The Commentariat -- Feb. 2, 2013

The President's Weekly Address:

     ... The transcript is here. CW: Interesting. The President's "balanced approach" to cutting the deficit is suddenly not about "belt-tightening" -- which he implicitly warns against -- & more about cutting tax loopholes available only to corporations & the wealthy. Why, for a brief moment, I might believe our President has had an epiphany wherein he has accepted Krugman as his personal savior. Let's see if he can keep the faith. One ambiguous weekly address does not a vocation make.

Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton gave her final speech as secretary of state on Friday, thanking employees at the State Department in an emotional goodbye and pledging to them that she 'will be an advocate from outside' for the work that they do." ...

... John Cassidy & Ryan Lizza discuss Hillary Clinton's performance as Secretary of State with Dorothy Wickenden:

David Sanger of the New York Times: "'It's somewhere between baffling and incomprehensible,' a member of Mr. Obama's own team of advisers on Iran said on Thursday night when asked about Mr. Hagel's stumbling performance on the question [of containing a nuclear Iran] during the all-day hearing." ...

... ** Dana Milbank: Jim "Inhofe [RNasty-Okla.] is the new ranking Republican of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he seems intent to use this prominent perch to wage all-out war on the president. This is significant because when it comes to the military, lawmakers have historically been able to overcome partisan differences for the good of the country.... Inhofe is leading Republicans to a position of gratuitous hostility. Following his statement, Republicans on the panel signaled Thursday that they would vote against Hagel, simply because he held views, shared by the president, with which they disagreed."

... Ben Armbruster of Think Progress: "Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) said on MSNBC this morning that he does not intend for vote for Hagel; but when asked if he would support a filibuster of the former Republican senator, Blunt said he would not and that Hagel should receive an up-or-down vote."

"A Rancid Tub of Ignorance." Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: Senate Republicans are unusually rude, even to each other. "... many Senate Republicans now are newly elected, deeply conservative members who have less regard for the old rules of comity and respect for elders." And the rest of 'em are runnin' skeert.

Paul Krugman disagrees with Washington Post economics writer Neil Irwin, who wrote (linked in yesterday's Commentariat) that Krugman & the VSPs are speaking different languages: "There isn't any symmetry here; my side of the debate is actually paying attention both to the numbers and to the arguments of the other side, while the Very Serious People only listen to each other." ...

... Here's what the deficit scolds are too stupid to get. Krugman again: "... fiscal austerity is the difference between where we are now and an unemployment rate not much above 6 percent. It's a policy disaster." CW: why this isn't self-evident is beyond me.

Ron Brownstein of the National Journal has a very interesting piece on the strengths & weaknesses of the Democratic coalition.: CW: And I didn't know this: Obama is "only the third Democratic president ever to reach at least 51 percent of the popular vote twice." One was FDR; the other was Andrew Jackson (I hadda look that one up). ...

... Ed Kilgore: "... Democratic centrists would be better advised to promote their favored policies on the merits instead of as bipartisanship-bait, which at the moment just is not a credible approach. And if Democrats do indeed need to improve their performance among elements outside the 'Obama coalition' -- and in the short term, they do if they ever want a sizable congressional majority and control of a majority of states -- they should focus on what these voters actually do and do not favor instead of assuming 'moderate' rhetoric will do the trick."

Greg Sargent: "Sarah Dawn McKinley, a young mother from Oklahoma, was thrust into the national spotlight this week when conservatives at the Senate gun hearing cited her run-in with intruders to make the case against Obama's new gun proposals. On December 31, 2011, Ms. McKinley, at home with her three-month-old baby, fought off two men, killing one who was bearing a knife with her shotgun.... She told me she does not favor an assault weapons ban, even though she didn't use an assault weapon in warding off her intruders. But Ms. McKinley said she supports the idea of expanding the background check system, telling me: 'Anybody should be willing to get a background check that wants to take a gun.'"

New York Times Editors: "The Obama administration has proposed a sensible way to provide women who work for religiously affiliated institutions with free coverage of contraceptives while exempting the organizations they work for from financial or administrative obligations to provide the coverage." ...

... E. J. Dionne: "The decision ought to be taken by the nation's Catholic bishops as a victory, because it is. Many in their ranks, including some of the country's most prominent prelates, are inclined to do just that -- even if the most conservative bishops seem to want to keep the battle raging."

Edward Wyatt of the New York Times: "In a strong move to protect the privacy of Americans as they use the Internet on their smartphones and tablets, the Federal Trade Commission on Friday said the mobile industry should include a do-not-track feature in software and apps and take other steps to safeguard personal information."

How Many Ways Is Bob Menendez a Sleazebag? Dave Weigel of Slate: "Taken on its own, an A1 story [in the New York Times {see link in yesterday's Commentariat}] about the Foreign Relations chairman's mobby relationship with a donor would be devastating. But it's less devastating than what the conservative Internet has tried and convicted Menendez for -- an unproven sex scandal. If Menendez did decide to ruin his career by telling prostitutes his real name and stiffing them on a bill, obviously, he'll go. But if that part of the story is bogus, while some number of people will always believe it, Menendez will skate on the financial sleaze that he never even tried to deny."

Jill Lawrence of the National Journal: "The Democratic Party and Senate hopefuls ... are fortunate that [former Massachusetts Sen. Scott] Brown has decided to stand down in the June 25 special election to succeed new Secretary of State John Kerry. Republicans, meanwhile, have suffered the (perhaps temporary) loss of an unusual, highly valuable candidate: One who has both charisma and firsthand familiarity with life among the 47 percent.... The new thinking is he will run for governor in 2014. Democrats would be smart to start looking for the next Elizabeth Warren right now."

Joe Nocera: "New York's three greatest mayors were also three of its great egotists. It's no accident." CW: Nocera skips Rudy Giuliani. Has there ever been a greater egotist than "America's Mayor"?

The Washington Post Editors notice that Republican grand plans to fix presidential elections "would destabilize the already imperfect electoral college." One reason they should not go forward with their schemes, the Editors write, is that such brazen partisan moves would damage the GOP's reputation, oh my.

News Ledes

For those of you who prefer to get your weather report from rodents rather than from climate-change-denying teevee weatherpersons, the AP sez, "An end to winter's bitter cold will come soon, according to Pennsylvania's famous groundhog ... Punxsutawney Phil."

Reuters: "The United States is ready to hold direct talks with Iran if it is serious about negotiations, Vice President Joe Biden said on Saturday, backing bilateral contacts that many see as crucial to easing an international dispute over Tehran's nuclear program. Speaking at a security conference in Munich, Biden said Iran - which says it is enriching uranium for peaceful energy only - now faced 'the most robust sanctions in history' meant to ensure it does not use its program to develop nuclear weapons." CW: um, probably what Chuck Hagel should have told the Nasty Boys on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Does it seem as if Joe Biden has been putting in overtime cleaning up other people's messes?

Reuters: "The leader of the Syrian opposition was expected to meet U.S., Russian and U.N. officials on Saturday at a Munich conference which may provide a rare chance to overcome differences on how to end Syria's civil war. U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, head of the Syrian National Coalition Moaz Alkhatib, U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were all expected to meet - but not necessarily all at the same table, as the opposition hoped."

New York Times: "Taliban militants killed at least nine soldiers and four paramilitary troops in an attack on a Pakistani army base in northwestern Pakistan early Saturday, officials said. Ten civilians, including three women and three children who were living in a nearby compound, were also killed."

The Commentariat -- Feb. 1, 2013

Noah Bierman of the Boston Globe: "Scott Brown ... announced Friday afternoon that he will not enter the special election to replace John F. Kerry. Brown's announcement was unusual. Rather than a formal press conference or statement, he initially released the news to the Boston Herald in a text message that said 'U are the first to know.' His spokesman later confirmed the news to the Globe in a text that read 'Not running.' No explanation was given. Brown's decision leaves the Republican Party scrambling to find a viable candidate for the June 25 election."

Friday News Dump. Robert Pear of the New York Times: "The Obama administration proposed yet another compromise on Friday in an effort to address the concerns of religious organizations that object to its policy requiring health insurance plans to cover contraceptives for women at no charge.... Under the proposal, the administration said, 'eligible organizations would not have to contract, arrange, pay or refer for any contraceptive coverage to which they object on religious grounds.' Female employees of such organizations would receive contraceptive coverage through separate individual health insurance policies, without having to pay premiums or co-payments. The proposed rule is somewhat ambiguous about exactly who would pay the costs."

Mark Singer wrote a piece published in the New Yorker in December 2012, on Ed Koch. Here's the trailer for the documentary, by Neil Barsky, which Singer mentions:

... Kevin Roose of New York magazine: "... for Koch, appealing to Main Street was less a political play than an expression of who he truly was." ... And the magazine has pulled together some uniquely Koch quotes. Here's one:

Have you ever lived in the suburbs? ... It's sterile. It's nothing. It's wasting your life, and people do not wish to waste their lives once they've seen New York! ... This rural American thing -- I'm telling you, it's a joke. -- Ed Koch

Elisabeth Bumiller of the New York Times: "Chuck Hagel, President Obama's nominee to be secretary of defense, came under sharp and sometimes angry questioning Thursday on a wide range of issues from fellow Republicans at his Senate confirmation hearing, including from his old friend, Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who is still smoldering about their break over the Iraq war." ...

... Ernesto Londoño of the Washington Post: "Chuck Hagel ... confronted withering criticism during a marathon confirmation hearing Thursday, but administration officials said they felt confident that the Republican-led attacks did not derail his bid to lead the Pentagon." The Post has some low-lights videos here. ...

... AND all this, as contributor MAG points out, made Hagel very sad. ...

... BUT then, Chuck Hagel always looks sad, even when things are going well. ...

... Spencer Ackerman of Wired: "If Chuck Hagel wins approval in the Senate to run the Pentagon..., it'll be despite his performance in his confirmation hearing on Thursday, not because of it." ...

... Josh Rogin of Foreign Policy: "Several more Republican senators tell [me they] have decided to oppose the confirmation of Chuck Hagel ... after hearing him testify Thursday." ...

... Nick Turse of TomDispatch: Chuck Hagel's concern for American troops unnecessarily put in harm's way does not seem to extend to civilians -- even chilidren -- living in enemy territory.

** John Boehner Does Not Live in the Rational World. Greg Sargent: "Politico's Glenn Thrush reports ... that Republicans believe the GDP report showing the economy is shrinking gives them political 'leverage' over Obama, since bad economic news is terrible for the President. But ... this shouldn't be the case, since the contraction was the result of a drop in spending, which in theory should undermine the GOP argument that we should cut spending as deeply as possible.... The economic contraction was driven largely by a steep drop in defense spending. As Ezra Klein details, this shows that 'government is hurting the recovery' by 'spending and investing too little.' .... Yet Republicans are responding to the news of the economic contraction by suggesting it validates their view that we need to further cut spending to help the economy." ...

... Steve Benen criticizes Thrush's report, as well he should; the Politico headline, on which Thrush elaborates, is "Obama's GOP Problem. Benen writes, "It's almost as if facts, evidence, reason, and a cursory understanding of economic policy no longer matters at all.... Through much of 2010 and 2011, we saw state and local governments pursue austerity measures, slashing public investments and laying off public-sector workers.... But as 2012 drew to a close, we saw similar cuts in federal spending, and the result was yesterday's report showing an economy that's shrinking for the first time since 2009. is incredibly easy to fix -- policymakers can invest in the economy, lower unemployment, and inject capital into the system. But that's not going to happen...." ...

... "Looking for Mr. Goodpain." Paul Krugman: "... the [austerian] doctrine that has dominated elite economic discourse for the past three years is wrong on all fronts. Not only have we been ruled by fear of nonexistent threats, we've been promised rewards that haven't arrived and never will. It's time to put the deficit obsession aside and get back to dealing with the real problem -- namely, unacceptably high unemployment." ...

... Neil Irwin of the Washington Post explains why the Flock of the Deficit Hawks can't understand Paul Krugman, other economists, the Fed, bankers & business forecasters.

Jessica Silver-Greenberg & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "Federal authorities are scrutinizing private consultants hired to clean up financial misdeeds like money laundering and foreclosure abuses, taking aim at an industry that is paid billions of dollars by the same banks it is expected to police.... On Thursday, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Representative Elijah Cummings, Democrat of Maryland, announced that they would open an investigation into the foreclosure review...."

New York Times Editors: "... at the opening Senate hearing on gun controls this week..., Judiciary Committee members seemed to have largely swallowed gun lobby propaganda that the evidence shows the original 10-year ban on assault weapons was ineffective." It ain't so. ...

... ** Gun Rights Are Not Women's Rights. Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "'Guns make women safer,' Gayle Trotter of the conservative Independent Women's Forum, told the Senate Judiciary Committee at its Wednesday hearing.... The facts suggest precisely the opposite. First, women are far more likely to be the victims of gun violence than to benefit from using a gun in self-defense. Second, the restrictions under discussion would not harm women." ...

... Jon Stewart comments on the hearing:

Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "The Senate Ethics Committee is reviewing allegations that Sen. Robert Menendez accepted inappropriate gifts from a Florida doctor who has flown the New Jersey Democrat to his estate in the Dominican Republic, a senior member of the panel confirmed Thursday." ...

... Raymond Hernandez & Frances Robles of the New York Times on Menendez's financial entanglements with Dr. Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye surgeon. CW: I'm not seeing a lot of "public service" here. ...

... Steve Kornacki of Salon on what the Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) scandal could mean to Senate Democrats. If Menendez is forced to resign, guess who gets to appoint his replacement? ...

... Okay, Kornacki didn't count on this. Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera may run for the U.S. Senate from New Jersey in 2014 as a Republican, Rivera told his radio show on Thursday...." Fortunately, Geraldo has no underaged-hooker problem: "In his book 'Exposing Myself,' the former Jerry Rivers boasted of affairs, flings and flirtations with Margaret Trudeau, then the estranged wife of Canada's Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Marian Javits, widow of New York's Republican Sen. Jacob Javits. The list also included Liza Minelli, Bette Midler, Chris Evert and Judy Collins." CW: if Menendez steps down, there's no reason Geraldo couldn't run for his seat. Bob Menendez may join a long line of corrupt, avaricious sex-crazed, lying, cheating pricks a/k/a New Jersey Democrats, but theists have a strong case here: there is a god, she is a Democrat, and she has a sense of humor. Thanks to Kate M. for the heads-up.

Sarah Posner of Religion Dispatches: "John J. DiIulio, the first director of George W. Bush's White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, has taken to the Washington Post to laud President Obama's White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.... Less than a year into his own tenure, DiIulio resigned in disgust.... He notoriously coined the term 'Mayberry Machiavellis' to describe Bush insiders, who ... 'winked at the most far-right House Republicans' in attempting to pass legislation for the faith-based office." Read Posner's whole post. Obama's OFBNP routinely grants waivers to participants who don't want to comply with anti-discrimination employment laws. DiIulio thinks that's great, but Posner writes. "... feeding hungry children is an essential goal. But since it could be done without raising these constitutional issues, why isn't it?" Why, indeed? Via Jonathan Bernstein.

Right Wing World

Tim Egan: "Fox and friends can still crush their own, as Obama noted [in a remark this week]. But that only drives the Republican Party further to the fringes. Virtually everything the broadcast bullies are against -- sensible gun measures, immigration reform, raising taxes on the rich -- are favored by a majority of Americans."

News Ledes

AP: "A Milan appeals court has convicted a former CIA station chief in Rome and two other Americans in the 2003 rendition kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric. The court on Friday sentenced former CIA station chief Jeff Castelli to even years, and handed sentences of six years each to Americans Betnie Madero and Ralph Russomando. All three had been acquitted in the first trial due to diplomatic immunity."

New York Times: "A county prosecutor in [Kaufman, Texas, a] small town southeast of Dallas was fatally shot on Thursday morning near the courthouse by one or perhaps two gunmen, whom witnesses described as wearing masks, black clothing and tactical-style vests.... Lawyers and prosecutors throughout North Texas were stunned by the attack." CW: excuse me; you live in Texas & you're "stunned" by gun violence in Texas?

AP: "Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who won a Nobel Prize in physics but came under questioning for his handling of a solar energy loan, is stepping down. Chu offered his resignation to President Barack Obama in a letter Friday. He said he will stay on at least until the end of February and may stay until a successor is confirmed."

CNBC: "An encouraging U.S. jobs report propelled blue-chip stocks above the closely watched 14,000 bulwark on Friday, with investors momentarily downplaying fears about the economic recovery."

Boston Globe: "Senator John F. Kerry will be sworn in as secretary of state by Associate Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan in a small, private ceremony Friday afternoon, State Department officials said." ...

... Boston Globe: "Kerry said President Obama offered him the job of secretary of state a week before United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice withdrew her name from contention, an earlier timeline than has been previously reported."

Boston Globe: "... a top university official said Friday that more than half of the Harvard students investigated by a college board have been ordered to withdraw from the school."

AP: "A suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive Friday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, [Turkey,] killing himself and a guard at the entrance gate, officials said.U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardione told reporters that a Turkish citizen was also wounded in the 1:15 p.m. blast in the Turkish capital."

AP: "U.S. employers added 157,000 jobs in January, and hiring was stronger over the past two years than previously thought, providing reassurance that the job market held steady even as economic growth sputtered. The mostly upbeat Labor Department report Friday included one negative sign: The unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent in December."

New York Times: "Edward I. Koch, the master showman of City Hall, who parlayed shrewd political instincts and plenty of chutzpah into three tumultuous terms as mayor of New York with all the tenacity, zest and combativeness that personified his city of golden dreams, died Friday morning at age 88."

Los Angeles Times: "Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez on Thursday announced dramatic actions in response to the priest abuse scandal, saying that Cardinal Roger Mahony would no longer perform public duties in the church and that Santa Barbara Bishop Thomas J. Curry has stepped down. Gomez said in a statement that Mahony -- who led the L.A. archdiocese from 1985 to 2011 -- 'will no longer have any administrative or public duties.' Gomez also announced the church has released a trove of confidential church files detailing how the Los Angeles archdiocese dealt with priests accused of molestation." The New York Times story is here.

The Commentariat -- Jan. 31, 2013

Frank Phillips of the Boston Globe: "Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has picked William 'Mo' Cowan, his former chief of staff, to serve as the state's interim US senator until the successor to John F. Kerry is chosen by the voters in a June 25 special election." ...

... "The Barney Brush-off." Charles Mahtesian of Politico: the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which supported former Rep. Barney Frank for the interim appointment, was not amused by Gov. Patrick's choice. ...

... Martin Finucane of the Boston Globe: "If former US senator Scott Brown decides to run against US Representative Ed Markey in the special election for Senate, the two would be locked in a statistical tie, a new poll finds. The Republican Brown would get 48 percent of the vote, while Markey, a Democrat, would get 45 percent of the vote, if the election were held today, according to the poll released by Public Policy Polling. But the gap between the two fell within the survey's margin of error, plus or minus 3.6 percentage points." ...

... David Uberti of the Boston Globe: "Democrat John Kerry, delivering a long and emotional farewell speech in the Senate Wednesday, warned that political gridlock in Washington threatens America's reputation abroad." ... You can read the text of Kerry's long & emotional speech here. ...

... This could be the best bit:

AND, in other Senate News.... Jonathan Tamari of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez [D] denied allegations reported online that he used prostitutes in the Dominican Republic, issuing a statement Wednesday afternoon after the FBI raided the offices of a friend also tied to the accusations. 'Any allegations of engaging with prostitutes are manufactured by a politically-motivated right-wing blog and are false,' said a statement from Menendez's office. The Democrat was forced to respond to the issue after FBI agents raided the offices of a financially troubled West Palm Beach, Fla. eye doctor Tuesday night who has faced accusations involving ties to Menendez." ...

... Here's more from Frances Robles of the New York Times. "... Dr. [Salomon] Melgen, who is best known for his association with Democratic politicians, including Senator Menendez, owes the Internal Revenue Service more than $10 million. The raid came just four days after a conservative Web site alleged that the F.B.I. was looking into accusations that Mr. Menendez and Dr. Melgen frequented under-age prostitutes in the Dominican Republic." ...

... Via Politico, the accusing Website is Tucker Carlson's Daily Caller. CW: with Kerry's resignation, Menendez became chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Nice to know even though a new kid is heading this important committee, he's one who is experienced in foreign relations. ...

     ... UPDATE. Pete Yost of the AP: "Sen. Robert Menendez's office says he reimbursed a prominent Florida political donor $58,500 on Jan. 4 of this year for the full cost of two of three trips Menendez took on the donor's plane to the Dominican Republic in 2010. Details of Menendez's trips emerged as his office said unsubstantiated allegations that the senator engaged in sex with prostitutes in the Dominican Republic are false."

Gail Collins looks back at Hillary Clinton's career.

Donna Cassata of the AP: Chuck Hagel "is the lone witness at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday that could be crucial in determining whether he will win Senate confirmation to succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Obama's second-term national security team. Two former committee chairmen -- Democrat Sam Nunn and Republican John Warner -- will introduce the nominee."

Charles Pierce notes that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is "runnin' a'skeered" on accounta not being quite crazy enough for his witless constituency, & who just got through accusing Hillary Clinton of murder, is "going to get a crack at Chuck Hagel on Thursday, which may bring about the mother of all public tantrums."

Like if you put a speed limit on a highway, pretty soon they're going to take your car away from you. -- David Corn of Mother Jones on the NRA's "slippery slope" argument

Peter Applebome of the New York Times: "In riveting testimony [in Newtown, Connecticut,] repeatedly interrupted by standing ovations, parents, public officials, law enforcement officers and school employees issued a full-throated call on Wednesday night for strengthening the nation's gun laws in the wake of the massacre of 26 children and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December."

** Dana Milbank: Wayne LaPierre, who portrays himself as a Renaissance man (really, he does!), sure acts like a lying, bullying, violent cartoon villain. ...

... Susan Page of USA Today: "The powerful National Rifle Association will urge lawmakers to vote against mandating universal background checks for gun buyers, NRA President David Keene told USA TODAY on Wednesday. That raises questions about the enactment of many gun-control measures in the wake of last month's shootings in Newtown, Conn." ...

... CW: If you had asked me what headline I had dreamed of seeing coming out of Wednesday's Senate hearings on gun safety, this would be it: "Gabrielle Giffords' husband smacks down Wayne LaPierre." So thank you, Greg Sargent, and thank you, Mark Kelly: "During the hearing, LaPierre repeatedly voiced the talking point that there's no need to expand the background check system because criminals don't cooperate with background checks. Kelly responded: "... My wife would not have been sitting here today if we had stronger background checks." Read the entire response. ...

... Meanwhile, Kelly broke the news to people in the hearing room of a shooting in Phoenix that took place during the hearing. Kelly's remarks are here. Alex Johnson of NBC News has the story: "Three people were shot and wounded Wednesday, one of them with life-threatening injuries, when a gunman opened fire at a Phoenix office complex, authorities said. The two other people had less severe injuries, police said, correcting their earlier report that all three had been critically injured." ...

... "Guns Don't Kill People, Video Games Do." Jed Lewison of Daily Kos: "United States Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, mak[es] the case that ... video games are 'a bigger problem than guns' because unlike guns, 'video games affect people.'" Includes video.

... Charles Pierce takes a look at the illogical fears, perceptions & prejudices of American evangelicals, all of which would be mere sociological observations about intellectual pathologies if not for the fact that "We have allowed our politics -- and one of the only two political parties we allow ourselves -- to be hijacked by a kind of religiosity that depends on its adherents being even bigger suckers than the rest of their fellow citizens."

Thomas Edsell, in the New York Times, has a very good piece refuting right-wing "experts"' claims that America's poor are really lucky duckies who are buying a lot of cheap electronics & investing in well-priced cosmetic surgery.

Steve Benen: Congressional Republicans are doubling down on the sequester, insisting it is inevitable. Ferinstance, Paul "Ryan, who used to believe sequestration would 'devastate' the economy, added, '[W]e can't lose those spending cuts.'"

Michael Shear & Mark Landler of the New York Times: "While aides say Mr. Obama is open to some negotiation over the contours of the immigration changes he laid out Tuesday in Las Vegas, senior administration officials are convinced that there is little risk in pushing hard for Mr. Obama's immigration priorities, betting that Republicans will think twice about voting down a bill championed by a president who is highly popular among the very voters they covet. The principles Mr. Obama embraced this week differ in some central ways from the effort under way in the Senate...." ...

... E. J. Dionne: "Until Obama was reelected, party competition translated into Republican efforts to block virtually everything the president wanted to accomplish. On immigration, at least, the parties are now competing to share credit for doing something big. It's wonderful to behold.... By going slightly to the progressive side of the senators, Obama may ease the way for Republicans to strike a deal since they will be able to claim they stayed to the president's right." ...

... Here's the Rachel Maddow segment on how to become a legal immigrant now, to which contributor Diane referred in today's Comments:

Jamelle Bouie of American Prospect: "Unlike citizens in every other advanced democracy -- and many other developing ones -- Americans don't have a right to vote. Popular perception notwithstanding, the Constitution provides no explicit guarantee of voting rights.... A right-to-vote amendment would raise the standard of constitutional review for voter-identification laws and other measures that deplete the pool of voters."

Ryan Cooper has a terrific piece in the Washington Monthly on Shirley Sherrod who is still working to help poor Georgia farmers. CW: Obama should nominate her for agriculture secretary. Seriously. ...

... Cooper also has a short post contrasting Sherrod with that other person suddenly thrust upon the national stage: Miss Alaska Governor Pageant Winner 2006.

Ramsey Cox of The Hill: "A group of Democratic senators came to the floor Wednesday to urge the passage of a bill that would help women fight for equal pay. Democratic Sens. Barbara Mikulski (Md.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Mark Begich (Alaska) and Maria Cantwell (Wash.) called for the Senate to take up the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would require businesses to show the range of compensation for all positions, allowing women to see if they are on the lower end of the pay scale. Employers would also not be able to retaliate against employees for discussing how much they make with coworkers."

Sam Baker of The Hill: "The Obama administration took new steps Wednesday toward implementing the individual mandate in its signature healthcare law, downplaying the scope of the unpopular provision by stressing rules that allow exemptions from the requirement to purchase insurance."

Right Wing World

Jillian Rayfield of Salon: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney shoots down latest right-wing conspiracy theory: there in "Rahm Emanuel's Chicago," somebody will be tearing down Ronald Reagan's childhood home -- an apartment building his family lived in for about a year when Reagan was three -- to put up a parking lot ---- for the Obama presidential library. A blogger who runs a blog called "Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home" also wrote that he had local information disputing the conspiracy story. CW: Sorry, sane people, facts are not going to interfere with a good plotline, one I wish were true.

One of [politicians'] favorite ways to increase their power is by creating programs that dispense subsidized government benefits, such as Medicare, Social Security, and outright welfare (Medicaid, food stamps, subsidized housing, and the like). These programs make people dependent on government. And once people are dependent, they feel they can't afford to have the programs taken away, no matter how inefficient, poorly run, or costly to the rest of society. -- Kenny Cuccinelli, former ward of Kate Madison ...

... Laura Vozzella of the Washington Post: Virginia AG & gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli's new book, to be released February 12 & "a must-read for every patriot," according to its Amazon blurb, "uses language akin to Mitt Romney's famous '47 percent' comment."

... ** Robert Schlesinger of U.S. News: "Votes from 'center cities' should be discounted when considering who won a mandate in last November's elections, according to GOP megadonor Foster Friess. Apparently urban votes are insufficiently in tune with the pro free market movement which is sweeping the country and, in his view, handed the GOP a mandate in the 2012 elections even though they took national losses across the board.... When I asked him if he was saying that votes from "center cities" should be discounted, his answer, in full, was: 'Yes.'" ...

... CW: Yes, Foster Aspirins-as-Contraceptives Friess is an idiot, but as Schesinger correctly develops his commentary, Friess is speaking inartfully for the actual views of prominent & ordinary Republicans. They think giving "urban people" 3/5ths of a vote is way too much. All of the voter suppression efforts we've seen/are seeing are not just good for Republicans; they are good for the country. Voter suppression isn't a dirty trick; it's patriotic. "Urban people" should not have the right to vote. See also Jamelle Bouie above.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Former [New York City] Mayor Edward I. Koch, who has been hospitalized since Monday with lung problems, was placed in the intensive care unit on Thursday afternoon, his spokesman said."

AP: "... violent storms raked the Southeast, leaving two people dead before the vast storm front moved on to pummel the East Coast.... Along a path pocked by shattered homes and businesses, the storm unleashed tornadoes and dangerous winds, easily flipping cars and trucks in Georgia. The heavy rains moving across the East Coast also raised flash flood fears and forced water rescues in Virginia and Maryland near the nation's capital. In the Northeast, utilities reported power outages affecting about 74,000 in Connecticut and feared more outages elsewhere as the potent storm races out over the Atlantic. Forecasters said snowfall was possible in varying amounts from the Great Lakes region through the Northeast."

Market Watch: "The number of people who filed new applications for U.S. unemployment benefits climbed 38,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000 in the week ended Jan. 26, putting them at a one-month high...."

Reuters: "American incomes rose in December by the most in eight years, a positive sign for consumer spending that could help the economy sustain momentum early this year. Personal income for Americans rose 2.6 percent last month, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. That was the biggest increase since December 2004 and well above analysts' expectations for a 0.8 percent gain."

New York Times: "Israeli warplanes carried out a strike deep inside Syrian territory on Wednesday, American officials reported, saying they believed the target was a convoy carrying sophisticated antiaircraft weaponry on the outskirts of Damascus that was intended for the Hezbollah Shiite militia in Lebanon."

Reuters: "U.N. human rights investigators called on Israel on Thursday to halt settlement expansion and withdraw all half a million Jewish settlers from the occupied West Bank, saying that its practices could be subject to prosecution as possible war crimes. A three-member U.N. panel said private companies should stop working in the settlements if their work adversely affected the human rights of Palestinians...."

Reuters: "French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday backed the idea of sending a United Nations peacekeeping force into Mali, saying France would play a role in any such plan. The U.N. Security Council is to begin discussing the possibility of deploying U.N. troops in the stricken West African nation, envoys said of an idea it had previously been uncomfortable with before France's recent military intervention."

AP: "Police are hunting for an 'armed and dangerous' 70-year-old man suspected in a Phoenix office complex shooting that left one person dead and two wounded. Arthur Douglas Harmon allegedly opened fire at the end of a mediation session Wednesday morning at a three-story office complex in north-central Phoenix, police said."

AP: "A gunman holed up in a bunker with a 5-year-old hostage kept law officers at bay Wednesday in an all-night, all-day standoff that began when he killed a school bus driver and dragged the boy away, authorities said. SWAT teams took up positions around the gunman's rural property and police negotiators tried to win the kindergartener's safe release."

Chicago Tribune: "With outrage over Hadiya Pendleton's slaying spreading from City Hall to the White House, the 15-year-old became a symbol Wednesday of escalating violence in Chicago while fueling the national debate over guns and crime. A little more than a week after performing with the King College Prep band in Washington during President Barack Obama's inauguration festivities, Hadiya was fatally shot Tuesday afternoon in a park about a mile north of Obama's Kenwood home. Two other teens were wounded."