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CAIRO As Irans politicalelite and clerical establishmentsplinter over the election crisis,the nations most powerful insti-tution the Islamic Revolution-ary Guards Corps has emergedas a driving force behind effortsto crush a still-defiant oppositionmovement.

From its origin 30 years ago asa militia force serving Islamicleaders, the corps has grown toassume an increasingly asser-tive role in virtually every aspect

of Iranian society.Its drive to silence dissenting

views has led many political ana-lysts to describe the events sur-rounding the June 12 presidentialelection as a military coup.

It is not a theocracy anymore,said Rasool Nafisi, an expert inIranian affairs and a co-author ofa study of the corps for the RANDCorp. It is a regular military se-curity government with a facadeof a Shiite clerical system.

The corps has become a vastmilitary-based conglomerate,with control of Irans missile bat-teries, oversight of its nuclearprogram and a multibillion-dol-lar business empire that reaches

into nearly every sector of theeconomy. It runs laser eye-sur-gery clinics, manufactures cars,builds roads and bridges, devel-ops gas and oil fields and controlsblack-market smuggling, expertssay.

Its fortune and its sense of enti-tlement have grown under Presi-dent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.Since 2005, when he took office,companies affiliated with theRevolutionary Guards have beenawarded more than 750 govern-

ment contracts in constructionand oil and gas projects, Iraniannews reports document. All of itsfinances stay off the budget, freefrom any state oversight or needto provide an accounting to Par-liament.

The corpss alumni hold dozensof seats in Parliament and topgovernment posts. Ahmadinejadis a former member, as are thespeaker of Parliament, Ali Lari-jani, and the mayor of Tehran,Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. Andthe influence of the Revolution-ary Guards reaches deep into theeducation system, where it indoc-trinates students in loyalty to thestate, and into the state-controlled

media, where it guides televisionand radio programming.

They are the proponents ofan authoritarian modernization,convinced that the clergy shouldcontinue supplying the legitima-tion for the regime as a sort ofmilitary chaplains, but definitelynot run the show, said a politicalscientist who worked in Iran foryears.

The corps has as many as130,000 members and runs fivearmed branches that are inde-

pendent from the national mili-tary. Its best-known subsidiariesare the Quds Force, which hascarried out operations in othercountries, including the trainingand arming of the Hezbollah mili-tia in Lebanon; and the Basij mi-litia. The Basiji include millionsof volunteer vigilantes used tocrack down on election protestsand dissidents.

Members of the RevolutionaryGuards and their families receiveprivileged status at every level,which benefits them in universityadmissions and in the distribu-tion of subsidized commodities,experts said.

MICHAEL SLACKMAN

MUMBAI, India The solesurviving gunman of the deadlyrampage in Mumbai unexpect-edly confessed in court here onMonday, adding his voice to whatmay be the most well-document-ed terrorist attack anywhere.

The gunman, Ajmal Kasab,21, was the man in an infamoussurveillance photograph, lookingcalm with a blue T-shirt and a ma-chine gun. The photograph wasone part of an extraordinary elec-tronic record reviewed during thetrial, which the judge ruled wouldgo on. Recordings of interceptedphone calls provided a spooky,real-time narration between thehandlers and the gunmen, who attimes needed to be prodded intoaction and were stunned at theopulence of one hotel.

Everything is being recordedby the media, one of the handlers

told the gunmen at the Oberoi Ho-

tel. Inflict maximum damage.Keep fighting. Dont be takenalive.

But it did not appear to be theevidence that prompted Kasab toconfess to his role in the attacks,where more than 160 people werekilled in November. He said itwas because his native Pakistanhad begun cooperating more withIndia and identified him as a par-ticipant.

I dont think I am innocent, hesaid, speaking in subdued Hindi.My request is that we end thetrial and be sentenced.

For the better part of a day heheld the courtroom spellbound:he portrayed himself as a poorPakistani who joined the militantgroup Lashkar-e-Taiba only formoney. But in the end, the mis-sion was martyrdom. He told thecourt how he and his partner had

assembled a bomb in a bathroom

at a train station, then planted an-other bomb in a taxi.

I was firing, and Abu was hurl-ing hand grenades, he told thecourt, referring to his partner andto the assault on the train station,where more than 50 people werekilled. I fired at a policeman,after which there was no firingfrom the police side.

His journey to Mumbai was atonce banal and strange.

He told Judge M. L. Tahilyanithat he was broke and tired ofhis job working for a decoratorin Jhelum, a small town in Paki-stan. He and a friend had hatcheda plan. They would earn cash byrobbing people. And to improvetheir banditry skills they wouldseek out military training fromthe easiest source available to ayoung Pakistani man: Islamicmilitants. VIKAS BAJAJ

and LYDIA POLGREEN

Suspect in Mumbai Terrorist Attack Confesses

Hard-Line Force Stifles Dissent in Iran pug,

WASHINGTON As Presdent Obama began a new pusMonday to overhaul the healtsystem, Democratic Congressional leaders, bowing to uneasamong lawmakers and governors in their own party, suggested scaling back a plan to tax to

earners to pay for the sweepinlegislation and signaled a retreafrom their ambitious timetable.

House and Senate leaders habeen pressing for floor votes before lawmakers depart for thAugust recess. But Congressional aides said it was increasinglclear that the Senate would not bready to vote on its bill before itrecess begins on Aug. 8 and thaHouse Democrats seemed unwiling to vote to raise taxes withouknowing where the Senate stood

The House speaker, NancPelosi, suggested revising thtax-raising provisions, one othe most contentious parts of thHouse bill, which would imposa surtax on high-income households. Pelosi said she would prefer that fewer people had to pathe tax, which was approved Frday by the Ways and Means Committee.

Obama, in an interview oPBS, said he had not given up ohis timetable. Earlier in the daywhile on a visit to the ChildrenNational Medical Center in Washington, he spoke out stronglagainst a health system that hsaid was increasingly unaffordable to families.

But rather than repeating hidemand that each chamber oCongress pass a bill before thAugust break, Obama stressethe need to reach a final agreement by the end of the year.

Aides to Pelosi said she wanteto lift the surtax thresholds t$500,000 for individuals and $million for joint filers, so the newlevy could be described as a taon millionaires.

DAVID M. HERSZENHORNand ROBERT PEAR

u y v

F R O M T H E P A G E S O F

TuesdayJuly 21, 2009

Minight in Nw york

Nine pages 2009 The New York Times Visit The Times on the Web: www.ntim.com

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KABUL Four U.S. soldierswere killed by a roadside explo-sion in eastern Afghanistan onMonday, making July the deadli-

est month for U.S. service mem-bers in the country since 2001 andunderscoring the frightening risein the sophistication and accura-cy of roadside bombs.

At least 30 Americans havedied in the first three weeks ofJuly, surpassing the highest pre-vious monthly toll, 28, reached inJune 2008.

Part of the reason for Julyssharply higher fatalities is thethree-week-old offensive in Hel-mand Province, where U.S. Ma-rines and British soldiers aretrying to take control of areas

dominated by the Taliban.But the most significant factor

is the increasing power of road-side bombs employed by guer-rillas in eastern and southern Af-ghanistan, including Helmand.

The bombs are generally not aspowerful as the improvised ex-

plosive devices, or I.E.D.s, usedby Iraqi guerrillas, who drew onhuge stockpiles of artillery shells.In later years, Shiite insurgents

also employed the explosivelyformed penetrator, a moreprecisely machined bomb thatlaunched a fist-size molten ballthat could pierce the militarysthickest armor.

Afghan guerrillas have fewertools at their disposal, yet the tollof I.E.D. deaths continues to rise,just as it did as the Iraqi insurgen-cy grew stronger in 2005.

Twenty-one American troopshave died from I.E.D. blasts sofar this month, according to da-ta recorded by icasualties.org,which tracks military deaths. Six

more Americans were killed bygunfire, rockets, mortars shellsand rocket-propelled grenades.Two Air Force officers werekilled when their F-15E fighterjet crashed Saturday, and a sailordied from pneumonia, accordingto the groups Web site.

The military tallies do not in-clude Afghan civilians regularlykilled by I.E.D.s often intendedfor Western or Afghan forces. On

Sunday at least 10 Afghans died inFarah Province along the Iranianborder when a civilian minibusand truck were struck by two hid-den bombs, authorities said.

Many of the Talibans bombsare made from ingredients likefertilizer and diesel fuel. Suchbombs are less effective thanmilitary muntions, but withenough fertilizer and diesel, Af-ghan guerrillas have shown theycan destroy almost anything U.S.forces operate in the rugged coun-tryside.

The British military has lost 17

soldiers this month. Lt. Col. Ru-pert Thorneloe, the 39-year-oldcommander of the First Battalionof the Welsh Guards, was killedby an I.E.D. on July 1, the most se-nior British commander to die inbattle since the Falklands war.

RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

Bomb Kills 4 G.I.s, Swelling Afghan Toll

BEIRUT, Lebanon Iranssupreme leader, Ayatollah AliKhamenei, warned political lead-ers on Monday to be cautious inaddressing the countrys recentunrest, in an apparent rebuke totwo former presidents who haveopenly criticized the govern-ments handling of the disputedJune 12 presidential election.

Khamenei, in a meeting withgovernment officials that wasbroadcast by state television,kept his remarks vague, warn-ing against a hand that wishes tostrike at the system, and sayingthe political elite could collapseif it does not adequately meet thechallenge it now faces.

But his comments made clearthat the governing elite was notbacking down in the face of an em-boldened opposition that rejectedPresident Mahmoud Ahmadine-jads re-election as fraudulent andmounted renewed street protestsin recent days.

Khameneis remarks appearedto be aimed at two former presi-dents who have taken up the man-tle of Irans opposition in recentdays: Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsan-jani and Muhammad Khatami.

Rafsanjani, the cleric who leadstwo important state institutions,said Friday that the governmenthad lost the trust of many Ira-nians, and he urged the release

of the protesters arrested in therecent street protests. Khatamiexpanded on those comments onSunday, calling for a referendumon the governments legitimacy.

Those remarks posed a chal-lenge to Khamenei, who has hailedAhmadinejads victory as fair andblamed foreign agitators and jour-nalists for the unrest.

Khamenei spoke contemptu-ously of the protesters on Monday,saying: It is a mistake to believethat a limited group of people, inTehran only setting fire to rub-bish bins, to public property, tomotorbikes, to their cars, to theirbanks are people. These are notpeople. ROBERT F. WORTH

Khamenei Rebukes Former Iranian Presidents

NEW DELHI The UnitedStates pledged Monday to em-bark on a new era of deeper rela-tions with India a partnershipof what Secretary of State HillaryRodham Clinton likes to call theworlds largest democracy andits oldest continuously function-ing one.

As Clinton conjured up a visionof friendship between the twocountries in a speech to a univer-sity audience here, the Obama

administration signed off on anagreement that will open the doorto military sales by the UnitedStates to India. In addition, Indiasaid it had designated two siteswhere U.S. companies wouldbuild nuclear power plants.

We will work not just to main-tain our good relationship, but tobroaden and deepen it, Clintonsaid at a news conference withthe Indian minister for externalaffairs, S. M. Krishna.

The United States and India in-augurated a strategic dialogue,spanning issues from educationto climate change, and drawingin participants from the businessworld and academia, as well asthe government.

The United States generallyreserves strategic dialogues formajor countries like China, sothis is a symbolic acknowledg-ment of Indias rising role.

MARK LANDLER

Clinton, in India, Helps Inaugurate a Strategic Dialogue

i n b r i e f

Lw T AltBritain lowered its terrorism

alert by a notch on Monday toits lowest level since 2005, justbefore the bombings in Londonthat year. The British home secretary, Alan Johnson, said thatthe level had been reduced fromsevere to substantial butwarned that an attack remainea strong possibility. (NYT

Vilc i IaqFive Iraqi police officers and

two civilians were shot dead ina series of six attacks by gun-men on Monday in Mosul, anda car bomb near the headquar-ters of the provincial govern-ment in Ramadi killed two po-licemen, security officials said. (NYT

Chia Dath TllTwelve of the nearly 200 peo-

ple killed during an ethnic riotthis month in Urumqi, China,were shot by Chinese securityforces, the state news agencyreported over the weekend. Itwas Chinas first official ac-counting of the number of peo-ple killed by the police andparamilitary troops. (NYT

Cambdias i CtCambodias courts have been

busy in recent weeks with caseof defamation, disinformationand incitement brought by thegovernment of Prime MinisterHun Sen in what critics say ispart of a broad assault on civilliberties. In the most prominencases, two opposition politicianhave been stripped of their parliamentary immunity and suedfor libel. The editor of one of

the countrys last oppositionnewspapers was sent to pris-on in June for articles he hadpublished. and another editoragreed to shut down his newspaper to avoid court action.

(NYT

Tial i TyThe second mass trial of secu

larists charged with plotting totopple the government of Tur-key began Monday, with two retired generals among the 56 de-fendants. (NYT

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If the Obama administration

has a strategy for reviving manu-facturing, Douglas Bartlett wouldlike to know what it is.

Buffeted by foreign competi-tion, Bartlett recently closed hisprinted circuit board factory,founded 57 years ago by his fa-ther, and laid off the remaining 87workers. Last week, he auctionedoff the machinery, and soon he willraze the factory itself in Cary, Ill.

Though manufacturing has longbeen in decline, the loss of factoryjobs has been especially brutal oflate, with nearly two million dis-appearing since the recession be-

gan in December 2007. Even a fewchief executives, heading compa-nies that have shifted plenty ofproduction abroad, are beginningto express alarm.

We must make a serious com-

mitment to manufacturing andexports. This is a national imper-ative, Jeffrey R. Immelt, chair-man and chief executive of Gen-eral Electric, said in a speech lastmonth, while acknowledging thatG.E. was enriched by its overseasoperations, too.

President Obama, agreeing ineffect, has declared, The fightfor American manufacturing isthe fight for Americas future.

The United States ranks behindevery industrial nation exceptFrance in the percentage of over-all economic activity devoted to

manufacturing 13.9 percent,the World Bank reports, downa percentage point or so in a de-cade. The 19-month-old recessionhas contributed to this decline. In-

dustrial production has fallen 17.3

percent, the sharpest drop duringa recession since the 1930s.

So far, however, the Obama ad-ministration has not come up witha formal plan to address the rapiddecline. Instead, it has pursued adhoc initiatives bailing out Gen-eral Motors and Chrysler, for ex-ample, and pushing green energyby supporting the manufacture ofitems like wind turbines and solarpanels.

The auto bailout, for all its im-provisations, served notice thatthe administration would prob-ably rescue any giant manufac-

turer it deemed too big (or tooiconic) to fail, and would help thesuppliers of failing giants transi-tion to other industries.

LOUIS UCHITELLE

Ad Hoc Strategy to Manufacturings Decline

Most Americans are still wait-ing for this painful recession toend. But on Wall Street, new signsthat the economy just might beturning heartened investors onMonday. The broad stock marketleapt to its highest level since thebleak days of last November onnews that the index of leading eco-nomic indicators, which is usedto spot peaks and troughs in theeconomy, rose in June for a thirdconsecutive month, somethingit had not done since 2004. Hopesthat the CIT Group, the troubledcommercial lender, would avertbankruptcy added to the buoyantmood.

While the economy remainsfragile, optimism on Wall Streetseems to be growing. The June

leading indicators, coupled witha run of healthy earnings resultsfrom major banks and corpora-tions in recent days, added to thegrowing sense that the worst isover and that the recession is atleast easing.

While many Wall Street tradersremained cautious about pushingshare prices much higher, mo-mentum seems to be building inthe marketplace. The chief U.S.investment strategist at Gold-man Sachs, for instance, raisedhis year-end target for the Stan-dard & Poors 500-stock index onMonday to 1,060 a level nearly11.5 percent higher than Mon-days close of 951.13.

Theres a loud noise comingfrom reports turning out better

than expected, said James W.Paulson, the chief investmentstrategist at Wells Capital Man-agement. Weve got tons of in-formation telling us weve turnedthe corner.

The Dow Jones industrial av-erage rose 104.21 points, or 1.19percent, to 8,848.15, driven by biggains in Caterpillar, Alcoa andWalt Disney. Since June 10, theblue-chip index has gained 8.6percent to land back in positiveterritory for the year.

The S.&.P.s 500-stock indexrose 10.75, or 1.14 percent, to itshighest level since last Novem-ber. It has gained 41 percent sinceearly March. The Nasdaq com-posite index rose 22.69 to 1909.29.

GERRY SHIH

Leading Indicators Give the Markets Momentum

Four months after acquir-ing an e-book retailer, Barnes &Noble, the worlds largest chainof bookstores, is starting its ownmega e-bookstore on its Web site,BN.com.

In an announcement on Mon-day, Barnes & Noble said thatit would offer more than 700,000books that could be read on awide range of devices, includingApples iPhone, the BlackBerryand various laptop or desktopcomputers. When Barnes & Noble

acquired Fictionwise in March,that online retailer had about60,000 books in its catalog.

More than 500,000 of the booksnow offered electronically onBN.com can be downloadedfree, through an agreement withGoogle to provide electronic ver-sions of public domain books thatGoogle has scanned. Sony an-nounced a similar deal in Marchto offer the public domain bookson its Reader device.

Barnes & Noble is promoting its

e-bookstore as the worlds larg-est, an implicit stab at Amazon.com, which offers about 330,000for its Kindle device. Currently,Googles public domain bookscannot be read on a Kindle.

The number of e-books avail-able on BN.com compares with1.2 million in stock that can bebought in print form from thecompanys Web site. A furtherone million books can be orderedfrom BN.com in the print-on-de-mand format. MOTOKO RICH

Barnes & Noble to Create a Giant Center for E-Books

n.Y.S.e. Mst Activ Isss

Vol. (100s) Last Chg.

Citigrp 3766696 2.79 0.23BkofAm 3668362 12.24 0.65

CIT Gp 3103235 1.25 + 0.55SPDR 1513538 95.13 + 1.00SPDR Fncl 1054216 12.24 + 0.10GenElec 916840 11.67 + 0.02iShEMkt s 674170 34.77 + 1.20WellsFargo 639124 25.52 + 0.52LVSands 633384 9.86 + 1.27FordM 630795 6.19 + 0.05

HumGen 1114443 12.51 + 9.19PwShs QQQ 905931 37.92 + 0.36Cisco 770017 21.15 + 0.64Intel 754611 18.90 + 0.11Microsoft 468203 24.53 + 0.24Dell Inc 304530 12.94 + 0.27ETrade 295085 1.28 + 0.05Oracle 275384 21.51 0.23

Yahoo 261222 17.01 + 0.17Apple Inc 255720 152.91 + 1.16

nasdaq Activs

Vl. (100s) Bid Chg.

Amx Activs

Vl. (100s) Last Chg.

Hemisphrx 108486 2.49 + 0.38PSCrudeDL 92997 4.18 + 0.20GoldStr g 26633 2.32 + 0.11NthgtM g 26584 2.40 + 0.10US Gold 25196 3.04 + 0.30EldorGld g 24177 9.52 + 0.31GranTrra g 17481 3.85 + 0.11NovaGld g 16729 4.33 + 0.27NwGold g 13491 2.88 + 0.14Taseko 13349 1.78 + 0.05CapAcquis 13192 9.75 + 0.04

Fig exchag

Fgn. crrnc dor inin or fgn.crrncMon. Fri. Mon. Fri.

atri .8154 .8037 1.2264 1.2442Bhrin 2.6521 2.6528 .3771 .3770Brzi .5251 .5193 1.9043 1.9258Britin 1.6533 1.6382 .6048 .6104Cn .9033 .8958 1.1070 1.1163Chin .1464 .1463 6.8318 6.8340dnmrk .1909 .1899 5.2383 5.2659dominicn .0278 .0277 35.92 36.06egpt .1793 .1791 5.5763 5.5823erop 1.4221 1.4139 .7032 .7072Hong Kong .1290 .1290 7.7500 7.7500Jpn .01061 .01061 94.23 94.24Mxico .07527 .07502 13.284 13.329Norw .1584 .1569 6.3117 6.3745singpor .6941 .6898 1.4407 1.4498so. afric .1274 .1247 7.8475 8.0182

so. Kor .00079 .00079 1266.4 1266.4swn .1288 .1280 7.7640 7.8125switzrn .9352 .9305 1.0693 1.0746

Halliburton Profit FallsHOUSTON Halliburton, the

oil field service company, saidMonday that its second-quarterprofit declined 48 percent be-cause of sluggish explorationand production activity. Net in-come for the April-June periodfell to $262 million, or 29 cents ashare. That compared with $504million, or 55 cents a share, ayear ago. (AP

DJIA 8,848.15 U104.21

NASDAQ 1,909.29 U 22.68

DollAr/YEN 94.23 D 0.01

10-Y trEASurY 3.61% D 0.04

golD (NY) $948.70 U11.20

cruDE oIl $63.98 U 0.42

NIkkEI 9,395.32 U 51.16

ftSE 100 4,443.62 U 54.87

BuSIneSS Tuesday, July 21, 2009 4

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Ladig IdicatsMore plans to build homes,

higher stock prices and fewerpeople filing first-time claimsfor jobless aid sent a private-sector forecast of Ameri-can economic activity higherthan expected in June. It wasthe third consecutive month-ly increase for the ConferenceBoards index of leading eco-nomic indicators. The indexrose 0.7 percent last month.

(AP

Wyth Mg VtTRENTON, N.J. Sharehold

ers of the drugmaker Wyethvoted overwhelmingly on Mon-day to be bought by industry giant Pfizer Inc., pushing asideone of the deals final hurdles.More than 98 percent of Wyethstockholders voted for the $68billion acquisition. (AP

i n b r i e fBARCELONA The 52-year-

old contractor was desperate tosave his business. Unable to payhis workers and facing bankrupt-

cy, Ausencio C.G., as the Spanishpolice identify him, went to thebank but not for a loan.

Covering his fingertips withsurgical tape and wearing a skimask and a reflective jacket toblur his image on security cam-eras, the contractor reportedlystole 80,000 euros from four banksbefore getting caught as he triedhis fifth stickup near Barcelona inFebruary. That is a total of about$115,000 half of which camefrom his first heist, and was usedto pay his workers, according towhat he told the police.

Now in prison awaiting trial, thecontractor, who is from Lleida, atown about 150 kilometers west ofhere, is reported to be part of onegroup that is busier than ever inthis recession-battered country:bank robbers.

Indeed, with unemployment ap-

proaching 20 percent, the highestin Europe, and the overall econo-my expected to shrink by 4.2 per-cent this year, bank robberies in

2009 are running 20 percent aheadof 2007s pace, according to theSpanish Banking Association.

In recent months, it has be-come apparent that Spain is suf-fering from an increase in bankrobberies, said Francisco PrezAbelln, head of the criminologydepartment at the Universityof Camilo Jos Cela in Madrid.We are seeing people commit-ting offenses through necessity,first-time offenders who can nolonger continue to maintain theirlifestyle and so turn to crime.

In the Barcelona area, only 7

percent of bank robbers werefirst-time offenders in 2008, ac-cording to Jos Luis Trapero, thechief of investigations for the re-gional police squad. That figurehas jumped to 20 percent so farthis year.

Though bank executives ar-

gue that there is no proven linkbetween the falling economy andthe rise in bank robberies, manySpaniards say they think the

trends are more than coinciden-tal including the union that rep-resents bank workers. It recentlypersuaded the Spanish govern-ment to classify bank robbery asan occupational hazard.

Theres unemployment,theres hunger and theres mon-ey in the banks, and the threefactors combine, said JosManuel Murcia, head of healthin the workplace for the financialsector of one of Spains largesttrade unions, the CC.OO (Confed-eracin Sindical de ComisionesObreras).

All told, there were 165 holdupsin the first four months of 2009,according to the Spanish Bank-ing Association. But Murcia saidhe believed the actual number ofbank robberies was higher thanthe figures disclosed by the banks. NELSON D. SCHWARTZ

Bank Holdups Are on the Rise in Spain

BuSIneSS Tuesday, July 21, 2009 5

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DALLAS On a recent morning, KrisW. Kobach, a conservative law professor,rushed late into a federal courtroom herewith his suit slightly rumpled and little more

than a laptop under his arm. His mission wasto persuade the judge to uphold an ordinanceadopted by a Dallas suburb that would barlandlords from renting housing to illegal im-migrants.

To rigidly separate local governmentfrom federal government when we thinkabout immigration enforcement is not onlylegally incorrect, its also bad policy, saidKris W. Kobach.

A team of lawyers from a Latino advocacy

group had set up early at the opposing table,fortified with legal assistants and stacks ofcase documents. Unfazed, Kobach unleasheda cascade of constitutional arguments.

Kobach is on a dogged campaign to fightillegal immigration at the local level, ridingan insurgency by cities and states fed up withwhat they see as federal failures on immigra-tion. As these local governments have takenon enforcement roles once reserved for thefederal government, he is emerging as theirleading legal advocate.

The Dallas hearing the judge has yet toissue a ruling was one match in an immi-gration contest playing out in courts in Cali-

fornia, Arizona, Missouri and Pennsylvania,among other states, with civil liberties andHispanic groups on one side and Kobach onthe other.

A professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City law school and a Republican politician, Kobach developed his immigrationviews while working in the Justice Depart-ment at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The cases he has championed fromhousing restrictions on illegal immigrantsin Farmers Branch, Texas., to sanctions foremployers in Valley Park, Mo., who hire suchimmigrants are fiercely fought, with Ko-bachs opponents accusing him of fosteringdiscrimination against Hispanics and divid-ing immigrant communities.

But Kobachs allies say he has borroweda page from the Mexican American LegalDefense and Educational Fund and other

pro-immigrant groups he confronts beforethe bench, by rethinking the conservativetenet that the courts should not be a forum fopolicy change.

And with the Obama administration in-dicating that it will put off an overhaul ofimmigration until late this year or beyond,the courtroom campaign for tougher rules islikely to expand as cities and states remainthe main battleground for shaping immigra-tion policy.

Lawyers who have confronted Kobach incourt say the cases he pursues would coverthe country in a patchwork of local immigra-tion rules that are contrary to federal law ancostly to defend.

These laws divide communities, stereo-type Latinos, burden businesses and triggerneedless and expensive litigation, saidLucas Guttentag, the director of the Immi-grants Rights Project of the American CivilLiberties Union.

Kobach rejects any accusation that hisstrategies unfairly target Latinos. The driving principle is to restore the rule of law, hesaid. JULIA PRESTON

AProfessorFightsIllegalImmigrationOneCourtataTime

journAL Tuesday, July 21, 2009 6

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620 eighth avn, Nw york, Ny 10018

Tom Br, eitor-mi: igtitor@ntim.com

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ACROSS

1 Almost half ofU.S. immigrantsin 1840

6 Male tabbies

10 O.K. Corral figure

14 Actress Thomas

15 Smell ___ (besuspicious)

16 Console usedwith the gameHalo

17 Like stadiumsafter touchdowns

18 Places to putbriefs

20 New York Timesheadline of7/21/69

22 Letters thatplease angels

23 Clumsy boat

24HoagyCarmichael lyric___ lazy river

25 1988 DennisQuaid/Meg Ryanmovie

28 Subject of aphoto beneath20-Across

32 La ___ vita

33 Old-timeNorwegianskating sensation

34 Soprano ___ TeKanawa

37 Loses traction

40 D-Day vessels

41 Desktop symbols43 The Dapper Don

45 With 55-Across,message left by28-Across forfuture explorers

49 Peeve

50 Geom.prerequisite

51 Aladdin hero

52 Little Red Bookwriter

55 See 45-Across

59 Even morecertain: Lat.

61 Diacriticalsquiggle

62 Sight in the Arctic

Ocean63 When morning

ends

64 Silas Marnerauthor

65 Whirling water

66 Anglo-Saxonlaborer

67 Opportunities,metaphorically

DOWN

1 Mosque leaders

2 Less common

3 Like somepatches

4 Cabbage dish

5 Whom Hamletcalls A man thatFortunes buffetsand rewards /Hast taen withequal thanks

6 Sass, with to

7 McFlurry flavor

8 Large wine bottle

9 They may come

in sheets10 ___ 67 (onetime

Montreal event)

11 Forsakes

12 Reels partner

13 Stores for G.I.s

19 Reluctant

21 Respites

26 Handling thematter

27 Matures

29 Minneapolissuburb

30 Have the throne

31 Archaeologistsfind

34 Fuzzy fruit

35

Cupcake finisher36 1970s James

Garner TV titlerole

38 Pleasure-associatedneurotransmitter

39 Inscribed pillar

42 Natty

44 Not pure

46 Julias Seinfeldrole

47 Inuit homes

48 Estevez of theBrat Pack

53 Choice words

54 Waiting forLefty playwright

56

Bacchanalianrevelry

57 Dianeticsauthor ___Hubbard

58 D.E.A. seizure,maybe

59 The Rail Splitter

60 G-man

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

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T O M S W A R T S D E J A

I N I T E L I O T E X A M

E T N A B L A I R S P R Y

R O O T O F A L L E V I L

P R U N E S T A O R C

S E E Y A C L O S E R

R A T S T E M T H E T I D E

A T R A A N O T V A D

L E A F T H R O U G H E S O

P A N C H O T R Y O N

H M S E R S M Y E Y E

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S H O E E R I C A A S I A

E A S E T E R M S T E E D

T R E K S W E E T E S S O

7/21/09 (No. 0721)

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e d i t o r i a l s o f t h e t i m e s

As the Senate prepares to act on the nomi-nation of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme

Court, it has learned more than enough abouther qualifications to give her a seat on thecourt. It would also be good if senators andthe nation had a deeper sense of her viewson some of the most pressing legal questionsof our times.

We were disappointed that at her confirma-tion hearings last week, she continued what isbecoming an unbreakable habit of nomineesdodging controversy.

It was clear that Republicans had over-played their hand in weeks of trying to por-tray her as radical, intemperate and evenracist. She was disarming in her appearancesbefore the Senate Judiciary Committee erudite, likable and eminently sensible. She

defused some of the main attacks on her bybacking away from a past statement that awise Latina judge could decide cases betterthan a white man and by saying that she sawa judges duty as applying the law, not mak-ing it.

At times, she too willingly ceded ground toher conservative questioners. We wish shehad spoken out forthrightly in favor of empa-thy, a quality President Obama has said he islooking for in his judicial nominees. We wouldhave liked to hear her boldly defend the ideaof the Constitution as a living document, onethat changes with the times. And we wouldhave preferred if she had used the hearings toexplain to the public that the much-mentioneddistinction between judges making and apply-

ing the law has little meaning.That, however, is not what judicial confir-

mation hearings are now about. Since the fe-vered battle over Judge Robert Borks nomi-nation in 1987, the goal for nominees has beento skate through saying as little as possible.

Sotomayor avoided saying much of sub-stance about abortion rights, the scope ofpresidential power, and other hot-button is-sues. Its not entirely her fault. The Senate hasshown repeatedly that it will tolerate this sortof evasion. But the public has a right to knowwhere judicial nominees stand on importantlegal issues that will have a direct impact ontheir lives.

Gamesmanship aside, the talent and drivethat took Sonia Sotomayor from a Bronx hous-ing project to Yale Law School and, eventual-

ly, to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for theSecond Circuit in New York were very muchon display.

The National Rifle Association, and somedie-hard conservatives, are still fighting thenomination. But with at least three Republi-can senators already saying that they plan tovote for her, Sotomayor seems almost certainto be confirmed. The main suspense now isover how bipartisan the confirmation will bewhen the Judiciary Committee takes its vote.

There is a historic aspect to this nominationsince Sotomayor would be the first Hispanicon the Supreme Court. But every new justicechanges the court. We hope the Senate con-firms her without delay so we can see moreclearly what her contribution will be.

the Smay Nminain

On Wednesday, the Senate is expected tovote on the latest assault on public safety inthe name of gun ownership. Introduced as anamendment to the militarys budget bill bySen. John Thune, a Republican of South Da-kota, this radical measure would nullify thelaws of almost every state, subjecting policeofficers to increased risk and increasing thepotential for gun violence.

Nearly all states issue licenses to carry con-cealed firearms, but the criteria for grantingsuch permits vary widely, and it is now, sen-sibly, up to each state to decide whether to ac-cept another states permits.

At least 35 states prevent people from car-rying concealed weapons if they have certainmisdemeanor convictions. At least 31 statesprohibit alcohol abusers from obtaining a con-cealed carry permit and require gun safetytraining. The Thune amendment would forcestates with more restrictive standards to ac-cept concealed carry permits from stateswith less stringent rules in effect giving thelax rules national reach.

Passage of the amendment would make itmuch harder for law enforcement to distin-guish between legal and illegal possession of a

firearm. It would be a boon for illegal gun traf-fickers, making it easier to transport weaponsacross state lines without being caught.

Proponents of Thunes attempt to createthe equivalent of a national concealed carrysystem claim it will reduce crime. But theevidence shows otherwise. Between May2007 and April 2009, people holding concealedhandgun permits killed at least seven policeofficers and 44 private citizens, according toa new study by the Violence Policy Center, agun control advocacy group. Other examplesof crimes committed by concealed-carry li-censees are plentiful.

For Alaska to permit residents who havecommitted repeated violent misdemeanorsor who have committed misdemeanor sexoffenses against minors to carry a concealedweapon is terrible public policy. For the Sen-ate to extend that permit to 47 other stateswould be the height of irresponsibility, aswell as a breathtaking violation of legitimatestates rights.

Sens. Charles Schumer of New York andFrank Lautenberg of New Jersey are leadingthe fight to defeat the Thune amendment. Wefervently hope they succeed.

gn cazy in he Senae

DAVID BrookS

LiberalOverreachIt was interesting to watch the Republica

Party lose touch with America. You had

party led by conservative Southerners whneither understood nor sympathized witmoderates or representatives from swindistricts.

They brought in pollsters to persuade theimembers that the country was fervently behind them. They were supported by their interest groups and cheered on by their activists and the partisan press. They spent federamoney in an effort to buy support but ended udisgusting the country instead.

Its not that interesting to watch the Democrats lose touch with America. Thats becausthe plotline is exactly the same. The party iled by insular liberals from big cities and thcoasts, who neither understand nor sympa

thize with moderates. They have their owmedia and activist cocoon, their own plans tlavishly spend borrowed money to buy votes

This overreach wont be any more successful than the last one. A Washington Post-ABNews poll released Monday confirms that support for Democratic policies is sliding fast. IMarch, only 32 percent of Americans thoughPresident Obama was an old-style, tax-andspend liberal. Now 43 percent do.

Were only in the early stages of the liberasuicide march, but there already have beethree phases. First, there was the stimulus package. You would have thought that stimulus package would be designed to fighunemployment and stimulate the economduring a recession. But Congressional Democrats used it as a pretext to pay for $787 billioworth of pet programs with borrowed moneyOnly 11 percent of the money will be spent bthe end of the fiscal year a triumph of ideoogy over pragmatism.

Then there is the budget. Instead of allayinmoderate anxieties about the deficits, the budget is expected to increase the governmendebt by $11 trillion between 2009 and 2019.

Finally, there is health care. The bills armodeled on the Massachusetts health reformlaw that is currently coming apart at thseams precisely because it doesnt controcosts. They do little to reward efficient providers and reform inefficient ones.

The House bill adds $239 billion to the federal deficit during the first 10 years alone, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Iwould pummel small businesses with an 8 pecent payroll penalty. It would jack Americatop tax rate above those in Italy and FranceTop earners in New York and California woulbe giving more than 55 percent of earnings tone government entity or another.

Nancy Pelosi has lower approval ratingthan Sarah Palin. And yet Democrats have alowed her policy values to carry the day. Whogoing to stop this leftward surge? Months agoit seemed as if Obama would lead a center-lecoalition. Instead, he has deferred to the OlBulls on Capitol Hill on issue after issue.

opInIon Tuesday, July 21, 2009 7

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8/9

TURNBERRY, Scotland Forall its beauty and innate fairness,golf can be a cruel sport. TomWatson, who already knew this,

was reminded of it in the early-evening chill on Sunday.

The 138th British Open wasover, and Stewart Cink held theclaret jug that nearly had somesay should have had Watsonsname inscribed for the sixth timein three decades.

What Watson, 59, did duringfour days of inspiring play wasput on one of the best shows of hislong and illustrious career. Yes,he had an 8-footer at the 72nd holethat would have won it all, therebychasing down all the ghosts andbreaking numerous age-related

records. But the run ended badly.He got up Monday morning and

headed south to Wentworth, Eng-land, for this weeks British Se-nior Open at Sunningdale, where

he will no doubt be congratulatedby his peers for beating 154 of the155 other golfers in the field.

This would have been a great

memory, he said on Sunday.Then he smiled, and thought abouthow his friend Jack Nicklaus hasmemory lapses when he is askedto recall losing the 1977 Duel in theSun at Turnberry. Now its go-ing to be like Jack, Watson said.Ill never remember what thehell club I hit any time during thewhole tournament.

For Stewart Cink, 36, the take-away from Turnberry is entirelypositive. Despite some questionsabout his role as the spoiler of oneof golfs greatest stories anda headline in the Scottish Sun

tabloid that screamed StewartStink: Champ doesnt care hekilled off dream Cink validat-ed his place among golfs majorchampions in a number of ways.

In the end, you know, its a tour-nament to see who lasts the lon-gest, he said. Its a survival testout there, as you look at the score-

board, with the winning scorebeing 2. Its a survival test, and Idont know what else to say.

It was the perfect way to saythat he had no intention of losingto a 59-year-old man in a four-holeplayoff, even if it was Tom Wat-son, living legend and peopleschoice.

Cink was able to execute, underthe pressure of a major champion-ship Sunday, the putting changeshe had recently implemented andthe mind-set he has been trying toacquire to make that happen. Hiswork with Butch Harmon to rein-

force many of the things he knewalready, and to pick up some hedid not, has been a factor in thetransformation.

LARRY DORMAN

As Watson Moves On, Cink Answers DoubtsFtball i th Bx

The Yankees said NotreDame and Army would play thefirst football game at the newstadium next year, reignitingone of college footballs greatrivalries. The game, which isscheduled for Nov. 20, 2010, willmost likely be the first of several football games a year at thestadium. The last football gameat the old Yankee Stadium washeld in 1987 between Gramblingand Central State. (NYT

Timbwlvs TadMinnesota forward Mark

Madsen was traded with Sebas

tian Telfair and Craig Smith tothe Clippers for Quentin Rich-ardson. The Timberwolvesmade the deal to try to achievebetter roster balance while re-taining salary-cap flexibility,possibly with an eye on their todraft pick, 18-year-old RickyRubio. Rubio is faced with amultimillion-dollar buyout ofhis contract with Spains Joventut. (AP

i n b r i e f

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Michael Vick, who served 18months in a federal prison and anadditional two months in homeconfinement for his role in a dog-fighting operation, completed hissentence Monday, making hima free man. But Vicks future,wrapped up in whether he hasremorse for his actions, remainsmurky.

Vick, a quarterback, is not eli-gible to restart his football careeruntil he is reinstated by N.F.L.Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Goodell, who had said that hewould consider Vicks case afterthe sentence was completed, hasnot committed to a schedule for

making his decision.Greg Aiello, an N.F.L. spokes-

man, said Monday: The reviewof Michael Vicks status is ongo-ing. We are providing no otherdetails right now.

With training camps openingnext week, Vicks chance to playa meaningful role for a new teamwill diminish as time passes, par-ticularly because he has beenunable to work out fully while inprison and in home confinement.

Goodell, who has established areputation for cracking down onlawbreaking players, has said hewants to see remorse from Vick.In recent months, Goodell and

Arthur Blank, the Atlanta Fal-cons owner and Vicks formerboss, have made it clear that theyhope Vick has broken ties with as-sociates who they think were badinfluences. If Goodell is not satis-fied when he meets Vick, he cancontinue his suspension.

Vick has been out of footballfor two years and even if he isreinstated for all or part of the2009 season, his options may belimited. He is 29, young enoughfor many productive seasons, buthe was becoming a less accuratethrower as his career went on, andfew teams may be willing to takehim on as a starter. (NYT)

Vick Finishes Sentence, but Future Is Cloudy

BASeBALL ALSUNDAYS LATE GAMES

Tx 5, Minnot 3, 12 inningMONDAYynk 2, Btimor 1Tx 6, Boton 3l.a. ang t Kn Cit, pp., rinChicgo Whit sox 4, Tmp B 3

BASeBALL nLMONDAYPhiphi 10, Chicgo Cb 1Mt 6, Whington 2atnt 11, sn Frncico 3Hoton 3, st. loi 2

SporTS Tuesday, July 21, 2009 8

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CARSON, Calif. David Beck-ham has been hung in effigy out-side a London pub, has had hisphotograph printed with a bulls-

eye around it in a British tabloid,and has endured visits to stadi-ums that roared with derogatorychants about his wife.

None of it seemed to flusterhim.

At least not the way a 28-year-old video-game technician didSunday night when he questionedBeckhams loyalties during anexhibition between the Los An-geles Galaxy and A.C. Milan, hiscurrent and former or is it fu-ture? clubs.

On his way off the field at half-time, Beckham charged toward a

small pocket of Galaxy fans who,feeling jilted over his desire tomove to Milan, had taunted himwith chants and signs, and booedhis every touch of the ball. Beck-ham pointed a finger, shoutedseveral epithets and attemptedto climb over a signboard whilechallenging a Galaxy fan, DavidMartinous, to come down on thefield.

Martinous did not, but a mansitting next to him, Josh Paige,did. When Paige jumped downabout 8 feet, he was immediatelypinned to the ground by three se-curity guards and escorted from

the stadium. Several more secu-rity guards, A.C. Milan defenderAlessandro Nesta and Galaxymidfielder Stefani Miglioranzi

pulled Beckham away as a fanthrew a white No. 23 Galaxy jer-sey at him.

That such a scene played out notin Rome or London or Barcelona,caldrons of European soccer, butoutside Los Angeles where theatmosphere more often resem-bles an echo chamber left someparticipants in disbelief.

Im flabbergasted, Marti-nous said later at a bar. Ivespent three years trying to getunder the skin of players who arenobodies, and I got under DavidBeckhams skin? Never in my

wildest dreams did I think hedlose his head like that.

Paige, an independent film pro-ducer, was issued a $55 ticket fortrespassing and released by thepolice.

It was surreal, he said. WhenDavid Beckham calls you out,you get on the field. In hindsight,I wish I didnt stoop to his level. Iwish I was the bigger man.

These days, the stature ofBeckham is rapidly shrinking.His highly publicized arrivalin 2007 was heralded as a boostthat would carry Major LeagueSoccer into the mainstream. But

through decisions by the league,the Galaxy and Beckhams advis-ers, some of which were chroni-cled in a recently published book,

The Beckham Experiment, byGrant Wahl of Sports Illustrated,the train seems to have come offthe tracks.

Sunday nights game, whichended in a 2-2 tie, was typical. Itwas brokered when the Galaxyagreed to extend Beckhams loanto A.C. Milan last off-season to sixmonths, from three. As Galaxyfans watched Beckham hug andlaugh with the Milan players, hisbody language seemed to make itclear where he would rather be.

Paige and Martinous are regu-lars in a Galaxy fan club called

the L.A. Riot Squad, which hasdeveloped a reputation for wittyif sometimes lewd chants. Gal-axy Coach Bruce Arena and theteams captain, Landon Donovan,saluted the group before Sundaysgame, and other players paid vis-its afterward.

It might have been that wayfor Beckham, too. But when hiseffort flagged noticeably in thelatter half of last years M.L.S.season, and he then sought tomake his loan to A.C. Milan per-manent, many Galaxy fans tunedout or were turned off.

BILLY WITZ

the unweme Ma Is o Beham

Nascar lagged well behindother American professionalsports in establishing a formaldrug testing program. Only thisyear, prompted in part by a truckseries drivers heroin use, did theauto racing authority begin test-ing all drivers and crew mem-bers.

Even before its season-openingDaytona 500 Sprint Cup race, Na-scar started naming names ofthose attached to positive tests,and it has suspended eight crewmembers so far. But it was notuntil May that there was a drug-related suspension of a driver Jeremy Mayfield, a 17-year vet-eran with five career wins in thetop-tier Cup series.

The case has become like amulticar pileup at the speedway;you cant take your eyes off it.

The increasingly salacious ele-ments of the story and the stigmaof the drug commonly referred toas crystal meth have dominated

the news and taken the focusaway from Nascars program,which many specialists in thefield of drug testing have deridedas less than ideal.

While applauding the intent,they say the plan lacks a full andspecific list of disallowed drugs,fails to establish precise pen-alties, does not have a formalmedical exception standard andis without a clearly establishedappeals or arbitration process.

Many of those elements areplaying out in the Mayfield case.

Known in Nascar circles morefor his outspokenness than rac-ing success, Mayfield, 40, suedthe organization in May after hewas suspended for failing a drugtest. Nascar, which by practicedoes not disclose the exact drugdetected, countersued. Mayfieldsought a temporary injunction torestore his driving privileges, hislawyers arguing in court that henever used recreational drugs.

On July 1, a judge determinedthat the chance of a false posi-tive was quite substantial andruled in Mayfields favor, liftingthe suspension. That day, Nascarconfirmed published reports thatMayfield had tested positive formethamphetamine.

The case became messier lastweek when Nascar said thatMayfield, who had offered to beretested, had failed a second testfor meth. Among the new resultand other papers filed by Nascarto persuade the court to lift theinjunction was testimony fromMayfields stepmother that shehad observed him ingesting thedrug some 30 times over sevenyears.

In an interview with ESPN,Mayfield cast his stepmother asthe person who shot and killedmy dad. (His fathers shootingdeath in 2007 was ruled by a med-ical examiner as self-inflicted.)

MIKE TIERNEY

Behind Court Battle, Nascars Drug Policy Questioned Vt f CfidcWASHINGTON The good

news has come in small dosesfor the Mets in this immenselydisappointing season. So whenGeneral Manager Omar Mina-ya was asked on Monday nightabout the good news that had recently been revealed about himhe was initially stumped. Goodnews, like what? Minaya said.What is the good news?

The good news, at least forMinaya and Manager JerryManuel, is that Jeff Wilpon, thechief operating officer, has toldboth men in the last few weeksthat their jobs are safe this season. As the injury-ravaged Metbegan free-falling, Wilpon wanted to assure his general manager and manager that they wouldnot be sacrificed.

Before the Mets defeated thedreadful Washington Nationals6-2, on Monday, the Mets hadlost 14 of their last 20 games.

(NYT

AMerICAn LeAGue

East W L Pct GBBoton 55 37 .598

ynk 55 37 .598

Tmp B 51 42 .548 4{

Toronto 46 47 .495 9{

Btimor 41 51 .446 14

Central W L Pct GBdtroit 48 42 .533

Chicgo 48 44 .522 1

Minnot 47 45 .511 2

Kn Cit 37 54 .407 11{

Cvn 36 57 .387 13{

West W L Pct GB

lo ang 52 38 .578

Tx 50 41 .549 2{

stt 49 43 .533 4

Okn 38 52 .422 14

nATIonAL LeAGue

East W L Pct GB

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Fori 46 47 .495 7{

Mt 44 48 .478 9

Whington 26 66 .283 27

Central W L Pct GB

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Chicgo 47 44 .516 2{

Miwk 47 45 .511 3

Hoton 46 46 .500 4

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West W L Pct GB

lo ang 58 34 .630

Cooro 50 42 .543 8

sn Frncico 50 42 .543 8

arizon 39 53 .424 19

sn digo 37 55 .402 21

SporTS journAL Tuesday, July 21, 2009 9