5/22 Roundup: Barack and Dick, Dr. Doom, Jack Passion

Obama & CheneyLeader: Barack and Dick

- President Barack Obama gave a major address on national security yesterday, and former VP Dick Cheney followed it with a counter-attack, addressing the same subjects at AEI.  Obama spoke at the National Archives, home of original versions of America's Constitution and Bill of Rights, sending the message that America need not compromise its values to stay safe.  He aimed to convince the American people that standing by the rule of law and embracing our civil liberties is the surest route to national security. He said he planned to move some detainees from Guantanamo to American prisons, despite stiff resistance from Congress; he conceded "prolonged detention" for terror suspects, acknowledging that as the thorniest issue in this whole debate.

- Cheney spoke moments later, defending the record of the Bush Administration on national security, and arguing that a permanent wartime approach to national security has been necessary since 9/11.  "There is no middle ground in the fight against terror, he said. David Brooks argues that Cheney already lost this debate-- all the way back in about 2003-- within the Bush Administration.

Politics

- Julia Ioffe of TNR does a profile of Nouriel "Dr. Doom" Roubini, trying to discover whether the economist is really good, or just lucky.

- Ron Brownstein's lead article in the National Journal today talks about how the GOP has increasingly become a party confined to the deep South.  This is, of course, an argument Simon has been making for some time.

Economy

- The Administration is getting ready to put GM into bankruptcy protection as early as late next week.  The maneuver would involve injecting $30 billion into the failing auto manufacturer, shrinking the company to become a sleeker global competitor.

- Martin Wolf soberly observes that the UK has a comparative advantage in the world's most irresponsible industry (that being banking, of course).  He argues in favor of strong global regulation to curb the nasty effects of runaway financial products.

International

- At least 23 Iraqis and three American soldiers were killed in Iraq yesterday by a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad and Kirkuk.  This is yet another flare-up of violence, interrupting the general peace and calm that has come to Iraq. 

- International aid agencies have been calling for access to the hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire of Sri Lanka's civil war, now in its final throes.  The Sri Lankan government has ignored those calls, exacerbating an already-dreadful humanitarian situation.

New From NDN

- Dan's weekly New Tools post yesterday looks at all the digital data held by the federal government, and how much of it is being made public in an effort toward transparency.

- Jake does an update on H.R. 2060, the free computer training bill, introduced by John Larson, and based on a paper written by Dr. Rob Shapiro.  It's gradually gaining momentum in Congress.

One More Thing

- Jack Passion is the World Champion beard-grower in the "Full Beard: Natural" division of the World Beard and Moustache Championships.  He'll be defending that title this weekend.  Good luck to you, Jack Passion.

- Last, Wired White House Webmaster Macon Phillips walks us through all the upgrades he and his team have made since showing up on the job: