Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/425846
ByJuliePace The Associated Press WASHINGTON Wanted: Thick-skinned candidate to oversee a sprawling bu- reaucracy bitten by bud- get cuts and join a national security team besieged by criticism. Must be toler- ant of White House inter- ference. The job conditions for President Barack Obama's next defense secretary have already spurred some top contenders to bow out, leaving the White House with a slim list of candi- dates to fill the post for the administration's final two years. Those said to still be under consideration are largely longtime public ser- vants who have deep Penta- gon experience, but may be less likely to give Obama's national security agenda the jolt that critics — and increasingly some support- ers — say is needed. People familiar with the decision-making pro- cess say Obama's short list includes Ashton Carter, the former deputy de- fense secretary who left the administration in late 2013, and Robert Work, who now holds the Penta- gon's No. 2 job. The presi- dent has also been consid- ering Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who previously served as the Pentagon's top law- yer, though some admin- istration officials are con- cerned about leaving a va- cancy at Johnson's agency just as it starts implement- ing Obama's executive or- ders on immigration. That list is shorter than some in the White House had hoped when Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigned last week un- der pressure from Obama. Michele Flournoy, one of Obama's top choices, quickly took her name out of contention, in part be- cause of concerns over the tight rein the White House has tried to keep on the Defense Department. Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat and West Point graduate, also made clear within hours of Hagel's resignation that he wasn't interested. Defense analyst An- thony Cordesman said that as Obama approaches the end of his presidency, the Cabinet post is "not partic- ularly desirable" for any- one with broader political ambitions. "It's very unlikely you will get political visibil- ity or credit for being the secre- tary," said C o r d e s - man, who works at the Center for Strate- gic and In- ternational Studies. "There are just too many problems and uncertainties." Among them: questions about the effectiveness of Obama's military cam- paign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Russia's continued prov- ocations in Ukraine, ten- sions between the White House and Defense De- partment over closing the Guantanamo Bay deten- tion center, and concerns at the Pentagon with the impact of deep spending cuts. Hanging over all of those policy concerns is the uneasy relationship between the White House and the Pentagon through- out Obama's six years in of- fice. His first two defense secretaries, Robert Gates and Leon Panetta, have been bitingly critical about White House efforts to mi- cromanage the Pentagon. And Hagel is said to have grown frustrated by the White House's drawn-out policymaking process and lack of clarity in the pres- ident's eventual decisions. Lawrence Korb, a for- mer assistant defense sec- retary, said that with just two years left in Obama's presidency, the next Pen- tagon chief will be ham- strung in efforts to shape both the administration's policies and the depart- ment's relationship with the White House. "The clock is ticking in terms of being able to make significant changes," said Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for Ameri- can Progress, a think-tank closely aligned with the White House. Mindful that the win- dow on Obama's admin- istration is closing, some White House officials are pressing the president to name Hagel's replacement quickly. He could seek to have a nominee in time for a previously scheduled meeting Wednesday in Washington with combat- ant commanders and other military leaders, though of- ficials said that as of Mon- day, Obama has not made a final decision. Carter, 60, is seen as the leading contender by many people with knowl- edge of how such decisions are made. He held two top jobs at the Pentagon dur- ing Obama's first term, serving first as the under- secretary for acquisitions and technology before be- ing promoted to deputy de- fense secretary. DEFENSE Obama faces shrinking pool of Pentagon contenders Carter Work Johnson By Emery P. Dalesio Associated Press WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Be- tween the avocado and grapefruit displays, Adolfo Briceno approaches custom- ers in the bustling Hispanic supermarket to ask whether they have health insurance. Turn left at the bucket of flower bouquets, he tells doz- ens of shoppers on a recent Saturday, to spot the table covered with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina logo and its Span- ish-speaking agent. A local Mexican music ra- dio station is doing a live re- mote broadcast from out- side the grocery and period- ically mentioning Blue Cross, backing up a line of people curious about coverage in front of the harried agent. Such atypical approaches to selling health insurance policiesareplayingoutacross the country since the second round of enrollment under the federal Affordable Care Act opened in mid-Novem- ber. Insurance companies and some states are focus- ing heavily on signing up eli- gible Hispanics, a group that accounts for a large share of the nation's uninsured but largely avoided applying for coverage during the first full year the health care reform law was in effect. Hispanics accounted for just 11 percent of those who enrolled in the private pol- icies sold during the initial sign-up period, which ended in March. Substantially boosting the overall number of enrollees beyond the 6.7 million who signed up the first year will depend on reaching people who have been uninsured for years or never been insured, and that will mean heavily targeting Hispanic commu- nities. After talking to the Blue Cross agent while shopping at the Winston-Salem super- market, Gabriela Camacho, 21, learned that policies for her 41-year-old mother and 46-year-old father will likely cost less than $100 a month each after government sub- sidies. "We have a lot of bills from the hospital for my dad," said Camacho, a mil- itary spouse whose health care is covered through her husband, a Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune. Before chancing on the agent, she had seen bill- boards for Blue Cross, the state's dominant insurer, during her drive from the Camp Lejeune area. P re sident Ba r a ck Obama's recent executive order dealing with immi- grants not in the country legally, which in large part will help parents of chil- dren born in the U.S., will not make immigrants eligi- ble to buy health insurance in federal exchanges set up under the health care law or to apply for tax credits that would lower the cost of in- surance. ACA Hispanics targeted in 2nd year of health overhaul GERRYBROOME—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Blue Bridge Benefits LLC agent Patricia Sarabia helps customers interested in Obamacare at a kiosk at Compare Foods in Winston-Salem, N.C. By Sam Hananel Associated Press WASHINGTON From the violent lyrics of rap music to the crude comments of teenagers in video-game chat rooms, the Supreme Court struggled Monday over where to draw the line between free speech and il- legal threats in the digital age. The justices considered the case of a Pennsylva- nia man convicted of post- ing violent threats on Face- book — in the form of rap lyrics — about killing his estranged wife, shooting up a school and slitting the throat of an FBI agent. Lawyers for Anthony Elonis say he didn't mean to threaten anyone. They contend his posts under the pseudonym "Tone Dou- gie" were simply a way for him to vent his frustration over splitting up with his wife. The government ar- gues the proper test is not what Elonis intended, but whether his words would make a reasonable per- son feel threatened. That's the standard a jury used in convicting him under a fed- eral law barring threats of violence. Some justices seemed concerned that the gov- ernment's position is too broad and risks sweeping in language protected by the First Amendment. But there seemed to be little agreement over what stan- dard to use. "How does one prove what's in somebody else's mind?" asked Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was on the bench five days after she had a stent implanted to clear a blocked artery. Elonis attorney John El- wood said the speaker's in- tent could be determined by searching computer re- cords, cell phone records and other evidence of con- text. He said many speak- ers being prosecuted "are teenagers who are essen- tially shooting off their mouths and making sort of ill-timed, sarcastic com- ments which wind up get- ting them thrown in jail." As a recent example, he cited a teenager prosecuted for making sarcastic com- ments in a video-game chat room about shooting up a kindergarten after another teen called him crazy. Chief Justice John Rob- erts suggested the govern- ment's standard simply would be whether a rea- sonable person familiar with teenagers in video- game chat rooms would view it as a threat. But El- wood said everyone has a different view of context and the better standard is looking at what the speaker intended. Justice Antonin Scalia questioned whether Elo- nis's comments about caus- ing physical harm in the context of a marital dis- pute deserve First Amend- ment protection. He said the government's standard "doesn't eliminate a whole lot of speech at all." The Supreme Court has said "true threats" to harm another person are not pro- tected speech under the First Amendment. But the court has been careful to distinguish threats from protected speech such as "political hyperbole" or "unpleasantly sharp at- tacks." Justice Elena Kagan asked whether there should be a "buffer zone" under the First Amendment "to en- sure that even stuff that is wrongful maybe is permit- ted because we don't want to chill innocent behavior." Roberts wondered about rap stars like Eminem, who has used graphic language about killing his ex-wife that may be misinterpreted as a threat. "You know, 'Da-da make a nice bed for mommy at the bottom of the lake,'" Roberts said, quoting an Eminem song. SCOTUS Su pr em e Co ur t co ns id er s Fa ce bo ok t hr ea ts c as e SUSAN WALSH — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Jeff Dion, deputy executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Washington on Monday. Small Engine Repair GOLDENRULE SMALL ENGINES (530) 526-8121 796 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff (Enter from Trinity Ave.) BlowerSale 10% off! Comebyandseeustoday! Peking Chinese Restaurant DineIn,CarryOut&Lounge 860MainStreet 530-527-0523 10%Off yourticketwiththisad. Limit 1 coupon per ticket/table. No other discounts apply. Alcohol, taxes or gratuity are not included. Offer expires 2/28/15 (530) 527-1034 NEW&USEDSALES PROFESSIONAL SERVICE • QUALITY PARTS 1160 Main St. Red Bluff We aim to please ServingNorthernCalifornia Since 1922 Growney Motors Red Truck Rock Yard, LLC DecorativeRock&LandscapeMaterials (530)824-2418 2791 Hwy 99W Corning (Located near Love's Truck Center) Monday-Friday 8am to 5pmSaturdaycallforhours SOILS BARK SAND CONCRETE TRAILERS GIFT SHOP norcaltreeexpert@yahoo.com www.norcaltreeexpert.com Eric Jablonowski Owner Phone: 530-416-0425 Fax: 530-527-2102 Lic#987325 Workers Comp Insured & Bonded • Shape • Trim • Lot Clearing • Fire Breaks • Hazard Tree Removal • Stump Grinding REDBLUFFOUTDOORPOWER 490AntelopeBlvd 527-5741 Mon.-Sat. 8am-5pm POLE SAW TRIMMER HEDGER CHAINSAW "ONE BATTERY FOR ALL!" • 40V Lithium Ion • Instant Start • Low Noise • Light Weight $ 329 99 $ 299 99 $ 399 99 $ 399 99 CORDLESSTOOL SYSTEM Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers 816WalnutSt.,RedBluff,CA (530) 527-1174 www.chapeloftheflowers.net Funerals • Cremations • Prearrangements FD652 MOULE'S TEHAMACOUNTYGLASS 515 Sycamore St., Red Bluff 529-0260 AUTO GLASS APROFESSIONALAUTOGLASS INSTALLATION FACILITY -BOATS/RVS -TRUCKS/CARS -EQUIPMENT TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B