Tuesday: 9/17/13

The Economy

The Overview

The latest economic reports aren't terrible, but they're far from great.  "The poverty rate held steady at 15%, the same rate as 2011; the real median household income was also unchanged, at about $51,000. Thus, the good news ... is that for the first year since the great recession hit, things aren’t getting worse. The bad news is that three years into an economic recovery, they’re not getting better either. Yes, the economy has expanded over these past few years, but to use a seasonal analogy, today’s report is yet another piece of evidence that this growth has once again done an end run around middle and lower income households on its way to the top of the scale."  Jared Bernstein at On the Economy.

How Americans spent their money in 2012, with lots of charts, of course!  Derek Thompson at the Atlantic.

Inequality - blame the GOP.  "Because the GOP militates incessantly to lower taxes and reduce government benefits, the president is quite right to say that their policies would accelerate inequality. This is most obviously true with regard to poverty programs ... Non-cash benefits like food stamps, rent subsidies, and ... the Earned Income Tax Benefit ... reduced poverty by eight percentage points between 1964 and 2011. If these programs hadn’t existed, inequality would have grown even faster ... Republicans deserve the lion’s share of the blame for the 1%’s appropriation of 95% of the financial recovery ... Inequality doesn’t just happen. Government policies can diminish it or exacerbate it."  Timothy Noah at MSNBC.

The average American family makes less today than they did in 1989.  "Headlines about these numbers tend to focus on how we have now experienced a lost decade for the middle-class American family, with incomes back to their late 1990s level. But as the chart shows it's really worse than that. In 1989, the median American household made $51,681 in current dollars (the 2012 number, again, was $51,017). That means that 24 years ago, a middle class American family was making more than the a middle class family was making one year ago. This isn't a lost decade for economic gains for Americans. It is a lost generation."  Neil Irwin at Wonkblog.

The recovery is still better for whites, Asians, and males.  "The data showed an economy that's just muddling along ... not improving at a fast enough clip to help alleviate poverty for millions of Americans ... The nation continues to see a sharp racial divide in the incidence of poverty. In 2012, the Census Bureau reported that the poverty rate was 27.2 percent among blacks and 25.6 percent among Hispanics. For non-Hispanic whites, the 2012 poverty rate was 9.7 percent. For Asians, it was 11.7 percent. The pay gap between men and women didn't budge either. The median income for women who worked full time, year round was $37,791, about 77 percent of the $49,398 that men earned."  Patrick Rizzo and Allison Linn at NBC.

More men are becoming stay-at-home dads.  "More dads than ever before—roughly 550,000 in the past decade and counting—are staying home full-time with their children. Compared with stay-at-home moms, these full-time fathers are older, less educated than their spouses and their households have significantly lower incomes, according to a new study of family structure and work trends."  Rich Morin at the Pew Research Center.

Food stamps - one of the best poverty prevention tools we have.  "More Census news! ... The income from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program--commonly known as food stamps--pushed 4 million people above the official poverty line in 2012. That doesn't mean they're not still poor, of course, but it can sure help to not have to worry about going hungry all the time."  Lydia DePillis at Wonkblog.

Financial Reform

We still need more financial reform.  "The financial system is safer, and reforms are making a difference. But much more work remains to be done ... Short-term wholesale funding ... still poses the risk of runs throughout the financial sector, and money market funds are still susceptible to the ... runs that led to their 2008 bailout. Major questions about the ... U.S. housing finance system remain unanswered. There is a serious risk that a collective amnesia about ... the financial crisis will further weaken the resolve for reforms. The financial sector is still lobbying ... to block them. If we don't keep pushing, we could find ourselves wondering why we're in another crisis five years from now."  Michael Barr at Brookings.

Inflation

Analyzing the effects of inflation on prices in the US, winners and losers.  "Surprise: inflation is still really, really low. The Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers rose only 1.5 percent over the last year, well below the 2.5 percent upper limit that the Federal Reserve has effectively set. Core inflation — that is, excluding food and energy, whose prices tend to be highly variable — rose 1.8 percent. But the picture gets less boring ... if you look at specific items."  Dylan Matthews at Wonkblog.

Wages

Obama just gave millions of home health workers a raise.  "There are ... about 2 million Americans who work as home health aides, providing medical assistance to the elderly and disabled. Today, the Obama administration gave them a raise. New regulations from the Department of Labor ... change federal minimum wage requirements to include home health workers, rather than exclude them, which has been the case for decades ... The Department of Labor rule today moves them out of that exemption, meaning ... minimum wage standards now apply, as do overtime regulations, which require companies to pay time-and-a-half for any hours worked beyond a 40-hour work week."  Sarah Kliff at Wonkblog.  

Why the new policy is a big deal.  Bryce Covert at Think Progress.

Miscellaneous

The Silicon Valley bootstraps myth is just that - a myth.  "It's an impressive tale that encapsulates the way Silicon Valley likes to think of itself: a pure meritocracy; a place where talent rises to the top regardless of social class, educational pedigree, race, nationality or anything else. Indeed, the notion that anyone with smarts, drive and a great idea can raise money and start a company is a central tenet of the Valley's ethos. Yet on close inspection, the evidence suggests that the keys to success ... A prestigious degree, a proven track record and personal connections to power-brokers are at least as important as a great idea. Scrappy unknowns with a suitcase and a dream are the exceptions, not the rule."  Sarah McBride at Reuters.

Middle East

Afghanistan

We can all get along  "Of the 17 nations represented here, the main northern base for the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, most were at war with at least one of the others at one time or another. There are troops here who tried hard to kill each other in the former Yugoslavia. Several who were rivals during the Cold War are present, as are forces that fought on opposite sides in both world wars. Some can trace their enmity back much further. Who, after all, could forget the war between Sweden and Norway in 1814? Well, apparently the Swedes and Norwegians can. And that’s one of the messages of this base, in a country where ethnic and tribal rivalries are a source of tension and violence."  Jay Price at McClatchy.

Egypt

Egypt is a country divided - and nowhere is it more obvious than the capitals.  "In Cairo, where Islamists were always weakest, the security forces have ridden a wave of public approbation as they have moved quickly to impose a tight lockdown on street protests. Demonstrators opposing the new government are ever wary ... But in Minya, the provincial capital, the situation is so starkly inverted that a visitor might almost think that Mr. Morsi was still president of Egypt ... Any who disapprove hold their tongues, aware they are outnumbered. The security forces seldom venture beyond a tight ring of barbed wire and armored vehicles protecting the provincial headquarters."  David Kirkpatrick at the New York Times.

Iran

Are we actually seeing some progress on nuclear negotiations?  "In a potentially dramatic development, Iran is willing to close its uranium enrichment facility at Fordo in return for an easing of Western sanctions ... Der Spiegel reported Monday ... Iran’s new president, Hasan Rouhani, might consider closing down the heavily fortified Fordo facility, near the holy city of Qom, and allow international observers to supervise the destruction of the centrifuges, if the West were to lift the sanctions regime it has placed on Iran’s oil industry and central bank. Rouhani could make the offer later this month at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the report said."  Raphael Ahren at the Times of Israel.

Well, that ended quickly.  "Iranians lost unrestricted access to Facebook and Twitter on Tuesday almost before they knew they had it, leaving many people wondering whether the opening was deliberate or the result of some technical glitch. The Web sites had been blocked since huge antigovernment protests exploded after the disputed presidential election in 2009. But for almost a full day on Monday, jubilant Iranians were able to call them up without resorting to VPN software, which is illegal."  Thomas Erdbrink at the New York Times.

Israel

New Biblical town discovered.  "A town dating back more than 2,000 years has been discovered on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee, in Israel's Ginosar valley. The ancient town may be Dalmanutha ... described in the Gospel of Mark as the place Jesus sailed to after miraculously feeding 4,000 people by multiplying a few fish and loaves of bread, said Ken Dark, of the University of Reading in the U.K., whose team discovered the town during a field survey."  Owen Jarus at LiveScience.

Syria

What you need to know about Syria's chemical weapons.  "Syria is thought to have one of the world's largest stockpiles of chemical weapons. Those weapons have recently been used against Syrian civilians ... So it's worth taking a step back to understand the weapons that have become so central to the Syrian crisis and how they work. This infographic ... is a great introduction. The infographic explains what chemical weapons do to people ... and how they're delivered. It also explains how chemical weapons are destroyed – a crucially important subject now that the U.S. and Russia have agreed in principle to a deal to remove Syria's chemical weapons outright."  Max Fisher at the Washington Post.

The latest evidence points to Assad, not the rebels, carrying out chemical weapons attacks.  Surprise, surprise.  "Details ... point ... at elite military formations loyal to President Bashar al-Assad ... The inspectors ... listed the precise compass directions of flight for two rocket strikes that appeared to lead back toward the government’s elite redoubt in Damascus, Mount Qasioun ... where his Republican Guard and the army’s powerful Fourth Division are entrenched ... Rebel forces have never penetrated the major military installations of Mount Qasioun ... They would almost certainly have been unable to organize and fire sustained and complex barrages of rockets from that location undetected."  C.J. Chivers at the New York Times.

Remember - destroying chemical weapons requires boots on the ground.  "Securing chemical weapons in Syria will require boots on the ground ... In the midst of a raging civil war, dismantling chemical weapons is practically impossible. 'We’re talking boots on the ground,' a former United Nations weapons inspector from Iraq bluntly told the New York Times. 'We’re not talking about just putting someone at the gate. You have to have layers of security.' ... The only feasible way to keep those weapons out of the hands of militants or rogue elements within the Assad regime is — again — through troops."  Joshua Foust.

Guns

Reid refuses to bring a background check bill up for a Senate debate - concedes he doesn't have the votes.  "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday gun control legislation doesn’t have the votes to be approved by the Senate. Reid said he, as a result, has no plans to bring a gun control bill to the floor in the wake of a rampage at the Washington Navy Yard during which a gunman killed 12 people."  Alexander Bolton at the Hill.

Half of the deadliest shootings in US history have occurred during the past six years. (Chart)  Laura Conway at Maddowblog.

Gun safety laws are still mostly wishful thinking.  Because 'Murica.  "So long as a powerful minority of Americans think the individual right to bear arms—any arms—trumps every consideration of public policy, and is the Crown Jewel of the Bill of Rights, and is our bulwark against tyranny—it won’t much matter. Hundreds dead, thousands dead, tens of thousands dead—it’s all irrelevant ... No, rational arguments and conventional politics may never prevail against people who will look you right in the eye and tell you they need to be heavily armed in case it becomes necessary in their view to overthrow the government and impose their will on you."  Ed Kilgore at the Washington Monthly.

Judging by the past, interest in gun control after the Navy Yard shooting will quickly disappear. "In the aftermath of Monday’s deadly rampage at Washington’s Navy Yard, gun control will no doubt surge back into the news. But how long will it stay there? If the months since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre are any indication, the media are likely to lose interest quickly – unless gun control makes its way back onto the legislative agenda. As has been documented elsewhere, news coverage after mass shootings follows a pattern. In a shooting’s immediate wake, gun control coverage spikes, before receding back into relative obscurity."  Danny Hayes at the Monkey Cage.

The Navy Yard shooting won't change anything.  "Comparisons between the attack last December at Sandy Hook Elementary and Monday’s violence in Washington present the White House and gun control advocates with a stark question and a grim reality: If the murder of 20 first graders in their Connecticut grade school wasn’t enough to pass a bill, how likely is it the deaths of 12 adults at a Navy base change the result? The latest tragedy is all too fresh, but the politics are the same."  Josh Gerstein at Politico.

Politics

Abortion

Texas, caught red-handed lying about the dangers of abortion. "Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and his Republican allies ... launched an aggressive legislative campaign against reproductive rights over the summer, including measures intended to close the vast majority of clinics where reproductive services are provided. Proponents of the policies said the measures were necessary in order to protect public safety ... State inspection records ... turned up little evidence to suggest the facilities were putting patients in imminent danger ... Republican officials swore up and down this was about 'safety' concerns at health clinics. The evidence clearly suggests otherwise."  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

Benghazi

Benghazi could maybe be a kinda legitimate issue.  Except not. "So the Obama administration, which ... decimated al-Qaeda with drone strikes, is now in cahoots with the terrorist network? Sorry, Congressman. I’ve got an appointment back on Earth. It’s a pity that those seeking answers on Benghazi can’t focus on what really matters ... Instead, the Benghazi scandal-seekers are determined to link Hillary Clinton to the inadequate security at the diplomatic outpost ... and the bogus 'talking points' presented by then-U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice in the days after the attack (as though more accurate talking points might have retroactively saved lives)."  Dana Milbank at the Washington Post.

Colorado

The Colorado flood has now claimed eight lives.  "An eighth person in Colorado has died and more than 600 people are unaccounted for in the ferocious flooding and relentless rain ravaging communities across the state, according to officials."  Anthony Castellano and Alexis Shaw at ABC.

The DOD

The drone base in a box.  "Drone bases, they can pop up anywhere nowadays. The U.S. Air Force's special operations command now has mini bases for drones that can be packed in a cargo plane and transported anywhere in the world, launching unmanned missions within four-hours of arrival ... A typical base includes two partially dismantled MQ-1 Predator drones, plus the Hellfire missiles and fuel ... The base also has two tents: one to shelter the drones and another to house the bank of computers that serves as the drones' cockpit ... All told, 18 cargo pallets and 32 people constitute the base in a box."  John Reed at Killer Apps.

Elections

Midterms 2014 - nobody knows what's coming.  "There were two competing narratives about ... next year’s midterm elections ... One narrative was that the challenges facing the Republican Party in 2012 ... would simply flow into the next election cycle. The other narrative was that President Obama and Democrats would confront the same challenges that commonly face presidents and their party in second terms ... The problem with that theory is that, at least for now, both narratives seem to be happening simultaneously. The GOP’s brand is showing no sign of recovering from what led to the party’s thumping in 2012, and second-term fatigue does seem to be plaguing Democrats."  Charlie Cook at the National Journal.

But Obama's approval ratings might be bad news for Dems.  "President Obama's standing with the American people is flagging ... It does matter – Obama's approval rating can greatly affect the 2014 midterm elections ... and the historical odds of it recovering much seem to be slim. In midterms, electorates often take out their frustration with the president on the their party's congressional members. A poor presidential approval rating will only add to that frustration. A president likely needs an approval rating in the mid 60s, like Bill Clinton in 1998 and George W Bush in 2002, to avoid the curse of 'midterm loss'."  Harry Enten at the Guardian.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn just caught a huge break.  "How is Pat Quinn this lucky? The Democratic Governor of Illinois might have the lowest approval rating in the country ... He drew a primary challenge from former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley ... But now, Daley’s out of the picture ... Illinois is such a Democratic state that Quinn has a shot ... A clear Democratic field will make it even easier for Quinn to consolidate Democratic support and raise money. And if he can do so, that would give America’s least popular governor a real chance to win reelection."  Nate Cohn at the New Republic.

Federal Reserve

Janet Yellen is the new frontrunner for Fed Chair.  "The White House certainly isn't discouraging anyone from thinking that Janet Yellen will be their pick to chair the Federal Reserve. 'Officials close to the White House' tell the New York Times that Yellen is now the frontrunner. 'Senior administration officials' tell the Wall Street Journal that the process isn't starting over and no new names have been added to the list. This is consistent with what the White House has said all along: Summers is their first choice, but Yellen is an excellent choice."  Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas at Wonkblog.

Yellen vs Kohn is the new Summers vs Yellen.  Neil Irwin at Wonkblog.

Fiscal Fights

These fights are a legitimacy crisis.  "Presidential systems of government are more likely to incur ... crises ... that can arise whenever the legislature and the president come from different parties ... Each side has an incentive to escalate its claim and attempt to seize more power. The incipient showdown in Washington is a form of this underlying tension ... Since taking control of the House ... a coterie of Republicans has challenged this informal approach. Their belief is that the absence of cooperation should lead not to stalemate but to the president bending to their will. That assumption implies a delegitimization of the presidency that Obama has come to understand, belatedly, that he can’t accept." Jonathan Chait at New York Magazine.

When the unreasonable become even less reasonable.  "Last year, the House of Representatives demonstrated an understanding that austerity could go too far when it rejected the extreme Republican Study Committee budget. Senate Democrats now accept spending levels in line with previous Ryan budgets, and the federal budget is stable over the medium term. Despite all that, House Republican leaders are demanding a new round of discretionary spending cuts."  Harry Stein at the Center for American Progress.

Toto, we're not in 1995 anymore.  "Put it all together, and it makes this fall very different from 1995. It still doesn't mean that we won't get a shutdown...plenty of factors make it hard to make a deal, even if leaders on both sides want one. But in 1995 Republicans sprinted off the cliff, following and in many cases believing a leader who promised them they could float on air. That's not where they are this time."  Jonathan Bernstein at A Plain Blog About Politics.

And we're probably heading for a shutdown.  "In what would be a dramatic change of course, House Republican leaders are considering a strategy of risking a government shutdown at the end of this month if Obamacare isn't defunded. In the weekly conference meeting ... GOP leaders intend to propose a continuing resolution to keep the federal funded beyond Sept. 30 but strip out funding for Obamacare ... Senior Republicans know the strategy is a nonstarter in the Democratic-led Senate ... The proposal, if House Republicans decide to run with it, would spur a standoff that significantly raises the prospects of a shutdown at the end of the month."  Sahil Kapur at Talking Points Memo.

The far right is crazy - and fired up.  "As the deadline to fund the federal government nears, Republican leaders are struggling ... to come up with legislation that can pass the House ... They blame the conservative movement’s cottage industry of pressure groups. But these organizations ... aren’t worried ... Business has boomed since the push to defund Obamacare caught on. Conservative activists are lighting up social media, donations are pouring in, and e-mail lists are growing. For the tea-party coalition and its leaders, it’s a triumphant return to power inside the Beltway."  Robert Costa at the National Review.

Foreign Policy

Americans can agree that they like diplomacy as Plan A - but they can't agree on Plan B.  Let's see how this goes...  "Two new polls out this week shows strong support among Americans for the U.S. to pursue a diplomatic track in dealing with Syria’s chemical weapons. A Washington Post/ABC News poll released on Tuesday found that 79 percent of respondents support the recent U.S-Russian deal to place the Syrian government’s chemical weapons stockpiles under international control ... Forty-four percent said Congress should authorize force if diplomacy fails, while 48 percent said it should not."  Ben Armbruster at Think Progress.

Particularly given that this Russia deal may not solve anything.  "The Obama administration's plan to get rid of Syria's chemical weapons depends on President Bashar al-Assad letting international inspectors into his country -- and standing by as they destroy the deadly agents in his arsenal. But former high-ranking U.S. intelligence officials -- as well as Syria experts -- doubt that Assad has any intention of doing this. And ... the daunting weapons-removal plan ... will take months if not years to complete ... Now, amid a pause in U.S. military action, Assad has the time and a reason to hide his arsenal or spirit pieces of it out of the country."  Shane Harris at the Cable.

Obama to increase chemical weapons assistance.  "President Obama ... cleared the way for the U.S. to send chemical weapons-related assistance to the Syrian opposition ... The authorization ... signaled that the U.S. was at least preparing for the possibility that the deadly gases might be used again. The White House said the non-lethal assistance could fall into three categories: — Chemical weapons-related 'personal protective' equipment to international organizations working in Syria ... — Medical assistance to strengthen local Syrian health care providers ... — Defensive chemical weapons training and protective equipment to vetted members of the Syrian opposition."  Associated Press.

Health

Good news!  "The share of Americans without health insurance fell for a second straight year, the Census Bureau announced today. The data suggest that gains in children’s coverage and private coverage among the non-elderly, as well as greater enrollment in Medicare, are the key contributors ... The 8.9 percent uninsured rate among children is a historic low and 25 percent below the 1999 level (see graph). Studies show that health coverage not only improves children’s health but also helps them succeed in school by improving attendance and increasing attentiveness."  Matt Broaddus at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

And some pretty bad news.  "The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has just published a first-of-its-kind assessment of the threat the country faces from antibiotic-resistant organisms ... The agency’s overall — and, it stressed, conservative — assessment of the problem: Each year, in the U.S., 2,049,442 illnesses caused by bacteria and fungi that are resistant to at least some classes of antibiotics; Each year, out of those illnesses, 23,000 deaths ... $20 billion each year in additional healthcare spending; And ... an additional $35 billion lost to society in foregone productivity. 'If we are not careful, we will soon be in a post-antibiotic era,' Dr. Tom Frieden, the CDC’s director, said."  Maryn McKenna at Wired.

The absence of rate shock.  "Despite Republican claims of soaring insurance costs and 'sticker shock' once Americans see their bills under Obamacare, the truth is most of the uninsured will get affordable plans. Oh, and as to fear-mongering about people who already have insurance seeing their rates rise? The Rand Corp. studied that question and found premiums at small companies – the most likely to be affected by Obamacare regulations – are coming down. Workers at firms with fewer than 100 employees will pay almost 6 percent less in 2016 than if the law hadn’t passed."  Joan Walsh at Salon.

Yes, the Affordable Care Act is unpopular.  No, that does not automatically mean that sabotage is popular.  "Although a majority disapproves of the Affordable Care Act, few Americans support Republican attempts to mess it up. According to Pew, about half of disapprovers, or 27 percent of the public ... say elected officials who oppose the law 'should do what they can to make the law work as well as possible,' while 23 percent of the public holds the nihilistic view that they 'should do what they can to make the law fail.' In other words, health care reform isn’t popular, but sabotage is less popular." Juliet Lapidos at Taking Note.

Some ACA opposition is on principle - some people just want cash.  "'Much of movement conservatism is a con and the base are the marks.' Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting the anti-Obamacare hysterics are entirely a fundraising scam -- congressional Republicans are dominated by truly radical ideologues, many of whom are entirely sincere in their inexplicable beliefs. For these extremists, financial motivations matter, but undermining President Obama and preventing struggling Americans from receiving publicly subsidized health care coverage matters more. But to overlook the dollar signs in conservative leaders' eyes is to miss the whole picture."  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

Immigration

Obama refuses to use executive action to expand the deportation freeze to parents of children brought to the United States illegally.  "President Barack Obama said Tuesday that it is 'not an option' for his administration to take executive action to freeze the deportations of parents of children brought to the United States illegally, a move that immigrant rights advocates have pushed him to take if Congress fails to pass immigration reform ... Obama said the legal underpinning of a 2012 executive action to defer deportations for those brought to the United States as children was 'absolutely right' but that expanding exemptions to a larger population of undocumented immigrants would go too far."  Carrie Dann at NBC.

The Navy Yard Shooting

Aaron Alexis had a history of mental illness and misconduct.  "The shooter in Monday’s Washington Navy Yard rampage had a history of mental illness and was treated at two Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals after saying he was hearing 'voices' ... More details also emerged about Alexis’s ... career as a Navy reservist ... marked by repeated run-ins with his military superiors and the law ... Alexis was cited at least eight times for misconduct for offenses as minor as a traffic ticket and showing up late for work but also as serious as insubordination and disorderly conduct ... Alexis also had an angry streak that flared often enough to create an arrest record in three states."  Sari Horwitz, Craig Whitlock, and Jerry Markon at the Washington Post.

How Aaron Alexis got his security clearance.  "The official said the Navy did a background check on Alexis when he enlisted ... He received a 'secret' clearance ... after completing an SF-86, the lengthy government-wide form that requires applicants to disclose if they have criminal convictions, financial problems, or ongoing treatment for mental issues unrelated to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Alexis didn't have any of those issues to disclose ... A service member would normally need to be convicted of a crime, not simply arrested, to lose his or her clearance. Alexis, for all of his troubles with the law, was never tried or convicted."  Yochi Dreazen at Foreign Policy.

The Navy's background check system is atrocious. "The Navy, in an attempt to cut costs, had let down its guard in vetting contractors for access to at least 10 military bases ... It's ... surprising that we haven't seen more tragedies because of the spotty background checks that resulted from the lapse. Here's what happened in a nutshell: In 2010 through 2012, the Navy outsourced out its ID processes to an Oregon-based company ... performing contractor background checks using public records -- which weren't always 'up to date, complete, accurate, or available' ... The Navy allowed those background checks to take the place of its standard vetting process for Department of Defense employees."  Lydia DePillis at Wonkblog.

New York

Well, you don't see this every day.  "The U.S. government is set to seize a Manhattan skyscraper that prosecutors say is secretly owned and controlled by the Iranian government. The 36-story tower is located on Fifth Avenue in the heart of New York City, adjacent to Rockefeller Center, and is home to a number of corporate tenants. Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said Tuesday that the seizure and sale of the property would be the government's largest-ever terrorism-related forfeiture. A federal judge authorized the seizure in a ruling this week, finding that the building's owners had violated federal money laundering laws and sanctions against Iran."  James O'Toole at CNN.

NSA

Congress can keep claiming that they didn't know what the NSA was up to - except they're lying.  "Congress has reenacted Section 215 despite being fully aware of how the government and the court have interpreted it. Prior to the ... reauthorization ... Congress received a report on the bulk collection program, which 'provided extensive and detailed information ... regarding the nature and scope of this Court’s approval of the implementation of Section 215 concerning bulk telephone metadata.' ... 'Each Member of Congress knew or had the opportunity to know how Section 215 was being implemented under this Court’s Orders.'"  Benjamin Wittes and Jane Chong at Lawfare.

This might be a surprise - but Section 215 is constitutional, as per current interpretation of the Fourth Amendment.  "If obtaining pen register information on one user is not a search, the obtaining that pen register information for 100 or 10,000 or 1,000,000 or more users is still not a search ... The Fourth Amendment protects 'people, not places,' and it’s not clear how surveillance that is not a search when provides information about one person can become a search when it provides information about many. To be sure, it’s possible to devise theories of the Fourth Amendment that would make that relevant, but it’s hard to get there just based on the conventional sources of existing appellate cases."  Orin Kerr at the Volokh Conspiracy.

Constitutional and legal, as per the FISA court.  "The legal analysis Judge Eagan endorsed echoes the basic arguments that the Obama administration has made in defending the program ... Phone call metadata — phone numbers, time and duration of calls, but not content — is not protected by Fourth Amendment privacy rights because it does not involve eavesdropping on the content of calls ... The government has legal authority to collect all calling records from phone companies under a provision of the Patriot Act that allows it to obtain business records deemed 'relevant' to an investigation."  Charlie Savage at the New York Times.

No telecom company has attempted to challenge the collection of phone records.  "No telecommunications company has ever challenged the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court's orders for bulk phone records under the Patriot Act, the court revealed on Tuesday ... Despite the 'lower threshold' for government bulk surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act compared to other laws, the telephone companies who have received Fisa court orders for mass customer data have not challenged the law."  Spencer Ackerman at the Guardian.

SCOTUSwatch

Everything you need to know about the new Fourth Amendment cellphone search cases.  "The Supreme Court has been asked to consider two cases—United States v. Wurie and Riley v. California—which challenge the legality of warrantless cellphone searches under the Fourth Amendment. Police (and the Obama Administration) maintain that these searches are necessary, stopping suspects from deleting crucial information about drug deals and trafficking rings, but civil liberties advocates say that's no excuse for officers not to get a warrant. Here's everything you need to know about these searches, and whether the Supreme Court might stop them." Dana Liebelson at Mother Jones.

State Department

This is just priceless.  "This week, the Senate is poised to confirm Gregory Starr as the State Department's chief of diplomatic security ... But current and former State Department officials ... raised a string of fresh allegations against him. Among them: that the man who is supposed to oversee thousands of new security agents has shot himself in the foot. And not just figuratively ... 'Starr literally shot himself in the foot when drawing an unauthorized small caliber weapon out of his ankle holster,' said a current State Department official, referring to an incident in 1981. 'Mishandling of firearms is a big no no in the foreign service,' added a former DS official."  John Hudson at the Cable.

Voting Rights

In a rare instance, I actually agree with Rand Paul.  "There are nearly six million American citizens, disproportionately minorities, who are prohibited from voting today ... In a dozen states, people who have committed a felony ... don’t get their voting rights back after completing their sentence. One of those dozen is Kentucky, represented by ... Sen. Rand Paul ... Paul argued that felons who have served their sentences should get their voting rights restored. He rightly noted that one of every three adult black men are convicted felons ... Paul said he will push to reform felon disenfranchisement laws both in Washington D.C. and Kentucky."  Scott Keyes at Think Progress.

International

Global

Syria negotiations continue at the UN.  "The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council met on Tuesday to negotiate a draft resolution that would hold Syria to its pledge of identifying all chemical weapons under government control for destruction, but diplomats said major differences over a draft quickly emerged ... Russia ... was resisting components of the draft ... that discuss the threat of force to ensure Syrian compliance, whether to condemn the Syrian government ... and whether suspected users should be referred to the International Criminal Court ... The discussions are unlikely to produce a quick resolution, the diplomats said, and it is unclear when a draft will be ready for a vote."  Rick Gladstone at the New York Times.

JPMorgan Chase to be fined in the 'London Whale' case.  "Authorities in the United States and Britain are set to hand down roughly $750 million in fines against JPMorgan Chase over the bank’s disastrous 'London Whale' trading losses last year ... The settlements could be announced as soon as this week ... It would resolve a majority of the investigations that were launched after JPMorgan revealed that its traders in London placed bad bets on credit derivatives that resulted in billions of dollars in losses. The bank may make a rare declaration of wrongdoing in its agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission."  Danielle Douglas and Dina ElBoghdady at the Washington Post.

Africa

High-tech poacher detection.  "The Kenyan Wildlife Service is gearing up to deploy satellite-linked cameras in the fight against wildlife poachers ... The cameras can weather the elements and survive contact with wildlife and can be hidden almost anywhere. They automatically upload near-real-time images ... to a mobile application that can be accessed from anywhere and helps identify the animals. Aside from better tracking and monitoring of wildlife populations, the system will assist with early warning and prosecution of poaching. This system of satellite cameras can help turn the tide in Kenya’s losing battle with wildlife trafficking."  Kelsey D. Atherton at Medium.

Rwanda's ruling party steamrolls their electoral competition.  "Rwanda's governing RPF party has won a resounding victory in parliamentary elections, securing 76% of the vote. The party of President Paul Kagame, which came to power after the genocide of 1994, won 40 of the 53 seats directly elected on Monday ... The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) government has been praised for maintaining stability and overseeing rapid economic growth since the slaughter of some 800,000 minority ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. But President Kagame has been increasingly accused of ignoring human rights and stamping out any opposition. The RPF has kept its parliamentary majority but lost two seats."  BBC.

She turned me into a newt - real life edition.  Hilarity ensues.  "In 2009, a vigilante group showed up at a police station in the Kwara state of Nigeria with a black and white goat in tow. The goat, they said ... had stolen a car. A Mazda 323, to be exact. Well, not the goat exactly, but the man that had used black magic to turn himself into a goat in order to evade suspicion ... The police took the goat in ... In conflicting statements, one police spokesperson told the media that the goat was an 'armed robbery suspect' being held until the investigation was complete while another said that they were holding the unfortunate animal until it’s owner showed up to claim up it."  Andy Wright at the Modern Farmer.

Asia

An interactive guide to China's maritime disputes.  Council on Foreign Relations.

Let the balancing begin.  "Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera met with Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Defense Minister Phung Qugang Thanh in Hanoi Monday, agreeing to beef up bilateral defense cooperation with China's territorial claims over islands in mind."  Bernama.

The IAEA will be granted increased access to Myanmar.  "The U.N. nuclear watchdog will gain wider inspection powers in Myanmar under an agreement to be signed this week, in a further sign of the formerly army-ruled Asian state opening up to the outside world. Myanmar will sign the so-called Additional Protocol - which allows unannounced inspections outside of declared nuclear sites - with the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday, the Vienna-based IAEA said. The move will help to ease any lingering concern about Myanmar's nuclear ambitions."  Reuters.

The Philippines frees 80 people who were captured by Muslim rebels.  "The Philippine military ... rescued almost 80 of the 100 hostages being held by Muslim rebels, a major breakthrough in a battle that has paralyzed an important southern city for more than a week. Three soldiers were killed in the operation, in which 64 hostages were initially set free, with 14 others then managing to walk to freedom ... The standoff began when the insurgents ... tried to take control of City Hall and, the police said, declared an independent Islamic state. When the police tried to repel them, the insurgents took scores of hostages and retreated to other parts of the city."  The New York Times.

Europe

European nations to face new reparations demands as a result of the Atlantic slave trade.  "Politicians, lawyers and academics gathered Monday in St. Vincent & the Grenadines to advance an effort by more than a dozen regional nations to seek slavery reparations from three European countries that benefited from the Atlantic slave trade. The three-day conference is the first major step forward since the Caribbean Community announced in July that it intended to demand compensation for slavery and the genocide of native peoples from the governments of Britain, France and the Netherlands."  Associated Press.

Perhaps Putin should fix Russia's problems before criticizing the US.  "Russia is ... a nation in sad decline, and Mr. Putin is at least partly to blame. Arguably the worst social problem in the nation is alcoholism ... Nearly half a million Russians die annually from alcohol-related incidents ... Russia's life expectancy is relatively low ...  Russia is facing an enormous demographic crisis ... Russia also has an internationally renowned problem with orphans ... A statistical analysis showed rampant electoral fraud in recent Russian elections ... And journalists who are critical of the Kremlin ... have a habit of turning up dead. So, I think I speak on behalf of all Americans when I say, 'Spare us the moral lecture.'"  Alex Berezow at Real Clear World.

Greece is recovering slowly, but faster than expected.  "Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has said the debt-ridden country could return to pre-crisis living standards within six years. 'According to most [experts], we will not need a couple of decades, not a couple of generations, but only six years,' he said in a speech ... In rare good news for the economy, a finance ministry official told Reuters news agency the government expected its budget gap over 2015 and 2016 to be 'well below' 2% of GDP thanks to a strong tourism season this year."  BBC.

Oh come on...  "Serbia's government has introduced a controversial economic adviser whose financial gravitas is arguably matched only by the gravity of the sexual charges that have dogged him for the past two years. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the libidinous former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and onetime Socialist hope for the French presidency who's still facing charges at home of 'aggravated pimping,' told reporters at his introductory presser alongside Serbia's prime minister in Belgrade on September 17 that he's got 'no magic stick' for the Serbian economy ... It's an interesting choice of words for a man whose political ambitions were derailed by an attempted-rape allegation."  Andy Heil at Radio Free Europe.

South America

Brazil relations and the NSA.  "Brazil President Dilma Rousseff said Tuesday she has postponed a planned state visit to the United States over allegations that the National Security Agency has spied on her government ... Rousseff has said she wants an apology from Obama and the United States. The canceled state visit is the latest fallout from revelations about NSA surveillance programs that Obama and aides say are designed to prevent terrorist attacks."  David Jackson at USA Today.

Of course, Brazil also spies, making this whole outburst a load of nonsense.  "Rousseff claims the U.S. spying operation is so severe, it constitutes a violation of Brazil’s sovereignty. But really, why the uproar? ... Brazil, for example, operates its own massive domestic spying operation ... In 2008 ... Brazil’s intelligence agency, secretly recorded a conversation between Supreme Court president Gilmar Mendes and Sen. Demóstenes Torres ... In contrast to Brazil, the NSA has not committed any abuse on par with spying on the U.S. Supreme Court ... It’s hard to take Brazil’s protests seriously when its conduct toward its own citizens is not only similar, but actually far more violent."  Joshua Foust at Medium. 

Economics

Drug addicts are more 'rational' than you might expect. "Drugs weren’t so irresistible after all. 'Eighty to 90 percent of people who use crack and methamphetamine don’t get addicted,' ... 'The key factor is the environment...' 'The rats that keep pressing the lever for cocaine are the ones who are stressed out because they’ve been raised in solitary conditions and have no other options. But when you enrich their environment, and give them access to sweets and let them play with other rats, they stop pressing the lever.' ... 'Drugs don’t turn people into lunatics. They can stop using drugs when provided with alternative reinforcers.'" John Tierney at the New York Times.

Polisci

The effect of US gun laws on violence in Mexico.  "Yesterday’s terrible events at the Navy Yard will undoubtedly light up debates again about a possible ban on assault weapons. This issue is relevant ... south of the border where U.S. gun laws are believed to be partially responsible for increases in homicides ... There is some solid social science evidence that the 2004 expiration of the U.S. Federal Assault Weapons Ban did have an effect on homicides in Mexico ... Homicides increased more in areas close to U.S. states that did not have a pre-existing ban than in California, which upheld its prior ban on assault weapons."  Erik Voeten at the Monkey Cage.

Science

Voyager is on a new journey.  "Scientists analyzing a plasma signal from the craft announced Thursday that they believed Voyager 1 had entered interstellar space on Aug. 25, 2012. For the better part of this year, there had been substantial debate about whether the craft had passed that milestone. NASA now acknowledges that Voyager 1 exited the heliosphere. But if you are picky about your definition of leaving the solar system -- and astronomers tend to be -- you could say Voyager 1 has as much as 30,000 years of flight ahead of it before it will pass the Oort Cloud, a distant shell that is believed to be the birthplace of many comets."  Geoffrey Mohan at the LA Times.

Miscellaneous

Mapping 92 years of Sasquatch sightings in the US.  FlowingData.

What a weird place...  "While there are plenty of quirky offices around Washington, few can match ... the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, which advocates on behalf of pet ownership ... There is the coffee table reading material, which consists ... of ... such magazines as Practical Reptile Keeping. There are the bags of dog food lining the conference room ... There is the office rule: 'You have to sample the various dog foods ... before you start working ... PIJAC works Capitol Hill with one primary mission ... promoting pet ownership broadly but also some more specific issues, like the group’s latest effort to persuade Amtrak to allow pets on board."  Patrick Gavin at Politico.