Washington gawked at squadrons of fighter planes, which are aircraft that people used to bring about political change before gyrocopters. Jim Messina successfully brought his knowledge of electing people not born in the United States to office to the British Conservative Party. And President Obama, speaking at Nike headquarters about TPP, urged the Senate to “Just Do It.” Funny, Nike’s factory foremen in Dongguan say the same thing. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, May 8th, 2015:
SWOOSH - Jim Kuhnhenn: "When President Barack Obama promotes trade, he likes to say that 95 percent of the world's markets are outside the nation's borders — a potential goldmine for U.S.-made products. But Nike, where Obama made a pitch Friday, wants easier access to the U.S. market for the products it makes overseas. Obama's appearance at the headquarters of the giant athletic-wear company illustrates the competing, sometimes contradictory goals of trade and how one industry, footwear makers in particular, can encapsulate the debate that is churning around Obama's efforts to negotiate a Trans-Pacific agreement that would open up commerce among the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim countries…. He said this agreement is in America's best interest. 'Just do it,' Obama said, echoing Nike's slogan." [AP]
BOEHNER PLANS ABORTION VOTE - Alan Fram: "Republican leaders are planning a House vote next week on a bill banning late-term abortions after dropping a requirement that rape victims would qualify for the procedure only if they'd already reported the crime to authorities. Top House Republicans abruptly reversed plans to debate the measure in January after GOP women and moderates objected to that reporting requirement. Instead, the new version requires rape victims to have counseling or medical treatment at least 48 hours before an abortion." [AP]
OBAMA ADMIN DENYING STUDENT LOAN RELIEF - Shahien Nasiripour: "Federal law allows students who were defrauded by their colleges into taking out federal student loans to have their debts forgiven. The Obama administration has said repeatedly it will ensure aggrieved borrowers get this form of relief, a commitment that Education Undersecretary Ted Mitchell reiterated this week following the bankruptcy filing of troubled for-profit school operator Corinthian Colleges Inc. But that’s not helping Yvette Colon of New York. Colon, a 53-year-old East Harlem resident, says she is stuck with a worthless credential that’s saddled her with more than $51,000 in federal and private student loans. She attended Sanford-Brown Institute in Manhattan, a for-profit trade school owned by Career Education Corp., from 2006 to 2008, hoping to become a cardiac sonographer." [HuffPost]
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - Nico Pitney has bad news: "The urban poor in the United States are experiencing accelerated aging at the cellular level, and chronic stress linked both to income level and racial-ethnic identity is driving this physiological deterioration. These are among the findings published this week by a group of prominent biologists and social researchers, including a Nobel laureate. Dr. Arline Geronimus, a visiting scholar at the Stanford Center for Advanced Study and the lead author of the study, described it as the most rigorous research of its kind examining how 'structurally rooted social processes work through biological mechanisms to impact health.'" [HuffPost]
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JOBS REPORT MEH - The unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent, which is cool, but Dean Baker explains why the solid-seeming 223,000 jobs is slightly sad. "This is disappointing since the already weak March number was revised down by 41,000 to 85,000. Since the March number was held down by unusually bad weather, it was reasonable to expect more of a bounceback in April. With the downward revision, the two-month average is just 154,000, a considerable falloff from last year’s pace." [CEPR.net]
RANGEL LOSES CENSURE APPEAL - If his appeal was anything like his his floor speech during the 2010 debate over his censure, then we're not surprised. Jonathan Adler: "After a 2011 Politico story suggested that some committee staffers might have improperly shared information related to the complaints against him, Rep. Rangel sought to challenge his censure in federal court. According to Rep. Rangel,his censure violated relevant House rules and was unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. Whatever the merits of Rep. Rangel’s substantive claim, he cannot bring his case in federal court. Today, in Rangel v. Boehner, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit concluded unanimously that federal courts lack jurisdiction over Rep. Rangel’s claims, as they are foreclosed by the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause." [WaPo]
CARSON SUPPORTS MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE - Look at Dr. Socialism over here. Maybe he wants to take his wealthiest patient's brain surgery and give everyone a little bit of brain surgery, too. Ben Kamisar: "Conservative presidential candidate Ben Carson says the $7.25 federal minimum wage should be raised. 'I think, probably, it should be higher than now,' Carson told CNBC’s John Harwood in an interview Friday. Carson added that government assistance often provides more than the minimum wage in several states, allowing people to ignore the long-term benefits of a job...His stance on the minimum wage makes Carson an outlier among the likely field of GOP opponents and comes with Democrats looking to make it a key issue in the 2016 election. Among fellow GOP contenders Carly Fiorina, former Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.) and Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Ted Cruz (Texas) and Marco Rubio (Fla.), Carson is the only one backing a wage hike. Two likely contenders, former Gov. Jeb Bush (Fla.) and Gov. Scott Walker (Wis.), don’t back an increase either." [The Hill]
GOP STRUGGLING TO FIND MURRAY CHALLENGER - Simone Pathe: "A Republican operative confirmed to CQ Roll Call the party is looking to target [Sen. Patty] Murray this cycle, but with many of the state’s most eligible Republicans expressing more interest in challenging the Democratic governor [Jay Inslee], a formidable candidate remains elusive. The man who could be the GOP’s top recruit is, publicly at least, noncommittal. Rep. Dave Reichert, a six-term congressman who’s flirted with statewide office before, told CQ Roll Call in a statement Monday, “My entire career I have always kept my options open. I have considered every possibility that has been put in front of me.” Reichert isn’t ruling out a Senate bid, but he’s more often mentioned as a gubernatorial contender. He could just as well decide to stay put in Washington’s 8th District, which, thanks to redistricting, is now safer turf for a Republican...As for other top recruits from the congressional delegation, few Washington State sources expect Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers to risk her position as House Republican Conference chairwoman in a competitive race against the four-term senator." [Roll Call]
WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN THE UK ELECTION: AXELROD V. MESSINA - We hear Mark Penn did some really top notch polling for Plaid Cymru. Nick Gass and Kevin Robillard: "At 9:21 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday in America, former top Obama aide David Axelrod conceded the UK election. 'Congratulations to my friend @Messina2012 on his role in the resounding Conservative victory in Britain,' Axelrod wrote on Twitter. The surprisingly decisive victory for Prime Minister David Cameron and his Tories also delivered a big win to Jim Messina, President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, who advised the Conservative Party and triumphed over his fellow Obama aide, Axelrod, who advised the Labour Party...Messina and Axelrod weren’t the only operatives abroad. Reggie Love, Obama’s former body man, helped the Conservatives with their field and social media efforts. Two partners in Axelrod’s old firm, AKPD, Larry Grisolano and Mike Donilon, were also advising the Labour Party and its then-leader Ed Miliband. (Miliband resigned early this morning following the election defeat.) And Blue State Digital’s political director, Matthew McGregor, worked on Labour’s digital and rapid response efforts." [Politico]
U GO GRL
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's a buoyant dog butt.
COMFORT FOOD
- Every Michael Jackson grunt, "shamon," etc.
- Timelapse of the world's largest LEGO construction
- An oral history of the 1980s Clippers, the NBA's worst team.
TWITTERAMA
@JuddLEgum: As predicted by Ted Cruz, Obamacare has coincided with 62 straight months of private sector job growth
@DaveWeigel: Big congrats to Miliband, Farage, and Clegg on their new jobs at Fusion!
@emmaroller: I am about to turn 26. gonna try to make this the year of Not Arguing With Eggs on Twitter.
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