Monday: 5/20/13

Scandals

The Overview

Obama's approval rating is still unaffected.  "Even as his administration has faced intense scrutiny over a trio of controversies, President Obama’s approval rating hasn’t suffered, according to a new CNN/ORC International poll released Sunday.  Fifty-three percent of Americans said they approve of the job the president is doing ... The poll is one of the earliest indicators of how Obama’s image has been affected during one of the worst weeks of his presidency."  Sean Sullivan at the Washington Post.

The analogies keep coming, but Obama still isn't Nixon.  "The misconduct happened under the current president. Therefore, Obama = Nixon.  But equating the two is like concluding that babies are like poisonous snakes because some of them have rattles. Maybe information will someday emerge to confirm the conservative suspicion that Obama thuggishly subverted the IRS to win re-election, but so far, it falls in the realm of make-believe."  Steve Chapman at Reason.

Dems are betting on GOP overreach for 2014.  "Democrats overseeing House races are banking heavily on GOP overreach — on the likelihood that they will overplay their hand and provoke voter distaste similar to that triggered by Republicans during the 1998 Lewinsky years.  Dems have taken a two-pronged approach to today’s scandals: Dem officials and candidates quickly denounce it when there is clearly merit there — as many of them did when the IRS news hit — then quickly pivot to denouncing Republicans for refusing to focus on jobs and other immediate voter concerns."  Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.

AP

The government spies on reporters? Here's a history lesson.  "It’s a good thing a US president has never shuttered newspapers (Lincoln), suspended habeas corpus (Lincoln again), prevented their distribution through the mail (Wilson), arrested tens of thousands of war dissidents (Wilson again) or imprisoned tens of thousands of Americans because of their ethnicity (Roosevelt), because otherwise we might have had a precedent to work off of for dealing with Obama’s monitoring of reporters who routinely leak classified information to the public."  Joshua Foust.

Benghazi

After Benghazi, the US is taking steps to increase embassy security.  "By late this summer, the State Department plans to send dozens of additional diplomatic security agents to high-threat embassies, install millions of dollars of advanced fire-survival gear and surveillance cameras in those diplomatic posts, and improve training for employees headed to the riskiest missions."  Eric Schmitt in the New York Times.

Meanwhile , the State Department 'scapegoat' speaks out.  "Following the attack in Benghazi, Libya, senior State Department officials ... ordered the removal of a midlevel official who had no role in security decisions and has never been told the charges against him. He is now accusing Clinton’s team of scapegoating him for the failures that led to the death of four Americans last year.  Raymond Maxwell was placed on forced “administrative leave” after the State Department’s own internal investigation ... Maxwell remains in professional and legal limbo, having been associated publicly with the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American for reasons that remain unclear."  Josh Rogin at the Daily Beast.

IRS

The more we know, the less this looks like a true scandal.  "We’re getting more reporting out of the IRS’s Cincinnati office. The reports all paint a similar picture: An overworked, overwhelmed, understaffed agency outpost that wasn’t prepared for the rise in political 501(c)(4)s, was confused about how to manage them, was unable to get proper direction from higher-ups, and responded in ways that were both inappropriate ... and incompetent."  Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas at Wonkblog.

Still, Democrats are beginning to worry about the impact of the IRS on 2014.  "A senior Democratic strategist told POLITICO that the potential drag on Democrats running in the midterm should not be underestimated. ... To have a prayer of flipping the House, Democrats need to turn an electoral triple play: motivate young and minority voters ... lock up independents and give a slice of Republicans reason to pull the Democratic lever in dozens of districts that tilt red.  The events of the past week hurt on all those fronts."  Alex Isenstadt at Politico.

Umbrella-Gate

This is stupid.  Like, really stupid.  "Yes, the President of the United States of America had a boot Corporal hold an umbrella for him while he gave a speech. ... Somehow, holding an umbrella for the President and the Turkish Prime Minister is seen as demeaning ... Shut up.  We’re Marines, if the President of the f***ing United States asks you to hold a f***ing umbrella, you hold a f***ing umbrella."  Maximilian Uriarte at Terminal Lance.

Energy and the Environment

Energy

Rejecting Keystone isn't a silver bullet.  But it's still a good idea.  "In rejecting Keystone, President Obama would not solve the underlying problem, which ... is consumption. Nor would he halt exploitation of the tar sands. But he would put a brake on the process. After all, if getting tar-sands oil to China were easy, the Canadians wouldn’t be applying so much pressure on the White House. Once Keystone is built, there will be no putting the tar back in the sands. The pipeline isn’t inevitable, and it shouldn’t be treated as such. It’s just another step on the march to disaster."  Elizabeth Kolbert in the New Yorker.

The DOE licensed a new LNG export terminal.  "The Energy Department gave a terminal near Freeport, Tex., permission Friday to ship liquefied natural gas to Japan, providing a new outlet for rising U.S. production of shale gas despite qualms of environmentalists and many domestic manufacturers."  Steven Mufson in the Washington Post.

Want to pass a climate bill? Fix the economy. "Wondering why Congress doesn’t pass more environmental legislation? The poor economy probably has a lot to do with it. A new study finds that U.S. senators are far less likely to take green votes when the unemployment rate in their state is high."  Brad Plumer at Wonkblog.

Renewable energy, state by state.  "California and Texas might be leading the nation’s rollout of solar and wind power, respectively, but Washington, where hydroelectric dams provide over 60 percent of the state’s energy, was the country’s biggest user of renewable power in 2011 ... Hydro continued to be the overwhelmingly dominant source of renewable power consumed nationwide, accounting for 67 percent of the total, followed by wind with 25 percent, geothermal with 4.5 percent, and solar with 3.5 percent."  Tim McDonnell at Slate.

Support for renewables ... from Republicans?  "House Republicans launched the year with a bill that ... sought to increase renewable energy. ... Wait, what? It’s true: The same party that had just spent the previous year eviscerating Obama on the campaign trail for his green-energy agenda and the bankruptcy of Solyndra was now signaling that it was ready to go quietly, carefully greener. That message will be amplified this summer, when a squadron of House Republicans calling itself the House Energy Action Team ... will hit town halls and TVs with a new set of energy talking points that, while still embracing oil and gas drilling, also say good things about energy efficiency and renewables."  Coral Davenport at the National Journal.

Environment

The Plains are running into a water crisis.  "The High Plains Aquifer ... begins beneath Wyoming and South Dakota and stretches clear to the Texas Panhandle. The aquifer’s northern reaches still hold enough water in many places to last hundreds of years. But as one heads south, it is increasingly tapped out, drained by ever more intensive farming and, lately, by drought. ... And when the groundwater runs out, it is gone for good. Refilling the aquifer would require hundreds, if not thousands, of years of rains."  Michael Wines in the New York Times.

Nuclear weapons bunkers put in the service of rehabilitating bat populations.  "A bunker once used to store nuclear weapons in northern Maine became home to 30 bats struggling for survival last winter when the Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge joined the country’s battle against white-nose syndrome. Researchers are attempting to better understand the disease that is killing these cave-dwelling bats in such record numbers — the most dramatic die-off that’s been seen in North America in the past century and perhaps in recorded history."  Aislinn Sarnacki at Bangor Daily News.

Politics

Elections

Virginia GOP ticket is very conservative.  "Virginia Republicans had nominated the most conservative ticket in the state’s history. At the top ... is Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the Tea Party zealot who has ... filed suit against the Obama administration (challenging the Affordable Care Act), investigated climate scientists (for allegedly falsifying data), and attacked abortion providers ... Jackson [lieutenant governor] has denounced the repeal of "don’t ask, don’t tell" as an attack on religious freedom ... attacked LGBT Americans as “sick people ... and ... attacked the 'Democrat Party' for creating 'an unholy alliance between certain so-called civil rights leaders and Planned Parenthood."  Jamelle Bouie at the American Prospect.

Filibuster Fights

Nuclear winter might be coming - this July.  "It’s hard to arbitrate between these two competing mechanisms that might underlie Senate politics this summer. In either scenario—the majority tames the minority or the minority scares the bejeezus out of the majority—the same outcome ensues: Nothing."  Sarah Binder at the Monkey Cage.

Fiscal Fights

The GOP doesn't care about the deficit.  They want to slash the social safety net.  "The GOP was never really interested in a 'grand bargain' to take debt and deficits off the table. Rather, ... the real goal was to dismantle the social safety net with aggressive cuts. At the moment, that hasn’t been successful — entitlements have been largely exempted. And that’s why Republicans are planning to use the looming need to raise the debt ceiling as another point at which to extract a ransom and cut entitlements. "  Jamelle Bouie at the American Prospect.

Health

The federal government is making it easier for states to enroll people in Medicaid.  "The Obama administration is making it easier for states to sign up the poor for health coverage – and to help those people stay covered.  On Friday, it informed state officials that they could simplify enrollment in Medicaid ... Federal Medicaid Director Cindy Mann laid out several ways states might streamline enrollment for adults, including using data people have already submitted to qualify for food stamps ... States may also allow adults to stay enrolled in the program for up to a year, even if their income changes, she said."  Phil Galewitz at Kaiser Health News.

Oregon: The future of health care in America.  "The past few years have seen two remarkable health-care experiments in the Beaver State. One is the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, the first randomized, controlled trial comparing Medicaid — or any kind of health insurance — with being uninsured. The other is Kitzhaber’s effort to rebuild the state’s Medicaid program around community health rather than individual fee-for-service treatments. The health-insurance experiment has gotten all the attention. But it’s the Medicaid reforms that really matter."  Ezra Klein at Wonkblog.

The ACA will reduce hospital price variations.  "If you have been paying attention to US healthcare policy debates lately, you know that hospitals have a price problem. Walk across the street from one hospital to a competitor hospital, and you could easily find yourself facing a $30,000 increase in your medical bills. ... The good news is this: Obamacare will largely eliminate these price variations, by increasing the proportion of Americans with health insurance, thereby leading our insurance providers to negotiate more reasonable prices from hospitals."  Peter Ubel at Forbes.

LGBT Rights

While we're waiting for the SCOTUS ruling, support for gay marriage is continually increasing.  "The remarkable turnaround in public attitude about same-sex marriage has only accelerated.  Ten senators reacted to the court’s hearings by declaring their support for same-sex marriage. That means 54 of the 100-member body, including two Republicans, favor the unions.  In the past two weeks, legislatures in three states — Rhode Island, Delaware and Minnesota — joined nine other states and the District of Columbia in legalizing same-sex marriage. A vote is likely soon in Illinois."  Robert Barnes at the Washington Post.

But the South won't budge without a federal push.  "Unless the federal government jumps in, most, if not all southern states won't legalize same-sex marriage for the foreseeable future. Most of their citizens don't want it, and by the time they do, most Republicans still won't. Considering you'll need a majority or supermajority of state legislators to get the bans reversed, and that Republicans have a strong hold over these chambers, same-sex marriage in the south doesn't have much of a chance anytime soon."  Harry Enten in the Guardian.

SCOTUSwatch

The next big church/state case to be heard by the Supreme Court.  "In many parts of the country, it's not at all unusual for locals to attend a meeting of their city council or county commission, and see local officials begin the meeting with an official prayer. What if the invocation doesn't reflect your religious beliefs? That's a shame, but you're out of luck -- you can sit silently or wait in the hall.  Is this permissible in a country that honors the separation of church and state? We'll apparently get an answer to that question fairly soon."  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

Voting Rights

Colorado Democrats have the right idea.  "In a bitter fight, Colorado Democrats recently muscled through the Statehouse a massive elections reform bill that allows voters to register up until Election Day and still cast their ballots."  The Associated Press.

International

Africa

The Congo cease-fire is over.  "Fighting erupted between the Congo national army and the M23 rebel group near the mineral-trading city of Goma, ending a nearly six-month lull in violence around the city."  Nicholas Bariyo in the Wall Street Journal.

Asia

China is having some North Korea problems.  "North Korea has released a Chinese fishing boat and its crew, ending a dispute that threatened to exacerbate strains with China, according to Chinese news reports on Tuesday."  Chris Buckley at the New York Times.

The rest of the world is also having North Korea problems.  "North Korea fired its sixth short-range missile in three days, demonstrating its military capabilities in defiance of global sanctions while stopping short of rekindling the tensions of past months."  Sangwon Yoon and Sungwoo Park at Bloomberg.

The ice on Mount Everest is shrinking.  "New analyses show Mount Everest has lost significant snow and ice cover over the past half century. In nearby Sagarmatha National Park, glaciers have shrunk by 13 percent. Weather data reveal the larger Everest region has experienced warmer temperatures and less snowfall since the early 1990s ... Snowlines in the national park have shifted upslope some 590 feet (180 meters)."  Brian Handwerk at National Geographic.

This should solve all of China's environmental problems.  Or not.  "Air pollution in China's capital is so bad that executives are turning down jobs, people are dying prematurely, gas masks have become fashionable and the smog can even be seen from space. At the end of March local media reported that the country would spend ... ($16.3 billion) over three years to clean up Beijing.  But the city authorities have their own cheaper idea: a crackdown on outdoor barbecuing."  Jake Watts at the Atlantic.

Europe

France legalized gay marriage.  "France's president has signed into law a controversial bill making the country the ninth in Europe, and 14th globally, to legalise gay marriage."  BBC News.

Bulgarian post-election report.  "On May 12, 2013, Bulgarian citizens took part in the country’s 8th legislative elections since the end of communism to select 240 representatives to the National Assembly, Bulgaria’s unicameral legislature. Despite a series of wiretapping scandals and a pre-election discovery of (possibly illegally) overprinted ballots, international observers have concluded that the elections were generally fair and competitive."  Joshua Tucker at the Monkey Cage.

Spy problems.  "A former senior Justice Department official at the American Embassy here was declared 'persona non grata' and barred from Russia this month, according to people familiar with the case, possibly because he had rebuffed an effort by the Russian Federal Security Service to recruit him as a spy."  David Herszenhorn and Mark Mazzetti in the New York Times.

Military

The case for negotiating with terrorists.  "Overall, the historical record suggests there is much to commend the notion of negotiating with terrorists. Talks must be undertaken with much care and caution, and war-war must continue while the parties jaw-jaw. But the potential for finding the way to peace, even in the most pernicious conflicts, is far too good to overlook."  John Arquilla at Foreign Policy.

3-D printing could transform military logistics.  "It’s a far-out vision for future combat ... According to Lt. Cmdr. Michael Llenza ... 3-D printing could arguably “upend the way we think about supply chains, sea basing and even maritime strategy.” ... Ammunition could potentially be produced with the machines, as the casings would be “relatively easy,” ... Additive manufacturing also “offers a new way to think about building shelters or other structures on a beachhead or forward operating base.” The hope, as the theory goes, is that large-scale investments in 3-D printing could take a lot of strain off the supply lines modern military forces depend on to survive."  Robert Beckhusen at Wired.

The Army is getting into the drone business.  "Not to be outdone by the sea service, the Army this week revealed that it's looking to develop autonomous robo-backhoes and robot versions the military's famous armored trucks, known as MRAPs.  That's right, the Army wants to have robot trucks prowling battlefields for hidden explosives, finding and disabling or destroying the devices before they can harm people."  John Reed at Killer Apps.

Polisci

RIP Kenneth Waltz.  "Kenneth Waltz, one of the world's most influential scholars of international relations, died at the age of 88. His books Man, the State, and War and Theory of International Politics are classics in the field, and his influence ... was profound. ... To take a closer look at Professor Waltz's career, FP has assembled this collection of short essays on his contributions to political science and beyond."  Foreign Policy.

Science

Honeybees trained to sniff out landmines.  "A team of Croatian researchers are training honeybees to sniff out unexploded mines that still pepper the Balkans.  Nikola Kezic, a professor in the Department of Agriculture at Zagreb University, has been exploring using bees to find landmines since 2007. ... Tracking down the mines can be extremely costly and dangerous. However, by training bees — which are able to detect odours from 4.5 kilometres away — to associate the smell of TNT with sugar can create an affective way of identifying the locations of mines."  Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway.

The effect of snake venom on blood.  Video.

3-D printed guns are getting better.  And that's dangerous.  "After the stir several weeks ago, the buzz surrounding Defense Distributed’s 3D-printed gun has begun to (somewhat) die down. ... But as one potential threat dissipates ... a new one has appeared on the horizon. And any fear creeping up on you with this newest incarnation of the 3D-printed gun might actually be warranted.  While Defense Distributed’s ... Liberator was good for about one (highly expensive) shot before becoming effectively useless, its successor only costs about $US25, can be printed on a consumer-grade printer, and is good for, as the video shows, at least nine rounds — with the potential for many more."  Ashley Feinberg at Gizmodo.

Miscellaneous

Only 27% of college graduates have a job related to their major.  "There are two different things going on ... First, a significant number of college grads appear to be underemployed ... Second, the authors estimated that just 27 percent of college grads had a job that was closely related to their major. It’s not clear that this is a big labor-market problem, though — it could just mean that many jobs don’t really require a specific field of study. ... There’s an important twist here, too. The chances of finding a job related to your degree or major go up a few points if you move to a big city."  Brad Plumer at Wonkblog.

How to avoid paying corporate income tax - Apple edition.  "Apple went to Ireland, and it ... managed to bring in $30 billion in overseas profits over a four-year period without paying a dime of corporate income tax to the Irish, American or any other national government. ... It falls in a strange loophole: Because it is not managed and controlled in Ireland, that nation does not tax its earnings ... And because it is not registered in the United States, it has owed no American taxes."  Neil Irwin at Wonkblog.