A veteran of the US Mission to Turkey gives us context on today’s attack. “Every freaking month for the last decade: Mission Turkey has screamed for a new Embassy compound in Ankara, because the one we have is cramped, unsecure, and in poor physical condition (water/sewage system stopped working completely for three days in 2010 or 2011). Our DC paymasters have patted us on the head and said “That’s nice, wait for the money to come in next year’s budget.” When news accounts call Embassy Ankara “one of the most fortified compounds in the city,” don’t believe them. That’s completely untrue.”
Full report after the jump … Read More
Kerry says Obama offered him the job at State a week before Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration.
Geraldo says he’s really considering jumping into the New Jersey Senate race. Watch.
Another respectable jobs report: 157,000 jobs in January and major upward revisions to job growth in November and December. Here’s the White House’s statement.
Hillary even less impressed by her Benghazi critics now that she’s out at State.
From TPM Reader JO …
Your discussion of gun and non-gun people, and Walter Kirn’s piece, have made me ponder and connect two things that have been in the back of my mind for a long time: First, there are computer and non-computer people. Second, a case can be made that computers are weapons, and I wonder why I haven’t read anything ever that follows from this point of view.
From TPM Reader NS …
I read Evan’s report on the declining fortunes of the NRA’s maximalist strategy of absolute refusals with great interest. I think the report is accurate but I would suggest it might be incomplete in the sense that it focuses on Sandy Hook alone.