If "House of Cards'" producers wanted to gain street cred by fake-leaking the show’s third season, they should have done so on Medium. Scott Walker dodged questions while in London today, but his use of American sports metaphors while doing so probably suggests something about his foreign policy. And if we looked at our mothers the way Andy Harris looked at his, they’d probably assume we were high. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, February 11th, 2015:
HOUSE PASSES KEYSTONE BILL - AP: "The Republican-controlled Congress has cleared a bill approving the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. That sets up a confrontation with President Barack Obama, who has threatened to veto the measure. The House voted 270-152 on Wednesday to send the bill to the president. Neither chamber has enough votes to overcome a veto. The vote caps weeks of debate on a top priority for Congress after the GOP took control last month. Supporters are already planning on using other means to secure the pipeline's approval." [AP]
DHS? MORE LIKE DOA, AMIRITE? - [Holds hand up for high five... waits… waits some more… lowers hand… lowers head…] Elise Foley: "House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) showed no signs Wednesday of wavering on immigration measures in the funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, even after GOP leaders in the Senate conceded they couldn't get the House-passed legislation through the upper chamber. 'The House has done its job,' Boehner said at a press conference after he met with House Republican members. 'Why don't you go ask the Senate Democrats when they're going to get off their ass and do something other than to vote no?' DHS funding is set to run out Feb. 27, but the two parties appear no closer to a deal to prevent a shutdown." [HuffPost]
The Washington Post plotted Boehner's cuss words on a helpful chart.
AUMF! - It's not just a word that pops up in big cartoon letters when Batman punches the Penguin in the gut. Jen Bendery: "President Barack Obama said the war authorization proposal he unveiled Wednesday strikes the 'necessary balance,' giving him the flexibility to fight Islamic State militants without setting the nation up for another open-ended war in the Middle East. Obama sent a draft Authorization for the Use of Military Force to Congress earlier in the day, outlining the limits he wants in the military campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS or ISIL. His proposal would limit military action against the group to three years and allow for limited U.S. ground troops in situations involving rescue operations or intelligence sharing. It wouldn't put any geographic limits on the military campaign; instead, it would limit military action to countering the Islamic State and associated forces. The AUMF itself would sunset in three years as well. 'This resolution strikes the necessary balance giving us the flexibility we need for unforeseen circumstances,' Obama said during brief remarks at the White House. 'If we had actionable intelligence about a gathering of ISIL leaders, and our partners didn't have the capacity to get them, I would be prepared to order our special forces to take action.'" [HuffPost]
The Senate Budget Committee held a hearing to set the stage for the coming disability insurance fight.
HuffPost Haircuts: Akbar Ahmed, Sara Bondioli.
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - Just 37 out of more than 16,000 welfare applicants failed drug tests during six months of testing in Tennessee, The Tennessean reported this week. Though Republican lawmakers in nearly every state have proposed drug tests for recipients of government benefits in recent years, Tennessee is one of only 12 states that have followed through with a testing program. Its results are typical: Very fewpoor people seeking benefits actually turned out to have dirty urine. Yet despite the dubious results, an additional dozen states have already started considering similar legislation this year. [HuffPost]
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OBAMA AND HILLARY'S PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO GET ALONG VERY WELL - Like "The Slap," but for squabbling Clinton yes -men and -women. Times: "All recognize that Mrs. Clinton’s political operation could dominate the Democratic Party for the next decade, controlling the flow of commissions, consulting work and political appointments. But the marriage between the two camps -- based to a large degree on mutual interest, if not love -- now appears more uneasy than at any time since Mr. Obama asked Mrs. Clinton to serve in his administration after the 2008 election...[David Brock's] successful fund-raising has been led by Mary Pat Bonner, whose firm has been paid millions of dollars by Mr. Brock’s groups to court donors -- some of whom have criticized the arrangement as well as Mr. Brock...'He is a cancer,' said [previous Obama bundler John] Morgan, who is close to [Jim] Messina. 'If you care about your party and our country, you just do what you are asked,' said Mr. Morgan, referring to Mr. Brock’s public resignation from Priorities USA, which immediately reignited tales of infighting from Mrs. Clinton’s 2008 campaign. 'If you care about yourself, you take your toys and go home.' Mr. Brock declined to comment." [NYT]
SCOTT WALKER DODGES QUESTION ABOUT EVOLUTION - Remember when Obama used "evolution" to dodge a question? Who wore it best? Ned Simons, our man in London: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) on Wednesday dodged a question about whether he believes in evolution. Speaking at the Chatham House foreign policy think tank London, Walker was asked: 'Are you comfortable with the idea of evolution? Do you believe in it?' 'For me, I am going to punt on that one as well,' he said. 'That's a question politicians shouldn't be involved in one way or another. I am going to leave that up to you. I'm here to talk about trade not to pontificate about evolution.'" [HuffPost]
MARK KIRK: WE SUCK - Sahil Kapur: "Republican Sen. Mark Kirk said Wednesday that his party made a mistake by picking a fight over President Barack Obama's immigration actions, and said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) should bring up a 'clean' bill to keep the Department of Homeland Security funded. 'I generally agree with the Democratic position here. I think we should have never fought this battle on DHS funding,' the Illinois senator told a few reporters in the Capitol." [TPM]
HANDSOME MAN WITH NICE HAIR RUNNING FOR OFFICE - WaPo: "California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Wednesday told supporters that he will run for the state’s highest office in three years as another piece of the Golden State’s complicated political puzzle fell into place. 'I’ve never been a fan of pretense or procrastination,' Newsom says in the e-mail announcing his campaign for governor. 'The reality of running for Governor -- even four years from now -- in America’s largest, most diverse state demands that I start raising resources now if we’re going to lead a conversation worthy of the 38 million people who live, work, attend school and raise families in the Golden State.' Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, was widely expected to run to replace either Gov. Jerry Brown (D), who is term-limited in 2018, or Sen. Barbara Boxer (D), who is retiring after her term expires in 2016. Newsom bowed out of the Senate race just days after Boxer announced she was out, making a bid for governor all but certain." [HuffPost]
NOI MORE NOI? - The New Organizing Institute -- responsible for breeding a generation of irritating people in Warby Parker glasses who spend most of their time appearing on panels where they call one another "rock stars" -- has lost a number of key staffers. We wish them all the best. BuzzFeed: "The New Organizing Institute, a progressive grassroots outfit responsible for training many of the Democratic Party’s digital organizers, has to be rebuilt from the ground up after a mass exodus of senior staff and employees Tuesday. Frustrations over fundraising and the management style of Executive Director Ethan Roeder, the former top data guru for President Obama’s presidential campaigns, led senior staffers to quit and several employees to follow them out the door after the nonprofit’s board of directors refused to fire Roeder at the staff’s request. Staff who left said that layoffs followed the mass resignation, but the board denies that." [BuzzFeed]
NO ONE SHOULD LOOK AT THEIR OWN MOTHER LIKE THIS - National Journal: "In a strange -- or adorable, depending on how you look at it -- C-SPAN clip that surfaced Wednesday, the Republican congressman from Maryland showed just how much he wants to make mom proud. In the two-minute-long video, Harris wordlessly communicated with his mother, who was watching the network. It began when Harris suddenly slid into the bench behind speaker Rep. Buddy Carter, which put him right in front of C-SPAN viewers. Harris then gave a quick glance around to see if anyone was looking, and stole a wink at the camera." [National Journal]
MEDIUM KINDA SUCKS - Remember, it's essentially PR Newswire but with more helvetica. National Journal: "Mitt Romney announced he was not running for president in 2016 on Medium. The White House posted the entirety of President Obama's budget on Medium. And now Medium, a website two Twitter co-founders -- Biz Stone and Ev Williams -- started in 2012, is coming for the rest of D.C. What is Medium? The simplest explanation is it's an online publication platform. The backbone of the site, and its main selling point, is its beautiful and simple design. With big, cushy fonts, text fields uncluttered by advertisements, and large-format-photo options, it's a sandbox for anyone (even us) to create Web content that rivals the best designed sites…It's up to the reader to distinguish between what's journalism and what's communications--and all the shades in between. 'We don't make those judgments for the reader,' Lee says. 'The reader is smart and can figure out what they are reading.'" [National Journal]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's a cat who gives no shits.
TENNESSEE LAWMAKER DOES VERY TENNESSEE THING - We can only presume that the current state book is a leather-bound edition of Dolly Parton's memoir, "Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business." Amanda Terkel: " A Tennessee state legislator has introduced a bill to make the Bible the official state book, after two other Southern states considered similar moves in recent months. State Rep. Jerry Sexton (R) put forward his legislation Tuesday. He did not return a request for additional comment. Last month, legislators in Mississippi introduced two bills to designate the Bible as the state book...'The Bible provides a good role model on how to treat people,' said Mississippi state Rep. Tom Miles (D), one of the cosponsors of that state's legislation. 'They could read in there about love and compassion.'" [HuffPost]
COMFORT FOOD
- Sports Center already has an ad up starring the Super Bowl sharks.
- Steve Buscemi as the protagonist of "Fifty Shades of Grey."
- An algorithm helps you find Waldo.
- Meet Vladimir Putin's favorite EDM artist.
TWITTERAMA
@EvanMcSan: With Shame A Distant Memory, Democratic Party Op Hits Send On Jon Stewart “Thank You” List-Builder Petition Email
@lehmannchris: I'm not convinced that evolution believes in Scott Walker, either.
@anchorlines: 'oh, valentine's day? yeah, i have plans'
*sees house of cards was taken down*
'wait nevermind come back'
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