[Today's Papers] from [Slate Magazine]
Obama Pushes Security Over the Border Line
By Daniel Politi
Posted Wednesday, May 6, 2009, at 6:40 AM ET
CONTINUED FROM news/notes20090506f
Obama will outline his immigration priorities in the detailed budget he plans to give to Congress tomorrow. And in making security and enforcement such big priorities, Obama appears to be trying to appease conservatives before taking any definitive steps toward a full-on overhaul of the country's immigration system that would likely include a path to legalization. In addition to more agents and high-tech equipment, Obama will also ask Congress to sink more money into E-Verify, the controversial employment verification program that is supposed to help determine whether someone is eligible to work in the United States.
Despite the constant fear that the violence in Mexico would quickly spill over into the United States, that hasn't quite come true. Yet. The LAT notes in a separate front-page piece that the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, who is Mexico's most-wanted fugitive, has ordered his underlings to not hesitate in using deadly force on either side of the border to gain territory or protect cargo from U.S. officers. Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman apparently delivered the message in early March and agents close to the border say they've seen more violent confrontations lately.
The evacuations in Swat Valley come as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari begins two days of meetings with Obama as well as senior U.S. and Afghan officials. In a front-page piece, the LAT points out that when Obama took office, it seemed that Afghanistan would be his biggest challenge, but now seems like child's play next to the problems in Pakistan. "By comparison, it looks like Canada," a U.S. official said. Making matters more complicated is the fact that the Obama administration doesn't have a great relationship with either Zardari or Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The WP devotes a front-page piece to looking at how Obama plans to "maintain an arm's-length relationship with Karzai." That's hardly a new revelation, but the piece explains in detail why the Obama administration felt the need to move away from the friendly relationship that the Bush White House had fostered with the Afghan leader. Former President Bush felt like one of his most important duties was to mentor Karzai, but critics say that later prevented Bush from making demands on the Afghan government. "The president of the United States had become the case officer for Afghanistan," a senior Obama foreign policy adviser said. "It was a profound misjudgment of how to handle the situation."
As health authorities begin to breathe a little easier now that their worst fears about swine flu don't seem to be coming true, USAT notes that some experts are worried the new flu virus will become resistant to drugs. The H1N1 virus can be attacked with two antivirals, but these drugs experienced such an increase in sales during the first panic-stricken days of the outbreak that officials worry a new drug-resistant strain could emerge. But in another positive sign, the WP reports that a genetic analysis of the virus suggests that it probably emerged before mid-September, which would mean it is far less deadly than initially feared.
The NYT and WSJ front word that federal regulators have told Bank of America that it needs to raise $33.9 billion (the WSJ says "roughly $35 billion") in capital as a result of the stress tests that the government carried out on 19 of the nation's biggest banks. The full results of the stress tests won't be known until Thursday, but the NYT makes it clear that Bank of America isn't happy with the government's determination. If the bank that has already received $45 billion from the government can't raise that kind of capital on its own it could rely on Uncle Sam by converting the government's preferred shares into common stock. But that could make the government one of Bank of America's largest shareholders and would also dilute existing shares.
The NYT also hears word that the stress tests will determine that several banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, are in good condition and could repay funds they received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program. But before any of the banks decide to hand back TARP money, they must first show they can issue debt without the backing of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The NYT and LAT front, while everyone covers, news that a Justice Department internal report concluded that Bush administration officials who wrote memos justifying the use of harsh interrogation techniques shouldn't face criminal charges. According to the LAT, John Yoo and Jay Bybee, who worked in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, could be referred to bar associations in the states where they practice to consider possible disciplinary action. The investigators concluded that Steven Bradbury, who had written at least three memos, may have given bad advice but it wasn't so serious that he deserves to face disciplinary action. But Yoo, a law processor at UC Berkeley and Bybee, a federal appeals court judge in Nevada, could face disciplinary action for a troubling pattern of providing faulty advice to the administration.
The WP goes inside with word that represenatitves for Yoo and Bybee have been encouraging former administration officials to contact new members of the Justice Department to tone down the criticism of the two lawyers. The paper doesn't know how many people have lobbied administration officials on behalf of Yoo and Bybee, but those that did so focused on what they view as the troubling precedent of sanctioning legal advisers for providing counsel.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has hardly made it a secret that she wants another woman to join her at the Supreme Court. But in an interview with USAT, Ginsburg said she was reminded of how important that was during the recent case that involved a 13-year-old girl who had been strip-searched by school officials. Her male colleagues seemed to minimize the girl's humiliation and that angered Ginsburg. "They have never been a 13-year-old girl," she said. "I didn't think that my colleagues, some of them, quite understood." (Slate's Dahlia Lithwick said the strip-search case convinced her "it's pretty much imperative" that David Souter's seat go to a woman.) What is most amazing about the interview is the revelation that after 16 years on the nation's highest bench, Ginsburg still feels that her male colleagues sometimes ignore her points. "It can happen even in the conferences in the court. When I will say something — and I don't think I'm a confused speaker—and it isn't until somebody else says it that everyone will focus on the point."
Everyone reports news that the first U.S. recipient of a face transplant came forward yesterday. The 46-year-old woman underwent the 22-hour procedure after her face was severely disfigured by a shotgun blast. Doctors replaced around 80 percent of her face. Everyone has the incredible before-and-after pictures, and the WSJ and WP also publish results from a CT scan that truly demonstrate the extent of the damage.
The WP goes inside with news that senators unceremoniously made Sen. Arlen Specter the most junior Democrat on four committees and second from last on a fifth, even though he has spent 29 years in the chamber. When Specter switched parties last week it seemed that Democrats had agreed to maintain his seniority on the five committees in which he serves, but yesterday his fellow Democrats said they will only reconsider his seniority claim until after next year's midterm elections. Specter's loss of seniority could make it more difficult for him to win reelection next year since it would be harder for him to argue that his key positions in the Senate enable him to send lots of money back to Pennsylvania.
The WP's Al Kamen points out that when Sen. Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party in 2001, Specter was devastated. "It felt as if there had been a death in the family," Specter said. He even seemed to support a view that Jeffords should resign first and then run for reelection as a member of the other party. But nevermind what he said in 2001, it seems Specter is still getting used to the whole being a Democrat thing. Yesterday, he took back comments he made in a New York Times Magazine interview to be published on Sunday where he said Norm Coleman could still win the legal battle against Al Franken to regain his Senate seat. "In the swirl of moving from one caucus to another," he said, "I have to get used to my new teammates."
Obama Pushes Security Over the Border Line
By Daniel Politi
Posted Wednesday, May 6, 2009, at 6:40 AM ET
CONTINUED FROM news/notes20090506f
Obama will outline his immigration priorities in the detailed budget he plans to give to Congress tomorrow. And in making security and enforcement such big priorities, Obama appears to be trying to appease conservatives before taking any definitive steps toward a full-on overhaul of the country's immigration system that would likely include a path to legalization. In addition to more agents and high-tech equipment, Obama will also ask Congress to sink more money into E-Verify, the controversial employment verification program that is supposed to help determine whether someone is eligible to work in the United States.
Despite the constant fear that the violence in Mexico would quickly spill over into the United States, that hasn't quite come true. Yet. The LAT notes in a separate front-page piece that the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, who is Mexico's most-wanted fugitive, has ordered his underlings to not hesitate in using deadly force on either side of the border to gain territory or protect cargo from U.S. officers. Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman apparently delivered the message in early March and agents close to the border say they've seen more violent confrontations lately.
The evacuations in Swat Valley come as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari begins two days of meetings with Obama as well as senior U.S. and Afghan officials. In a front-page piece, the LAT points out that when Obama took office, it seemed that Afghanistan would be his biggest challenge, but now seems like child's play next to the problems in Pakistan. "By comparison, it looks like Canada," a U.S. official said. Making matters more complicated is the fact that the Obama administration doesn't have a great relationship with either Zardari or Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The WP devotes a front-page piece to looking at how Obama plans to "maintain an arm's-length relationship with Karzai." That's hardly a new revelation, but the piece explains in detail why the Obama administration felt the need to move away from the friendly relationship that the Bush White House had fostered with the Afghan leader. Former President Bush felt like one of his most important duties was to mentor Karzai, but critics say that later prevented Bush from making demands on the Afghan government. "The president of the United States had become the case officer for Afghanistan," a senior Obama foreign policy adviser said. "It was a profound misjudgment of how to handle the situation."
As health authorities begin to breathe a little easier now that their worst fears about swine flu don't seem to be coming true, USAT notes that some experts are worried the new flu virus will become resistant to drugs. The H1N1 virus can be attacked with two antivirals, but these drugs experienced such an increase in sales during the first panic-stricken days of the outbreak that officials worry a new drug-resistant strain could emerge. But in another positive sign, the WP reports that a genetic analysis of the virus suggests that it probably emerged before mid-September, which would mean it is far less deadly than initially feared.
The NYT and WSJ front word that federal regulators have told Bank of America that it needs to raise $33.9 billion (the WSJ says "roughly $35 billion") in capital as a result of the stress tests that the government carried out on 19 of the nation's biggest banks. The full results of the stress tests won't be known until Thursday, but the NYT makes it clear that Bank of America isn't happy with the government's determination. If the bank that has already received $45 billion from the government can't raise that kind of capital on its own it could rely on Uncle Sam by converting the government's preferred shares into common stock. But that could make the government one of Bank of America's largest shareholders and would also dilute existing shares.
The NYT also hears word that the stress tests will determine that several banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, are in good condition and could repay funds they received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program. But before any of the banks decide to hand back TARP money, they must first show they can issue debt without the backing of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The NYT and LAT front, while everyone covers, news that a Justice Department internal report concluded that Bush administration officials who wrote memos justifying the use of harsh interrogation techniques shouldn't face criminal charges. According to the LAT, John Yoo and Jay Bybee, who worked in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, could be referred to bar associations in the states where they practice to consider possible disciplinary action. The investigators concluded that Steven Bradbury, who had written at least three memos, may have given bad advice but it wasn't so serious that he deserves to face disciplinary action. But Yoo, a law processor at UC Berkeley and Bybee, a federal appeals court judge in Nevada, could face disciplinary action for a troubling pattern of providing faulty advice to the administration.
The WP goes inside with word that represenatitves for Yoo and Bybee have been encouraging former administration officials to contact new members of the Justice Department to tone down the criticism of the two lawyers. The paper doesn't know how many people have lobbied administration officials on behalf of Yoo and Bybee, but those that did so focused on what they view as the troubling precedent of sanctioning legal advisers for providing counsel.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has hardly made it a secret that she wants another woman to join her at the Supreme Court. But in an interview with USAT, Ginsburg said she was reminded of how important that was during the recent case that involved a 13-year-old girl who had been strip-searched by school officials. Her male colleagues seemed to minimize the girl's humiliation and that angered Ginsburg. "They have never been a 13-year-old girl," she said. "I didn't think that my colleagues, some of them, quite understood." (Slate's Dahlia Lithwick said the strip-search case convinced her "it's pretty much imperative" that David Souter's seat go to a woman.) What is most amazing about the interview is the revelation that after 16 years on the nation's highest bench, Ginsburg still feels that her male colleagues sometimes ignore her points. "It can happen even in the conferences in the court. When I will say something — and I don't think I'm a confused speaker—and it isn't until somebody else says it that everyone will focus on the point."
Everyone reports news that the first U.S. recipient of a face transplant came forward yesterday. The 46-year-old woman underwent the 22-hour procedure after her face was severely disfigured by a shotgun blast. Doctors replaced around 80 percent of her face. Everyone has the incredible before-and-after pictures, and the WSJ and WP also publish results from a CT scan that truly demonstrate the extent of the damage.
The WP goes inside with news that senators unceremoniously made Sen. Arlen Specter the most junior Democrat on four committees and second from last on a fifth, even though he has spent 29 years in the chamber. When Specter switched parties last week it seemed that Democrats had agreed to maintain his seniority on the five committees in which he serves, but yesterday his fellow Democrats said they will only reconsider his seniority claim until after next year's midterm elections. Specter's loss of seniority could make it more difficult for him to win reelection next year since it would be harder for him to argue that his key positions in the Senate enable him to send lots of money back to Pennsylvania.
The WP's Al Kamen points out that when Sen. Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party in 2001, Specter was devastated. "It felt as if there had been a death in the family," Specter said. He even seemed to support a view that Jeffords should resign first and then run for reelection as a member of the other party. But nevermind what he said in 2001, it seems Specter is still getting used to the whole being a Democrat thing. Yesterday, he took back comments he made in a New York Times Magazine interview to be published on Sunday where he said Norm Coleman could still win the legal battle against Al Franken to regain his Senate seat. "In the swirl of moving from one caucus to another," he said, "I have to get used to my new teammates."
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