VIDEO: What song are you listening to?

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They like you, they really like you

HuffPost Hill:

With friends "like" these... Rep. Patrick McHenry may be regretting calling Elizabeth Warren a liar -- and that open Facebook posting policy he has. About 15,000 people have "liked" him on his fan page to post angry demands that he apologize.

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House passes bloated defense bill by a mile

For crying out loud, can that beast ever be tamed? How is it that cutting benefits for the middle class and poor is always an option but serious trimming of the defense budget is not an option? Maybe the big mouth Bill Clinton can step up for the rest of America instead of blathering on about cutting Medicare. How clueless is he? Why are entitlements for everyone outside of Wall Street of the defense industry always on the table?

This is yet another clear example of the failure of modern American politics. People like Clinton are so far removed from the daily struggles of the average person and they only sound more ridiculous by the day when they fail to offer any constructive criticism that might actually benefit normal people. Not everyone is sitting on a hundred million bucks like Clinton and the job opportunities with oil kingdoms and Wall Street just aren't as widely available for everyone else. What a disgrace.

The Republican-controlled House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a $690 billion defense bill that limits President Barack Obama's authority on reducing nuclear weapons and deciding the fate of terrorist suspects.

On a 322-96 vote, the House approved the broad defense blueprint that would provide a 1.6 percent increase in military pay, fund an array of aircraft, ships and submarines and increase health care fees slightly for working-age military retirees. The bill meets the Pentagon's request for $119 billion to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Final passage came shortly after the House narrowly rejected a measure requiring an accelerated timetable and exit strategy for withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan nearly 10 years after the conflict began.

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Unemployments claims increased last week

Without government stimulus money and with the GOP frothing at the mouth for austerity, things can and likely will get worse.

Jobless claims increased by 10,000 to 424,000 in the week ended May 21, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey called for a drop to 404,000. The economy grew less than forecast in the first quarter, a separate report showed.

Consistent gains in hiring are needed to sustain consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the world’s largest economy. Federal Reserve officials said the jobless rate “remains elevated” at 9 percent, one reason central bankers pledged last month to complete their asset-purchase plan by the end of June and keep borrowing costs near zero.

“Claims are still unfortunately seeing some upward pressure from state and local government job cuts,” said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit. The first-quarter growth figures show “a modest soft patch to the recovery,” he said.

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Parish of top advisor to Pope on pedophile priests rocked by pedophilia sex ring; priest may be HIV+

[Update: Corrected headline for accuracy. GP]

Thanks to Twitter and Chris Hayes, we find this amazing story. John also has more coverage of it over at AMERICAblog Gay, including some pointed commentary (and the fact that the Italian press is reporting that the priest is HIV+).  God is indeed an ironist:

A [priest in the parish of a] top advisor to Pope Benedict XVI was arrested Friday on pedophilia and drug charges in a drug and sex ring investigation. ... Piercarlo Casassa, a retired priest, in a report by The Daily Telegraph, said of Seppia, “I told the Church about him in 1994 but was ignored. I told them he was not the right person to have around youngsters.”

The article then quotes Time and Worldcrunch (emphasis theirs):

“Father Riccardo Seppia, a 51-​year-​old parish priest in the village of Sastri Ponente, near Genoa, was arrested last Friday, May 13, on pedophilia and drug charges. Investigators say that in tapped mobile-​phone conversations, Seppia asked a Moroccan drug dealer to arrange sexual encounters with young and vulnerable boys. “I do not want 16-​year-​old boys but younger. Fourteen-​year-​olds are O.K. Look for needy boys who have family issues,” he allegedly said. Genoa Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, who is the head of the Italian Bishops Conference, had been working with Benedict to establish a tough new worldwide policy, released this week, on how bishops should handle accusations of priestly sex abuse.”

Just horrifying. The original article then notes (my emphasis):

In related news, the Vatican released a report last week that many are calling “the ‘blame Woodstock’ explanation.

The report, paid for in part by American Bishops, in part by Catholic organizations, and in part by the U.S. DOJ, is ludicrous.” [my emphasis here]

The DOJ? This is not a church, it's a crime family. And the DOJ should be investigating, not funding their PR.

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Lawsuit filed against USDA, saying approval of Monsanto-modified alfalfa is "illegal"

Earlier we wrote about the Obama administration's approval of Monsanto-owned genetically modified plants, including alfalfa. Shockingly, this USDA action seems to have been taken at the direction of the White House. (Listen to the audio in the above link for that information.)

In response, the Center for Food Safety, Earthjustice and others have filed a lawsuit, saying the approval of Monsanto alfalfa is "illegal" (h/t Jennifer Grayson).

From the complaint (pdf):

Plaintiffs ask this Court to declare the Deregulation Determination to be arbitrary and capricious, in violation of NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act], the PPA [Plant Protection Act] and the APA [Administrative Procedure Act]. Plaintiffs further ask this Court to vacate APHIS's [Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, an arm of the UDSA] decision to once again deregulate RRA [Roundup-Ready Alfalfa] without taking a "hard look" at the environmental consequences of its decision. ... Plaintiffs request injunctive, declaratory, and other relief this Court deems appropriate.

The plaintiffs want the USDA order vacated. As the complaint notes, this has been adjudicated before, in 2005. Jennifer Grayson adds:

For those wondering about the status of the lawsuit, it is still pending; but according to True Food Network (CFS’ grassroots arm) Director Heather Whitehead, it is “progressing a pace.” Here’s hoping that a winning decision comes down soon, before those first soiled seeds are sown.

Here's hoping indeed. I'll bet there's a race to spread those seeds as far and as fast as possible.

I'll pass news of the result when there is one.

GP Read the rest of this post...

Wisconsin Judge strikes down Walker/GOP anti-union law

It's not over, but the anti-union law got whacked by a Wisconsin Judge today:

A judge has struck down Gov. Scott Walker's controversial new collective bargaining law.

Dane County Judge MaryAnn Sumi issued a permanent injunction against the law Thursday morning. That means the law is effectively dead until the Wisconsin Supreme Court acts on it.

In her decision, Sumi said there was "clear and convincing evidence" that Republicans who control the Legislature violated the state's open meetings laws in their rush to pass the legislation, meaning the law is void.

"The court must consider the potential damage to public trust and confidence in government if the Legislature is not held to the same rules of transparency that it has created for other governmental bodies," Sumi wrote.

And, don't forget, the Senate recall elections, which were spurred by this law, will be held on July 12.

Winning in Wisconsin will be a great follow up to the victory in New York 26 -- and it would be another repudiation of the GOP's extreme policies. Our Contribute to the Wisconsin Recall link is below. Thank you for whatever you can do to help.

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Biden puts Medicare back on the table, right after Medicare being on the table just won Dems a House seat

From Reuters (h/t Marcy Wheeler):

Joe Biden group to tackle Medicare and Medicaid: aide

Vice President Joe Biden and top lawmakers will examine government-run health plans on Tuesday as they try to work out a deal to raise the United States' borrowing authority, a congressional aide said.

The article goes on to list Medicare and Medicaid as "major sticking points" in the attempt to give politicians "political cover" for raising the debt ceiling.

Everyone but Obama has NY-26 figured out, it seems — Democrats won a House seat in a conservative NY congressional district solely because of voter discontent over the GOP plan to cut/kill Medicare. So the White House decides it's time to talk about cutting Medicare.

Maybe the President has different goals than we hope he has. Hope ... that's so 2008. Time to look forward, not back. On to 2012.

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US to store air traveler personal data for 15 years

In order to save our democracy, they have to kill our democracy.

The personal data of millions of passengers who fly between the US and Europe, including credit card details, phone numbers and home addresses, may be stored by the US department of homeland security for 15 years, according to a draft agreement between Washington and Brussels leaked to the Guardian.

The "restricted" draft, which emerged from negotiations between the US and EU, opens the way for passenger data provided to airlines on check-in to be analysed by US automated data-mining and profiling programmes in the name of fighting terrorism, crime and illegal migration. The Americans want to require airlines to supply passenger lists as near complete as possible 96 hours before takeoff, so names can be checked against terrorist and immigration watchlists.

The agreement acknowledges that there will be occasions when people are delayed or prevented from flying because they are wrongly identified as a threat, and gives them the right to petition for judicial review in the US federal court. It also outlines procedures in the event of anticipated data losses or other unauthorised disclosure. The text includes provisions under which "sensitive personal data" – such as ethnic origin, political opinions, and details of health or sex life – can be used in exceptional circumstances where an individual's life could be imperilled.

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GOP leaders being held hostage by Teabaggers

What goes around, comes around.

We know the Congressional Republican leaders are masters at hostage-taking. They've been doing it for the past couple years with the Obama administration -- and will again on raising the debt limit. But, those same leaders are now learning about being held hostage -- from the Teabaggers. The GOP's Medicare-killing budget is a political disaster. They know it. But, they can't do anything about it. The Tea Party won't let them. From The Hill:

“Members know that you don’t piss off senior citizens, and they know that this was handled badly, that there was no messaging, that Ryan’s not making his case and they are all looking down the road thinking, ‘Oh my God, it’s coming,’ ” the source said.

A separate GOP lawmaker, who faces a tough reelection race, told The Hill that there’s been talk of revisiting the Ryan Medicare plan. “How serious it is … don’t know,” the lawmaker said.

But a GOP official involved in the discussions told The Hill that the House Republican leadership absolutely cannot revisit the Ryan Medicare plan “or the Tea Party will kill them.”

So, for GOPers, either "the Tea Party will kill them" or they lose at the polls. Either works. Read the rest of this post...

Three car explosions at government buildings in Chinese city of Fuzhou

The timing certainly raises some questions about this highly irregular event in China.

The nearly simultaneous blasts happened in Fuzhou city, Jiangxi province, on Thursday morning, the official Xinhua news agency reported. It did not give details of the cause or casualties.

Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas reported from Beijing that all three explosions occurred within half an hour of each other.

A car exploded outside the prosecutor's office in Fuzhou city, then 10 minutes later an explosion went off at a district government building and 15 minutes later a car exploded outside a drug administration office, said an official at the information office of Jiangxi province. He declined to give his full name, identifying himself only as Zhang.

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Sexual harassment charges files against French government minister

This was bound to happen and it's highly likely a lot more is to follow. The DSK case has opened the eyes of many in France to sexual harassment, an issue that has been swept aside for too long in France.

Prosecutors have opened a preliminary rape and sexual assault investigation against Georges Tron, the civil service minister, after the complaints were lodged.

Two women were reportedly encouraged to come forward after the arrest of the former head of International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York, where he faces seven charges of sexual assault, including the attempted rape of a hotel housekeeper.

His arrest sparked shock and disbelief in France — where he was nicknamed the Great Seducer — but also triggered angst and soul-searching over the French media's apparently reluctance to address claims of harassment against politicians, celebrities and other high-profile figures.

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Nobel laureate: freedom of information laws in UK used to harass scientists

There are surely legitimate requests in there but looking at the deep pockets of those behind anti-climate change movements, he may be right. The Guardian:

Nobel laureate Sir Paul Nurse told the Guardian that some climate scientists were being targeted by organised campaigns of requests for data and other research materials, aimed at intimidating them and slowing down research. He said the behaviour was turning freedom of information laws into a way to intimidate some scientists.

Nurse's comments follow the launch of a major Royal Society study into how scientists' work can be made more open and better used to inform policy in society. The review – expected to be published next year – will examine ways of improving access to scientific data and research papers and how "digital media offer a powerful means for the public to interrogate, question and re-analyse scientific priorities, evidence and conclusions".

Nurse said that, in principle, scientific information should be made available as widely as possible as a matter of course, a practice common in biological research where gene sequences are routinely published in public databases. But he said freedom of information had "opened a Pandora's box. It's released something that we hadn't imagined ... there have been cases of it being misused in the climate change debate to intimidate scientists.

On a side note, can the British stop using this "Sir" BS? Titles like that are so 1800. Read the rest of this post...

Julian Assange: Media coverage of accused Wikileaks leaker Bradley Manning is appalling

From Huff Post:

The WikiLeaks founder also described how the prosecution of Manning -- and potentially his own organization -- under the Espionage Act of 1917 could have a chilling effect on investigative journalism. [...]

Assange, responding to a question from The Huffington Post, described much of the media coverage of Manning's situation as "appalling." He continued:

There have been some good journalists that are starting to break through that. I see that the Washington Post has been improving its coverage. Glenn Greenwald, from Salon, has always been on this issue, dealing with it in a comprehensive and robust manner.

That we saw, for example, with Frontline last night -- once again a concentration on salacious and really quite irrelevant personal factors. There are many, indeed, perhaps most, people in the United States from divorced parents. But how many have spent the last year without conviction in a military prison. The answer is one. ...

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