuters: " Two rockets fired from Egypt's Sinai peninsula struck Israel's Red Sea resort of Eilat on Wednesday, causing no casualties or damage, the Israeli military said, in an attack claimed by Islamist militants.... Israel deployed an Iron Dome anti-rocket battery in Eilat some two weeks ago.... But on Wednesday, the system did not intercept the incoming missiles 'for operational reasons', the spokeswoman said, without elaborating. The attack was carried out a day after Israel celebrated its 65th anniversary."

AP: " Margaret Thatcher, Britain's Iron Lady, was laid to rest Wednesday with a level of pomp and protest reflecting her status as a commanding, polarizing political figure. Queen Elizabeth II, prime ministers and dignitaries from 170 countries were among the mourners at St. Paul's Cathedral, where Bishop of London Richard Chartres spoke of the strong feelings the former prime minister still evokes 23 years after leaving office." The Guardian is liveblogging the funeral.

The Commentariat -- April 16, 2013

President Obama, this morning, on the Boston Marathon explosions:

... Stephen Marche, in Esquire: "Whoever it turns out to be will incur a blame for entire groups of people -- whether Muslims or American gun nuts -- which are entirely accidental to their being. Let us pause, right now, and agree not to make that mistake." ...

... Aristotle comments on the Boston Marathon bombings, via Charles Pierce. ...

... Charles Pierce, a Bostonian, reacts to the Boston Marathon bombings. Pierce was in Boston for the marathon & reports. ...

... Josh Gerstein (one of two Politico analysts worth reading): "Obama's decision to step before cameras despite sketchy information about what happened in Boston just over three hours earlier, clearly reflected lessons learned from the series of terrorist attacks early in his administration: the potential cost of keeping a low profile and waiting is greater than the risk of speaking too soon." ...

... Steve M. of No More Mr. Nice Blog: "In the wake of the Boston bombings, we have Alex Jones claiming it's a 'false flag' designed to drum up support for infringements on civil liberties. In response to an unconfirmed New York Post report claiming that a Saudi suspect is in custody, we have Fox's Erik Rush tweeting that we should kill all Muslims. And we have Pamela Geller declaring the bombers 'Slaughterers in the cause of jihad,' part of nonstop Twitter torrent of anti-Muslim outrage on her part. So, when Dylan Byers of Politico harrumphed a while ago about 'The Boston explosions, politicized,' what struck him as so outrageous? Answer: a tweet from Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times -- since deleted -- that read as follows:

explosion is a reminder that ATF needs a director. Shame on Senate Republicans for blocking apptment articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-01/wor...

From Harry Reid's office, on the 6th anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre, via Greg Sargent:

... Raymond Hernandez of the New York Times: "As a crucial series of gun-control votes approaches in the Senate, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are suddenly preoccupied with one question in particular: when is Frank Lautenberg coming back?" ...

... Dan Friedman of the New York Daily News: "Senate Republican leaders will not push their members to vote against a background check compromise, GOP senators said, in a sign party leaders will duck a public fight against the popular plan and the high-profile gun violence victims supporting it. Republicans senators should 'vote their conscience,' Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) the second ranking GOP senator, said Monday in explaining that he does not plan to 'whip' against the vote to amend a broader gun control measure to add the background check deal.... The decision by top Republicans not to twist arms to block the measure shows that with public pressure on their side, supporters of the deal have momentum. While far from assured, their victory on the amendment vote looks likely." Also via Sargent. ...

... Juliet Lapidos of the New York Times: From an NRA blog: "'Studies indicate that firearms are used over 2 million times a year for personal protection, and that the presence of a firearm, without a shot being fired, prevents crime in many instances.' In other words, as Wayne LaPierre put it after Newtown, 'the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.' ... The 2 million figure -- often inflated to 2.5 million in N.R.A. literature -- is bogus. Defensive gun use is actually quite rare. A new paper from the Violence Policy Center states that 'for the five-year period 2007 through 2011, the total number of self-protective behaviors involving a firearm by victims of attempted or completed violent crimes or property crimes totaled only 338,700.' That comes to an annual average of 67,740 -- not nothing, but nowhere near the N.R.A.'s 2 million or 2.5 million."

Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "A bipartisan group of eight senators plans to unveil legislation [today], drafted largely in secret, that would provide a 13-year path to American citizenship for illegal immigrants who arrived in the country before Dec. 31, 2011, but would demand that tougher border controls be in place first. The legislation is certain to unleash a torrent of attacks from Republican opponents on the immigration overhaul, similar to the kind of criticism that killed an effort supported by President George W. Bush in 2007." ...

     ... AP Update by Erica Werner: "... Senators had planned to formally introduce the bill Tuesday, but after Monday's bombing at the Boston Marathon a planned press event was delayed until later in the week."

** Glenn Greenwald on the New York Times op-ed, linked here yesterday, by Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, a Yemeni imprisoned in Guantanamo for 11 years without charges. He is among the 87 "detainees - roughly half - [who] have been cleared for release, of which 58 are Yemeni. Not even the US government at this point claims they are guilty or pose a threat to anyone." ...

... Jim White of Empty Wheel has more. ...

... Also, read Kevin Gosztola of Firedoglake on "the cruelty of Obama's Gulag." ...

... Geoff Earle of the New York Post: "Guantanamo Bay detainee Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel penned an anguished op-ed for The New York Times yesterday about his suffering behind bars for 11 years -- but there was no mention that he was allegedly picked up at Tora Bora in Afghanistan and is believed by US intelligence to have been among a group of hardened fighters protecting Osama bin Laden." CW: consider the source here; since I don't know who's right, Earle's POV shouldn't be dismissed out-of-hand.

... Scott Shane of the New York Times: "A nonpartisan, independent review of interrogation and detention programs in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks concludes that 'it is indisputable that the United States engaged in the practice of torture' and that the nation's highest officials bore ultimate responsibility for it. The sweeping, 577-page report says that while brutality has occurred in every American war, there never before had been 'the kind of considered and detailed discussions that occurred after 9/11 directly involving a president and his top advisers on the wisdom, propriety and legality of inflicting pain and torment on some detainees in our custody.' The study, by an 11-member panel convened by the Constitution Project, a legal research and advocacy group, is to be released on Tuesday morning."

Mike Konczal of the Roosevelt Institute writes an indictment of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve in a Washington Post column on mortgage servicers. This is the issue Sen. Elizabeth Warren so effectively addressed in a Senate hearing last week. She & Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) are still at it, still demanding answers as to why the OCC & Fed are covering up rampant illegal behavior by the servicers -- at the expense of individual mortgagors, and more broadly, of the U.S. economy.

Robert Reich: "Our political leaders in Washington have for now chosen supply-side austerity economics over Keynesian economics. That's bad enough. Their inability or unwillingness to do much of anything about widening inequality will prove a larger problem."

** Sarah Posner of Religion Dispatches on another right-wing conspiracy theory: "Kermit Gosnell is on trial in Philadelphia, charged with eight counts of murder at his grisly abortion clinic. The Associated Press covered the opening proceedings of a trial expected to last eight weeks. A New York Times reporter was also present when the trial opened. His story appeared on page A17, which apparently wasn't prominent enough for conservatives who are complaining that the media is under-covering the story because, as Charles Krauthammer put it, it places the issue of late-term abortion 'starkly into relief.' Gosnell is charged with illegally performing third trimester abortions, and slitting the spines of the babies, acts that were loudly condemned by pro-choice advocates. It doesn't bring the issue of late-term abortion 'starkly into relief'; it's the story of a monster completely flouting the law and medical standards." ...

... Digby: "This nonsense about there being some pro-abortion media conspiracy to black-out this trial is idiotic, to say the least. It has all the hallmarks of a right wing hissy fit designed to make this macabre psycho the face of Planned Parenthood."

Evan McMorris-Santoro & Andrew Kaczinski of BuzzFeed: "Howard Dean has had it with President Obama's budget proposal, saying the plan put forward by the White House might just drive him from the Democratic Party he once led as DNC chair." ...

... Brett Zongker of the AP: "Budget cuts from Congress will soon reduce the number of free exhibitions on view each day at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. According to written testimony, Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough plans to tell Congress on Tuesday that the museum complex must reduce its security contract for gallery attendants because of the budget cuts. As a result, the Smithsonian plans to begin rolling gallery closures after May 1. Clough says the Smithsonian also will likely have to postpone or cancel exhibits for 2014 and 2015." ...

... Screw Seniors. Lori Montgomery of the Washington Post: "President Obama's offer to trim Social Security benefits has perplexed and angered Democrats, but GOP leaders are embracing the proposal and rushing to jump-start a debate that will delve even more deeply into the touchy topic of federal spending on the elderly. This week, two House subcommittees plan to hold hearings on 'reforms to protect and preserve' programs for retirees, starting with Obama's proposal to apply a less generous measure of inflation to annual increases in Social Security benefits. Also on the table are higher Medicare premiums and reduced benefits for better-off seniors, and a higher Medicare eligibility age."

Obama 2.0. Sam Hananel of the AP: "In a blistering report, Republican lawmakers [Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, California Rep. Darrell Issa and Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte] on Sunday sharply criticized Labor secretary nominee Thomas Perez over what they said was a questionable deal he brokered while serving as head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. The 63-page report, issued after months of investigation, is certain to provide fodder for Republicans seeking to challenge Perez at his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday."

Nicole Winfield of the Huffington Post: "Pope Francis named eight cardinals from around the globe Saturday to advise him on running the Catholic Church and reforming the Vatican bureaucracy, marking his first month as pope with a major initiative to reflect the universal nature of the church in key governing decisions. The advisory panel includes only one current Vatican official. The rest are cardinals from North, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia. Many have been outspoken in calling for a shake-up of the Vatican bureaucracy, which was last reformed 25 years ago, while others have tried to clean up the church from sexually abusive priests." ...

... BUT. Tom Kington of the Los Angeles Times: "Pope Francis has backed the Vatican's doctrinal crackdown on a major group of American nuns, reasserting the Roman Catholic Church's conservative approach to various social issues in a move that could cool the warm reception he has received from some liberal Catholics since taking office last month.... The assessment accused the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an organization that represents most U.S. female Catholic orders, of promoting 'radical feminist themes' and ignoring the Vatican's hard line on same-sex marriage and abortion."

"David Brooks on Stilts." Driftglass reveals a quirk of Brooks' prose style. Funny.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, confirmed that an envelope addressed to Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, a Republican, had been tested twice for ricin in a mail facility away from the Capitol with positive results both times.... Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, told reporters ... that the letter had come from someone who frequently writes lawmakers. She said the person had been identified, but she declined to divulge the name."

New York Times: "American Airlines was forced to ground all of its flights for several hours on Tuesday after a nationwide problem with its computer systems. By late afternoon, its computers were back up and its operation were slowly coming back to life."

Dallas Morning News: "Pat Summerall died Tuesday. He was 82. That's exactly how [NFL sportscaster] Summerall once told a writer he would craft the first sentences of his own obituary -- short and to the point."

New York Times: "The explosives that killed three people and injured more than 170 during the Boston Marathon on Monday were most likely rudimentary devices made from ordinary kitchen pressure cookers, except they were rigged to shoot sharp bits of shrapnel into anyone within reach of their blast and maim them severely, law enforcement officials said Tuesday. The pressure cookers were filled with nails, ball bearings and black powder, and the devices were triggered by 'kitchen-type' egg timers, one official said." ...

... Washington Post: "The devices' design was immediately recognized by counterterrorism experts as a type touted by al-Qaeda for use by its operatives around the world. Similar devices have been used by terrorists in mass-casualty bombings in numerous countries, from the Middle East to South Asia to North Africa.Yet the bomb's simplicity and garden-variety ingredients complicate the task of determining whether the maker was an international terrorist, a homegrown extremist or a local citizen with a grudge."...

... The New York Times' "The Lede" has updates here. ...

... Boston Globe: one of those killed in the Boston Marathon bombing was Krystle Campbell, aged 29, of Arlington, Massachusetts. She had attended Boston Marathons since she was a child. ...

... Boston Globe/B.U.: "The Chinese Consulate in New York said this evening that the latest fatality of the Boston Marathon explosion was a Chinese national. The consulate's statement came a few hours after Boston University said that the victim was a BU graduate student." ...

... The front page of boston.com has numerous links to stories about the Boston Marathon explosions. BostonGlobe.com, a subscriber-firewalled site, also has numerous stories on its front page (some of which are republished in boston.com), and the paper seems to have lifted its paywall for today. The main story is here. "... 8-year-old Martin Richard ... was killed in the attack, and his mother and sister ... suffered grievous injuries. Martin's father, Bill, is a community leader in the Ashmont section of Dorchester. A third child was reportedly uninjured.... Authorities were talking to at least one person at Brigham and Women's Hospital.... The person questioned ... was a Saudi national, who was reportedly tackled and held by a bystander after he was seen running from near the scene of the explosion.... The Saudi man, believed to be a university student in Boston, is cooperating with the FBI and told agents that he was not involved in the explosions, and that he ran only because he was frightened. Investigators did not characterize the man as a suspect. No one had been arrested or charged as of late Monday night." CW: hundreds of people were "seen running from near the scene." I wonder why the "bystander ... tackled and held" the Saudi man? ...

... Dorchester Reporter on the Richard family. Martin's sister & mother were severely injured in the blast. ...

... New York Daily News: "The explosions that rocked the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and wounding more than 140, opened fresh wounds for the town of Newtown, Conn., which was represented by a team of marathoners and attendees, some reportedly sitting in a VIP section near the first blast. None of the Newtown runners or supporters was injured in Monday's horrific bombing, according to the running team's Facebook page." ...

... AP: "The FBI took charge of the investigation into the bombings, serving a warrant late Monday on a home in suburban Boston and appealing for any video, audio and still images taken by marathon spectators." ...

... Time: "The hunt for the killer behind Monday's Boston Marathon bombings began within minutes of the attacks."

Reuters: "North Korea issued new threats against South Korea on Tuesday, vowing 'sledge-hammer blows' of retaliation if South Korea did not apologize for anti-North Korean protests the previous day when the North was celebrating the birth of its founding leader. But despite the new ultimatum, the North Korean leadership was looking for a way to cool down its rhetoric after weeks of warnings of war, a senior U.S. military official in South Korea said."

AP: "Texas authorities investigating the killing of a district attorney and his wife are working to build a case against a former justice of the peace prosecuted last year by the slain official's office, a law enforcement official said Monday. Eric Lyle Williams, 46, was arrested over the weekend and remains jailed on a charge of making a terroristic threat. He is being held on $3 million bond."

AP: "An Alaska-based military policeman will serve 16 years in prison and will be dishonorably discharged for selling secrets to an FBI undercover agent who he believed was a Russian spy, a panel of eight military members decided Monday. Spec. William Colton Millay of Owensboro, Ky., pleaded guilty last month to attempted espionage and other counts. Military prosecutors painted him as a white supremacist who was fed up with the Army and the United States, and was willing to sell secrets to an enemy agent, even if that would cost fellow soldiers their lives."

AP: "Israel is celebrating 65 years of independence with barbeques, air force flyovers, and an international bible quiz."

The Commentariat -- April 15, 2013

Jennifer Steinhauer & Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "In spite of a vote last Thursday in favor of debating new gun measures, some Democrats who are facing re-election next year in conservative states have already said they will not vote for the background check measure offered by Senators Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, forcing Democrats to look desperately across the aisle to fill the gaps. Republicans, in the meantime, are bitterly torn between moderates who feel pressure to respond to polls showing a majority of Americans in support of some new gun regulations and conservatives who are deeply opposed to them. Further, an impending immigration bill may force Republicans to choose between softening their stance on either immigration or guns, but not both." ...

... Meghashyam Mali of the Hill: "Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Sunday defended his bipartisan proposal with Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) to expand background checks, saying that lawful gun owners had nothing to fear. 'If you are a law-abiding gun-owner, you're gonna like this bill,' said Manchin, appearing with Toomey, on CBS's 'Face the Nation.' ... But the two senators acknowledged that their bill still faced an uphill climb to passage. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) has publicly backed the bill and reports said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) would be the second Republican to support expanding background checks." ...

... Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News: "Speaking exclusively to NBC News, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is the first GOP senator to say publicly she will vote for the bipartisan compromise on expanded background checks for the sale of guns online and at gun shows."...

... Kevin Liptak of CNN: "Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said he was 'very favorably disposed' to the compromise measure that could come up for a vote as early as this week." ...

... Tom Hamburger & Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "In anticipation of Senate votes this week on a proposed expansion of criminal background checks for firearms sales, one gun rights organization broke with the powerful National Rifle Association on Sunday to urge support for a compromise drafted by Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.). The endorsement by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms -- which calls itself the second-largest gun rights organization in the country, behind the NRA, claiming 650,000 members and supporters -- is one of several moves over the past few days that have provided a boost to the hopes of proponents of background checks." ...

... E. J. Dionne: "Because the accounts from the Sandy Hook families have been so moving and so wrenching, it is common to say that a gun bill is being carried along 'on a wave of emotion.' ... This has it exactly backward. The truth is that the Newtown slaughter has finally moved the gun debate away from irrational emotions, ridiculous assumptions, manipulative rhetoric -- and, on the part of politicians, debilitating terror at the alleged electoral reach of those who see any new gun regulations as a step into totalitarianism. These bills are being taken seriously precisely because we are finally putting emotion aside. We are riding a wave of reason.... Consider this gem from the NRA's Wayne LaPierre: 'Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Riots. Terrorists. Gangs. Lone criminals. These are perils we are sure to face -- not just maybe. It's not paranoia to buy a gun. It's survival.' The only thing the gun lobby has to sell is fear itself."

Brian Bennett & Lisa Mascaro of the Los Angeles Times: "The U.S. admits about 1 million legal immigrants per year, more than any other country. That number could jump by more than 50% over the next decade under the terms of the immigration reform bill that a bipartisan group of senators expects to unveil as early as Tuesday.... The immigration package includes at least four major provisions that would increase the number of legal immigrants, according to people familiar with it."

Zeke Miller of Time: "The Republican National Committee voted unanimously Friday to reaffirm the party's commitment to upholding the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, upending party efforts to grow support among younger voters. A resolution introduced Wednesday by Michigan committeeman Dave Agema, who came under fire last month for posting an article describing gays as 'filthy' on his Facebook page, passed the full RNC by a voice vote and without debate. A second resolution reaffirming 'core values' of the party -- including opposition to same-sex marriage -- was also passed." CW: never mind that Dave, IMHO, is fighting his essential gayness.

Larry Summers, in a Washington Post op-ed, looks at Washington gridlock through rose-colored glasses.

"Gitmo Is Killing Me." Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, in a New York Times op-ed: "I've been on a hunger strike since Feb. 10 and have lost well over 30 pounds. I will not eat until they restore my dignity. I've been detained at Guantánamo for 11 years and three months. I have never been charged with any crime. I have never received a trial."

Bill Keller: "... by turning [the CIA] into a killing machine, we may have paid a price in national vigilance."

Paul Krugman doesn't like bitcoin. I don't understand bitcoin. Krugman links to this explanation in the Economist, but I still don't understand bitcoin.

... Today is tax day, & I owe the fed. Maybe I can pay in bitcoins. ...

... Andre Tartar of New York highlights some great state tax exemptions, and a few from other countries, like the Netherlands, where you can deduct the cost of training to become a witch. ...

... Apropos of Krugman's column -- Clara Denina of Reuters: "Gold dropped as much as 6.3 percent on Monday to below $1,400 per ounce for the first time since March 2011 as the market's downward momentum gained speed after more than four months of investor selling. Investors ditched gold along with other commodities from oil to copper after a less-than-forecast growth in China's gross domestic product in the first quarter stoked doubts about the health of the global economy. This added to last week's fears of central bank sales from Europe, prompted by a proposed sale of Cyprus bullion holdings, and concerns about a reduction in monetary stimulus. Adding to selling pressure, exchange-traded funds hit their lowest in more than a year on Friday." ...

... James Surowiecki of the New Yorker critiques the David Stockman School of Economics, which apparently is a division of the Harvard Divinity School. CW: short piece, good read.

"Look How Quickly the U.S. Got Fat." Via James Hamblin of the Atlantic:

Right Wing World *

If babies had guns they wouldn't be aborted. -- Texas Rep. Steve Stockman's campaign bumper sticker

* Where you can't make up this stuff.

News Ledes

President Obama speaks about the explosions in Boston:

Video via Boston Globe:

AP: "Police say at least three people have been killed in the explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Police commissioner Ed Davis confirmed the three deaths but provided no details." ...

... Boston Globe: "Two people were killed and at least 125 others were injured this afternoon as two powerful explosions detonated in quick succession near the Boston Marathon finish line in Boston's Back Bay section, transforming a scene of athletic celebration into bloody chaos." ...

... AP: "Police in Los Angeles, New York City, London and other cities worldwide stepped up security Monday following explosions at the Boston Marathon." ...

... NBC News: "Two explosions went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday as runners completed the race and thousands of people cheered them on. Witnesses told NBC News that there were widespread injuries, some severe. Video from the finish line showed screams and an enormous cloud of white smoke, and about 20 seconds between the blasts. The Associated Press reported that bloody spectators were being carried to a medical tent that had been set up to care for tired runners. Jackie Bruno, a reporter for New England Cable News, said on Twitter that she saw people's legs blown off." The AP story is here. The Boston Globe is liveblogging developments. ...

     ... The New York Times has a map showing where the explosions occurred. ...

     ... The Times has updates on its blog the Lede.

Atlantic: "The winners of this year's Pulitzer Prizes were announced this afternoon, in all 21 categories.... Here's the list via Pulitzer's website, where you can also see the finalists.

CBS News 11 Dallas-Fort Worth: "Sources tell CBS 11 that Former Justice of the Peace Eric Williams will be charged with capital murder in the deaths of Mike and Cynthia McLelland, and Mark Hasse. Williams was booked into Kaufman County Jail early Saturday morning for making terroristic threats and 'insufficient bond.' He's being held on a $3 million bond.... Williams had a history with both Mike McLelland and Mark Hasse. The two prosecuted and secured a conviction against him back in 2012 for Burglary and Theft By A Public Servant. Surveillance cameras caught Williams taking computer equipment from a county building." ...

... AP: "A medical examiner says a man who died in the infield during the NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway shot himself in the head. The Tarrant County (Texas) medical examiner's office on Sunday said the death of 42-year-old Kirk Franklin of Saginaw, Texas, was a suicide. Fort Worth police have said a man who was camping in the infield died of a 'self-inflicted injury' after getting into an argument with other campers. The incident happened late in the Sprint Cup race."

AP: "Hugo Chavez's hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, has won Venezuela's presidential election by a stunningly narrow margin that highlights rising discontent over problems ranging from crime to power blackouts. His rival demanded a recount, portending more headaches for a country shaken by the death of its dominating leader."

Reuters: "Dish Network Corp on Monday offered to buy Sprint Nextel Corp for $25.5 billion in cash and stock.... Sprint shares jumped about 13 percent before the U.S. market open on Monday."

AP: "Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has been increasing for a third year in a row and is heading for a record high, the U.N. said in a report released Monday. The boom in poppy cultivation is at its most pronounced in the Taliban's heartland in the south, the report showed, especially in regions where troops of the U.S.-led coalition have been withdrawn or are in the process of departing. The report suggests that ... international efforts ... to wean local farmers off the crop ... are having little success."