I'll give you all my Smarties if you give me all your Reese's cups.
--Molly I.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
110 Days
All the way to the bottom someone finally asks the question that's been on mind. They say Atlanta may run out of water in 110 days.
`It doesn't seem like people are concerned enough,'' said Mickey Mellen, 31, who tracks the water situation on a blog, www.atlantawatershortage.com. ``What happens when we run out? Nobody has a real answer.''
Free Music
Because you need some stuff to listen to while you're sending all of your money to Donna Edwards, the All Songs Considered podcast has free full concerts from The New Pornographers, Bishop Allen, Gogol Bordello, Stars, Rilo Kiley, Spoon, and other fun stuff...
Primaries
Among the denizens of the fever swamps, there's always quite a bit of enthusiasm for the concept of primaries. So, put your money where your mouth is. Donna Edwards almost won last time. With a bit of help she can win this time.
Color of Change PAC says:
Color of Change PAC says:
Black Americans have long relied on Black elected officials like Al Wynn to represent their interests in Washington, and far too often, they find those leaders unaccountable and compromised. Al Wynn has repeatedly worked against the interests of his Black constituents, siding instead with big business and the wealthy special interests that fund his campaigns.
Today, we're saying enough is enough. Donna Edwards, Wynn's opponent in the Democratic primary, has been a powerful advocate for policies that benefit the Black community, especially low-income Black folks. She has an excellent record of public service, and we are confident that once in office she will serve her constituents with integrity and accountability.
While Nancy Pelosi holds a fundraiser this weekend in support of one of the least accountable members of the Congressional Black Caucus, we're asking Black folks to stand up, demand better representation, and support Donna Edwards for Congress.
Better Democrats
Look who's raising money for bad Democrat Al Wynn.
That's ok. We can raise money for good Democrat Donna Edwards.
As Stoller says:
- Progressive hero Donna Edwards nearly beat Al Wynn in 2006 as a first time candidate running an underfunded campaign, losing by just three points. This cycle, she's going to win. But this is not just another Congressional race, it's about what kind of party the Democrats will be in the majority. Will we continue to knuckle under to lobbyists and the Bush administration? Or will we stand up as proud progressives?
Color of Change, MyDD, Swing State Project, Americablog, Dailykos, Firedoglake, Atrios, and Openleft are coming together in a special project to raise $100k for Donna Edwards for Congress. We want to send a message to the Democratic leaders in Congress, to the corporate lobbyists, and to the Republicans that Congress belongs to the people. Over the next four days, we're going to show you exactly who Nancy Pelosi is raising money for, and we're going to cap it off with Donna blogging at Americablog, Dailykos, and Firedoglake for Saturday afternoon during the Wynn fundraiser.
You can help do your part here.
Not Just Going Forward
Mukasey can't say that any of the barbaric things the Bush administration has done is a crime because it would be his job, as Attorney General, to prosecute them all for having done them.
5 to the Noggin
One funny thing about Fox News is that they have this arbitrary system of imagined rules they apply to other journalists and news outlets but which they themselves feel free to violate.
The Strangest of Holidays
Why oh why are there sculptures of Tim Russert everywhere? I share Paul Waldman's fantasy:
I have a fantasy that at one of these moments, a candidate will say, "You know what, Tim, I'm not going to answer that question. This is serious business. And you, sir, are a disgrace. You have in front of you a group of accomplished, talented leaders, one of whom will in all likelihood be the next president of the United States. You can ask them whatever you want. And you choose to engage in this ridiculous gotcha game, thinking up inane questions you hope will trick us into saying something controversial or stupid. Your fondest hope is that the answer to your question will destroy someone's campaign. You're not a journalist, you're the worst kind of hack, someone whose efforts not only don't contribute to a better informed electorate, they make everyone dumber. So no, I'm not going to stand here and try to come up with the most politically safe Bible verse to cite. Is that the best you can do?"
But we shouldn't hold our breath waiting for a candidate to say that, particularly not to Russert, who stands atop the insider media establishment. And like every skillful and experienced Washington hand, Russert knows that the way to the top is to pretend that for all the Georgetown cocktail parties you attend, for all the money you make, for all your heart flutters when the powerful treat you with deference, in truth you may be in Washington but you're not of it. No, deep down you're just a regular guy from the wrong side of the tracks, standing up to the effete swells of the ruling class.
WHEEEEEEEE
Never take investment advice from me. Helicopter Ben cut the rate by .25, though judging from the reaction of the stock market, THE STREET was expecting .5.
Generations
Judging from a couple of comments, some people seemed to think I was claiming that people like Dowd are somehow representative of their generations. I wasn't. I just was trying to say that their own special form of gender issue weirdness seems very alien to me and I was wondering if it was something specific to a particular generation. I don't mean all people of that generation are like that, just that their very special worldview seems to be of, though not representative of, a different time.
And, to restate, there's obviously plenty of messed up gender stuff from younger people as well, it's just different.
And, to restate, there's obviously plenty of messed up gender stuff from younger people as well, it's just different.
Cowards
This is exactly right, and they imagine they're the strong ones when they're big losers who get pantsed over and over again.
Blue Dogs actually seem like the most scared people in all of Washington, D.C. as a result of this article. They are afraid of Republican attacks. They are afraid of conservative pundits. They are afraid of their constituents. They are afraid of motions to recommit that are meaningless in terms of actual policy. And they are protected by Emanuel and Hoyer, who seem petrified of all the same things. They seem to all operate in a perpetual state of fear, despite their surface machismo. And yes, it does seem like fear, rather than simply conservative beliefs in this case, because otherwise why would they be in favor of a meaningless procedural motion that has nothing to do with policy? The widespread fear in the tough guy wing of the Democratic Party is one of the great ironies of modern American politics.
Anybody But Teresa Carr Deni
A big problem with judges being elected positions is practically everyone who walks into the voting booth is a low information voter. I have no idea who I should vote for, but I know who I'll vote against.
A city judge who reduced a rape charge to "theft of services" in a case involving a prostitute assaulted at gunpoint was harshly criticized yesterday by the head of the Philadelphia Bar Association.
Municipal Judge Teresa Carr Deni's handling of the case was an "unforgivable miscarriage of justice," said Jane Leslie Dalton, the bar association's chancellor. "The victim has been brutalized twice in this case: first by the assailants, and now by the court."
Dalton's criticism came just 28 days after the association recommended that voters Tuesday retain Deni for a third six-year term.
Generational Gender Stuff
While messed up gender issues in general terms certainly haven't gone away, am I right to suggest that the specific flavor of fuckedupedness put on display by people like Tweety, Tim Russert, Maureen Dowd, and the rest of that gang is a bit antiquated? When I'm confronted with their various layers of gender weirdness it really seems like some sort of anachronistic parody.
That's not to say I imagine that the younger folk have transcended all of this stuff, just that it at least seems to be different. I find these people bizarre.
That's not to say I imagine that the younger folk have transcended all of this stuff, just that it at least seems to be different. I find these people bizarre.
Goodnight Ladies
Please remove Maureen Dowd from my New York Times.
And then tase her, bro.
She is a deeply messed up person.
And then tase her, bro.
She is a deeply messed up person.
Gravelmania
Frankly, the dude managed to get a lot more coverage than he probably "deserved" by any reasonable metric. Early on in the primary contest I think the media should be pretty open to long shot candidates, but at some point either they managed to draw a significant base of support, as measured by donors and polls, or they don't.
I don't think the bar should be set obscenely high, but if you can't manage to rake in a million bucks by this point then you really haven't gotten anywhere.
I don't think the bar should be set obscenely high, but if you can't manage to rake in a million bucks by this point then you really haven't gotten anywhere.
Boylan
Aside from everything else, the dude is really weird. Still, given his attachment to Jesus General Petraeus, it's illegal for me to criticize him.
Elite Runners
I really have a hard time comprehending this kind of training.
The runners start their day at 7:30 a.m., meeting at a duck pond beside a packed-dirt trail. Most end up running 120 to 140 miles a week. Brian Sell, the team’s best hope for making the Olympic team, runs 160 miles a week.
The Last Gasp of the Reagan Democrats
It's not too surprising that they're obsessed with the brown hordes. With immigration, as with many issues, Democrats have an opportunity to get out in front and lead or follow the bouncing poll numbers. It's actually possible for good leaders to influence public opinion, and since everyone in this election seems to be obsessed about "leadership" it'd be nice to actually see some.
Heckuva Job, Karen
Nobody could have predicted that her ignorant condescension would piss of the entire world.
WASHINGTON - Karen Hughes, who led efforts to improve the U.S. image abroad and was one of President Bush's last remaining advisers from the close circle of Texas aides, will leave the government at the end of the year, she told The Associated Press.
Hughes said she plans to quit her job as undersecretary of state and return to Texas, although improving the world's view of the United States is a "long-term challenge" that will outlast her.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEE
Will Helicopter Ben really lower rates with 3.9% growth?
Wall Street sez yes! Atrios sez no!
Should probably listen to Wall Street.
Wall Street sez yes! Atrios sez no!
Should probably listen to Wall Street.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
No Bruce For You
Clear Channel sends out memo telling stations not to place new Springsteen.
Doesn't need my - or their - help, but in any case.
Doesn't need my - or their - help, but in any case.
Blog of the Year
Speaking of Time's Blog of the Year, I keep forgetting to bring this one back.
I'm hearing that the White House presented three names in its consultation with Sen. Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committtee. They were Ted Olson, Larry Thompson (the number two man under John Ashcroft), and George Terwilliger. Specter preferred Olson, whom the White House also views very favorably, and he likely will be the nominee.
They Weren't In On It
After years of being an amateur anthropologist studying the ways of Live Villagers In Their Native Habitat, I've concluded that the simplest explanation for their horror at the mighty Clenis was simply that they felt excluded from the party during his presidency.
From 1969 to 1993 there was almost uninterrupted Republican dominance of Washington. And by dominance I don't just mean control of the levers of power, but dominance of the social circle and the village customs. Carter was a brief aberration, and he was treated similarly as some out of town freak.
We've learned that the Villagers don't mind lies as long as they're in on them, don't mind criminal behavior as long as it's done by their pals, and don't mind jawdropping levels of corruption as long as everyone's getting along nicely while munching on quail at David Broder's place. They don't like outsiders, and the Clintons were outsiders.
Some more from Sally:
From 1969 to 1993 there was almost uninterrupted Republican dominance of Washington. And by dominance I don't just mean control of the levers of power, but dominance of the social circle and the village customs. Carter was a brief aberration, and he was treated similarly as some out of town freak.
We've learned that the Villagers don't mind lies as long as they're in on them, don't mind criminal behavior as long as it's done by their pals, and don't mind jawdropping levels of corruption as long as everyone's getting along nicely while munching on quail at David Broder's place. They don't like outsiders, and the Clintons were outsiders.
Some more from Sally:
And then we have Sally Quinn, the self-appointed arbiter of Washington's social scene. Since the White House scandal story broke in mid-January, Quinn has gabbed on the networks and cable channels, passing judgment on the president and hissing at first lady Hillary Rodman Clinton.
"If you consider the life of Bill Clinton," she said on "60 Minutes," "whenever he leaves the White House, he's going to get on a plane, and where is he going to go?"
"What do you mean?" a baffled Mike Wallace asked.
"Well, he -- he doesn't even have a home," she sniffed. "I mean, when you think about it, he's homeless. I mean, they've lived in sort of government properties all their lives."
What Quinn really means is that from her elitist perch, President Clinton is poor white trash -- a homeless, rootless Bubba. No doubt this helps explains why he goes for women with big hair, and it allows Quinn to convince herself that he and Monica did unspeakable things in the Oval Office, even though there is as yet no proof.
But Quinn reveals her truly witchy ways when she talks about the first lady. She paints Hillary Clinton as a sad case, trapped in a lousy marriage, "floundering around in the last couple of years to try to find some project for herself."
Actually, it could be said that Sally Quinn has been floundering around for the last couple of decades, when she failed first as a journalist, then as a novelist, before emerging as a hostess in a Washington society that even she admits is in its death throes. Which brings us to a central question: Who appointed Quinn as the mouthpiece for the permanent Washington establishment, if there is such an animal? A peek into Quinn's motives reveals a hidden political agenda and the venom of a hostess scorned, and ultimately, an aging semi-journalist propped up by a cadre of media buddies, carping at the Clintons because they wouldn't kiss her ring.
...
All of this reporting and writing prepared Quinn for her true calling: being a hostess and party girl. "She would go to the opening of an envelope," says one socialite. She positioned herself as the Perle Mesta of the 1990s. She reveled in inviting the usual suspects in the political and media world to her Georgetown manse, then leaking gossip from the parties to reporters at the Post. It was a cozy relationship that depended on Quinn's ability to reel in big-name guests, especially the biggest of all, the first couple -- which brings us to the root of Sally's beef with Hillary.
According to society sources, Sally invited Hillary to a luncheon when the Clintons came to town in 1993. Sally stocked her guest list with her best buddies and prepared to usher the first lady into the capital's social whirl. Apparently, Hillary didn't accept. Miffed, Sally wrote a catty piece in the Post about Mrs. Clinton. Hillary made sure that Quinn rarely made it into the White House dinners or social events.
In return, Sally started talking trash about Hillary to her buddies, and her animus became a staple of the social scene. "There's just something about her that pisses people off," Quinn is quoted as saying in a New Yorker article about Hillary.
More Discontinuities
I think some people assume that an inevitable result of lower oil supply/rising oil demand is disruptive supply shortages. Widespread persistent supply disruptions would indeed be a big deal, but they just aren't an inevitable result of peak oil concerns. Arguably political instability caused by the economic pain of higher oil prices could lead to such disruptions, but there's no simple cause and effect there.
Discontinuities
I, too, generally get a bit puzzled about Kunstlerish views about the future of America in a world of rising oil prices. Certainly rising oil/gas prices, over time, might impact peoples' behavior in terms of what kind of car they use and how much they use it. Over a longer time horizon high prices might impact to some degree our land use and transit policies, and the relative desirability of certain locations. Obviously high oil/gas prices would cause economic pain for lower income people with a heavy reliance on automobile usage, and potentially tip the economy into a nontrivial recession.
But when I think through how various levels might impact behavior, and I've done informal polling on this blog about it before, it's just hard to see how any realistic scenario leads to the kind of of economic and social Armageddon that some authors predict. Even if there was a major price discontinuity, with gas shooting up to $10/gallon tomorrow, I just don't see the country going through a sudden wrenching overhaul. People would be pissed. Stuff would be more expensive. But I really don't see it in revolutionary terms.
But when I think through how various levels might impact behavior, and I've done informal polling on this blog about it before, it's just hard to see how any realistic scenario leads to the kind of of economic and social Armageddon that some authors predict. Even if there was a major price discontinuity, with gas shooting up to $10/gallon tomorrow, I just don't see the country going through a sudden wrenching overhaul. People would be pissed. Stuff would be more expensive. But I really don't see it in revolutionary terms.
Nothing to Worry About
The impenetrable force field around Georgetown is being constructed as we speak, and so our Village Overlords will survive long after the rest of us are gone.
Chemo Brain
We should remember that Fred Thompson has indolent lymphoma, has received treatment for it, and such treatment can reduce mental acuity. I'm not one who actually thinks that presidential health is all that important, and certainly don't think that such illness/treatment should in any way be a disqualifier. Still, given the attention paid to such things in other people it's a bit odd that no one seems to be discomfited by Fred's illness.
Muddle
So I just learned on CNN that the State Department offered immunity to the Blackwater guards. That they don't have the power to do it. That they did it anyway. That senior State people didn't sign off on this thing they didn't have the power to do. This thing they didn't have the power to do will inhibit any efforts to prosecute them.
I hope someone at the State Department offers to give me Martha's Vineyard! They may not have the power to do it, but once they do any efforts to take it away from me will be inhibited!
I hope someone at the State Department offers to give me Martha's Vineyard! They may not have the power to do it, but once they do any efforts to take it away from me will be inhibited!
Interest Only
I don't know what the national numbers are, but the proportion of recent loans in California which have been interest only loans (pay only the interest for the first few years, leaving the principal intact) is stunning.
This problem ain't going away no matter what Helicopter Ben does.
This problem ain't going away no matter what Helicopter Ben does.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Arab Spring
Oh God I'd forgotten about this one.
One can only imagine the Republican wrath and utter ridicule—the Rush Limbaugh fulminations—if, say, John Kerry had proposed a similar policy: Let's pin our Middle East hopes on the statesmanship of Hizballah and Hamas. But that is where the democratic idealism of the Bush Doctrine has led us. If the President turns out to be right—and let's hope he is—a century's worth of woolly-headed liberal dreamers will be vindicated. And he will surely deserve that woolliest of all peace prizes, the Nobel.
Social Security Memories
The social security battle was actually a lot of fun, primarily because we (good guys) triumphed against a whole mountain of stupid coming from the elite political class.
Here's just one example of the kind of thing I'm talking about...
Here's just one example of the kind of thing I'm talking about...
There Is No Crisis
I imagine some readers who haven't been hanging around these parts for all that long might have justifiably been puzzled at the reaction to Obama's decision to try to make dealing with Social Security his signature attack on Clinton. It's true that Obama didn't assert that there was some huge crisis. But the fact remains that he put the idea out there that Social Security had a "problem" which needs to be fixed and that any serious presidential candidate needs to address the issue in clear detail.
So what's the big deal?
Beating back George Bush's plan to kill social security was probably the first major victory for the broadly defined netroots movement. I say that not really knowing if things would have been different if blogs and the like didn't exist, but it seemed like a victory. And while we never got together in a dark smoky room to plot our strategy, it basically ended up being a two-pronged one. The first was to beat back against the "social security crisis" frame much beloved by every very serious pundit in Washington. The second was to beat back against the idea that since George Bush had a "plan" (which he never actually did in any form until very near the end of the whole debate) the Democrats needed to have a "plan" of their own. The first part of this is a perpetual game of whack a mole, necessary on just about every day the Washington Post is still publishing. And the second was a very necessary emergency tourniquet which needed to be applied very quickly.
Beating back the steady stream of misinformation about the nonexistent crisis was done throughout the blogs, on Media Matters, etc. And trying to stop the Democrats from coming up with their own crackpot plan was done through a combination of bloggers trying to explain repeatedly that people like social security, they don't want to change it, opposing changing it is a political winner, and most importantly that once the minority party proposes their own plan they've guaranteed that something will happen. And that something would have been very bad. In addition, Josh Marshall especially kept an eager eye out for any wavering Democrat in Congress who decided that his/her awesome social security plan must be unveiled to the grateful public in order to beat them back with phone calls and whatever bad press could be created.
Tt worked. Again, absent blogs it may have played out just like that anyway. Nancy Pelosi realized at some point that the "no plan" plan was indeed the best one, and she likely doesn't spend much of her time looking at my pictures of ponies. In any case, somehow George Bush's social security monster was driven back into its cave and it was done in just the way the liberal blogosphere and netroots more broadly orchestrated it to happen, in a very decentralized way of course. We're not members of any organized political party, remember.
So, anyway, having someone suggest that Social Security is a problem which needs to be dealt with by any serious candidate is like the bat signal for people like me. There is no problem with Social Security. None at all. Whatever broader fiscal time bombs exist have absolutely nothing to do with Social Security. Once you get Fred Hiatt and the gang opining about the need fix that Social Security problem, you've increased the likelihood of something very bad happening.
So what's the big deal?
Beating back George Bush's plan to kill social security was probably the first major victory for the broadly defined netroots movement. I say that not really knowing if things would have been different if blogs and the like didn't exist, but it seemed like a victory. And while we never got together in a dark smoky room to plot our strategy, it basically ended up being a two-pronged one. The first was to beat back against the "social security crisis" frame much beloved by every very serious pundit in Washington. The second was to beat back against the idea that since George Bush had a "plan" (which he never actually did in any form until very near the end of the whole debate) the Democrats needed to have a "plan" of their own. The first part of this is a perpetual game of whack a mole, necessary on just about every day the Washington Post is still publishing. And the second was a very necessary emergency tourniquet which needed to be applied very quickly.
Beating back the steady stream of misinformation about the nonexistent crisis was done throughout the blogs, on Media Matters, etc. And trying to stop the Democrats from coming up with their own crackpot plan was done through a combination of bloggers trying to explain repeatedly that people like social security, they don't want to change it, opposing changing it is a political winner, and most importantly that once the minority party proposes their own plan they've guaranteed that something will happen. And that something would have been very bad. In addition, Josh Marshall especially kept an eager eye out for any wavering Democrat in Congress who decided that his/her awesome social security plan must be unveiled to the grateful public in order to beat them back with phone calls and whatever bad press could be created.
Tt worked. Again, absent blogs it may have played out just like that anyway. Nancy Pelosi realized at some point that the "no plan" plan was indeed the best one, and she likely doesn't spend much of her time looking at my pictures of ponies. In any case, somehow George Bush's social security monster was driven back into its cave and it was done in just the way the liberal blogosphere and netroots more broadly orchestrated it to happen, in a very decentralized way of course. We're not members of any organized political party, remember.
So, anyway, having someone suggest that Social Security is a problem which needs to be dealt with by any serious candidate is like the bat signal for people like me. There is no problem with Social Security. None at all. Whatever broader fiscal time bombs exist have absolutely nothing to do with Social Security. Once you get Fred Hiatt and the gang opining about the need fix that Social Security problem, you've increased the likelihood of something very bad happening.
Political Journalism '07
So he like totally dissed her and then she was like "nuh uhhh!" and then he totally said "uh huuhhh!'"
Anti-Gay Bigots for Social Security Reform
Josh expands a bit on the point I made previously. It's simply wrong to perpetuate the false notion that Social Security is some pressing crisis that needs to be dealt with. There just isn't any need to talk up the issue.
So, Obama's week so far: Fake social security issue, and telling gay people they need to have a "dialogue with" (translation: listen to) people who say that they're killing America's children.
Strange constituency to pursue in the Democratic primary.
...Stoller provides video of the Shrill One.
So, Obama's week so far: Fake social security issue, and telling gay people they need to have a "dialogue with" (translation: listen to) people who say that they're killing America's children.
Strange constituency to pursue in the Democratic primary.
...Stoller provides video of the Shrill One.
Popcorn
I can't get quite as excited as the S,N! folks about the civil war in Eliminatia, but it is rather amusing.
The Slate Series I'd Like to See
Is how a three-way with Mickey Kaus and a goat named Cherub transformed Melinda Henneberger forever.
Please make this stuff stop. Somehow. The presidency isn't some celebrity marriage reality show. It like matters and stuff.
Please make this stuff stop. Somehow. The presidency isn't some celebrity marriage reality show. It like matters and stuff.
The Audacity of Homophobia
I could spend all day unpacking this Obama statement, but I'll try to stick to my usual terse self.
Aside from the adoption of right wing frames, this kind of statement is incredibly insulting to both the LGBT community who are apparently "hermetically sealed from the faith community" and to the "faith community" which is apparently defined as nothing more than a bunch of anti-gay bigots. Not to mention the Democratic Party, which apparently includes no actual religious people.
It's really just insulting to everyone, with a touch of "shut the hell up I know best."
One thing you learn very quickly when you blog is that no matter how smart and knowledgeable you are (or imagine yourself to be), some of your readers are going to be smarter than you and literally every one of your readers knows more than you do about something. It's humbling at first, but then quite liberating. The "shut the hell up I know best" stuff is what grates me the most about politicians and other elites in our system because the truth is that quite often... they don't.
Part of the reason that we have had a faith outreach in our campaigns is precisely because I don't think the LGBT community or the Democratic Party is served by being hermetically sealed from the faith community and not in dialogue with a substantial portion of the electorate, even though we may disagree with them.
Aside from the adoption of right wing frames, this kind of statement is incredibly insulting to both the LGBT community who are apparently "hermetically sealed from the faith community" and to the "faith community" which is apparently defined as nothing more than a bunch of anti-gay bigots. Not to mention the Democratic Party, which apparently includes no actual religious people.
It's really just insulting to everyone, with a touch of "shut the hell up I know best."
One thing you learn very quickly when you blog is that no matter how smart and knowledgeable you are (or imagine yourself to be), some of your readers are going to be smarter than you and literally every one of your readers knows more than you do about something. It's humbling at first, but then quite liberating. The "shut the hell up I know best" stuff is what grates me the most about politicians and other elites in our system because the truth is that quite often... they don't.
The Petraeus Gambit
The point of putting him on the ticket is that our political class has already agreed that it's actually illegal to criticize him or anything his magic fingers have touched and turned to gold. Pretty much takes Iraq off the table for the election.
Well played, Demcorats.
Well played, Demcorats.
Nod and Wink
A fascinating thing about Democratic politics is that progressive activists, especially those in marginalized groups, are expected sit down and shut up and take it because they're supposed to be smart enough to know that nods and winks to bigots are just crass political maneuvers that candidates make to court votes.
Meanwhile
Thanks for all of this, oh wise men of Washington.
BAGHDAD, Oct. 29 — A suicide bomber on a bicycle killed 28 policemen in Baquba today as they prepared to do their morning training routine, Iraqi authorities said. The blast also wounded 20 other people, including seven policemen who were severely injured, and a woman and her baby, the authorities said.
Values Voters
The paragon value seems to be the abuse and suffering of other people.
Shame us atheists aren't capable of morality.
Shame us atheists aren't capable of morality.
Are There No Republicans Left?
Unless he becomes president, we won't have Tom Tancredo to kick around anymore.
Maybe Tom, Michelle, and Lou Dobbs can travel around the country for "HATEFEST '08!!!"
Maybe Tom, Michelle, and Lou Dobbs can travel around the country for "HATEFEST '08!!!"
Props for Car Share
In the Inqy:
In the five years since that meeting, the nonprofit they founded has grown from a spindly legged foal of an idea to a racehorse of a business, generating $10 million a year. The revenue pays for a small staff, the purchase and maintenance of the fleet, expansion and, when possible, a reduction in rates.
This month, the 30,000th member signed on, making Philly CarShare one of the most successful, fastest-growing programs of its kind in this country.
The five founders did it by digging into their own savings. They applied for a grant, flew to California to see how San Francisco ran its program, wrote up a membership contract, installed a software program, leased a Prius and a Toyota station wagon, and - on Nov. 7, 2002 - opened for business.
...
Word spread. After the first year, there were 570 members and 13 cars. They negotiated with community associations, the city and businesses, and either rented or were given designated parking where the cars could "live." The Union League, Whole Foods and the Parking Authority gave them space. In Queen Village, someone donated a driveway.
At its hip new offices at Ninth and Sansom, a white-haired woman is asking the receptionist how to sign up.
"I happen to be 69 years old. Do I need a doctor's note?"
...
In 2004, it awarded Philly CarShare a contract that allows multiple departments to share cars, and then frees them up at night and on weekends for use by city residents.
As a result, Philadelphia was able to sell off 329 vehicles. Since the program started, the estimated saving in lower insurance costs, less use, and less abuse is $6 million, according to Jeff Friedman, a consultant for the city's Office of Fleet Management.
G'mornin'
Ooops, someone forgot to tell Chris Dodd that Bush was breaking the law before 9/11 (and wasn't the least bit interested in terrorism).
Signed,
Not Atrios
Sunday, October 28, 2007
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Dollar sinking.
The dollar fell as low as $1.4426 per euro, the weakest since the introduction of the 13-nation common currency in 1999, before trading at $1.4420 as of 6:29 a.m. in Tokyo from $1.4393 in late New York on Oct. 26. It may drop as low as $1.4530 this week, Gibbs said.
Nobody Could Have Predicted
That this will end in a black hole of corruption, hardship, and misery. Ahmad, I have missed you!
BAGHDAD-Ahmad Chalabi, the controversial, ubiquitous Iraqi politician and one-time Bush administration favorite, has re-emerged as a central figure in the latest U.S. strategy for Iraq.
His latest job: To press Iraq's central government to use early security gains from the surge to deliver better electricity, health, education and local security services to Baghdad neighborhoods. That's the next phase of the surge plan. Until now, the U.S. military, various militias, insurgents and some U.S. backed groups have provided those services without great success.
That the U.S. and Iraqi officials are again turning to Chalabi, this time to restore life to Baghdad neighborhoods, speaks to his resiliency in this nascent government. It's also, some say, his latest effort to promote himself as a true national advocate for everyday Iraqis.
...
Chalabi "is an important part of the process," said Col. Steven Boylan, Petraeus' spokesman. "He has a lot of energy."
Interesting Ideas, Wrong Numbers, Tone That Makes Me Want to Eat Glass
Aside from Dean Baker's criticism, I find I can't stand reading the unsigned NYT editorials because even when I agree with them their default tone is that of the archetypal elderly schoolmarm lecturing all of us children about the proper path through life, which inevitably includes deference to our elite overlords.
Annoying.
Annoying.
Shows Sitting On My Tivo
Nice thing about a Tivo with a big hard drive is you can tell it to record episodes of new shows and you can delay watching them until you figure out if a) the show will avoid being cancelled and b) it's worth watching.
Pushing Daisies, Reaper, Chuck, Journeyman. Any good?
Pushing Daisies, Reaper, Chuck, Journeyman. Any good?
The Case of the Ambiguous Colonel
This whole exchange is pretty fascinating. I really don't think any reasonable person can, given the evidence, conclude anything other than the Colonel tried to weasel out of ownership of an email he did in fact send, but...
Meanwhile
Over there.
(AP) BAGHDAD Iraqi police say 10 sheiks allied against Al Qaeda have been kidnapped.
The group was made up of both Sunni and Shiite tribal leaders. Police say they were traveling home to Diyala province after a meeting with a government official in Baghdad to discuss coordinating efforts against Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Facts Are Stupid Things
AP:
ABC:
I suppose it all depends on how we define "initially," "considered," "clear," and "front-runner" but the idea that McCain was ever the clear front-runner anywhere but in the NBC green room and the Georgetown cocktail weenie circuit is a bit of a stretch.
Looking at national polls one has to go all the way back to 2006 to find polls which show McCain in first place - and then we're basically talking about ties with Giuliani. You have to go all the way back to 2005 to get polls which really show him out in front of a hypothetical matchup which includes people like Condi Rice.
McCain's never done well in Iowa, which is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVAH except when it interferes with the script, and even in New Hampshire he'd been swapping spots with Rudy! until the Mittster took the lead.
Just a few months ago, the one-time front-runner for the GOP nomination had hit rock bottom, with financial, political and organizational problems so severe that many in the world of politics had written him off.
ABC:
Initially considered the clear front-runner for the GOP nomination, McCain is now behind in national polls, and trails in the early primary states as well.
I suppose it all depends on how we define "initially," "considered," "clear," and "front-runner" but the idea that McCain was ever the clear front-runner anywhere but in the NBC green room and the Georgetown cocktail weenie circuit is a bit of a stretch.
Looking at national polls one has to go all the way back to 2006 to find polls which show McCain in first place - and then we're basically talking about ties with Giuliani. You have to go all the way back to 2005 to get polls which really show him out in front of a hypothetical matchup which includes people like Condi Rice.
McCain's never done well in Iowa, which is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVAH except when it interferes with the script, and even in New Hampshire he'd been swapping spots with Rudy! until the Mittster took the lead.
Creepy
Glenn gets a truly creepy email from Col. Steven A. Boylan.
It's obviously designed to intimidate, and would probably work on some.
It's obviously designed to intimidate, and would probably work on some.
The War Against Bathub Gin
Frederick of Hollywood's early days:
But a review of the 88 criminal cases Thompson handled at the U.S. attorney's office in Nashville, from 1969 to 1972, reveals a different and more human portrait -- that of a young lawyer learning the ropes on routine cases involving gambling, mail theft and, in one instance, talking dirty on CB radio.
There were a few bank robbers and counterfeiters. But more than anything, Thompson took on the state's moonshiners and a local culture, rooted in Tennessee's hills and hollows, that celebrated the independent whiskey maker's battle against the government's revenue agents.
Twenty-seven of his cases involved moonshining -- more than any other crime.
"Hell, I made whiskey and was violating the law, but I didn't do nothing wrong," said one of Thompson's many moonshining defendants, Kenneth Whitehead. "I would do it again if I had a still. I can't afford a still now."
Sunday Bobbleheads
Document the atrocities.
ABC's "This Week" — Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.
___
CBS' "Face the Nation" — Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
___
NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.
___
CNN's "Late Edition" — Nabi Sensoy, Turkish ambassador; Mohamed ElBaradei, International Atomic Energy Agency chief; Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Trent Lott, R-Miss.; former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Please Stop Talking About Social Security
I appreciate that Obama needs an issue, but please don't put social security into the Washington water. Once it gets in there all the serious pundits spend their days figuring out how best to starve granny.
It's a lovely program. It's fine.
It's a lovely program. It's fine.
Every Conceivable Story
Howie's take on the universe of potential political stories.
My view of the Huckabee hype is fairly simple: Reporters have run out of things to say about Hillary, Barack, Rudy, Mitt and the gang. Every conceivable story has been written, from cleavage to laughter to multiple marriages, and it's only October. We need a dark horse to shake up the race. Reporters like Huckabee. So he becomes the flavor du jour.
In Which I Learn Something From David Broder
"Reagan's 11th commandment" was not, in fact, Reagan's. D-Bro, Dec 6, 1966:
And Time, May 1966, dubbed it "Parkinson's Law":
What White wants is a sort of national version of the "Eleventh Commandment, Speak No Evil of Another Republican" that California Republican chairman Gaylord Parkinson imposed in his state this year and which contributed heavily to the ultimate success of Ronald Reagan's campaign for Governor.
And Time, May 1966, dubbed it "Parkinson's Law":
In hopes of damping down the perennial feud between California's Republican moderates and conservatives—and thus lessening Democratic Governor Pat Brown's third-term prospects—State G.O.P. Chairman Gaylord Parkinson last fall handed the troops an Eleventh Commandment. "Thou shall not speak ill of any Republican," he ruled, and to everyone's surprise, Parkinson's law became holy writ.
Clinton Rules
It is worth a bit of time for us all to remember and reacquaint ourselves with the Dumond case and associated other bits of wingnuttery. This pet issue of the wingnuts was bouncing around for years. This book was released in 1993.
Sadly, Nexis TV trancripts aren't quite as fleshed out as they are now, with mostly just descriptions of shows rather than actual transcripts. I liked these two.
Neither is even what Dumond claimed. Earlier news reports talk about exonerating DNA evidence. Which didn't exist. I hope Mancow is haunted by the ghost of the woman Dumond killed after leaving prison.
EventheliberalVillage Voice made it an issue. Wonder where Ward Harkavy is now.
Sadly, Nexis TV trancripts aren't quite as fleshed out as they are now, with mostly just descriptions of shows rather than actual transcripts. I liked these two.
NETWORK: WREG-TV
LENGTH: 35 words
START: 5.36
Forrest City. Convicted rapist was released from prison today by parole.
Visual - file footage of Wayne Dumond. He was castrated during his trial. Will live with his mother.
...
NETWORK: WPTY-TV
LENGTH: 26 words
START: 06.30
Wayne Dumond Rapist Wayne Dumond released from AR jail on parole, castrated while in jail by prisoners.
Visual - inmate.
END: 06.58
Neither is even what Dumond claimed. Earlier news reports talk about exonerating DNA evidence. Which didn't exist. I hope Mancow is haunted by the ghost of the woman Dumond killed after leaving prison.
Mancow in the Morning
NETWORK: WKQX-FM
LENGTH: 38 words
START: 23.48
The Truth. Rant about man Wayne Dumond (sp) accused of raping Clinton's cousin, man was innocent but was sentenced, two masked men burst into home and castrated Dumond before serving sentence.
END: 25.55
EventheliberalVillage Voice made it an issue. Wonder where Ward Harkavy is now.
Dumond
The Wayne Dumond case really is a fascinating bit of 90s era High Wingnuttery. Unsurprising that Gail Collins would launder it to make it smell nice, instead of highlighting the fact that rabid anti-Clinton insanity and the VRWC directly led to the freeing of a guilty man and the death of an innocent woman.
Meanwhile
Over there.
Iraqi police say a bomb blast has killed eight people and wounded 13 in the Diyala Bridge area, southeast of Baghdad.
Officials say two policemen were among those wounded in Saturday's blast, which targeted an area of restaurants.
Media Matters
Goat fellatio edition.
Mickey Kaus wants you to think the "journalism" he and other reporters have practiced in recent weeks is the same as that conducted by Bernstein and Woodward. It isn't. While the Post reporters relied on multiple sources, named and unnamed, in order to report weighty allegations about contemporaneous (or very recent) incidents, Kaus and others not only reported, but repeated as fact, the claims of a single unnamed source about an alleged 14-year-old incident.
Worse, Kaus and his peers aren't even relying on their own source: They are relying on, and treating as uncontested fact, the purported claims of someone else's source. They do not know the source's identity, nor have they had the opportunity to question the source to determine his or her credibility. Indeed, they have no reason to believe the source even exists, save the word of two reporters who have already been caught making false claims about Clinton and about their own book.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Foreclosures
Coming faster and faster.
...and some more happy thoughts.
...and some more happy thoughts.
More than $23.6 billion in California housing wealth will evaporate if real estate prices continue to decline and foreclosures on subprime home loans soar, according to a new congressional report that indicates the fallout from the national mortgage crisis is worsening.
In addition, over the next two years, the state will lose nearly $111 million in tax revenue from the forecast repossession of 191,000 homes and the spillover effect on neighboring property values, said the study, released Thursday by the Senate Joint Economic Committee.
Feeling the Doddmania
Caught most of this speech earlier.
Whoever you support, rewarding good behavior is always wise.
Mr. President, for six years, this President has demonstrated time and time again that he doesn’t respect the role of Congress nor does he respect the rule of law.
Every six years as United States Senators we take the oath office to uphold the Constitution. Our colleagues on the House side take that oath every two years. That is important.
For six years this President has used scare tactics to prevent the Congress from reining in his abuse of authority. A case and point is the current direction this body appears to be headed as we prepare to reform and extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Many of the unprecedented rollbacks to the rule of law by this Administration have been made in the name of national security.
The Bush Administration has relentlessly focused our nation’s resources and manpower on a war of choice in Iraq. That ill conceived war has broken our military, squandered resources and emboldened our enemies.
The President’s wholesale disregard of the rule of law has compounded the damage done in Iraq and has made our nation less secure and as a direct consequence of these acts, we are less secure, more vulnerable and more isolated in the world.
Consider the scandal at Abu Ghraib – where Iraqi prisoners were subjected to inhumane and humiliating acts by U.S. personnel charged with guarding them.
Consider Guantanamo Bay. Rather than helping to protect the nation, the prisons at Guantanamo Bay have instead become the very symbol for our weakened moral standing in the world.
Consider the secret prisons run by the CIA and the practice of extraordinary rendition that allows them to evade U.S. law regarding torture.
Consider the shameful actions of our outgoing Attorney General who politicized prosecutions – who was more committed to serving the President who appointed him than the laws he had sworn to uphold.
And consider, of course, the Military Commissions Act – a law that allows evidence obtained through torture to be admitted into evidence.
It denies individuals the right to counsel.
It denies them the right to invoke the Geneva Conventions.
And it denies them the single most important and effective safeguard of liberty man has known – the right of habeas corpus, permitting prisoners to be brought before a court to determine whether their detainment is lawful.
Warrantless wiretapping, torture – the list goes on.
Whoever you support, rewarding good behavior is always wise.
Undercovered
Whenever there are serious primary challenges against Democrats, the Villagers faint at the horror of those dirty fucking hippies daring to challenge the nobility of incumbents, usually not long after they've decried the power of incumbency in general terms.
But for some reason when Republicans face primary challengers from the Right there's barely a whisper. At least Ron Brownstein is going to mention it.
But for some reason when Republicans face primary challengers from the Right there's barely a whisper. At least Ron Brownstein is going to mention it.
This ideological inquisition among Republicans isn't confined to the presidential race. The two House Republicans most critical of the Iraq war (Walter Jones of North Carolina and Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland) have drawn serious primary challengers from the right. So had Nebraska's Chuck Hagel, the Senate Republican most critical of the war, before he announced his retirement last month. Virginia Republicans recently decided to choose their next Senate nominee by convention rather than primary -- a move that favors conservative former Gov. Jim Gilmore over moderate Rep. Tom Davis.
The Time is Right
Majority would support higher taxes in exchange for universal health care. Of course if done right, instead of done-to-please-the-insurance-lobby-and-joe-klein, universal health care would be cheap for all involved.
What's rather frustrating in the health care debate is that there's a universally understood but rarely mentioned fact that insurance companies wield disproportionate power on the Hill, that theirbribes lobbying dollars will prevent a clean universal health care bill from being passed, and that this fact should be understood as a sign that something is really wrong with the way our politics operates.
What's rather frustrating in the health care debate is that there's a universally understood but rarely mentioned fact that insurance companies wield disproportionate power on the Hill, that their
Property Taxes
It's not clear that this is a story about favoritism for a powerful pol. More likely it's just about Philadelphia's crappy property tax assessment system (though it could be a bit of both).
Land and property owners in many places in this city are paying a pittance for property taxes, which tends to lead to un- and underdeveloped properties. Lots of empty undeveloped lots near me in part because it's cheap for the landowners to just sit on them.
In a controversial vote, the Board of Revision of Taxes yesterday decided to put off until next year the reassessment of state Sen. Vincent Fumo's Green Street home, now on the market for nearly $7 million but on which the board has placed a market value of $250,000.
The 4-to-3 vote came on a motion from longtime board member Robert N.C. Nix III, who asked the board to reconsider that market value in light of the hefty offering price on the 27-room, four-story manse near 22nd Street.
Land and property owners in many places in this city are paying a pittance for property taxes, which tends to lead to un- and underdeveloped properties. Lots of empty undeveloped lots near me in part because it's cheap for the landowners to just sit on them.
Meet the Press
Awesome.
FEMA has truly learned the lessons of Katrina. Even its handling of the media has improved dramatically. For example, as the California wildfires raged Tuesday, Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy administrator, had a 1 p.m. news briefing.
Reporters were given only 15 minutes' notice of the briefing, making it unlikely many could show up at FEMA's Southwest D.C. offices. They were given an 800 number to call in, though it was a "listen only" line, the notice said -- no questions. Parts of the briefing were carried live on Fox News, MSNBC and other outlets.
...
He was apparently quite familiar with the reporters -- in one case, he appears to say "Mike" and points to a reporter -- and was asked an oddly in-house question about "what it means to have an emergency declaration as opposed to a major disaster declaration" signed by the president. He once again explained smoothly.
...
"And so I think what you're really seeing here is the benefit of experience, the benefit of good leadership and the benefit of good partnership," Johnson said, "none of which were present in Katrina." (Wasn't Michael Chertoff DHS chief then?) Very smooth, very professional. But something didn't seem right. The reporters were lobbing too many softballs. No one asked about trailers with formaldehyde for those made homeless by the fires. And the media seemed to be giving Johnson all day to wax on and on about FEMA's greatness.
Of course, that could be because the questions were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters. We're told the questions were asked by Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of external affairs, and by "Mike" Widomski, the deputy director of public affairs. Director of External Affairs John "Pat" Philbin asked a question, and another came, we understand, from someone who sounds like press aide Ali Kirin.
Countrywide Narrows Stance
I think we're hitting the end of chapter one and waiting for chapter 2 at this point.
Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, predicted a return to profit in the fourth quarter and for 2008 after its first quarterly loss in 25 years. The shares jumped more than 20 percent.
The loss of $1.2 billion, or $2.12 a share, compared with net income of $647.6 million, or $1.03 a share, a year earlier, the Calabasas, California-based company said in a statement today. The per-share figure excludes the effects of convertible preferred stock issued in the quarter. Loss estimates by analysts ranged as high as $3.47 a share by Morgan Stanley's Kenneth Posner.
President David Sambol called the third-quarter loss ``an earnings trough'' and said ``prospects for the U.S. housing and mortgage markets, as well as for Countrywide, remain very attractive.''
It's Official
Michael Gerson is the 6th fucking stupidest person on the face of the planet.
No linky, you can find it yourself.
No linky, you can find it yourself.
Morning thread
Oh, our news media...
This is quite sad, but if there was a fantasy league for human interest story headlines, this would be a winner (CNN's homepage now):
This is quite sad, but if there was a fantasy league for human interest story headlines, this would be a winner (CNN's homepage now):
"Pit bulls kill boy's Make-a-Wish horse"
Thursday, October 25, 2007
What's The Game
Is this going to be another game of fretting and caving or is Mukasey's confirmation really going to depend on him being willing to unequivocally state that water boarding is torture. I mean, I certainly like me some Democrats playing hardball, but it should be noted that if the incoming Attorney General says that procedures the Bush administration has embraced are torture, in violation of statute, constitution, and international law, that sorta means he's obligated to start prosecuting people.
Wuuh?
Because anti-gay bigots exist in the African-American community, it's okay for Obama to embrace them?
not understanding
not understanding
Pera
I haven't been following this race very much, but here's an ad from Mark Pera who is challenging Dan Lipinski in the IL-3 Democratic primary.
He is raising money.
He is raising money.
Shape of Earth: Opinions Differ
So, Charlie Rangel says he's proposing a revenue neutral overhaul of the tax system. The rough truth or falsity of this is an empirical question which can be determined by one of the various agencies and bodies that runs the models on such things. So either he is proposing the "mother of all tax hikes" as CNN tells me Republicans are claiming, or he isn't proposing any tax increase whatsoever, as Rangel is claiming. While the numbers would probably confuse Ted Koppel, there is in fact an answer to this basic question, and if one set of politicians is telling you something in opposition to this answer it means that they are lying and you are helping to communicate their lies to the public. That's journalism, baby!
They Make Appearances
From a Webb staffer:
There is a need. Any of his colleagues listening?
Senator Webb will be on television this evening to discuss the administration’s escalating rhetoric and unilateral sanctions against Iran—and how both underscore the need for his Iran bill, which prohibits the use of funds for military operations in Iran without the explicit consent of the Congress.
Hardball with Chris Matthews, MSNBC: 5:10pm
PBS Newshour: 6:30pm
NBC Nightly News: time TBD
There is a need. Any of his colleagues listening?
Thanks, Asshole
Nothing shall get between him and his photo op.
...and, while I'm linking to tbogg, it seems that Michelle and Howie have broken up. How sad.
...and, while I'm linking to tbogg, it seems that Michelle and Howie have broken up. How sad.
60s
I'm getting emails from various 60s era types which roughly suggest that it makes sense that people who lived through that era see everything through the prism of that era because lots of stuff happened. I don't deny that the 60s were a significant historical and cultural time for the US for a variety of reasons, I just don't understand why 40 years later some people can't seem to comprehend any political issue without shoe horning it into some template stamped out back then.
So, yes, 60s was time of important change. Political battles had profound impact on many individuals then. I understand all that.
But whether it's conservatives trying to relive the "glory days" of the cold war, real liberals expecting that political activism in the 21st century should look 60s era activism, or fake liberals like Joe Klein desperately battling the dirty fucking hippies who apparently live under his bed, I just don't get it. Move on. Times have changed. And, yes, of course, lessons to be learned from the past, blah blah blah, but we don't live in the past.
So, yes, 60s was time of important change. Political battles had profound impact on many individuals then. I understand all that.
But whether it's conservatives trying to relive the "glory days" of the cold war, real liberals expecting that political activism in the 21st century should look 60s era activism, or fake liberals like Joe Klein desperately battling the dirty fucking hippies who apparently live under his bed, I just don't get it. Move on. Times have changed. And, yes, of course, lessons to be learned from the past, blah blah blah, but we don't live in the past.
Fretting And Caving
As Yglesias suggests, the message that the public gets about Democrats is simultaneously they want al Qaeda to eat your babies and they don't have enough courage to stand up to George Bush. So, Democrats surrender to Bush and al Qaeda! Awesome.
The way to deal with this is get out and front and explain that giving immunity to AT&T does not, in fact, have anything to do with the safety of your children.
I recognize part of the problem is that there are lots of bad Democrats who think giving immunity to AT&T is the just and right thing to do. So it's time for the leadership to punish them.
The way to deal with this is get out and front and explain that giving immunity to AT&T does not, in fact, have anything to do with the safety of your children.
I recognize part of the problem is that there are lots of bad Democrats who think giving immunity to AT&T is the just and right thing to do. So it's time for the leadership to punish them.
Exporting Democracy
Bush style.
WASHINGTON - Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House oversight committee, said Thursday that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has issued an order requiring his approval of any corruption investigations of himself or senior ministry officials.
Waxman, D-Calif., said the order essentially grants immunity to al-Maliki and his ministry at a time when fraud and abuse is rampant and hurting reconstruction efforts.
"These are not unfounded allegations," Waxman said. "This is Nouri al-Maliki's edict that no one will be referred to court unless he approves it."
Woodstock
Hey, it impressed Joe Klein.
I really don't understand that generation. I cannot imagine that 40 years from now I'll view every single political issue through the lens of some brief period in my youth. I don't even do that now.
I really don't understand that generation. I cannot imagine that 40 years from now I'll view every single political issue through the lens of some brief period in my youth. I don't even do that now.
"New Home Sales Rebound"
So sez the headline.
In other words, last month new home sales were reported at 795,000, an 8.3% decline from the previous month's 867,000. Last month's number has been revised down by another 8% or so, meaning that last month's decline was actually 18%. So, yes, relative to the adjusted numbers this month's number is up, but it's still lower than what was originally reported. Until it's revised next month.
...shorter me: the number is awful, and the only reason they can call it a "rebound" is because last month's number was much more awful than they originally reported.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that sales of new homes rose by 4.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 units. That level of activity was still 23.3 percent below a year ago, indicating that housing remains in a steep downturn.
Analysts had been expecting sales would fall by 2.5 percent last month from an August sales pace that had originally been reported as 795,000 homes. However, that figure was revised sharply lower in the new report to show a sales rate of just 735,000 in August, the slowest sales pace in 11 years.
In other words, last month new home sales were reported at 795,000, an 8.3% decline from the previous month's 867,000. Last month's number has been revised down by another 8% or so, meaning that last month's decline was actually 18%. So, yes, relative to the adjusted numbers this month's number is up, but it's still lower than what was originally reported. Until it's revised next month.
...shorter me: the number is awful, and the only reason they can call it a "rebound" is because last month's number was much more awful than they originally reported.
FISA
Just so we're clear, the debate isn't between passing some potentially sensible modifications to the FISA legislation and doing nothing. The debate is between letting George Bush own the debate or not. Here's what's going on:
George Bush says "Give me everything I want, including retroactive immunity for telecom companies for breaking the law or I'll veto it."
Democrats then have a choice. They can send him more reasonable legislation, at which point he vetoes it and says the Democrats are going to let Al Qaeda eat your babies. Subsequently, they can either point out that George Bush vetoed the anti-Al Qaeda baby cannibalism bill or they can scamper like cowards and give him everything he wants.
Or they can just give him everything he wants right away.
This isn't about sensible FISA adjustments, this is about whether George Bush gets the power to do whatever the hell he wants because the Democrats in Congress think the best way to be strong is cave into the bullying of Mr. 24%.
George Bush says "Give me everything I want, including retroactive immunity for telecom companies for breaking the law or I'll veto it."
Democrats then have a choice. They can send him more reasonable legislation, at which point he vetoes it and says the Democrats are going to let Al Qaeda eat your babies. Subsequently, they can either point out that George Bush vetoed the anti-Al Qaeda baby cannibalism bill or they can scamper like cowards and give him everything he wants.
Or they can just give him everything he wants right away.
This isn't about sensible FISA adjustments, this is about whether George Bush gets the power to do whatever the hell he wants because the Democrats in Congress think the best way to be strong is cave into the bullying of Mr. 24%.
Patronage
Local patronage abuses are of course a bipartisan activity, but the Republicans seem to have a special talent for it.
The governor's comments followed a Daily News report that the Parking Authority payroll had doubled since Republicans took over six years ago, in a political coup engineered by House Republican leader John Perzel.
At least 20 Parking Authority employees are now drawing six-figure salaries, led by Vincent J. Fenerty Jr., a longtime Republican ward leader who makes $194,500 as the authority's executive director.
That's bigger than anyone on the city payroll. It's $50,000 more than Mayor Street makes and $30,000 higher than Rendell's salary.
...
"The Philadelphia Parking Authority has become a bloated political-patronage machine where employees feel compelled to contribute time and money to candidates to keep their jobs," McGeehan said in a memo to other House members.
Meanwhile, the authority has become "a quasi-law-enforcement agency" by taking over police functions including towing, impoundment and the new red-light-camera program, McGeehan said.
"No agency anywhere in the state with such broad law-enforcement authority permits any form of partisan political activity, and rightly so," McGeehan said.
And Two Weeks Makes A Trend
Not quite, but the weekly new jobless claims jumped a bit last week and has remained at that level this week. It isn't huge jump from where the number's pretty consistently recently, but still a jump.
And durable orders are down again, with the previous figure revised downwards as well.
New home sales data at 10AM. That could be exciting!!
And durable orders are down again, with the previous figure revised downwards as well.
New home sales data at 10AM. That could be exciting!!
Like Tax Cuts and Puppies
Somehow I missed that massive political movement agitating for retroactive immunity for telecom companies.
Oh, wait, I missed it because it doesn't exist.
Oh, wait, I missed it because it doesn't exist.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Candidates
Of the presidential candidates, some currently hold office (Senate: Dodd, Obama, Clinton, Biden; House: Kucinich; Governor: Richardson) and some don't (Edwards, Gravel ).
For the ones who actually hold office I've been much more interested in what they do as officeholders than what they do as candidates. They all say they're great leaders, but some of them currently have the office, stature, and especially for Clinton and Obama, the hefty soapbox from which they can actually ... lead. They have the power to take something which is an issue right now and run with it, instead of thinking about all the wonderfully yummy things they'll do... if they win... 15 months from now.
For the ones who actually hold office I've been much more interested in what they do as officeholders than what they do as candidates. They all say they're great leaders, but some of them currently have the office, stature, and especially for Clinton and Obama, the hefty soapbox from which they can actually ... lead. They have the power to take something which is an issue right now and run with it, instead of thinking about all the wonderfully yummy things they'll do... if they win... 15 months from now.
They Write Emails
Chris Dodd writes to me:
Dear Duncan,
Let's get right to it and talk about how we stop retroactive telecommunications immunity from becoming law.
The way I see it, there are three ways to get this provision stripped from the final bill:
1.) The first step would be to make sure the idea doesn't make it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee -- where it will be considered shortly.
If we can get it stripped there, it will have to be offered as an amendment to the overall bill where it will be a lot easier to get 41 votes against retroactive immunity than 41 to sustain my filibuster if necessary.
Take a moment and call up members of the committee, let me know what they said, and join others in tracking our progress in stopping the provision right there.
http://chrisdodd.com/immunity
The other two ways:
2.) If retroactive immunity does make it out of committee, Senate leadership can honor the hold I've placed on any legislation that includes retroactive immunity.
3.) If leadership does not honor my hold, I remain committed to filibustering, and working to get the 41 votes necessary to maintain it.
This has the potential to be a long fight -- so let's build a solid foundation for our effort today by asking members of the Judiciary Committee to vote against any FISA bill that includes retroactive amnesty.
http://chrisdodd.com/immunity
I'd like to see a little more spine, frankly, on these issues. People tell us they want to lead, but a little leadership right now would certainly be welcomed on these questions.
I don't want to, but I'm not afraid to do this alone.
Chris
Better
Now how about providing some rhetorical leadership as well.
"To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."
Just Something You Do On Sunday
Not being Christian I always try to hesitate to comment on the substance of the professed faith of others, but I'm a wee bit shocked that ex-Senator Man On Dog sees his religion as a one day per week activity.
Did It On Purpose
I don't even know what Falafel Bill is trying to say here. But presumably he did this on purpose too.
Such the provocateur.
During the course of Defendant BILL O'REILLY's sexual rant, it became clear that he was using a vibrator upon himself, and that he ejaculated.
Such the provocateur.
Because Our Discourse Needs More Creepy Lying Freaks
And on it goes.
NEW YORK A press conference will be held at 1:30 this afternoon at the Philadelphia Inquirer to announced that it has added former Sen. Rick Santorum to its stable of columnists.
...
The story in the paper today, which does not hint at his new role of columnist, includes: "Talking about the threat of Islamic terrorism is now Santorum's main occupation, though the Republican sounds laid-back these days. He is pitching a movie idea to Hollywood and laughed off speculation about a political comeback in Pennsylvania.
What Are They Good For?
The Blue Dogs are, for the most part, the spoiled whiny children of the Democratic caucus, demanding that it's perpetually ALL ABOUT THEM even as they cause nothing but grief and heartache for the Democratic family. And, unsurprisingly, they're selfish little brats who, like their Dear Leader George Bush, will take their ball and go home the instant someone dares to offend their delicate sensibilities. And they're cheap.
Note that Woolsey has no official position in the DCCC (other than being a member like the rest of them), so it isn't as if her comments had anything to do with the committee itself.
Still one Democrat dared suggest that some of these bad Democrats who are helping to further the death and destruction in Iraq should have primary challengers and they clutched their pearls and fainted dead away at the horror of it all.
What big babies we have representing us.
A large group of “Blue Dog” Democrats has refused to give money to the party’s campaign committee so far this cycle, underscoring simmering tension inside the Caucus and concerns about the caustic language of at least one anti-war Democrat.
According to a review of Federal Election Commission records, 15 Blue Dogs have given no money to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as of Sept. 30, despite heavy pressure from party leaders.
Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.), one of the 15, said he had donated on Oct. 1, but his staff would not say how much the congressman gave to the DCCC.
An additional 16 Blue Dogs have not given any cash but were exempt from party-mandated contributions because they are top GOP targets for defeat in 2008, party officials said.
...
But there is also lingering concern among the Blue Dogs — and resentment, in some cases — over comments made by Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) to leaders of the anti-war movement.
In a late-August conference call, Woolsey encouraged the anti-war groups to field primary challengers to any Democrat who does not vote to end the war. While she later moved to repudiate the remarks, saying they were misunderstood, Woolsey’s statement angered many Blue Dogs and led some to withhold their DCCC dues.
Note that Woolsey has no official position in the DCCC (other than being a member like the rest of them), so it isn't as if her comments had anything to do with the committee itself.
Still one Democrat dared suggest that some of these bad Democrats who are helping to further the death and destruction in Iraq should have primary challengers and they clutched their pearls and fainted dead away at the horror of it all.
What big babies we have representing us.
Happy Housing News of the Day
Not so happy.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of existing homes plunged by a record amount in September as turmoil in mortgage markets added more problems to a housing industry in its worst slump in 16 years.
The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that sales of existing homes fell 8 percent in September, the largest decline to show up in records dating to 1999. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 5.04 million existing homes was also the slowest pace on record.
The weakness in sales translated into further pressure on prices. The median price -- the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less -- fell to $211,700 in September, down by 4.2 percent from the sales price a year ago. It marked the 13th time out of the past 14 months that the year-over-year sales price has decreased.
The 8 percent decline in sales was bigger than the 4.5 percent decline that had been expected.
Ouch
Bad news for Merrill Lynch.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Merrill Lynch & Co., the world's biggest brokerage, on Wednesday said the summer's credit crisis triggered a bigger-than-expected $7.9 billion writedown during the third quarter.
Bad bets on mortgage securities and leveraged loans used for corporate takeovers caused the brokerage's first loss in six years. Merrill Lynch's quarterly performance was the worst by far of the Wall Street firms, all of which were slammed by the market turmoil.
Merrill reported a loss after paying preferred dividends of $2.31 billion, or $2.82 per share, compared to a profit of $3 billion, or $3.50 per share, a year earlier. Revenue, after factoring in some of its losses, fell 94 percent to $577 million from $9.83 billion a year earlier.
Senatorial Mush
Chris Dodd has put out a simple position: he'll do what's in his power to stop any bill which gives telecom companies retroactive immunity for their Bush administration sanctioned law breaking. In contrast, Obama and Clinton have put out mush. Greenwald:
Stealing from Glenn again, here's the simple question to which there's a simple answer:
Call the Clinton and Obama offices/campaign and try to get an answer:
* Clinton Presidential: (703) 469-2008
* Clinton Senate: (202) 224-4451
* Obama Presidential: (866) 675-2008
* Obama Senate: (202) 224-2854
Even Joe Biden, who has been in the Senate since he was 30 and is not exactly known for his lack of verbosity, could give a simple answer to this one.
There's no reason for the United States Congress to sanction lawbreaking by the telecom companies and, by extension, the Bush administration. No one looking for the Democratic nomination should communicate ambiguity on this subject.
Obama said only that "if the bill comes to the Senate floor in its current form, he would support a filibuster of it" -- a transparent hedge given that it is virtually certain that the bill (being marked up this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee) will not come to the floor in its "current form." That makes Obama's statement virtually worthless, filled -- as intended -- with plenty of room for him to vote for amnesty if and when the Senate votes on it.
Clinton's statement was just incoherent -- claiming first that she hasn't seen the bill (which has been available for many days now) and thus "can't express an opinion about it," then vowing (so inspirationally) that she is "going to study it very hard," and then surrounding her "support" for a filibuster with multiple conditions: "As matters stand now, I could not support it and I would support a filibuster absent additional information coming forward that would convince me differently."
These statements are just manipulative and woefully insufficient. Leadership is about standing and galvanizing support for fundamental principles. And there just is no more fundamental issue than the rule of law principles and basic constitutional guaranteees that will be eviscerated -- still further -- if telecoms are granted retroactive amnesty and relieved of all obligations from having broken the law for years.
Stealing from Glenn again, here's the simple question to which there's a simple answer:
Will you support a filibuster of any bill that grants retroactive immunity to telecoms for enabling the Bush administration to spy illegally on Americans?
Call the Clinton and Obama offices/campaign and try to get an answer:
* Clinton Presidential: (703) 469-2008
* Clinton Senate: (202) 224-4451
* Obama Presidential: (866) 675-2008
* Obama Senate: (202) 224-2854
Even Joe Biden, who has been in the Senate since he was 30 and is not exactly known for his lack of verbosity, could give a simple answer to this one.
There's no reason for the United States Congress to sanction lawbreaking by the telecom companies and, by extension, the Bush administration. No one looking for the Democratic nomination should communicate ambiguity on this subject.
It makes you wonder
The well-titled Bradley S. Rocket points out one of more frustrating aspects of the modern media, the success of Gregg Easterbrook:
I've always thought Easterbrook's NFL column is just an avenue for him to regurgitate all of his asinine thoughts in one spot while simultaneously leering at NFL Cheerleaders.
For reasons only known to himself and the demonic entity he sold his soul to, Easterbrook gets paid by several prominent publications to write about a wide variety of topics — including science, national energy policy, statistical analysis, movies and football — despite the fact that he’s really, really goddamn stupid and is wrong about everything.
I've always thought Easterbrook's NFL column is just an avenue for him to regurgitate all of his asinine thoughts in one spot while simultaneously leering at NFL Cheerleaders.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Risk Free
Look out.
The uncertainty among money market fund investors centers on what would happen if the SIVs couldn't repay their debts because their assets lost value. Some money market fund investors are, in turn, worried about losing money.
But that's unlikely, says Bruce Bent, who invented the money market fund in 1970. His firm, The Reserve, has about $83 billion in assets and doesn't hold investments in SIVs.
"In the history of the money funds, you've had a number of situations where the management companies have bailed out the funds," he said.
He thinks it's unlikely the companies running money market funds would allow them to "break the buck," as it's known in Wall Street parlance even if the funds lost money on SIV-related investments. The draw of money market funds, of course, is that an investor putting in $1 get $1 back plus interest. If a fund were to, say, give back only 90 cents for every dollar, investors would be outraged.
Still, it's important to remember that money market funds, though considered safe investments, aren't FDIC insured.
...
Some money market funds got involved in SIVs by lending them money. Now, though, as it has become more difficult for the SIV wheel to keep spinning some money market fund managers have grown concerned that SIVs are less likely to repay the money they borrowed.
John Atkins, a corporate bond analyst at IDEAglobal, thinks the market's pain could be widespread, though he cautions no one can know far the losses will spread or whether they will extend to money market funds.
Most Trusted Name In News
CNN reads your emails.
Chyron:
Hayward from Escondido wrote this:
We drove by a huge wall of flames in our Hummer. Thank God we made it out.
Chyron:
Email From: Hayward Ablohmie
Escondido, California
Santa Ana Winds
I think this is just a literary manifestation of one of the many varieties of California Exceptionalism that seem to exist in that state.
Afternoon Thread
I want to apologize to my colleagues, many of whom I have offended, and to Atrios and his family for any distress I may have caused them. Oh, and the troops.
--Molly I.
--Molly I.
The Kids Are Alright
Yeah, I find this generational navel gazing to be a bit puzzling. I will add that aside from the 60s, the Clinton-era 90s was also I think somewhat of a unique time when the future looked bright and smart technocratic solutions could be used to solve all of our problems. Not so much a time of activism, but still a time when the possibility of solving problems seemed to be very real.
And then it all went wrong...
And then it all went wrong...
Doddmania
Live chat starts soon over at FDL.
And due to the wonders of the internets, you can watch it here too.
...i pulled the embed, go over there to find it
And due to the wonders of the internets, you can watch it here too.
...i pulled the embed, go over there to find it
Details
Countrywide:
Obviously the details matter and I haven't seen them yet, but this could be one of those win win things. Or it could be one last chance for Countrywide to screw people. We'll see.
Countrywide plans to offer new mortgages to 52,000 subprime borrowers with $10 billion of home loans. It also plans to modify $4 billion of loans for 20,000 prime and subprime borrowers who cannot refinance, and $2.2 billion of mortgages for 10,000 subprime borrowers who are already delinquent.
"Unprecedented times call for unprecedented remedies," Chief Operating Officer David Sambol said in a statement. "We are determined to assist borrowers who have the willingness and wherewithal to remain in their homes, but need a little help."
Obviously the details matter and I haven't seen them yet, but this could be one of those win win things. Or it could be one last chance for Countrywide to screw people. We'll see.
What's It All About
I really have no knowledge of this case, but it apparently came to nothing.
The mistrial was declared in part due to confusion about jury polling, but there wasn't a unanimous guilty verdict anywhere.
DALLAS -- The U.S. Justice Department suffered a major setback in another high-profile terrorist prosecution Monday when its criminal case against five former officials of a now-defunct Islamic charity collapsed into a tangle of legal confusion.
...
President Bush announced in December 2001 that the Texas-based charity's assets were being seized, and in a Rose Garden news conference accused the organization of financing terrorism. Monday's outcome, however, raised serious questions about those allegations as well.
"I think it is a huge defeat for the government," said David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor specializing in 1st Amendment cases and terrorism prosecutions.
"They spent almost 15 years investigating this group, seized all their records and had extensive wiretapping and yet could not obtain a single conviction on charges of supporting a terrorist organization."
...
Juror William Neal, 33, who said his father worked in military intelligence, said that the government's case had "so many gaps" that he regarded the prosecution as "a waste of time."
...
Additionally, he said, the case should raise questions about the administrative process that enabled the government to shut down Holy Land almost six years ago, long before criminal charges were brought.
"That was a summary process that involved no trial, permitted the government to rely on secret evidence and barred the defendants from ever introducing their own evidence in court. Now we see when they are required to put their evidence on the table, the government is not able to prove a single charge," Cole said.
The mistrial was declared in part due to confusion about jury polling, but there wasn't a unanimous guilty verdict anywhere.
Don't Bother
It's hard to see why any Republican would really bother to run against Mark Warner.
And, no, this isn't concern troll advice. Just seems like a waste of money.
And, no, this isn't concern troll advice. Just seems like a waste of money.
What Do You Know
Must be some kind of miracle which will make it possible to announce the beginning of troop withdrawals right in the middle of the presidential campaign season. But that John McCain, he's very serious!
Gaffes
Just following up my somewhat unclear post from last night about gaffes. Essentially gaffes happen in politics when the vapid chattering class meets and decides a gaffe has happened. Now one might think that complete ignorance and/or mendacity about this nation's history would qualify as a gaffe. But it won't, because it's a gaffe which fits into the pleasing narrative about the great and glorious Christian nation of the United States of America. So Huckabee can make a completely false statement about the founding of the country and it fails to be a "gaffe" because... yes, Stephen, it's truthy.
Torturing the Shit Out of Innocent People
I'm proud to be an American.
Where at least I know I'm free.
And Henley reminds us of Saddam's torture state.
Good times.
Where at least I know I'm free.
And Henley reminds us of Saddam's torture state.
Good times.
Twin Peaks
While the big wave of subprime resets is in the pipeline, a second wave of dodgier "option ARM" resets comes a couple of years later.
Option ARMS are are adjustable rate mortgages with different payment options, including interest only and negative amortization payments during the initial periods. In other words you wake up a few years later with a higher interest rate and owing more than you did when you first bought the place.
Option ARMS are are adjustable rate mortgages with different payment options, including interest only and negative amortization payments during the initial periods. In other words you wake up a few years later with a higher interest rate and owing more than you did when you first bought the place.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Gaffes
My guess is our elite media won't considered this manufactured bit of bullshit a "gaffe."
Nor should they consider it a gaffe when I assert that Tim Russert comes from a long line of child molesters.
Nor should they consider it a gaffe when I assert that Tim Russert comes from a long line of child molesters.
Fire
For those of us who don't see every natural disaster as a chance to hope for the worst for our perceived political enemies,* let's hope things improve in SoCal.
*You have to be a moron like Beck to not understand that these parts of California are more likely to contain members of his political tribe, not mine.
*You have to be a moron like Beck to not understand that these parts of California are more likely to contain members of his political tribe, not mine.
Fire
Glenn Beck, CNN host:
I think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today.
The I-Word
Ah, I remember a few short years ago when only crazy dirty fucking hippies on the internets would dare speak of our glorious Iraq adventure in such terms.
What the Fuck
New Mick Jones/Tony James band Carbon/Silicon has a new tune with an oddly appropriate title (.mp3).
Fading Issue
Josh writes:
Impeachment faded because Democrats ran from it instead of running on it. There were literally no mainstream voices reflecting what most of the country thought about the issue.
Iraq is strangely similar. A huge majority wants out, and the Villagers to stay in. The disconnect between what the people want and what the Villagers know is what's best for them is stark, as it was during the great blow job crisis.
Iraq the issue won't fade, but Iraq the political issue might because the Villagers will do their best to make it fade.
It reminds me a lot of the situation during the impeachment crisis in '98-99. I was reporting on it at the time for the American Prospect and Salon.com. So I watched the dynamic pretty close up. And it was very, very similar -- even, perhaps, especially in the ways the numbers lined up. I went into the story with visions of Tom Delay as The Hammer, crucifying Republican moderates to push them to vote for the impeachment most of them obviously didn't have much stomach for. But the truth of it was a little different. He didn't need to break a lot of arms. It was actually a pretty calm and straightforward presentation -- focused largely on polls. Sure, most of the country was against impeachment. But for the core of people who got these reps and senators elected every two or six years, it was an absolute live or die issue. Go against them on this issue and the breach with a lot of these voters would never be repaired.
The flip side of the argument was that by November 2000 most people who opposed impeachment would have moved on to other issues. And the folks for whom it was a live or die issue on the other side were never going to vote for these Republicans anyway.
It was a convincing argument for virtually any Republican in Congress. And in terms of the predicted fade of interest in impeachment among middle of the road voters, it was on the mark.
The difference here, of course, is that I very much doubt Iraq is going to be a fading issue by November 2008. And even among independents, support for the war barely gets out of the teens. So a lot of these folks are looking at pretty bleak encounters with the electorate in a little over twelve months.
Impeachment faded because Democrats ran from it instead of running on it. There were literally no mainstream voices reflecting what most of the country thought about the issue.
Iraq is strangely similar. A huge majority wants out, and the Villagers to stay in. The disconnect between what the people want and what the Villagers know is what's best for them is stark, as it was during the great blow job crisis.
Iraq the issue won't fade, but Iraq the political issue might because the Villagers will do their best to make it fade.
"Moderate Grasp of Statistical Reasoning"
No that isn't something Andrew Sullivan has. He also has only a passing acquaintance with the particulars of most policy issues. It's why I'm always puzzled when people engage him on this stuff, instead of just mocking him for being an idiot, and in this case a racist idiot.
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