Wednesday: 8/7/13

Elections

2014

The Obamacare shutdown fight is also a fight for the GOP's electoral future.  "Long-serving Republicans aren't engaged in an increasingly public smackdown of their tea party colleagues because they disagree with them -- it's more that they don't want a few hotheads to blow their party's best chance in years to retake control of the ... Senate. Several tea party ... senators have laid down a gauntlet ... saying the GOP should refuse to pass a bill to fund the government ... unless all funding for the implementation of the health care reform law is cut ... Republican leaders said that ... following the path of Cruz, Lee and Rubio could produce a ... derailment -- of the GOP's electoral chances in 2014."  Michael McAuliff at the Huffington Post.

The top ten lawmakers who could lose a primary next year.  Shane Goldmacher at the National Journal.

The high profile 2014 races with challengers trying to primary incumbent Senators.  Stuart Rothenberg at the Rothenberg Political Report.

2014 - Colorado

Buck is back.  "Republican Ken Buck, who in 2010 lost narrowly to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), will seek to challenge Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) in 2014 ... Buck lost to Bennet by less than 2 percent in 2010 — a strong year for Republicans nationally. But, as with some other GOP candidates that year and in 2012, Buck committed some gaffes that appeared to cost him — including comparing homosexuality to alcoholism and making a remark about high heels while running in the GOP primary against former lieutenant governor Jane Norton."  Aaron Blake at the Washington Post.

2014 - Texas

Wendy Davis, governor?  Why she should and shouldn't run.  Sean Sullivan at the Fix.

2016

It's a mistake to think that immigration reform killed Rubio's presidential hopes.  "Even if Republican primary voters hate Rubio’s position on immigration, don’t expect that to sink his presidential campaign. Just as Romney’s health care record didn’t sink his nomination. Besides ... there’s good reason to believe Republican rank-and-file voters have a more nuanced view of immigration reform anyway. And remember that important organized groups within the GOP are split on this issue, and are not monolithically against a bill."  Jonathan Bernstein at the Plum Line.

Politics

California

If you thought the Filner saga couldn't get worse, you were wrong.  "More women have come forward with sexual harassment allegations against San Diego Mayor Bob Filner (D), and have revealed that he may have specifically targeted victims of military sexual assault. At least eight of the women who have come forward with allegations are military veterans, and most of them were victims of sexual assault while serving."  Marina Fang at Think Progress.

Eight school districts receive a special NCLB waiver.  "Eight large urban school districts in California will open the school year with new flexibility to reduce the emphasis on standardized tests and set their own standards for student success, under an unprecedented waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act that the U.S. Department of Education granted on Tuesday. The districts, which include Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento, will also have more freedom to decide how to spend about $150 million in federal funds meant to help low-income and low-performing students."  Stephanie Simon and Nirvi Shah at Politico.

CIA

Congress

The Economy

The plight of the middle class. "President Obama is working hard to refocus attention on the middle class, and rightly so. While a decent society will provide opportunity and, when necessary, direct assistance to the poor, the long-term health of our economy and our democracy depends on a prosperous, self-confident middle class ... We can argue about how squeezed the middle class was in the decades between the end of the postwar expansion and the onset of the Great Recession. But two things are clear: The coping mechanisms the middle class employed in those decades (fewer children, more hours worked, more borrowing against home equity) are played out, and it will take middle-class households years to recover from the recession-induced blow to their income and wealth." William Galston at the Wall Street Journal.

How airlines explain the economy.  "Airline seating may be the best concrete expression of what’s happened to the economy in recent decades. Airlines are sparing no expense these days to enlarge, upgrade and increase the price of their first-class and business-class seating. As the space and dollars devoted to the front of the planes increase, something else has to be diminished, and ... it’s the experience of flying coach. The joys of air travel ... have been redistributed upward and are now reserved for the well-heeled few ... The upgrading of business and the downgrading of coach present a fairly faithful mirror of what’s happening in the larger economy: the disappearance of the middle class."  Harold Meyerson at the Washington Post. 

Everything you need to know about Obama's housing plan.  Lydia DePillis at Wonkblog.

US to sue Bank of America.  "Traders at Bank of America willfully misled investors about the quality of the residential mortgages tucked into the securities the bank sold at the start of the financial crisis, according to separate lawsuits filed Tuesday by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The charges are the latest reckoning for the nation’s second-largest bank ... Now Bank of America faces civil charges for allegedly hiding the risks associated with $850 million worth of securities backed by home loans."  Danielle Douglas at the Washington Post.

Energy and the Environment

The EPA moves to adjust ethanol guidelines.  "When it comes to ethanol, the United States appears to have reached its limit ... Back in 2007, Congress passed a law that would essentially require the nation to use more and more ethanol and other biofuels each year. But for reasons of chemistry and economics, those targets are becoming increasingly difficult to fulfill. That helps explain why, on Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency took the rather unusual step of announcing that it would look into ways to adjust those targets in the years ahead."  Brad Plumer at Wonkblog.

Fiscal Fights

The GOP's latest fight pits the insanely obstructionist against the suicidal.  "The ... Republican conflict du jour is whether Congress ought to shut down the government unless President Obama agrees to end Obamacare ... Conservative organizations are mobilizing behind ... Rubio ... Cruz ... Lee, and other shut-it-down conservatives. Establishment Republicans are flaying them as suicidal. But ... the premises left intact are still highly crazy. The position of the Establishment Republicans — the non-suicidal ones ... is that a government shutdown may fail, but all other measures to attack Obamacare are fully justified."  Jonathan Chait at New York Magazine.

And their base is turning on the insanely obstructionist.  "Republicans almost certainly realized that their last chance to repeal 'Obamacare' was the 2012 presidential election, which they lost badly. But they kept fanning the flames anyway ... Therein lies the problem: conservative activists thought the party was serious, and saw neither the winks nor the nods. The result ... isn't pretty. The GOP base seems to be waking up and saying, 'What do you mean you're not willing to shut down the government over Obamacare funding? If Rubio, Cruz, and Lee have a plan, why are you betraying us by rejecting their idea?'"  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

Foreign Policy

The call that sparked the embassy closures.  "The crucial intercept that prompted the U.S. government to close embassies in 22 countries was a conference call between al Qaeda’s senior leaders and representatives of several of the group’s affiliates ... The discussion ... happened in a conference call that included the leaders or representatives of the top leadership of al Qaeda and its affiliates calling in from different locations, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence. All told, said one U.S. intelligence official, more than 20 al Qaeda operatives were on the call."  Eli Lake and Josh Rogin at the Daily Beast.

Benghazi charges filed.  "The Justice Department has filed sealed criminal charges against a number of suspects in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, according to people familiar with the matter."  Devlin Barrett at the Wall Street Journal.

Reactions to Obama's decision to cancel the summit with Putin.  Joshua Tucker at the Monkey Cage.

Fort Hood

Well, this is getting interesting.  "On the first day of his military trial on Tuesday, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan told jurors that he was the gunman responsible for a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army base ... At the start of the second day of the trial ... Major Hasan’s former lead Army defense lawyer, who sits by his side in the courtroom as his standby counsel, told the judge that Major Hasan’s goal was to receive a death sentence, and that helping him achieve that goal violated his ethical obligations."  Manny Fernandez at the New York Times.

GOP

The party of anti-governance.  "The House passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act on a largely party-line vote ... [REINS] would require that every 'economically significant' federal regulation ... be affirmatively approved by Congress ... No rule would go into effect until it has been voted through by both houses of Congress and signed by the president ... It would subject fifty to a hundred regulations a year to the partisanship ... and gridlock of Congress ... Worse, legal observers say the bill does not clearly prohibit a filibuster in the Senate, raising the possibility that a determined minority of forty senators could effectively shut down federal rule making."  David Roberts at Grist.

Guns

NRA vs. science.  "There is a consensus among scientists that lead-based bullets poisons millions of animals per year and have the potential to kill American children — yet the ... (NRA) is launching a major effort, reminiscent of the campaign against science waged by the tobacco and oil lobbies, to deny the scientific facts ... The NRA announced a public campaign against scientists ... who supported banning bullets made of the toxic element ... in reaction to California legislation that would prohibit the ammunition throughout the state. The targeted groups, in the NRA’s mind, are ... 'a conspiracy theory involving crooked scientists, phony research, and a shadowy network…conspiring to ban hunting.'"  Zack Beauchamp at Think Progress.

Health

Anti-ACA mania vs. GOP-friendly groups that really want the law to be fixed.  "There are plenty of elements of the Affordable Care Act that Democratic officials would love to tweak to make the law more effective, but it's not an option -- congressional Republicans have refused to consider any and all changes ... But ... 'For the first time, a constituency group to whom the GOP normally pays close attention -- religious institutions -- is asking for a legislative 'fix' of the Affordable Care Act to make it work as intended...' It's left Republicans with a choice: help churches or try to further undermine the health care system. Sahil Kapur reported yesterday that GOP officials appear to prefer Door #2."  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

Scandals

Goodbye Scandalmania ... kinda.  "The 'White House rocked by scandals' narrative clearly didn't work out well for President Obama's critics. The Benghazi conspiracy theories proved baseless; the IRS story quickly evaporated ... and the AP subpoenas and NSA surveillance programs turned out to be policy disputes -- on which many Republicans agreed with the administration's position. As Jon Chait recently put it, 'The entire scandal narrative was an illusion.' But a funny thing happened after Scandal Mania 2013 ended: the right decided to pretend the narrative remained intact."  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

SCOTUSwatch

NRA wants the Supreme Court to lift the ban on selling handguns to teens.  What a great idea...  "The National Rifle Association is asking the Supreme Court to strike down decades-old regulations prohibiting the sales of handguns to those under the age of 21 ... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that the current regulations are consistent with a long-held view that young adults between the ages of 18 and 20 'tend to be relatively immature and that denying them easy access to handguns would deter violent crime.' 'Categorically restricting the presumptive Second Amendment rights of 18-to-20-year-olds does not violate the central concern of the Second Amendment,' the court found."  Ben Goad at the Hill.

Transportation

Want to improve mass transit? Focus on busing.  "When it comes to moving large numbers of people efficiently through urban areas, it’s hard to beat good old-fashioned heavy rail subways and metro lines. But these projects come at a steep price, especially in the United States, and don’t make sense in many areas. Yet, politicians looking for cheaper options too often fall for the superficial idea that anything that runs on train tracks must be a good idea. The smarter strategy in many cases is to look instead at the numerically dominant form of mass transit—the humble bus—and ask what can be done to make it less humble."  Matthew Yglesias at Slate.

International

Africa

Things in Tunisia are getting heating up.  "A troubled economy, rising Islamist extremism, political polarization and the assassination of two opposition leaders and killing of eight soldiers in an ambush by militants have tarnished the Ennahda Islamist-led government and fueled opposition calls for its dissolution. The opposition has accused Ennahda, led by Rached Ghannouchi, of being overly tolerant of a rising violence carried out by radical Islamists, and of supporting efforts to instill an Islamic identity in what has long been known as one of the most secular countries in the Arab world."  Mohamed Elshinnawi at Voice of America.

Given the post-election mess, Mugabe could use some more lobbyists on his side.  "Two men were charged in a Chicago court on Tuesday for violating U.S. laws forbidding lobbying for Zimbabwe ... Prince Asiel Ben Israel and C. Gregory Turner stand accused of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in taking money from the Zimbabwean government to 'provide consulting, public relations, and lobbying services' without informing the Treasury Department ... The two allegedly attempted to sway the U.S. to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and other officials to the tune of $3.4 million in exchange for their efforts."  Hayes Brown at Think Progress.

Asia

North Korea's nuclear program continues to expand.  "North Korea appears to have doubled the size of the area used to enrich uranium at its Yongbyon reactor complex in recent months, a proliferation monitoring group reported Wednesday, raising new concerns that the country could increase production of weapons-grade fuel — even as it says it wants to relax tensions with South Korea and the United States."  Rick Gladstone and Gerry Mullany at the New York Times.

What we know, or think we know, about the new Chinese aircraft carrier.  Peter Singer and Jeffrey Lin at Defense One.

India has a new addition to its naval forces, as well.  "The first aircraft carrier to be made within India, the INS Vikrant, will be launched on August 12 at the Kochi shipyard. With its debut, India will become just the fifth country in the world to build aircraft carriers after US, Russia, Britain and France ... Extensive sea trials will begin in 2016 and the carrier is expected to be delivered to the navy in 2018."  NDTV.

I don't even...  "A Lion Air jet carrying 117 people hit a cow while landing and skidded off a runway in eastern Indonesia, an official said Wednesday. No injuries were reported, but the incident forced the cancellation of flights, stranding hundreds of passengers traveling for the Eid holiday."  Associated Press.

Middle East

Saudi Arabia offers Russia a deal to back off on support for Assad.  "Saudi Arabia has offered Russia economic incentives including a major arms deal and a pledge not to challenge Russian gas sales if Moscow scales back support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Middle East sources and Western diplomats said on Wednesday. The proposed deal between two of the leading power brokers in Syria's devastating civil war was set out by Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week, they said."  Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Amena Bakr at Reuters.

North America

Landmark Mexican energy reform.  "President Enrique Peña Nieto is planning to unveil landmark energy-reform legislation as early as Wednesday, a package of measures aimed at inviting private investment into Mexico’s giant state oil monopoly that is already provoking emotional debate. The chief element of the legislation would allow foreign energy companies to partner with Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, in oil and gas exploration and production, ending virtually absolute state control of the process after 75 years."  Tracy Wilkinson at the LA Times.

Science

The wasp that turns spiders into mindless drones.  "The tropical wasp species Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga is a parasite, and it takes advantage of an unlikely host. The web of the orb weaver spider Plesiometa argyra is normally a place where bugs meet their untimely death and become spider snacks. Using an arsenal of toxins and mind-altering chemicals, though, H. argyraphaga is able to turn the spider into a slave and a meal, and its web into a safe haven."  Matt Soniak at Mental Floss.

Miscellaneous

The chart guide to pasta.  Slate.

Tuesday: 8/6/13

Elections

2014

Increased African-American turnout could be the 2014 game changer.  "Blacks waited — and waited— for their opportunity to vote in the last election. The gutting of the Voting Rights Act ... should only bolster their resolve ... Anger over the acquittal of George Zimmerman ... The motivation to send the president’s political enemies packing ... A House of Representatives returned to Democratic control and the Democratic majority hanging on in the Senate would allow Obama to get his agenda through ... All that’s required is for the 2014 electorate to be less white than it has ever been ... African Americans must vote as they have in the last two ... elections to render 'past patterns' obsolete."  Jonathan Capehart at the Washington Post.

Graham and McConnell will win their primaries.  "The numbers suggest ... that both McConnell and Graham are likely going to beat their primary opponents ... Right now, there are not really any signs that McConnell or Graham are in trouble with the Republican base ... Both Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham should be considered moderate-to-strong favorites to win their primaries. Few senators lose primaries. McConnell and Graham's early polling numbers among the primary electorate are relatively strong, and their ideological positioning is much more in-line with the base than incumbents who have lost."  Harry Enten at the Guardian.

2014 - Arkansas

Arkansas's Senate race will be close.  "The problem for Pryor is threefold ... A large part of the southern realignment has been generational, and it has hit the rural South especially hard ... As the Democrats have moved toward a more urban, upscale coalition, and ... paid an increasing price with downscale, rural voters ... Most important, running against Cotton in an off-year election is a ... demographic nightmare for Pryor ... He won’t be able to count on a surge in African-American turnout in the east ... None of this is to say that Pryor is an easy target ... Republicans should be happy that Cotton ran ... This is a tough race, and they shouldn’t pop the champagne bottles just yet."  Sean Trende at Real Clear Politics.

2014 - Georgia

Georgia might be just the Senate race that the Democrats are looking for.  "No matter who emerges from the Republican scrum, it will be someone with baggage and damage and quite possibly a depleted treasury. That’s why national Democrats (and more quietly, national Republicans) talk of Georgia as a red-state wild-card in 2014. And with the Senate landscape tilting steadily away from Democrats in recent months ... it could become a very big deal next year. That Nunn begins on even ground before her Republican rivals begin tearing each other apart and trying to outflank each other on the right is a good if very early sign for Democrats."  Ed Kilgore at the Washington Monthly.

2014 - Texas 

Wendy Davis is now the vanguard of Democratic hopes for Texas.  "Texas Sen. Wendy Davis’s (D) decision on whether to jump into the state’s gubernatorial race has implications for more than just control of the governor’s mansion. She rose to national prominence this month following an 11-hour filibuster of a restrictive abortion bill that, though it failed, sparked speculation that she could be the party’s best shot at the gubernatorial race ... Her decision on whether to run could be both a catalyst for, and a progress check on, a growing Democratic movement to turn the longtime red state purple."  Alexandra Jaffe at the Hill.

But, it's much safer to be a pessimist on her chances.  "Texas is an extremely red state. There aren’t many swing voters, since a majority of the state is either non-white or white evangelical Christian. Until the state’s demographics change, Democrats will need a candidate who can make big inroads into the state’s massive white, conservative base. That's especially true in a midterm election. And Wendy Davis isn’t that candidate."  Nate Cohn at the New Republic.

2016

Chris Christie is in a good spot for the 2016 primaries.  "Christie checks the crucial boxes of the religious and business wings of the Republican Party. He’s pro-life and he’s against gay marriage. He has solid credentials opposing taxes and attacking unions ... His great acts of moderation are on immigration, where many of the contenders are on the sage page, or on guns, which isn’t anything close to a litmus test—especially in the states Christie is counting on ... It’s surprisingly easy to envision Christie winning the nomination. His conservative credentials are pretty good, so now all he needs to do is get Republicans to remember."  Nate Cohn at the New Republic.

Miscellaneous

Politics

Congress

Hey Congress, I'm gonna let you finish, but - come on, do your jobs for a change.  "The 112th Congress was one of the least productive Congresses ever. The current, 113th Congress is ... not doing much better. Twenty-two bills have been passed and sent to the White House since this Congress convened in January ... The bills that have made it into law have largely been small: There's been no big new jobs program, no actual repeal of Obamacare, no immigration reform through both chambers. But there's at least one thing that Congress has been able to come together and take action on: the regulation of commemorative coins."  Matt Berman at the National Journal.

DEA

The DEA is under investigation for 'parallel construction'.  "The Justice Department is reviewing a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unit that passes tips culled from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a large telephone database to field agents ... Agents who use such tips are trained to 'recreate' the investigative trail to effectively conceal the DEA unit's involvement from defense lawyers, prosecutors and even judges, a policy many lawyers said could violate a defendant's right to a fair trial. Federal drug agents call the process of changing the true genesis of an arrest 'parallel construction,' according to a training document."  John Shiffman and David Ingram at Reuters.

Democrats

Obama and the Dems aren't uniquely alienating white voters.  "Douthat has tried ... accusing Democrats of willfully repelling non-college educated white voters ... via extremism on guns, abortion and environmental issues ... Has Obama, whose main thrust on guns has been a background check bill ... really been more 'liberal' on gun issues than Clinton, who championed ... an assault weapon ban? ... I seem to recall gnashing my teeth ... during the 2012 ... election at Obama’s ... pandering to coal-state sensibilities ... And on abortion, Douthat’s focus on Clinton’s famous 'safe, legal and rare' formulation allows him to forget that Clinton’s actual policies on abortion were more or less identical to Obama’s."  Ed Kilgore at the Washington Monthly.  

The Economy

The ACA: Still not a job killer.  "Friday’s employment report showed that the U.S. job market continues to add jobs at a moderate pace. Employers are creating enough jobs to slowly reduce the unemployment rate, which fell to 7.4 percent — the lowest it has been since December 2008. But many of the jobs added in recent months have been part-time, and this has led critics of Obamacare to argue that the implementation of health-care reform is the culprit ... The critics are mistaken: Recent data provide scant evidence that health reform is causing a significant shift toward part-time work."  Jared Bernstein and Paul Van de Water at Politico.

FBI

Fiscal Fights

Obamacare shutdown or bust for GOP activists.  "His office pointed to at least a dozen bills that Pittenger has co-sponsored that involve the repeal of Obamacare ... Of course, all the Obamacare repeal bills ... are no longer good enough. Nor is the claim that defunding Obamacare is unrealistic ... A heckler responds to Pittenger’s suggestion that Harry Reid won’t let the Senate defund Obamacare by saying: 'It doesn’t matter...' Simply arguing against Obamacare and even advocating for its repeal no longer count as real opposition to the law. If you are not willing to shut down the government — doing untold damage in the process ... your opposition to Obamacare is now suspect."  Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.

We're getting really good at cutting the wrong programs.  "Congressional appropriators are once again trying to reduce America’s ... debt by slashing President Obama’s $52 billion foreign operations budget request. The budget includes everything from embassy security ... vaccination programs ... humanitarian aid ... and United Nations ... peacekeepers ... Though the foreign operations budget constitutes only one percent of the federal budget, House Republicans devote a disproportionate amount to time cutting it dollar by dollar each year. This does not makes a dent in reducing the federal deficit, and negatively impacts U.S. national security interests around the world."  Micah Zenko and Amelia Wolf at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Sequestration and the justice system.  "The sequester is often described as an 'across the board' spending cut–a term that implies shared sacrifice. For the criminal justice system, however, the cuts are one-sided. According to estimates from around the country, the sequester is hitting public defenders and courts far harder than prosecutors. Whether by design or default, the sequester is systematically magnifying inequities in the courts–and potentially undermining constitutional rights. The details vary by region, but in many federal districts, public defenders are facing cuts that are double to quadruple the size of their opponents across the court room. "  Ari Melber at MSNBC.

Politifact, I truly despise you. "This Cantor example should be an easy one. Cantor said the deficit is growing; the deficit is shrinking; so even PolitiFact can't ignore the straightforward arithmetic ... But the House Majority Leader can make a claim that's the polar opposite of reality and it's 'half true' ... In theory, I'm not reflexively opposed to the idea of websites fact-checking important claims made by political figures, but if you're going to have the word 'fact' in your name, you have a responsibility to get the details right. And too often, PolitiFact just isn't good at its job ... What incentive do political leaders have to tell the truth when you tell the public their patently false claims are 'half true'?"  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

Foreign Policy

This is the eighth time Al Qaeda in Yemen has threatened US embassies.  "Based on the U.S. response to the threat and AQAP's track record, it wouldn't be surprising if U.S. embassies were discussed. According to the private U.S. counterterrorism intelligence company IntelCenter, AQAP has mentioned the United States in its messages 16 times this year alone -- making America far and away AQAP's favorite target ... In a separate analysis, IntelCenter found that AQAP has publicly discussed attacking embassies seven times since December 2009 ... It's clear these diplomatic posts are in AQAP's crosshairs."  J. Dana Stuster at Foreign Policy.

GOP

Still can't govern.  "The extreme wing of the Republican Party wants to use its control of the House to force Obama to bend to its will by threat of inflicting economic and governing chaos ... It seems like there ought to be some possible deal which 1) improves on the status quo, and 2) is acceptable to Obama. But that debate is completely invisible on the right. Conservatives have enthusiastically debated the distant future of their party ... Most of that debate involves imaginary future political coalitions and abstract philosophical decisions. But in the meantime ... The only debate conservatives are actually having about that is whether to blow everything up unless Obama surrenders to them."  Jonathan Chait at New York Magazine.

Where are the women?  "When the House Judiciary Committee passed a late-term abortion ban in June, Republican leaders scrambled to find a female, media-savvy lawmaker to bring the legislation to the floor. Their biggest problem: Not a single Republican woman was represented among the committee's 23 GOP members ... The episode underscored a growing problem that is worrying Republicans: Women are badly underrepresented within their party in the Congress. Only 8 percent of House Republicans are women, and the Senate has only four female Republicans. Of the long list of potential 2016 GOP presidential contenders, not a single woman is on it."  Sarah Mimms at the National Journal.   

Health

Some good health news for a change.  "This map, out today from the Center for Disease Control, is startling, and good, news. It shows obesity among low-income preschoolers between ages 2 and 4 dropping in 19 states – and increasing in just three. This and other recent reports suggest that we might just be turning a corner on childhood obesity, an epidemic that has grown steadily in recent years."  Sarah Kliff at Wonkblog.

The ACA is on its way back to the Supreme Court.  "The next clash may be over the requirement that employer-provided insurance plans include contraceptive coverage; a case involving that issue could reach the high court this year. Hobby Lobby, a family-run craft store chain, and at least 34 other companies have sued for an exemption. They say the birth-control mandate violates their religious freedom, forcing them to provide something they consider immoral ... The core legal question is whether companies can assert the same rights as people—the very issue that drove an ideological wedge through the court in the 2010 Citizens United case."  Greg Stohr at Bloomberg.

The demographics of the Obamacare divide.  Bill Gardner at the Incidental Economist.

Even churches can't get the GOP to constructively engage the ACA.  "An effort by Democrats to fix a glitch under Obamacare that harms small churches is ... expected to be blocked by Republicans, in ... the latest example of GOP efforts to undermine President Obama’s signature legislative achievement by refusing to fix technical problems ... The problem is that under the law clergy and church employees at smaller churches cannot apply their Obamacare subsidies toward the premiums for church insurance plans because those plans do not qualify."  Sahil Kapur at Talking Points Memo.

The seven craziest Obamacare conspiracy theories.  Erika Eichelberger at Mother Jones.

Immigration

Immigration might go up in flames, but it isn't DOA in the House.  "Immigration reform advocates and Dems in talks with House Republicans believe ... we need to take seriously the fact that House Republicans have been genuinely committed for a long time to the position that any form of citizenship ... represents rewarding lawbreaking, period, full stop ... While it will be very difficult for them to get from there to supporting reform, the possibility that they are trying to get there should not be dismissed ... The school of thought that immigration reform is inevitably doomed ... may be just flat out wrong. It may die in the end, but that doesn’t mean that was preordained."  Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.

Ohio

This is so stupid, it's painful. "A lily-white Ohio suburb is doing everything it can, including risking millions in federal highway funding, to keep mostly minority bus-riders from a nearby city from entering their community. The showdown began ... when the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority proposed adding three new bus stops in Beavercreek, a largely white suburb ... The Beavercreek City Council began enacting as many hurdles as they could ... Among the dozen roadblocks included mandating ...  features that would be hugely expensive and are not common at other stops. Unsurprisingly, these demands couldn’t be met and the council rejected the expansion."  Scott Keyes at Think Progress.

Trayvon Martin

That Zimmerman civil rights probe still probably won't result in anything.  "Since the end of the George Zimmerman trial, many of those dismayed by the not guilty verdict have pushed for the Department of Justice to press federal civil-rights charges against Trayvon Martin’s killer ... Indeed, soon after the verdict was read in mid-July, Attorney General Eric Holder launched an inquiry into whether civil-rights charges should be filed against Zimmerman. But unless the investigation uncovers evidence that was not publicly available at the time of the trial, it is almost certain that the federal government will decline to prosecute Zimmerman."  Scott Lemieux at the American Prospect.

Voting Rights

We need the VRA now more than ever.  "The Supreme Court’s decision ... invalidating Section 4 of the VRA threatens to roll back much of the progress made over the past forty-eight years. Since the ruling, six Southern states previously covered under Section 4 have passed or implemented new voting restrictions ... The latest assault ... comes on the heels of a presidential election in which voter suppression attempts played a starring role, with 180 bills introduced in forty-one states to restrict access to the ballot in 2011–12 ... The broad scope of contemporary voting discrimination is why John Lewis testified before Congress last month that 'the Voting Rights Act is needed now like never before.'"  Ari Berman at the Nation.

War on Crime

The abuse of forfeiture law.  "A system that proved successful at wringing profits from drug cartels and white-collar fraudsters has also given rise to corruption and violations of civil liberties. Over the past year, I spoke with more than a hundred police officers, defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges, and forfeiture plaintiffs from across the country. Many expressed concern that state laws designed to go after high-flying crime lords are routinely targeting the workaday homes, cars, cash savings, and other belongings of innocent people who are never charged with a crime."  Sarah Stillman at the New Yorker.

War on Terror

The Al Qaeda 'clothing bomb' is about as much of a threat as a dime.  "The panic over an alleged al Qaeda plot went into overdrive Monday night, when ABC News reported that terrorists in Yemen were experimenting with a new and virtually undetectable bomb-making technique: dipping their clothes into liquid explosive that then dries and can be ignited. The cries of doom began almost immediately after the story went online. But people shouldn't have been so quick to scream. A clothing bomb would almost certainly never work, explosive experts tell Foreign Policy."  Shane Harris and Noah Shachtman at Foreign Policy.

International

Africa

No violence yet in Zimbabwe, but the post-election environment is tense.  "Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and his party ZANU-PF have consistently used repression to remain in power. The aftermath of the July 31 elections is no exception. According to SW Radio Africa, 'ZANU-PF youth militia are threatening to punish anyone who witnessed electoral fraud and speaks about it.' ... Thus far, there has been no violence. Principal opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says that his MDC-T party will contest the election results in the courts, boycott any contact with the government, and lobby the African Union ... and the Southern African Development Community ... to overturn the elections."  John Campbell at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Botswana breaks with most of Africa, condemns the Zimbabwe election.  "Botswana emerged Tuesday as a rare African voice of criticism of Zimbabwe’s disputed election, saying it was unfair and warning the region not to flout its own guidelines by accepting the result ... Botswana said the region 'should not create the undesirable precedent of permitting exceptions to its own rules' ... Botswana said its 80 poll observers concluded that conditions for free and fair elections were not met because of widespread irregularities."  Associated Press.

Uganda cracks down on political expression.  "Uganda's parliament ... passed a contentious bill ... following months of confrontation between the authorities and activists ... The 'Public Order Management Bill' was passed ... after opposition lawmakers staged a fierce attempt to filibuster its passage amid concerns it gives Ugandan police dictatorial powers to decide who can stage a public event of a political nature ... The law gives the police powers to control public meetings, including the use of force to break up gatherings held without prior authorization. Even meetings of a political nature held between three people must be authorized by the police."  Rodney Muhumuza at the Associated Press.

The Tunisia situation is still a little shaky, but things could be much worse.  "Tunisia's ruling Islamist party is willing to go to referendum over whether to preserve transitional governance institutions, the party chief said on Monday, but he stood firm against secular opposition efforts to oust the government. Rachid Ghannouchi said his Ennahda party was open to dialogue to modify Tunisia's political transition. But he refused to consider removing the prime minister or dissolve a temporary Constituent Assembly, now weeks away from finishing a draft constitution and electoral law."  Tarek Amara and Erika Solomon at Reuters.

Caribbean

New study blames UN peacekeepers for the outbreak of cholera in Haiti.  "The study argues that the scientific evidence of the UN's responsibility is now beyond doubt: 'Scientific study of the origins of the cholera epidemic in Haiti overwhelmingly demonstrates that U.N. peacekeeping troops from Nepal introduced the disease into the country. No cases of active transmission of cholera had been reported in Haiti for at least a century prior to October 2010 ... The peacekeeping troops ... at the time of the outbreak were deployed from Nepal, where cholera is endemic and an outbreak occurred just prior to their departure, increasing their likelihood of exposure and transmission.'"  David Bosco at the Multilateralist.  

Middle East

Syrian rebels strike deep into Assad's territory in addition to other recent victories.  "Syrian rebels have captured several villages during a surprise offensive in Latakia province, the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad's minority Alawite sect, activists say. Deadly clashes have been reported between opposition fighters and troops for a second day in the coastal region. Latakia is the ancestral home of the Assad family. The offensive comes after loyalist forces made recent gains in the cities of Damascus, Homs and Aleppo. Also on Tuesday, rebels claimed they had captured a key military airport near the border with Turkey."  BBC.

Afghanistan and the Taliban restart the peace process.  "The Taliban have held secret talks with representatives of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to try to jumpstart a peace process that stumbled and stalled at the starting gate, according to Afghan officials and a senior Taliban representative. The discussions with members of the Afghan High Peace Council have so far been unofficial and preliminary, seen as an attempt to agree on conditions for formal talks. But they do suggest an interest on both sides in proceeding, or at least toying, with a peace process that has been mired in controversy since the official opening of a Taliban political office in June in the Gulf nation of Qatar."  Associated Press.

Egypt's new government might begin reconciliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.  "Egypt's army and government will offer to free some Muslim Brotherhood members from jail, unfreeze the group's assets and give it three ministerial posts in a bid to end the country's political crisis, a senior military source said on Monday."  Reuters.

Egypt's economy and the foreign aid dilemma.  "Egypt may have dodged a bullet last month when a handful of Gulf states pledged $12 billion in emergency aid to prop up the country’s flagging economy, which has been battling inflation while running dangerously low on foreign currency reserves. But the bailout underscored the extent to which perverse political incentives have become Egypt’s biggest economic problem. As long as the country can count on foreign revenue streams, its leaders will continue to put off much-needed economic reforms — a dangerous dynamic that sets Egypt on the path to financial ruin."  Adeel Malik and Ty McCormick at the New York Times.

Science

Dolphins are awesome.  Really, really awesome.  "Allie and Bailey knew each other when they both lived in Florida. More than 20 years later, Allie lives near Chicago and Bailey lives in Bermuda, but Allie’s name still rings a bell for Bailey. That would not be breaking news, except that Allie and Bailey are not people: they are dolphins. Bailey’s recollection of Allie’s name — or more precisely, of her 'signature whistle', which functions as a name among dolphins — is the most durable social memory ever recorded for a non-human."  Karen Ravn + Video at Nature.

Miscellaneous

Happy Birthday, Curiosity!  "NASA’s Curiosity Rover just celebrated the galaxy’s loneliest birthday, 'singing' to itself in a Martian crater, 208 million miles from home ... Monday marked the one-year anniversary of the rover’s landing on the Red Planet ... In its first year on Mars, Curiosity has taken more than 70,000 images, fired more than 75,000 laser shots to check soil and rock composition, and driven ... an entire mile. While that may not seem very far, NASA says it’s enough to determine that Mars could have once supported life and to lay the groundwork for a future manned mission to Mars."  Caitlin Dewey at the Switch.

The five most controversial Wikipedia pages in ten languages.  "When disputes arise on Wikipedia ... often an 'edit war' ensues: a change is repeatedly done by one person and undone by another—known as a 'revert.' These reverts represent the most controversial articles ... The results in some ways confirm cultural stereotypes. Americans bicker over politics and professional wrestling; among the top French squabbles is Freud."  The Economist.

Weekend + Monday: 8/3/13 - 8/5/13

Foreign Policy

Embassies

US embassy closure is extended.  "The US says it will keep a number of embassies in North Africa and the Middle East closed until Saturday, due to a possible militant threat. Twenty-one US embassies and consulates closed on Sunday ... While details of the threats are unspecified ... members of Congress who have been briefed about the intelligence seem to agree it amounts to one of the most serious in recent years - all pointing to the possibility of a major attack, possibly to coincide with the end this week of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan."  BBC.

What you need to know about the terror threat behind the closure.  Hayes Brown at Think Progress.

Securing American embassies might be a tried and true tactic, but that doesn't make it a successful one.  "Here’s the problem – that stuff never works. It’s easy to see the temptation to close the embassies and boost their security ... But researchers who’ve looked into the question have found that securing embassies in response to terrorist threats is, at best, ineffective, and at worst has the perverse effect of increasing casualties."  Dylan Matthews at Wonkblog.

Special forces on standby.  "American special forces units overseas have been on alert for the past several days for a mission to attack potential al Qaeda targets if those behind the most recent terror threats against U.S. interests can be identified."  Barbara Starr at CNN.

Analyzing the map of closed embassies.  Max Fisher at the Washington Post.

So, what's the point of embassies?  "Over the weekend the US closed many of its embassies in the Middle East and North Africa as a result of ... a serious al Qaeda threat. Given the number of times US embassies have come under attack ... Such precautions don't really seem that dramatic any more. The problem is, they should. Closing all of your embassies in the Middle East raises the question of whether it is even worthwhile having embassies anymore ... This is both a symbolic and a practical matter ... If, as a diplomat, you cannot actually spend time travelling in your host country and if you can't develop strong relationships with the locals, you might as well pack up and go home."  Anthony Bubalo at the Lowy Institute for International Policy.

Landmines

Sequestration cripples landmine removal operations.  "The inability of Congress to bridge the partisan divide on fiscal policy is literally a matter of life and death for some civilians in war-ravaged nations, where US-funded operations to remove unexploded bombs and land mines are being canceled or curtailed for lack of money. Leftover explosives continue to maim and kill people at a high rate ... with 4,300 casualties worldwide in 2011. But congressional inaction on budgets and the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester have blocked State Department funds for humanitarian groups that remove leftover ordnance."  Bryan Bender at the Boston Globe.

The UN

US Ambassador Samantha Power. "Samantha Power is officially the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath of office to the 42-year-old Power ... after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the outspoken human rights advocate by a vote of 87-10."  Associated Press.

Elections

The Overview

Conventional wisdom, debunked.  "There’s a new, two-part conventional wisdom going around: Democrats have a White House lock, while Republicans are sure to keep their majority in the House of Representatives until at least the next census and redistricting. Ignore it. It’s certainly possible that the status quo will prevail in both the House and the Oval Office … and in 2014, in particular, it’s highly unlikely that Nancy Pelosi will win the speakership back. But the idea that Democrats are locked out of the House until 2022 at the earliest is silly. And the idea that demographics and a poor image prevent Republicans from winning the presidency under current conditions is even sillier."  Jonathan Bernstein at Salon.

2013 - New York

De Blasio rises in NYC as Weiner falls.  "Now that Anthony D. Weiner’s campaign has imploded, Bill de Blasio, the public advocate, is drawing new energy ... to a candidacy that presents the most sweeping rejection of what New York City has become in the past 12 years — a city, he says, that is defined by its yawning inequities ... It is the campaign season’s riskiest calculation ... taxing the rich, elevating the poor and rethinking a Manhattan-centric approach to city services ... Now, Mr. Weiner’s scandal has become Mr. de Blasio’s salvation. During an interview, he acknowledged that disillusioned supporters of the former congressman were giving momentum to his candidacy."  Michael Barbaro at the New York Times.

2014 - Kentucky 

Mitch McConnell is still the clear favorite for the 2014 Kentucky Senate race.  "Democrats are starting to believe they have a good chance in Kentucky. They shouldn’t get their hopes up ... Mitch McConnell is a clear favorite because he’s a Republican incumbent running in a red state, assuming he wins the primary ... Incumbents don’t often lose on friendly terrain. No blue state Democratic incumbent lost in 2010. The only red state Republican incumbent who lost in 2008 was Ted Stevens, who was battling corruption charges and still only lost by a narrow margin ... History and partisanship suggest that McConnell would still be a relatively clear favorite in a close contest. "  Nate Cohn at the New Republic.

But he has two strong opponents that will give him a run for his money.  "Mitch McConnell is ... facing a serious challenge back in his home state ... a left-right vise, with Grimes on one side and Bevin on the other ... The challenge is so formidable because both the Democrats and the Tea Party cohort in Kentucky are hitting McConnell on the same weak spot: scorning him as a little-loved Washington creature ... who is out only for himself. What struck me over the weekend was how relentlessly, almost giddily, this line of attack was being delivered from both sides, with a bravado that suggested little fear of McConnell’s vaunted political artillery, and quite a lot of confidence in his vulnerability."  Alec Macgillis at the New Republic.

2014 - South Carolina

Sen. Lindsey Graham has a problem.  "The word is out among ... South Carolina conservatives: Lindsey Graham really is susceptible to defeat in 2014 ... At first glance, when gaming out Graham’s chances ... the logic seems simple: the more competitors, the merrier ... But this line of reasoning has a potential flaw: South Carolina electoral law stipulates that a candidate must win at least 50 percent of the primary vote to avoid a runoff, and Graham’s chances of reaching that threshold could become even more difficult with additional names on the ballot. And in a one-on-one runoff , all bets are off for Graham, who would likely have to fight tooth and nail for his political survival."  Scott Conroy at Real Clear Politics.

2016

5 reasons Jeb Bush would be a strong contender for the presidency.  Harry Enten at the Guardian.

Yes, Chris Christie is a conservative.  "There should be no confusion here ... Christie has governed ... as a ... pragmatic, conservative. And there is no indication that a President Christie wouldn't govern in the same ... way. Consider this: Planned Parenthood clinics have solely closed because of Christie ... New Jersey is one of two states in the ... northeast without gay marriage ... The minimum wage remains $7.25 an hour ... He kept taxes down for the wealthy. And ... he effectively raised taxes on the working poor. He has demonized public employee unions ... He pulled out of a major project that would have boosted public transportation, and a multi-state treaty that sought to limit carbon emissions."  Matt Katz at the Guardian.

Gov. O'Malley outlines the issues of his potential 2016 candidacy.  "Maryland Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley spoke more candidly than ever Saturday about the likelihood he will run for president in 2016 as he lamented 'a crisis of confidence' facing the country... The term-limited governor ... has delivered a series of high-profile talks recently to flesh out the big issues he would build a run for the Democratic nomination around: a commencement at St. Mary’s College in Maryland, an address on climate change, a Center for American Progress speech about growing the middle class and a speech in Ireland."  James Hohmann at Politico.

Politics

California

Congress

Best prank ever.  Dylan Matthews at Wonkblog.

DEA

The NSA has scary-sounding technical capabilities.  But this DEA practice is a larger threat to liberty/constitutional rights.  "A secretive U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unit is funneling information ... to authorities across the nation to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans ...  Federal agents are trained to 'recreate' the investigative trail to effectively cover up where the information originated, a practice that ... violates a defendant's Constitutional right to a fair trial. If defendants don't know how an investigation began, they cannot know to ask to review potential sources of exculpatory evidence ... that could reveal entrapment, mistakes or biased witnesses."  John Shiffman and Kristina Cooke at Reuters.

The Economy

Ok, but far from great.  "Moderate employment gains continued in July, and the unemployment rate edged down. The BLS employer survey showed payrolls grew 162,000 in July, with all the gains occurring in the private sector. Government employment continues to be a source of job market weakness ... For job seekers, especially the long-term unemployed, the employment outlook continues to be poor. It is worth emphasizing, however, that the job picture is gradually improving, though at a heartbreakingly slow pace."  Gary Burtless at Brookings.

The sequester isn't helping.  "The number of federal workers forced to work shorter hours soared this summer — to 199,000 in July, from 55,000 a year earlier — in a sign of the problems that federal budget policy is causing for the economy ... The pace of job growth slowed somewhat from the first half of the year and remains modest enough that the economy is years away from a full recovery. Contributing to the hangover from the worst financial crisis in decades is a wave of cuts in domestic and military spending, known collectively as the sequester, which is causing government furloughs as well as job losses and curtailed hours among federal contractors."  Jackie Calmes and Catherine Rampell at the New York Times.

Food stamp cuts will fall hardest on the suburban poor.  "Even if these big cuts don’t become law ... every household currently receiving food stamps ... is scheduled to see a drop in benefit levels as of November 1, 2013, as provisions from the 2009 Recovery Act that boosted assistance expire ... The political geography of this problem, like poverty, has shifted decidedly toward suburbs over the last several years. In the wake of the Great Recession, food stamp receipt increased steeply ... with the fastest pace of growth taking place in suburbia. Between 2007 and 2011, the number of suburban households receiving food stamps more than doubled."  Elizabeth Kneebone at Brookings.

Fiscal Fights

And people wonder why the fiscal fights are back.  "Sequestration cuts have been condemned by House Republicans ... Cantor's comments ... suggest he's willing to replace the policy that's deliberately harming the United States, but only if President Obama cuts Social Security and Medicare. In other words, we're once again looking at extortion politics at its most ridiculous -- either the White House cuts social-insurance programs to Republicans' satisfaction, or Republicans will continue to embrace a policy that hurts Americans on purpose. And Cantor sees this as responsible because, in his mind, the deficit is 'growing,' despite reality that tells us the exact opposite is true."  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

The deficit is falling.  Once more - the deficit is going down.  Down.  Down.  "Mr. Cantor appeared to be defending his party’s shenanigans by arguing that the 'ultimate problem' is the 'growing deficit.' The thing is, the deficit is not growing. It is shrinking ... The federal budget deficit will fall to $759 billion this fiscal year. That’s equivalent to 4.7 percent of the gross domestic product, down from 10 percent four years ago."  Juliet Lapidos at Taking Note.

GOP governors come out against the Obamacare shutdown plan.  "Worried about the potential impact on the fragile economies in their states, Republican governors this weekend warned their counterparts in Congress not to shut down the federal government as part of an effort to block financing for President Obama’s health care law. A range of Republican governors, including some who have refused to implement elements of the health initiative in their states, said in interviews that a standoff in Washington before the new fiscal year this fall could backfire on the party if it is seen as being responsible for bringing the government to a halt."  Jonathan Martin at the New York Times.

But it might be the new reality.  "Now, one has to hope that this is mostly bluster and posturing. Indeed, it’s possible Republican leaders will quietly edge towards avoiding a government shutdown to defund Obamacare even as they continue to rail about the need to repeal the law, to avoid looking like squishes and Obama enablers ... But the tentativeness with which leaders continue to hint that a shutdown may not be the best idea — combined with the continued refusal to level with the base about the very things that are pushing us towards the abyss — doesn’t bode well."  Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.

It only works if the GOP is unified.  "GOP policymakers have generally been on the same page in recent years, especially when it comes to health care and budgeting, but this unanimity is unraveling -- and if the party isn't unified behind their own government-shutdown strategy, it's simply not going to happen. For Republicans, it's been difficult enough to sustain party unity on routine, everyday issues -- to pull off this kind of hostage/extortion strategy when the GOP is already splintering is impossible."  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

GOP

The post governance party.  "The sad truth is that the modern G.O.P. is lost in fantasy, unable to participate in actual governing ... I’m talking about their apparent inability to accept very basic reality constraints, like the fact that you can’t cut overall spending without cutting spending on particular programs, or the fact that voting to repeal legislation doesn’t change the law when the other party controls the Senate and the White House ... What makes this frightening is that Republicans do, in fact, have a majority in the House, so America can’t be governed at all unless a sufficient number of those House Republicans are willing to face reality."  Paul Krugman at the New York Times.

'Libertarian populism' won't help the GOP.  "Libertarian populism isn't doomed just because it's silly, but because it's fighting against so much history. The GOP's image as the party of the wealthy ... was built up over decades. Decades of advocating for tax cuts for the wealthy, decades of attacks on welfare moochers, decades of opposing any labor protections, decades of advocacy for freeing corporations from the burden of regulation. If there's anything even the least attentive voter knows about the Republican party, it's that that's where the rich folk are. Changing that is an almost impossible task, particularly if that's where the rich folk are staying."  Paul Waldman at the American Prospect.

The GOP just can't make up its mind on Obama.  "The point of the Republicans’ critique of Obama isn’t to be logical; it’s to be critical — relentlessly, if not rationally ... The indecision over whether Obama is a socialist or a plutocrat is but one of the contradictory critiques his opponents have yet to resolve. They also haven’t determined whether he’s a tyrant or a weakling, arrogant or apologetic. It all suggests the opposition is based less on principle than on reflex."  Dana Milbank at the Washington Post.

The RNC vs CNN.  "The Republican National Committee is outraged that news networks would air a documentary about ... (Hillary Clinton), and ... chairman Reince Priebus interprets liberals’ public indifference to this programming decision as de facto evidence that the documentary will be a Democratic infomercial ... The kicker is where ... Priebus tries to strong-arm the networks into dumping the documentary. 'If you have not agreed to pull this programming prior to the start of the RNC’s Summer Meeting on August 14, I will seek a binding vote of the RNC stating that the committee will neither partner with you in 2016 primary debates nor sanction primary debates which you sponsor,'"  Brian Beutler at Salon.

Guns

Guns, background checks, and the Internet.  "Forget the so-called 'gun show loophole.' These days, many gun-control advocates are far more focused on the large number of firearms sales that take place over the Internet ... A new study by Third Way, a centrist Democratic group, looked at gun ads posted on Armslist.com in ten states over several random days this summer. The authors found that more than 15,000 guns were on sale at any given time. What’s more, they counted 1,928 ads 'from prospective buyers asking to buy specifically from private sellers (thereby ensuring that no background checks is required).'"  Brad Plumer at Wonkblog.

Another super common sense reform that probably won't pass because Congress is dumb.  "A loophole in federal law permits domestic abusers to purchase a firearm even after they are subject to a temporary restraining order due to their abuse. Next month, however, Sens. Dick Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) plan to introduce legislation to close this loophole and ensure that abusers cannot obtain firearms during the especially volatile period immediately after their victim seeks legal action."  Ian Millhiser at Think Progress.

Health

How do these people sleep at night? Seriously.  "Here’s what bugs me: this gimmick—and other efforts like it—aren’t owning up to the full ramifications of foregoing coverage ... There’s also the limited open enrollment issue ... Despite the rhetoric, people actually can’t just buy insurance whenever they fall ill ... People pushing young adults to skip the exchanges ... They’re saying, 'Don’t enroll now; pay the penalty instead. And if you fall ill, or become pregnant, or get stabbed while doing a good deed and you can’t buy a plan, well, them’s the breaks. That’s the gamble we asked of you.' People of all ages—are free to take that gamble. But they ought to know they’re taking it."  Adrianna McIntyre at the Incidental Economist.

Missouri, you suck.  Honestly.  "The marketplace, or exchange, being established by the federal government ... has no visible presence here ... It is being run like a covert operation, with no marketing or detailed information about its products or their prices ... Missouri stands out among the states that have put up significant obstacles. It has refused to create an insurance exchange, leaving the job to the federal government. It has forbidden state and local government officials to cooperate with the federal exchange. It has required insurance counselors to get state licenses before they can help consumers navigate the new insurance market. And, like many states, it has refused to expand Medicaid."  Robert Pear at the New York Times.

Insane pricing.  "The basic design of artificial joints has not changed for decades. But increased volume — about one million knee and hip replacements are performed in the United States annually — and competition have not lowered prices, as would typically happen with products like clothes or cars ... The American health care market is plagued by such 'sticky pricing,' in which prices of products remain high or even increase over time instead of dropping. The list price of a total hip implant increased nearly 300 percent from 1998 to 2011 ... That is a result, economists say, of how American medicine generally sets charges: without government regulation or genuine marketplace competition."  Elisabeth Rosenthal at the New York Times.

Keep in mind - this argument is being advanced by a Congressman.  "Obamacare’s 10% tax on tanning bed services is racist against white people because darker-skinned people don’t need to tan. At least, that’s what Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) advised Speaker John Boehner to claim in order to turn people against the Affordable Care Act."  Cameron Davis at Think Progress.

Immigration

House Dems are divided on immigration.  "Divisions have opened up among Democrats over how to push immigration reform forward in the House ... with some advocates urging a more confrontational posture with Republicans, while other Dems insist that such tactics could end up undercutting the already-slim-to-none chances that House Republicans will pass something that could lead to real reform. At the center of the internal debate is Nancy Pelosi and the question of whether Democrats will file a so-called 'discharge petition' for the Senate immigration bill ... But Dems and advocates are divided over whether it’s a good idea."  Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.   

GOP primary voters aren't against citizenship - they just want strings attached.  "Republican voters do support immigration reform — including a path to citizenship — albeit with the proper conditions attached ... a key point that keeps getting lost in the discussion ... When polls tell respondents that citizenship comes packaged with increased border security and/or conditions attached, a majority of Republicans supports it ... Republican primary voters are hostile up front to citizenship, but they recognize a need to fix the system and accept citizenship as part of a broader package of reforms that includes a border security buildup, back taxes, fines, and learning English."  Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.

The Internet

One controversial piece of SOPA is back.  "You probably remember the online outrage over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) copyright enforcement proposal. Last week, the Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force released a report on digital copyright policy that endorsed one piece of the controversial proposal: making the streaming of copyrighted works a felony. As it stands now, streaming a copyrighted work over the Internet is considered a violation of the public performance right. The violation is only punishable as a misdemeanor, rather than the felony charges that accompany the reproduction and distribution of copyrighted material."  Andrea Peterson at the Switch.

LGBT Rights

The ENDA revival.  "Recently, however, there have been promising signs. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved ENDA by a 2 to 1 margin, with support from all Democrats and from Republicans Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), Mark Kirk (Ill.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). Especially in a year when the Supreme Court has overturned a key part of DOMA and civil rights groups have launched a major campaign for ENDA, that bodes well for the act’s appearance on the Senate floor in the near future."  The Washington Post Editorial Board.

I didn't even know this was still a policy.  "More than 80 lawmakers have called on the Obama administration to allow gay men to donate blood. The lawmakers say the administration should change what they say is an 'outdated' policy ... They said Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius should re-evaluate blood donation criteria that ban gay men from donating blood for life."  Ramsey Cox at the Hill.

NSA 

Transparent democracy is only one half of the equation.  "This 'democracy requires transparency' argument is incomplete. Consider the opposite argument, which we can call 'democracy requires secrecy.' People exercise their democratic rights by directing the government to engage in various projects. In many cases, these projects can be effective only if they are secret. People who disclose projects that work best if they are conducted in secret undermine democracy by depriving the people of the most effective tools for governing themselves ... Commentators always emphasize the importance of openness to democracy, forgetting that secrecy is just as essential."  Eric Posner at Slate.

Why was there no contingency plan?  " Congress and the civilian defense leadership will have to ask ... a more basic set of questions: Why on earth wasn't the NSA prepared for this? ... Contingency planning is a critical part of every military operation, and is even more important for secret or covert activities ... Although it has an intelligence mandate, the NSA is a Defense Department organization, and the director of NSA is a 4-star general. As such, it is troubling that the NSA appears to have no plan in place for how to respond once its spying program was made public and plastered on the front pages around the world."  Allan Friedman at the Atlantic.

A grand jury is investigating the firm that cleared Snowden's background check.  "A federal grand jury is investigating whether the company that conducted the last security background check on National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden improperly rushed cases without proper review ... At the heart of the criminal probe, which is being conducted by federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are allegations that the company improperly cut corners to boost its processing of background checks ... Such activity could violate the False Claims Act, which outlaws actions that defraud the U.S. government."  Dion Nissenbaum at the Wall Street Journal.

5 unlikely consequences of the NSA leaks.  Elias Groll at Foreign Policy.

SCOTUSwatch

The NRA wants the Court to overturn more gun laws.  Because that's what the country needs right now.  "The National Rifle Association is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a federal law that prevents federally licensed gun owners from selling handguns to people over 18 and under 21 ... which a three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld last year. The law prevents licensed gun dealers from selling handguns, shotguns and rifles to anyone under 18, and further prevents the sale of handguns and ammo to anyone under 21."  Jillian Rayfield at Salon.

Voting Rights

New rules, new lawsuits in North Carolina.  "When Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signs North Carolina’s sweeping new elections bill as expected this month, critics will be ready to act, too – in court. The bill not only contains one of the nation’s strictest photo ID laws but compresses the time for early voting and ends straight-ticket balloting. It would no longer count provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct ... The bill ... goes beyond voting changes. It limits disclosure of outside campaign spending, ends public financing for judicial races and no longer makes candidates take responsibility for their ads."  Jim Morrill at the Charlotte Observer.

International

Global

Same-sex marriage, globally.  "Acceptance of non-heterosexual orientations remains uneven across and within countries. Same-sex marriage is currently legal in sixteen countries, the bulk of which are in Europe and South America. Same-sex marriage has emerged as a prominent issue in the United States in recent years ... The issue is left largely in the hands of the states, though the Supreme Court in 2013 notably struck down a federal barrier to marriage benefits for same-sex couples. Meanwhile, other democracies provide varying degrees of legal rights to same-sex couples, including full marriage rights, limited civil union status, and no legal recognition at all."  Council on Foreign Relations.

Here's a cool interactive global map of preventative diseases.  Council on Foreign Relations.

The chaos of the Arab Spring is still quite chaotic.  "Thirty months after ... the Arab Spring, the various countries that saw massive upheaval remain, well, in upheaval. Egypt’s lauded democratization project has reached a stalemate with the military-backed ouster of Mohamed Morsi ... Hundreds have been killed in subsequent clashes ... Libya remains unable to quell lingering challenges to internal security ... And in Tunisia, the assassination last week of a prominent opposition politician has led to violent clashes ... Widespread international optimism engendered by the revolutions that toppled some of the Middle East and North Africa’s longest-ruling authoritarian regimes has long since died away."  John Amble at War on the Rocks.

US port efficiency is low.  "Why are China, Japan, South Korea, and the UAE so much better at moving containers around than the United States? ... It’s more a matter of down time. Chinese ports, for example, operate around the clock with gangs of dockworkers who aren’t paid that much or treated that well. Most U.S. ports operate only one or two shifts a day, since longshoremen’s union contracts require overtime pay for working in the middle of the night ... So even if they’re as efficient at moving containers on a per-hour basis, they’ll still be less productive overall. That has real consequences for shipping companies."  Lydia DePillis at Wonkblog.

Africa

Zimbabwe:  Election held?  Check.  Fair election?  Probably not.  "Party operatives in Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party areclaiming victory in yesterday’s elections. According to some observers, ZANU-PF swept constituencies that have consistently voted in the past for the opposition MDC by huge margins. Similarly, well-known and popular opposition figures have been allegedly defeated by unknown ZANU-PF candidates. Such a massive shift toward Mugabe and ZANU-PF is not credible." John Campbell at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The West and Africa have conflicting views on Zimbabwe.  "South Africa's President Jacob Zuma on Sunday congratulated Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe on his re-election, in sharp contrast to Western governments which questioned the credibility of a rushed, disputed vote. African monitors broadly approved the conduct of the election but Mugabe's main rival, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, has said he will challenge the results in court with evidence of massive vote-rigging, irregularities and intimidation."  Cris Chinaka at Reuters.

Libya is now handing out death sentences to Gaddafi-regime officials.  "A former minister in the government of Muammar Gaddafi has been sentenced to death for his role in repressing protests in the 2011 rebellion. A court in the Libyan city of Misrata found Ahmed Ibrahim guilty of undermining national security and plotting to kill civilians ... He was condemned to execution by firing squad. It is the first known death sentence given to a member of the former government's inner-circle."  BBC.

And they're having massive electoral problems, to boot.  "In the first blow to the process meant to lay down the country's political foundations, Libya's ethnic minorities, the Amazigh, Tuareg, and Tebu people, announced that they would boycott the election after they were earmarked only six out of 60 seats (or two each). There are no official figures for the Amazigh population in Libya, but estimates put it at 10 to 15 percent of the total population. If those assessments are correct, then the three percent allocated to them in the Constituent Assembly count as an extreme case of underrepresentation."  Mohamed Eljarh at Foreign Policy.

Is Africa wired for Chinese surveillance?  "Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei may have been all-but-barred from doing business in the U.S. over allegations that it's basically an intelligence agency masquerading as a tech business. In Africa, however, Huawei is thriving. the Chinese telecom has offices in 18 countries and has invested billions of dollars in building African communications networks since the late 1990s ... But current and former U.S. officials -- as well as outside security analysts -- worry there could be another agenda behind Huawei's penetration into Africa. They suspect that the Chinese telecom could be wiring the continent for surveillance."  John Reed at Killer Apps.

Europe

Germany is pretending this act is important.  It's purely symbolic.  "Germany has cancelled a Cold War-era pact with the US and Britain in response to revelations about electronic surveillance operations ... The agreement cancelled on Friday gave the Western countries which had troops stationed in West Germany - the US, Britain and France - the right to request surveillance operations to protect those forces. A German official told the Associated Press news agency that the agreement had not been invoked since the end of the Cold War, and admitted that the decision would have no impact on current intelligence co-operation."  BBC.

Also in Germany, Amazon's anti-union practices clash with German union culture.  "Even as President Obama spoke about middle-class jobs last week at an Amazon warehouse in Tennessee, Amazon was facing strikes at warehouses in Germany, its second-biggest market. Unions there say the company has imported American-style business practices — in particular, an antipathy to organized labor — that stand at odds with European norms."  Nick Wingfield and Melissa Eddy at the New York Times.

Middle East

Syria in fragments.  "The once highly-centralized authoritarian state has effectively split into three distinct parts ... The longer the bloody conflict drags on, analysts says, the more difficult it will be to piece together a coherent Syrian state from the wreckage ... The regime holds a firm grip on a corridor running from the southern border with Jordan, through the capital Damascus and up to the Mediterranean coast ... The rebels ... control a chunk of territory that spans parts of Idlib and Aleppo provinces in the north and stretches along the Euphrates river to the porous Iraqi border in the east. Tucked into the far northeastern corner ... Syria's Kurdish minority enjoys semi-autonomy."  Zeina Karam at the Associated Press.  

Egypt is going to start trying leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.  "Three top officials of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood will go on trial on Aug. 25, on charges of inciting members of their group to kill rioters in front of its headquarters during the upheaval ... on July 3, a Cairo court ruled on Sunday. Although the authorities have detained dozens of Brotherhood members since Mr. Morsi’s fall from power, the case against the group’s spiritual leader, his deputy and another key figure is the first to be scheduled for trial. The pending prosecutions are a new blow to the Brotherhood, which ... has seen all of its newfound power stripped away in a matter of weeks."  Ben Hubbard and Mayy El Shiekh at the New York Times.

Afghan militants attempt to attack an Indian consulate, killing nine.  "Armed with assault rifles and an explosives-laden vehicle, three men tried to attack an Indian consulate in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least nine people and offering a brutal reminder that tensions beyond this country’s borders threaten to fuel the conflict here long after the United States and its allies depart ... There were no indications that the attack was related to the warning by the State Department of a global threat of an Al Qaeda attack in the coming days."  Matthew Rosenberg at the New York Times.

South America

Maybe the Colombia-FARC showdown is reaching a conclusion.  "For a little under a year, the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been holding peace talks in Havana -- the first since the round conducted by the Pastrana administration from 1998 to 2002. Those were plagued by delays, accusations from the FARC that the Colombian government was planning to assassinate its top leaders, accusations from the Colombian government that the FARC was planning to kidnap officials, and ongoing violence. The fact that, this time around, the government and the FARC have succeeded in commencing negotiations and maintaining momentum is promising."  Anne Phillips at Foreign Affairs.

Brazil enacts a tough, new anti-bribery law.  "Bribing a public official in Brazil could become a very onerous mistake for ... businesses under a law ... that for the first time makes companies liable for bribes paid by their employees. Companies found guilty of bribery will face fines of up to 20 percent of their gross annual revenue for the previous year or a maximum of ... ($26.22 million). They could also be suspended from operating, have assets confiscated and even face possible dissolution. Brazil's Congress passed the law in record time in the wake of sweeping protests that shook the country's political establishment ... fueled by widespread public anger with corruption and bad government."  Reuters.

Polisci

Globalization is leading to more restrictions on religion.  "A new paper in the journal Political Studies by three Israeli political scientists suggests that this trend is an ironic byproduct of globalization, which ... 'has increased interpersonal contact between individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds.' Rather than increasing tolerance, this new interaction actually 'induces perceived threat to a hegemonic religion, which leads to more restrictions on religious freedom.' Using globalization indicators including communications, trade, tourism, and diplomatic contact for 147 countries, they find a correlation between a country's global oppenness and legal restrictions on religion."  Joshua Keating at War of Ideas.

Science

5 ways that conservative media erodes trust in climate science.  Denise Robbins at Media Matters for America.

Talking robots in space.  "Call it one giant leap for robot kind: A small talking robot launched into space aboard a Japanese cargo ship Saturday ... to keep astronauts company on the International Space Station ... The Kirobo space robot is a diminutive mechanical person just 13 inches ... tall built to converse with astronauts on long space voyages. The robot, and its ground-based counterpart Mirata, are part of the Kibo Robot Project to study human-robot interaction technology."  Tariq Malik at Space.com.

Sadly, it appears that teleporting humans is not very viable.  "There are 6x10^9 bits in a human genome and ... 1.2x10^10 bits per cell ... This is a ton of data. Even at the top of the Super-High Frequency Range ... moving all that data to the space station ... 'would still require around 4.85x10^15 years.' Traditional transportation through physical means such as a rocket or space shuttle would be clearly superior. The energy requirements of teleportation also turn out to be daunting ... All of which is to say that the apparently daunting task of dematerializing and rematerializing a complicated object is only the beginning of the challenges facing the teleportation of human beings."  Matthew Yglesias at Slate.

20 things you didn't know about gravity.  Bill Andrews at Discover Magazine.

Miscellaneous

The original Star Wars trilogy is so much better than the newer models: Worldbuilding edition.  "The original Star Wars doesn't start out by explaining much. You're just thrown in the deep end with a space battle. Meanwhile, The Phantom Menace tells us about trade disputes and negotiations and taxation ... Even though at first glance, A New Hope offers less exposition and fewer scenes of political wrangling than The Phantom Menace, the original Star Wars actually has way better worldbuilding — because you get a few glimpses inside the way this universe actually functions, and you see enough of the political reality to understand why the Death Star is a huge, all-important gamechanger."  Charlie Jane Anders at i09.