9th Circuit to Jeffrey White: Get Back to Work on EFF FOIA

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emptywheel
The 9th Circuit wrote a really fascinating opinion in the EFF FOIA. The Circuit was dealing with three questions regarding EFF's FOIA of the documents pertaining to telecom lobbying leading up to the passage of PAA and FAA. Those three questions…

NYT Thinks TeaBugger James O'Keefe Entitled to Own Set of Facts

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emptywheel
As I reported a while back, chief TeaBugger James O'Keefe had called on the FBI to release the videos he took while (according to the FBI) by false pretense, entering US government property with the intent of interfering with a phone system…

Republicans Trashing Law Enforcement because It Polls Well

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emptywheel
The best explanation for why, after having been briefed that underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was in FBI custody (and therefore, anyone who watches TV would know, mirandized), Republicans more recently started attacking the Obama Administration…

Shelby Claims to Relent; Still Holds Military Nominations Hostage for Airbus

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emptywheel
The WaPo reports, mistakenly, that Richard Shelby has released his holds on Obama's nominees. But as Shelby's own statement makes clear, he is still holding up some of the military nominations to benefit Airbus. The purpose of placing…

Is Obama's Bipartisan Healthcare Summit an Attempt to Recuperate the Cadillac Tax?

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emptywheel
When Max Baucus delayed finalizing the Senate Finance Committee's healthcare bill last August in the name of getting bipartisan support from Olympia Snowe or Chuck Grassley, Republicans and teabaggers spent the month talking about death panels.…

Spike the Yoo Findings, Get a Judgeship?

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emptywheel
Last week, I suggested that the role Mary Patrice Brown played in softening the conclusion of the OPR report on John Yoo deserved closer scrutiny. Less than a year ago, Eric Holder shifted the head of OPR into a different DOJ role. Almost immediately,…

Nixon The Obama Campaign Goes to China

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emptywheel
One of the most telling anecdotes in this must-read Edward Luce skewer of the way a small circle of Obama advisors (Rahm, David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett, and Robert Gibbs) dominates his Administration is this story about his trip to China. On…

And Now They're Disclaiming Responsibility for their Briefings

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emptywheel
Surprise, surprise. Just days after Crazy Pete Hoekstra did what Crazy Pete Hoekstra attacked Nancy Pelosi for last year--accused the CIA of lying--he's now caught in another position he has criticized Pelosi for--not objecting in a briefing…

The SWIFT Battle Heats Up

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emptywheel
Last year, I tracked European objections to continued US access to SWIFT data. In November, some Germans balked at pushing an agreement through before the new European government was put into place. In December I described the interim agreement…
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Super Trash

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bmaz
The Super Bowl is here, let's rip!

C Street to Jenny Sanford: Keep Fucking Mark, Even While He's Cheating on You

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emptywheel
I really had no interest in reading Jenny Sanford's book. But I might have to read it only to get clarity on this tidbit that Ruth Marcus writes about. (h/t Rayne) After one of the all-too-rare pre-affair moments in which Jenny gets angry,…

"The president himself does not have to sign off on kill orders."

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emptywheel
That's the most striking line from the most recent post from Mark Hosenball, in which he tries to understand the process by which US citizens are placed on a list to be assassinated. Here's Hosenball's fuller explanation. ...strikes specifically…

Pay $25,000 and become a "Best School" in Michigan

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emptywheel
This is a story about the intersection between market-driven public policies and dying journalism. As those two forces have intersected, nine Michigan school districts have paid $25,000 to a PR firm for the privilege of calling themselves--and…
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Corporatist Dems Killing another Public Option

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emptywheel
This story is several days old. But I wanted to go back and show how, after a pack of lobbyists killed one attempt to get government to use its power to save money and improve health care, another pack of lobbyists are trying to do the same…
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Where Will Brennan Land in Rahm v. DOJ Spat?

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emptywheel
As Jason notes, David Axelrod has already taped a CSPAN response to Jane Mayer's piece on Rahm's spat about distractions like "the law" and "human rights" with Eric Holder and Greg Craig. In it, Axe appears to try to distance the White House…
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Mayer on Rahm

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emptywheel
I first teased out Rahm Emanuel's role in reversing Obama's early efforts to reclaim our country from torture last July. In August, my comments at Netroots Nation focused on Rahm's role in preventing accountability for torture. I kept tracking…

BAE Settles US and British Anti-Fraud Investigations

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emptywheel
Speaking of improper influence in defense contracting, BAE just settled the British and American fraud investigations against it. BAE Systems will admit two criminal charges and pay fines of £286m to settle US and UK probes into the firm. It…

Republicans Prepare to Kill Jobs; Democrats Angle for Majority Leader

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emptywheel
Brian Beutler reports that the Republicans are prepping to make sure no additional support for jobs gets passed next week. Senate Democrats want to vote on the first installment of a jobs package as early as Monday, amping up the pressure on…
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Hopey Changey Bipartisany Bush!

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emptywheel
I've been puzzling all week since this happened last Saturday (January 30, from the pool report). President Bush 41, with former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush rolled up to the White House at 9:35 for a meeting with POTUS. At 10:09, the two emerged to…

Shelby Tries to Shut Down US Senate to Benefit Foreign Company

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emptywheel
There has been a lot of discussion of how foreign companies will be able to influence elections and politics given the Citizens United deal. But foreign companies are already dominating our politics. Consider Richard Shelby's decision to…
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