The Short List - July 18, 2011

International

• The head of Scotland Yard has resigned following the arrest of Rebekah Brooks in connection to the ever widening phone hacking scandal.  Rupert Murdoch and his son James are set to appear to before Parliament this week.


• The U.S. is accepting applications for $65 million in grants to promote democracy in Egypt.


• Targeted assassinations of Karzai associates continue in Afghanistan, as the Taliban quickly claims credit.

Domestic

• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's deal is gaining momentum as Congress is set to spend the week engaged in kabuki theater, heading towards an increase in the debt limit.  The White House still hopes for a big deal, but as Jacob Lew asked on Meet The Press yesterday, "Do we have a partner to work with?"  Sadly, your editor does not believe they do.


• Presidential hopefuls burned through $32 million so far, in a new campaign spending report.  Newt likes private jets, but not paying the bill.  Mitt spent 18% of his budget on administrative costs.  And President Obama spent about $5 million organizing fundraisers.  Beyond the horse race and personal proclivities these kind of disclosures reveal, it concerns this editor the volume of cash spent in politics these days.

The Short List - July 15, 2011

International

• The United States stepped up its intervention in Yemen, using combined drone and conventional air assets to strike a police station overrun by militants in Abyan province--the nature of this operation would indicate the drones were regular U.S. military and not CIA operated. At the same time, different militants ambushed a government convoy near Taiz.
• U.S. recognition of the Libyan rebels inches closer as the so-called Contact Group acknowledges the Transitional National Council as the legitimate representative of the Libya. Libyan rebels briefly lost control of Qwalish, Wednesday, but retook it by overwhelming Qaddafi's troops, demonstrating new found ability to coordinate and stand-and-fight.

Domestic

• McConnell and Reid are working on a debt ceiling plan of their own. Meanwhile, last night, the President gave everyone 24-36 hours to figure it out.
• Cain doubles down on anti-Muslim bigotry.
• Corn for ethanol overtakes corn for food.

Programming Note -- as one Editor travels for a few days, your other Editor is faced with the grim reality of the bar exam. He will likely not be posting over the next two weeks.

Programming Note

Your editor is traveling for the next couple days so there won't be a Short List today.  Apologies.

The Short List - July 13, 2011

International

• The Egyptian army is telling protesters, who have returned to Tahir Square, to disperse, but the protesters have refused.  They want an end to the military rule that has been in place since the army took control from Mubarak.


• The hacking scandal in the UK has jumped across the pond, as British PM Cameron promises to investigate if news outlets that are part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp hacked the phones of 9/11 victims.


• Violence marred the funeral ceremony of Wali Karzai in Afghanistan yesterday.


• The UN World Food Programme is prepared to work with al Shabab in Somalia to distribute food aid, as the region faces a tremendous drought.

Domestic

• Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry was awarded the Medal of Honor yesterday, for his heroic actions in Afghanistan in 2008.  Petry has the quote of the day when he said, "I consider every one of our men and women in uniform serving here, abroad, to be our heroes."


• Senator McConnell's plan for the debt-ceiling would stave off default and a credit crisis, but it also kicks the deficit can further down the road.


• President Obama and the DNC raised $86 million in the second quarter of 2011.

What Kind Of Day Has It Been

International

• The brains behind the operation to kill bin Laden has been placed under cover for his own protection. At the same time, amid the growing row between Pakistan and the United States, Pakistan is making noise about removing troops from the old NWFP. And the Guardian reported today that the CIA ran a truly clever fake vaccination program to try to acquire DNA of bin Laden relatives to verify the man's presence in Abbottabad--some public health advocate have expressed concern over this rouse. 
• Anthony Shadid in the New York Times reports on Egypt's unfinished and ongoing revolution. And, unfortunately, Tunisia has all but fallen out of the news.
• French deputies voted overwhelmingly to fund France's involvement in NATO operations over Libya, while the French foreign minister indicated that a political solution may be in the offing.
  

Domestic

• As the GOP struggles to regain the initiative with the fight over the debt ceiling (or at least begins to blame the old Bogeyman, the media), Minority Leader McConnell has a new phased plan for raising the debt ceiling.
• Santorum, icecream-aholic. Or something.
  

Falling On His Sword for Country & Legacy

As I mentioned in today’s Short List, Speaker Boehner has been neutered by Eric Cantor and his tea party cohorts, who want the government to live within its means so long as “its means” doesn’t have anything to do with the increasing revenue.  Even if that increased revenue comes through a simplified tax code and is accompanied with $3 in cuts for every $1 in revenue.  I think this presents Speaker Boehner with an opportunity, albeit one with severe short-term professional consequences.

As Ezra Klein reminded us this morning, on the whole the American people like compromise, even if a majority of Republicans do not.  From everything that’s been written, it would seem like Boehner knew he had a sweet deal with the Obama administration and was inching toward taking it until he was out-flanked by Cantor and the far-right of the Republican party.  I think Boehner ought to work with Obama to make this deal work and abandon Cantor and the tea party.  I think Boehner needs to appeal to the cadre of remaining Republican moderates in the House and work with Obama and the Dems to avert what would be an unmitigated economic disaster.

Sounds kind of crazy, I know.  But stay with me here.  I believe there is a segment of the Republican party that’s filled with people who want a government to govern, and I think that part of the party knows how good a deal they have.  They’re best personified by this column(NYT) from NYT Columnist David Brooks.  And I think this is the part of the Republican party that Speaker Boehner represents.  The trouble is this is now the minority wing of the Republican party.  Time and time again, Obama chased the Republicans rightward (a whole other problem for progressives), forcing Republicans to abandon several smart ideas they’ve had in the past decade.  They had to abandon them because Obama, the Other, embraced things like individual mandates and cap-and-trade.  But I believe there is a sizeable number of Republicans remaining who aren’t Grover Norquist zealots and genuinely believe it’s the job of people in Congress to compromise in the pursuit of governance.  I’m just hoping those same David Brooks’ Republicans are spoiling for a showdown with the tea party.

Which brings me back to Speaker Boehner and his opportunity.  Given Boehner’s sensibility, he is not long for his own party lest he abandon his remaining moderation.  If he can rally his fellow remaining moderates to get this deal done he will almost certainly lose the speakership, he will likely face a primary challenge, and he may well lose his seat, but it’s a play for his legacy.  He could force the showdown between David Brooks Republicans and tea party Republicans.  By falling on his own sword he may save the Republican party from permanent minority status.  And history tends to smile fondly on politicians who put the national interest (and indisputably it’s in the national interest to increase the debt-ceiling and cut the deficit) ahead of fleeting personal aggrandizement.

Perhaps I’m overly optimistic.  Perhaps I’m reading Speaker Boehner wrong.  But if he is going to be robbed of his influence, why should he hold ceremoniously to a title and let his fellow Republicans run the economy off a cliff?  Andrea Mitchell was on The Chris Matthew Show this week reiterating how much these negotiations and the compromise that will be reached is about leadership.  I couldn’t agree more and I think this is an opportunity for Speaker Boehner to demonstrate his leadership and his shot to write his name into the history books of great Speakers of the House.  If a deal doesn’t get done and the credit of the United States gets downgraded, well that path carries a legacy as well.

The Short List - July 12, 2011

International

• Wali Karzai, Hamid Karzai's half-brother, was killed by  a"friend" in his home in Khandahar earlier today.  The Taliban has claimed responsibility, but there is some question as to the claim's authenticity.


• The day after Syrian protesters stormed the American embassy in Damascus, Secretary Clinton says President Assad has "lost legitimacy."  The Syrian government didn't much like that.


• Israel's parliament has passed a law making it illegal to boycott Israeli settlements, in other words if an Israeli recording artist boycotts a planned show in a West Bank settlement, they can be sued for damages.


• An unusually heavy barrage of U.S missiles has killed at least 38 militants in Pakistan.

Domestic

• The sides seem farther apart in debt-ceiling negotiations as Obama and Boehner hold dueling press conferences. Meanwhile, the rise of Eric Cantor and the marginalization of John Boehner.  Also, quote of the day during this tit-for-tat goes to President Obama when he said he could not ask, "middle-income seniors to bear $500 or more additional costs when [Republicans] couldn't ask the most well-off to give an extra $5 to getting the deficit down." and Ezra Klein thinks liberals should be thanking Eric Cantor.

What Kind Of Day Has It Been

International

• Pro-Assad demonstrators attacked the U.S. and French embassies in Damascus, today. The attacks were clearly orchestrated by the Assad regime and clearer still a violation of international law. What happens when a state looses protesters to attack an embassy? It gets sued.
• In the wake of South Sudan's independence, the UN Security Council voted to end the UN peacekeeping mission there.
• Things keep getting worse for Rupert Murdoch.

Domestic

• Debt ceiling drama continues as President Obama today ruled out a short-term stopgap measure. But the GOP seems to be moving yet further from compromise--and its radical presidential nominees are saying crazy things. Here's an examination of the 1979 sort of default.
• Politicians on both sides of the aisle--but a few more Republicans than DFLers--in MN are continuing to cash pay checks while the rest of the State's employees are furloughed with the State government shutdown. 
• Palin still refuses your Editor's requests to just go away.
  

The Short List - July 11, 2011

International

• Tensions are rising between Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Meanwhile, a suicide bomber has killed six people in northwest Pakistan.


• Qaddafi's son alleges in an interview that his father's government is negotiating with France directly, which France denies.


• A high-ranking U.S. official met with Yemen's President Saleh in Saudi Arabia and urged him to step down.


• A horrendous blast at a military base in Cyprus has killed 11.


• The UN is calling for action to assist with the "worst humanitarian disaster" right now in Somalia, due to a drought.

Domestic

• The debt ceiling negotiations are set to continue today, the the parties still seem far apart and despite what was once a shared vision for a grand bargain, Speaker Boehner backed off of a major deal because it would likely have included $800 billion in tax increases, despite over all savings of over $4 trillion.  Paul Krugman reminds us(NYT) that much of our economic woes come in now small part from the excuses men (and women) create.


• The case for nuclear fusion research directed by the government.  Did we wait for private investment to start the Manhattan Project?


• Also, America F**k Yeah!  The U.S. women play in the semi-final match against France on Wednesday at 11:30am ET.

Santorum’s Security Delusion

Rick Santorum, soon to be a 2012 GOP also-ran, appeared on CNN’s State of the Union this morning and, amid a broadside leveled against the President, declared that ‘as bad a job as this President has done on the economy, he has done a worse job keeping us safe.’* Characteristically, this attack was accompanied by no evidence. Nor could it be.

For all his failings, President Obama has been extraordinarily strident when it comes to national security. The rate of drone strikes in Pakistan has increased exponentially since the President took office, with the first such strike coming just two days after being sworn in. Targeted killings of suspected members of al-Qaeda have expanded to Somalia and they have returned to Yemen. There has been no successful major terrorist attack on the United States since Obama’s inauguration and the inevitable attempts have resulted in the quick apprehension of the would-be terrorists. Oh, and he got bin Laden—the guy who authored the 9/11 attacks and the Bush administration singularly failed to track down for seven years while spinning off to the adventure-cum-quagmire of Iraq.

Any of these may be of debatable merit when it comes to proving the relative state of U.S. national security—certainly there is a vigorous debate over the merit of the drone program in Pakistan. Yet, these are the sorts of anecdotes generally trotted out when politicians begin to debate whether we, the American people, are safer today than we were some number of years previously.

In fact, assessing the state of U.S. national security is a complex task. It requires a definition of time frames and metrics—are we talking near term or long term; are we discussing national security vis-à-vis non-state actors or rising powers—even before we come to the question of the causality, or the linkage between this relative security or insecurity and actions that the United States has, or even could, take.

But this is not what Rick Santorum has done. Instead he has, without explanation, evidence, or argument, leveled a bald charge that the President has rendered us less safe. The American people deserve more from their candidates for President.

*Please forgive your Editor for the paraphrase; he was unable to rewind the segment and no transcript is yet available.

What Kind Of Day Has It Been

Intergalactic

• "And we have liftoff of the Space Shuttle Atlantis." Last liftoff of the STS, ever without a clear path forward for U.S. participation in space.
  

International

• South Sudan, world's newest state.
• Protests in Yemen turned deadly today following Saleh's speech yesterday.
• The Economist wonders if Gujarat offers a vision of India's future. Meanwhile, The Washington Post worries that India is unprepared for an urban boom.

Domestic

• Carney said the administration doesn't get excited about jobs data. Bullshit. And if the administration doesn't, this dyed-in-the-wool Democrat does. Get it together, fellas.
• On the bright side, GOP fundraising numbers are flagging compared to 2007 -- tough to say if this represent tighter wallets or more money going to GOP IEs.
• One filled with invective, here at DCExile. For those of you not bound up in the argument in the Comments, a quick recap: Colin and I still fundamentally disagree about the point of life but agree that Jason's wrong about whether Stiglitz misspoke. Aside from that, it's been more of the same.

The Short List - July 8, 2011

International

• A spasm of violence has erupted in Karachi with reports of as many as 95 people killed since the violence began Tuesday.  Provincial police have been ordered to "shoot on sight."  Also related to Pakistan, Admiral Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said yesterday that he believes Pakistan sanctioned the killing of journalist Saleem Shazad(NYT).  He did not go so far as to implicate the ISI directly, though The New York Times did cite Obama administration officials who implicated the ISI earlier this week.


• Pro-Qaddafi's forces face desertion and diminishing supplies according to fighters captured by rebel forces in the western portion of Libya.


• The Syrian government is protesting the US ambassador's visit to Hama this week, claiming it's an attempt to "incite an escalation in the situation."


• British Prime Minster Cameron has called for an independent media corruption probe, and there are reports that party leaders in the UK have told their members that they do have too cozy a relationship with the press.


• The New York Times gives the prognosis on South Sudan, Africa's soon-to-be 54th state.

Domestic

• The unemployment rate sadly rose this month to 9.2% as the private sector added just 18,000 jobs despite having "record cash stockpiles and healthy profit margins."  Meanwhile the government sector cut 39,000 jobs in June.  CNBC's Maria Bartiromo was shilling the "uncertainty argument" on Morning Joe this morning, but doesn't point a finger at Republicans who are using the good credit of the United States as a pawn.  Meanwhile, Eugene Robinson has a sharp column in The Washington Post this morning.


• Texas executed a Mexican national yesterday.  E.G. writing at Economist.com has two great pieces on the death penalty in the past couple days.

What Kind Of Day Has It Been

International

• Berlusconi against Libya before he was for it before he was against it. Notably, NATO is flying its missions out of Italy and from Italian airbases. 
• Saleh appeared delusional (and injured) on Yemeni television even as he remains in Saudi Arabia, and his complicated country slips further from his regime's grip.

Domestic

• Nate Silver has an excellent statistical examination of the radicalization of the Republican party and the emergence of its structural inability to compromise. What Silver calls "conservative," Gene Lyons rightly notes is really an "anti-government cult."
• Then again, POTUS described today's debt talks as very constructive.
• Fox News has proved its mettle, its conviction to open debate, by trying to gin-up controversy over Media Matters 501(c)(3) status. This is likely to go nowhere. Query: does a judicial proceeding (quasi- or otherwise) that is built on manufactured, unmeritorious claim that is patently politically motivated--worse, an example of "I'll just take my ball and go home"--qualify as a frivolous lawsuit? Jon Stewart does this bit well.
• Stigletz considers the dangers of unfettered free market zealotry.
  

The Short List - July 7, 2011

International

• Update from Libya from The Washington Post and Al-Jazeera.


• The founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program has released documents that, if authentic, would confirm payments from North Korea to Pakistani military and government officials for nuclear technology.


• Sudanese President Bashir says he will visit South Sudan as it becomes an independent country(NYT) on Saturday.  Many details remain to be worked out between the two states that were recently locked in a civil war.  Meanwhile, the independence of South Sudan bolsters the prestige, and pocketbook, of Uganda(NYT).


• The Washington Post reports the Muslim Brotherhood is fraying in Egypt as new and old members clash on where the organization should go as Egypt seeks new leaders.


• There are reports of violence in southern Yemen as that country slips further into civil war.
• The phone hacking scandal (that we haven't been paying much attention to) is spreading in the UK.

Domestic

• President Obama offers up cuts to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for tax increases as the negotiations continue over raising the debt ceiling.


• President Obama also appointed the first openly gay service member to serve on Westpoint's Board of Visitors.  Brenda S. Felton is a graduate of Westpoint and was part of the first class where women were also admitted.


• HUD will pay $62 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought forth by two groups representing poor, largely African-American, New Orleans home owners.

What Kind Of Day Has It Been

International

• Libyan rebels began today with a goal of taking al Qawalish on the road to Gharyan, and take it they did. Rebels also progressed outside of Misurata towards Zlitan.
•  President Obama is being once again incoherently criticized by the Right for his treatment of terror suspects. Specifically, so-called Hawks are angry that, after detaining a Somali terror suspect for two months in military custody and interrogation, the suspect was handed over to the FBI for civilian prosecution. Evidently it would show greater resolve to subject him to military tribunals--never mind the dismal record of those tribunals and the questionable jurisdiction they would have over this suspect.
• The US issued warnings today about terrorists traveling on aircraft with implanted bombs. Notably, the implantation of a bomb in the rectum of an AQAP suicide bomber is credited with sparing the life of Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef.
  

Domestic

• Elliott Spitzer's comeback hits a road block.
• There's been a fair amount of chatter about Romney's $18 million Q2 haul. I'm more interested to know how he has a burn rate of 30% this early. Dear Lord that sounds like one top-heavy campaign!
• The Supreme Court will decide Medellin again.
  

The Short List - July 6, 2011

International

• Syrian armed forces reportedly killed 22 and left 80 wounded when they drove into Hama yesterday.  Amnesty International has accused the regime of crimes against humanity.


• A British drone, controlled by the US Air Force from Nevada, killed four civilians, along with two militants in Helman province in southern Afghanistan in late March according to the British government, which was compelled to confirm the report originally made public by The Guardian.  In other British-Afghanistan news, Prime Minister Cameron has announced the UK will withdraw 500 troops from Afghanistan by 2012, bringing their total force in the country to around 9,000.  The UK is the second largest single country force in the country behind the US.


• Moody's has downgraded Portugal's debt to junk status and warned a second round of rescue funds may be needed.


• The US has indicted a Somali national in civilian court in New York, after the suspect was held for two months on a Navy ship and interrogated.  He has not been charged with a crime specifically tied to an attack on the US, but does accuse the suspect of providing material support to al-Shabab and AQAP.


• Rebel groups claim pro-Qaddafi forces have killed at least 11 civilians in Misurata, Libya after constant shelling.

Domestic

• President Obama is trying to restart debt negotiations as less then a month remains before the US hits the debt ceiling.  Meanwhile, even as those negotiations, likely to include deep spending cuts, take place House Republicans plan to announce a new transportation funding re-authorization bill that will cut 50% of the current budget to around $230 billion over six years.  This move comes despite an urging by the American Society of Civil Engineers that $1 trillion is needed over the next decade just to keep roads in good working order and match increasing demand.  Talking infrastructure, The Economist's Gulliver notes that, "[t]he best way to get high-speed rail to succeed in America is to actually build it somewhere, and then to wait for the other states to say 'I want that!'"


• Speaking of cash money, Mitt Romney raised $18.25 million in the last three months and ended June with $12.6 in the bank.

What Kind Of Day Has It Been

Intergalactic

• 58% of Americans believe that space exploration is essential. This, on the eve of U.S. manned spaceflight's death.

International

• Hama, a Syrian city famous for a brutal crackdown nearly 30 years ago, has reportedly slipped out of the Syrian government's control.
• Moody's downgraded Portugal.
• A potential deal in Yemen that would allow Saleh to retain power has been torpedoed. Saleh has yet to return to Yemen since his flight to Saudi Arabia last month.
• Qaddafi sort of offered to give up power today. Obviously his grip on power is weakening, while his grip on reality remains about as strong as ever.
  

Domestic

• Sarah Huckabee is on the ground in Iowa for Pawlenty.
• VP Biden now tweets--or at least, a staffer tweets in his guise.