On this day in 1860, the Republican Party nominated a non-metrosexual Barack Obama as its candidate for president. Cory Booker propagated America's body image problem when he expressed his jealousy over President Obama's slender frame. And Mitt Romney's campaign released an advertisement that imagines President Romney's first day in office but sadly didn't include the part where we dig a ceremonial grave for Seamus in Lafayette Park. Never forget. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, May 18th, 2012:
OBAMA HATES REPORTERS - Michael Calderone and Dan Froomkin: "The Obama administration Friday morning continued its headlong attack on the right of reporters to protect their confidential sources in leak investigations. Before a panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, a Department of Justice lawyer argued that New York Times reporter James Risen should be forced to testify in the trial of former CIA agent Jeffrey Sterling, who is charged with leaking classified information to Risen about a botched plot against the Iranian government. Rather than arguing the specifics of the case, DOJ appellate lawyer Robert A. Parker asserted that there is no reporter's privilege when a journalist receives an illegal leak of national security secrets. When Judge Robert Gregory asked Parker to explain why the public's interest in a free press was outweighed by the specific circumstances in this case, Parker declined. 'I don't think there would be a balancing test because there's no privilege in the first place,' Parker said. 'The salient point is that Risen is the only eyewitness to this crime.'" [HuffPost]
INDEFINITE DETENTION BILL FAILS IN THE HOUSE - Bad news for anyone with "al-" in their name or among their Facebook friends. Mike McAuliff: "A judge may have found unconstitutional the law that allows people to be held indefinitely without trial by the military, but the House of Representatives voted Friday to keep it anyway. On Wednesday, Federal Judge Katherine Forrest found that the law violates rights to free speech and due process. But House members defended it, ultimately voting 238 to 182 against an amendment to guarantee civilian trials for any terrorism suspect arrested in the United States. The measure, sponsored by Reps. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Justin Amash (R-Mich.), had been backed by a mix of conservatives, moderates and liberals who argued that letting the president decide to detain anyone -- including Americans -- deemed to be a terrorist was granting the executive too much power. And they argued that with more than 400 terrorists having been tried and convicted in civilian courts while dozens of plots were prevented, the law was unnecessary." [HuffPost]
BOOKER HATES OBAMA - Joy Resmovitz, HuffPost education reporter: "Speaking at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education at the Education Writers Association national seminar, Newark mayor Cory Booker said he'll campaign fiercely for Obama, even though he disagrees with the president on the issue of school vouchers. And Booker thinks Obama is too skinny. "[It] really bothers me" Booker said, adding he'd send the president some Ben & Jerry's if he knew he could get it to DC without melting. "Gain some weight, give the rest of us a chance," Booker said, laughing. "I can totally see the headline now: 'Booker hates Obama.'" Thanks, Mayor!
THIS WEEKEND IN D.C.: TESTICLE-TASTING, ARTOMATIC - HuffPost DC:This weekend's top events include the return of Artomatic, D.C.'s best art free-for-all, and "Legends of the Ball," which is the District's eighth annual testy-fest.[HuffPost]
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - "A woman who told investigators she was desperate because her unemployment benefits had run out has been charged with the attempted robbery of a bank on the North Side. On April 12, the woman attempted to rob the North Community Bank branch at 5241 N. Western Ave. in Lincoln Square, but left with her demand note and an empty bag after the teller seemed unsure of what to do and a bank manager came out to ask the would-be robber if she needed help, federal prosecutors said." Have a bad weekend. [Chicago Sun-Times]
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NEW ROMNEY AD IMAGINES HIS FIRST DAY AS PRESIDENT - That is, everything on the first day after he makes a bunch of awkward comments about the size of the State Dining Room and orders the manufacture of custom made, Seal of the President of the United States-emblazoned bocce balls from Indonesia. Sam Stein: "The ad, released on Friday morning and set to air in key swing states, outlines the specific policies that Romney would pursue in the Oval Office, from lowering taxes to signing off on the Keystone pipeline. Discussing the spot while on the trail Thursday, Romney declared that, 'it will be a positive ad about the things I would do if I were president.' But the ad also includes several sharp contrasts with the president. And because it mentions Obama by name, when it comes time for grading, it will not get the positive label Romney suggested." [HuffPost]
Mitt Romney really wants to win Florida: "Mitt Romney's campaign is blasting the Obama administration after the State Department approved a travel visa for Mariela Castro.... 'The Obama administration's decision to grant a visa to Mariela Castro, daughter of the Cuban dictator Raul Castro, is a slap in the face to all those brave individuals in Cuba who are enduring relentless persecution for fighting for the universal rights we Americans hold dear. Unfortunately, this decision is part of a larger pattern. For even as the Castro brothers have tightened repression on the island over the past three years, the Obama administration has softened its approach.'" [The Hill]
ROMNEY PRAISES PERSON WHO JUST LAID OFF A BUNCH OF PEOPLE BECAUSE OF COURSE - Dave Jamieson: "GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney took some time, in an interview with National Review published Thursday, to praise Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman, who lost her 2010 bid to become governor of California. If Whitman, a Republican, had defeated Democrat Jerry Brown, Romney argued, California's finances wouldn't be in such dire shape now and an $8.5 billion tax hike wouldn't be on the table... The same day Romney's National Review interview ran, The New York Times reported that Whitman plans on slashing at least 30,000 jobs at HP next week through layoffs and early retirement, while likely sparing its presumably cheaper workforce in China." [HuffPost]
MOVE OVER REV. WRIGHT, BIRTHERISM IS BACK - But did it ever leave??? TPM: "The man in charge of running Arizona's elections has gone to the birthers. Secretary of State Ken Bennett now says he's not convinced Barack Obama was really born in the United States and so he is threatening to keep the president off the ballot in November. Bennett's comments came in an interview late Thursday with conservative radio talk show host Mike Broomhead on Phoenix station KFYI. Bennett said he was following the lead of the state's eccentric Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a fellow Republican who ordered an investigation into the president's birth certificate last year and concluded the document released by the White House is a forgery. Bennett said he is now trying to get verification from state officials in Hawaii that the certificate is authentic... 'I'm not a birther. I believe the president was born in Hawaii -- or at least I hope he was,' Bennett said on the show." [TPM]
SEAMUS ROMNEY GETS RED CARPET TREATMENT - Seattle TV host Nancy Guppy arrived on Thursday at a red carpet soiree, stuffed into a dog kennel attached to the roof of a car. The stunt commemorated Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's poor treatment of the family dog during a family vacation three decades ago. A caption beneath a picture of Guppy climbing out of the crate on the Seattle Times' website describes the scene in deadpan: "Seattle Channel's Nancy Guppy turned heads arriving to cover the red carpet in a pet kennel on top of a car." [HuffPost]
FLORIDA SENATE PRIMARY GETS A MUCH-NEEDED DOSE OF INTERESTING - National Journal: "Former Republican Rep.
TWO VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE DON'T GET ALONG WELL: BOOK - Max Rosenthal: "From unpopular wars to the ailing economy, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner had their pick of major issues during the first weeks of the Obama administration. But, according to a new book by author and journalist James Mann, the two senior cabinet officials spent the first weeks after Obama's inauguration in a petty turf war. In The Obamians, an upcoming book about the evolution of Obama's foreign policy obtained by The Huffington Post, Mann wrote that Clinton and Geithner clashed over the lead role in yearly talks with China. Under former President George W. Bush, then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson led the American delegation, known as the Strategic Economic Dialogue. Geithner, a Mandarin speaker with policy experience on China, expected to do the same under Obama." [HuffPost]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Norman the Dog is our hero.
BARNEY FRANK DOES NOT WANT TO BE WALKED DOWN THE AISLE BY A DUDE IN A BULLETPROOF VEST - Talk about something borrowed, amirite? "Representative Barney Frank is getting married in July to his partner, Jim Ready, and he says that the president is not invited to the wedding. It is nothing personal; it is the Secret Service. Mr. Frank says that the hard-partying agents are actually party poopers. 'If he and Michelle wanted to come, I would be delighted and honored to have him, but he will bring the Secret Service,' Mr. Frank said in an interview taped Friday for the C-Span program 'Newsmakers.'" [NYT]
COMFORT FOOD
By @bradjshannon!
- This thing lets you make weird computer noises by touching paper. [http://bit.ly/KqeaQZ]
- Wrong, Mark. So very wrong. [http://bit.ly/KqdE5D]
- Guess Who? Peter Berg, maybe. [http://bit.ly/Kqd9s0]
- Foto Friday: The World At Night contest winners. [http://bit.ly/KqdXNN]
- Foto Friday: Wet insects look amazing. [http://bit.ly/Kqf1RA]
- Hugh Jackman can teach us whatever he wants. [http://bit.ly/KqdJX0]
TWITTERAMA
@jim_newell: what will be this summer's ground zero mosque? i am rooting for german rearmament
@pourmecoffee: Today in 1860 Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln for president and yada yada yada Romney's now their leader.
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ON TAP
Tonight, 8:00 pm: Mashup kings The White Panda play The Howard. If you're not familiar with White Panda, know one thing: they made "Fireflies" danceable. [The Howard Theater]
Tonight: The Black Keys play Merriweather with the Arctic Monkeys opening. Tickets still available on 9:30 Club's website. [Merriweather]
Today - Sunday: Richard Burr pretends to be interested in whatever his $2,000-less rich donors have to say to him... for 48 straight hours. That's a gift. [Duck, NC]
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