A good day if you left your papers at home: The Justice Department is challenging Arizona's draconian immigraiton law in court and Rand Paul is walking back claims that he wants an underground electric border fence. A bad day if you live along the Eastern Seaboard: it's pretty hellish outside. Stay cool, East Coast. Temperatures will be hitting triple digits for the second day in a row tomorrow. Take it from our own weatherboy Jeremy: "get shade." This is HUFFPOST HILL for Tuesday, July 6th, 2010:
MAYBERRY MACHIAVELLIES RETURN TO WHITE HOUSE - Under the leadership of President George W. Bush, science, empirical evidence and expert advice struggled to be heard above the din of politics. It's one thing to prioritize politics over good policy; it's quite another to let bad politics drive the agenda. But that's what the Bush administration did during its Terry Schiavo era and his congressional majorities paid the price. Today, a new band of Mayberry Machiavellis has gained control, counseling President Obama to ignore the advice of his economic team and press forward with deficit reduction ahead of job creation. Senior White House adviser David Axelrod told the New York Times recently that "it's my job to report what the public mood is." The public mood, said Axelrod, is anti-spending and anti-deficit and so the smart politics is to alleviate those concerns. "I've made the point that as a matter of policy and a matter of politics that we need to focus on this, and the president certainly agrees with that," said Axelrod of the deficit hawkery that the administration has engaged in over the last several months. It's an odd political strategy because Axelrod knows that if it succeeds, it will be both bad policy and bad politics. He said as much when asked about the pressure from economic advisers to focus on stimulus and job creation. "I'm very much allied with the economic group, because even as a political matter it would be very shortsighted to take steps that would send us backward," he said. But the Mayberries have already taken those steps: by using the bully pulpit to highlight deficit fears, by proposing an across-the-board spending freeze, by creating a commission to reduce the deficit and stacking it with hawks, by making it clear to progressive allies that the White House political team believes a deficit-reduction focus is important for the midterm elections. http://huff.to/cjHe3u
The White House responds: From Matt Vogel: "When President Obama took office, millions of people had already lost their jobs due to the recession and the deficit had ballooned. Over the last eighteen months, the economic team and the President's closest advisors have worked day and night to balance two of the greatest challenges our economy faces -- putting Americans back to work and getting us back on a sustainable fiscal path. The Administration is united in its focus on getting the economy growing again, the most powerful driver of job creation and deficit reduction."
Tomorrow in The Hill: Walter Alarkon finds that Republican budget hawks believe the White House fiscal commission is getting off to a good start.
Today's highs, via the Capital Weather Gang: DCA 102, IAD 100, BWI 105 (record). "Though a setting sun will provide some relief, temperatures at sunset should still be in the low-to-mid 90s. Overnight lows fall to the mid-70s in the suburbs to around 80 in the city. At D.C., the record highest overnight low for the date of 79 should be threatened." http://bit.ly/cijFZj
Via @JimCantore: 102 degrees right now in Central Park!!! This is the first time they have hit 100+ since August 9, 2001!
UNEMPLOYMENT STANDOFF: DAY 35 - It's been 35 days since Congress allowed unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless to expire. So far, more than 1.7 million people who've been out of work for longer than six months have been left hanging. Arthur Delaney reports: "Fortunately, Cate from Maryland, the woman who told the Huffington Post last Thursday she'd eventually 'consider suicide seriously so that I can be admitted to the mental hospital for 3 days' if Congress failed to get its act together, said Monday that she landed a job. No more thoughts of suicide for Kate -- but no more thoughts of ever voting for Democrats again, either." Here's Delaney's latest on the unemployment standoff. http://huff.to/9NMsLw
MORE: "In one of the darkest tallies of the nation's still-sputtering recession, experts say financial desperation has played a significant role in increased calls to suicide-prevention hot lines -- and likely has led to increased suicide rates. While government statistics on suicides often lag by two or three years, experts say the easier-to-track calls to hot lines have grown significantly. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which operates 24-hour crisis help lines around the country, reported an increase of 18 percent from January to May this year." http://bit.ly/agqNHj
Krugman's memorable take on cut-spending-now crew: "We're facing a coalition of the heartless, the clueless and the confused." http://nyti.ms/bNW2Pb
DOJ FILES SUIT AGAINST ARIZONA'S IMMIGRATION LAW - Capitol Media Services: "Legal papers filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix contend SB 1070 'is preempted by federal law and therefore violates the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.' The lawsuit says the legislation conflicts with the federal government's need to balance the competing interests of enforcing federal immigration law with the country's dimplomatic relations with other countries, including Mexico. `SB 1070 ... attempts to second-guess federal policies and re-order federal priorities in the area of immigration enforcement and to directly regulate immigration and the condition of an alien's entry and presence in the United States despite the fact that those subjects are federal domains and do not involve any legitimate state interest,'' wrote Assistant Attorney General Tony West who heads the civil division of the Department of Justice." http://bit.ly/buZi2k
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer: "As a direct result of failed and inconsistent federal enforcement, Arizona is under attack from violent Mexican drug and immigrant smuggling cartels. Now, Arizona is under attack in federal court from President Obama and his Department of Justice." http://bit.ly/d9uXSl
AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka: "We applaud the Obama administration and the Department of Justice for bringing legal action to stop Arizona from implementing SB1070, an anti-immigrant piece of legislation that would severely undermine workers' rights and sanction racial profiling."... Michael Steele: "It is unfortunate that President Obama and his administration would rather wage a costly legal battle with Arizona than allow the state to take the concrete steps necessary to secure its border. Arizonans are fed up with waiting for the help promised by Washington that never seems to come."
Lamar Smith, House Judiciary's Ranking, and 19 other Republicans in a letter to Eric Holder: "This lawsuit reveals the Obama Administration's contempt for immigration laws and the people of Arizona. It reveals contempt for the majority of the American people who support Arizona's efforts to reduce human smuggling, drug trafficking and illegal immigration." Letter: http://bit.ly/aR7gfl
@PDandrewCBS: Don't be surprised if new DOJ lawsuit against Arizona over immigration is consolidated with earlier, private lawsuits challenging measures.
Immigrantion advocates will protest Arizona Governor Jan Brewer this weekend when she appears at the National Governors Association meeting in Boston. "The Washington, D.C.-based ANSWER Coalition and others are putting out pamphlets, sending e-mails and making preparations to bring in protesters by bus to express their opposition to Arizona's controversial immigration law, recently signed by Brewer." AP: http://bit.ly/bJxkTh
John McCain says he would support deporting "many" of the illegal immigrants residing in Arizona. "No amnesty. Many of them need to be sent back," the Arizona senator told a Tuscon radio station this morning. http://bit.ly/aCeISI
CAN YOU DEFAME SOMEONE BY ADVERTISING HER POLITICAL POSITIONS? - Sam Stein: Less than 24-hours after removing a version of Sharron Angle's original, unvarnished, campaign website from the web, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is defying a cease and desist order from his Tea Party opponent and re-publishing the site. The Nevada Democrat's re-election campaign unveiled (for the second time) its website TheRealSharronAngle.com on Tuesday afternoon. The site is basically the same platform Angle used when running in the Nevada Republican primary. Though Reid's staff tinkered with its presentation to ensure it could withstand a legal challenge from the Angle campaign.
MCCOTTER PROPOSES ELIMINATING OWN COMMITTEE - Since the House GOP has has outsourced its policymaking to Web surfers, who needs an in-house shop? Thad McCotter proposed in a memo today that the GOP shave $360,000 off the deficit by eliminating the Republican Policy Committee he chairs. Let's save another few hudred million and eliminate the Senate. http://politi.co/au0LFf
NY DAILY NEWS: JUSTICE KENNEDY WON'T RETIRE BEFORE 2012 - The Supreme Court Justice stuck a jurisprudential thumb in the eye of President Obama recently, telling a gathering that he doesn't plan on retiring until after the 2012 Presidential election. Thomas DeFrank: "Justice Kennedy, who turns 74 this month, has told relatives and friends he plans to stay on the high court for at least three more years - through the end of Obama's first term, sources said. That means Kennedy will be around to provide a fifth vote for the court's conservative bloc through the 2012 presidential election. If Obama loses, Kennedy could retire and expect a Republican President to choose a conservative justice." http://bit.ly/aCf2lP
REPORTER BEHIND BARS FOR COVERING BP SPILL - Because the suffocation of an entire ecosystem and regional economy is, apparently, libel-y tabloid fodder, law enforcement officers DETAINED a photographer from ProPublica this weekend at the behest of a BP security official. Jason Linkins: http://huff.to/bMYzU2
Meanwhile the Coast Guard is threatening journalists with jail time if they get too close to cleanup efforts. "Journalists who come too close to oil spill clean-up efforts without permission could find themselves facing a $40,000 fine and even one to five years in prison under a new rule instituted by the Coast Guard late last week. The Coast Guard order states that 'vessels must not come within 20 meters [65 feet] of booming operations, boom, or oil spill response operations under penalty of law.'" http://bit.ly/cprcJR
Reuters: "BP's shares rose nearly 9 percent in New York after the company said it could cover the costs of the spill without selling new shares, despite reports it was talking to government-owned funds in the Middle East about buying a stake to ward off takeover attempts." http://bit.ly/bq7ysq
BIBI VISITS BARRY - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Presidient Obama today in an attempt to smooth over relations with the U.S. AP: "Trying to add a sense of urgency, Netanyahu said he and Obama discussed specific steps that could be taken in the coming weeks to move the peace process forward, without elaborating. 'When I say the next few weeks, that's what I mean,' he said. 'The president means that too.' Obama hailed Israel's recent decision to greatly ease its 3-year blockade of the Gaza Strip as 'real progress.' And he said he believes Netanyahu wants peace with the Palestinians and is serious about resuming the face-to-face Mideast peace talks that broke off in December 2008." http://huff.to/bhkftJ
Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced it is pressing charges against "a number of" its officiers and soldiers for crimes committed during its 2008-2009 campaign in the Gaza Strip. http://nyti.ms/a1gwmI
WATCH: Coinciding with Netanyahu's visit, the center-left Israel group J-Street unveiled its first TV ad, calling for a two-state solution and denouncing aggressive rhetoric from the likes of Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. http://bit.ly/doaPFT
Michael Hastings has inked a book deal with Little, Brown & Co to expand on his Afghan war piece for Rolling Stone that led to the resignation/firing of Stanley McChrystal. http://huff.to/cfH2Zl
The U.S. soldier accused of leaking video of civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan through the website WikiLeaks has been formally charged by the military. Pfc. Bradley Manning, 22, has been hit with 8 charges, including breaching the Espionage Act, and faces 52 years. http://huff.to/d1apAl
Even transparency advocates like Steve Aftergood sound wary of defending Manning in light of some of the charges he's facing, including swiping thousands of diplomatic cables: "Collectively, this suggests that he was not involved in a crisis of conscience over the Apache helicopter incident as much as he appeared bent on defying and disrupting the Army's classification practices," Aftergood told AOL's veteran reporter Andrea Stone. "At some point you have to deal with the consequences of your actions. If he did what he's accused of doing, then he crossed a number of lines." http://bit.ly/bHh4ao
A big fat seven percent of Americans see Afghanistan as the biggest threat facing the country. http://bit.ly/bvHCBM
TOMORROW'S PAPERS TODAY Financial Times: "Hurricanes set to blow away Haiti progress"
Don't be bashful: Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill
RON PAUL & BARNEY FRANK SUPPORT MILITARY SPENDING CUTS - In a HuffPost column, two of the House's more colorful members called for a reduction in defense spending. "It is irrefutably clear to us that if we do not make substantial cuts in the projected levels of Pentagon spending, we will do substantial damage to our economy and dramatically reduce our quality of life," they write. http://huff.to/d6kgf1
GOP PLANNING LAWSUIT IN WEST VIRGINIA - Hotline On Call reports that West Virginia GOP officials are aiming to litigiously move up a special election to fill Robert Byrd's Senate seat. "The RNC and the WV GOP are exploring ways to bring a lawsuit that would force the Mountaineer State to hold an election earlier than planned, the sources said. That could be the best option for the GOP, which believes it can win Byrd's seat in this favorable political climate. But it will involve compelling the state to actually hold the contest. WV Sec/State Natalie Tennant (D) said last week that Gov. Joe Manchin's (D) eventual appointee would be able to serve until the '12 elections. And election law precedent appears to be on Tennant's side, given a WV Supreme Court decision from '94." http://bit.ly/dB5von
Video from West Virginia's last special election debate: http://bit.ly/2Lx7HX
And the victory party: http://bit.ly/3tiDvc
RAND PAUL'S ELECTRIFIED BORDER FENCE, WE HARDLY KNEW YE - Good fences make charred neighbors: In a statement provided to the Huffington Post, a spokesman for the Republican Kentucky Senate candidate claimed his boss NEVER supported the construction of a giant bug zapper underneath the U.S.-Mexico border, but does want to supplement an above-ground fence with additional electronic surveillance . Except, as Sam Stein points out, he totally did want an underground fence. "I think you could actually put in an electronic fence under the whole border for probably $10 or $15 million," Paul said last May, "which sounds like a lot to us but that's peanuts." http://huff.to/bM8QB0
A new PPP poll finds Paul and his Democratic opponent, Jack Conway, tied at 43%. PPP: "The more Kentucky voters get to know Rand Paul, the less they like him. When PPP first polled the race in December Paul's favorability was a +3 spread at 26/23. By May it was a -7 spread at 28/35. Now it's a -8 spread at 34/42. The national media attention Paul has received has hurt his cause with voters in the state -- 38% say it has made them less likely to support Paul while 29% say it has made them more inclined to vote for him and 33% say it hasn't had an impact on their attitude toward Paul one way or the other." http://bit.ly/9X2Zy2
Another poll out from PPP indicates Richard Burr is facing a strong challenge from North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, the candidate the DSCC opposed. Burr leads Marshall and Libertarian candidate Michael Beitler 38% to 33% and 10% respectively with 20% of voters undecdied. http://bit.ly/9ebYzt
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's a kitten attacking a pug: http://bit.ly/9vpCQ3
AP ARTICLE TELLS US EVERYTHING, NOTHING ABOUT ALVIN GREENE - The new piece on South Carolina Senate candidate Alvin Greene (D - Jodie Foster's Alien Dream World in "Contact") is illuminating simply by making Greene's primary victory seem even more implausible. "He is remembered as painfully shy by those who knew him in high school...Tennis coach Kay Young said she remembers just about every one of her players over her nearly two decades leading the team. But she barely recalls Greene, who she said was a smart boy who earned the 'turtle' nickname because he was so introverted." http://huff.to/9xoXoN
EXCLUSIVE picture of Alvin Greene's principal (h/t wild speculation): http://bit.ly/cFGoOc
JEREMY THE INTERN'S WEATHER REPORT - Tonight: It's going to be really really hot all up and down the East Coast. Drink lots and lots of water and get shade. And if you think it's going to be better Tomorrow, I have bad news for you. It's not. Thanks, JB!
COMFORT FOOD
- Israeli soldiers, in the middle of the West Bank, dancing to Ke$ha. http://bit.ly/ccNOMs
- The most excellent Google Street View screen capture. http://huff.to/bdkrQx
- Merton, the Chatroulette piano improviser, is back. http://bit.ly/aYdJOc
- A dachuned (the hot dog dog) chased away a coyote. Texas Governor and coyote foe Rick Perry take note. http://bit.ly/daepc9
- This guy saw a double rainbow and was really pleased with his find. http://bit.ly/9cbXfM
- For those of us older than 17 who don't care: the Twilight series hilariously summed up in one minute. http://bit.ly/cMiBEV
- Behold, the oldest photons in the universe. http://bit.ly/bh3VIh
- Behold, a startling finding in the field of stem cell research. http://bit.ly/9jpiqp
- Behold, the world's biggest bowl of porridge. http://bit.ly/9bEGLT
TWITTERAMA
@Wonkette: Huffington Post Makes All of America Believe Israel Is Devil By Cropping Photo http://bit.ly/aaKsvw
@ggreeneva: So Sen. @JimInhofe's totally building another snarktastic igloo today, right?
@bbedway U.S. just turned 234 but over half of nation's money supply was created since Bernanke at Fed 4 yrs ago. http://bit.ly/arqorn
@whitehouse: #LetsMove & @GOOD form like Voltron, ask you to make an infographic on childhood obesity epidemic http://bit.ly/b2okYt
@AndrewWK: PARTY TIP: You're alive, so you might as well have a blast. What else is life for except giving your all and having a ball?
THE TUBE
TONIGHT: UFO lobbyist Wilbur Allen and David Weigel, trying on his contributor hat, appear on Ratigan (guest host Cenk Uygur). Former Shell CEO John Hofmeister speaks with Matthews. Tim Kaine, Elijah Cummings and our own Roy Sekoff pay a visit to Ed Schultz. Barney Frank discusses defense spending with Olbermann. Raul Grijalva debates immigration reform on John King USA with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Broadcasting from Afghanistan, Rachel Maddow interviews Brig. Gen. Ben Hodges. Larry King speaks iwth Tim Kaine . TOMORROW: Barney Frank stops by Morning Joe.
ON TAP
TONIGHT
6:30: Justin Krebs. co-founder of Living Liberally discusses his new book "538 Ways to Live, Work and Play Like a Liberal" at Busboys [Busboys and Poets,
1025 5th St NW].
8:30 pm - 10:30 pm: Chrystal City's Star Trek Film Festival screens "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" [18th and South Bell Streets, Arlington].
9:00 pm: "Drink and a Movie" night at the Black Cat where they will screen "Wet Hot American Summer" in the comfort of their air-conditioned backstage [Black Cat, 1811 14th Street NW].
TOMORROW
7:00 pm: Woody Allen in space: The filmmaker's 1973 classic "Sleeper," about life 200 years in the future, is screened at NoMa Summer Screen [L Street NE between 2nd and 3rd Streets].
7:30 pm: The Reduced Shakespeare Company fuses every Hollywood cliche imaginable into one 100 minute production. "Taxi Driving Miss Daisy" and "My Big Fat Fair Lady" are just some of the send-ups featured. The Chicago Tribune called it "stellar shtick" [Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street NW].
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