Rock on.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Dubailand
Never understood it, just assumed that maybe there were more bored millionaires without better places to go than I could imagine...
So The Check Isn't Blank, Per Se...
But, you know, has a really really really really big number on it.
While tomorrow night's speech will have many audiences -- the American people, international allies, the Afghan government, a senior administration official tells ABC News one key message will resonate with all of them: "The era of the blank check for President Karzai is over."
Not A Taxi
They're just substitutes for airport shuttle buses or monorails. I'm even skeptical that they're particularly well-suited for that, let alone superior, but the idea that they're a cost effective way to create a taxi system in a major metro area with an existing road network is absurd...
Destroying Lives For Fun And Profit
Just an update on the judges who were taking money to stick kids in a privately owned juvenile detention facility.
There's the 14-year-old girl who was jailed for more than a year in 2005 for punching another girl in school; she was emotionally distraught by the incarceration and today has permanent scars from self-mutilation.
They are among the victims cited in a class-action suit by the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center against two former Luzerne County judges who, federal prosecutors say, conspired to send thousands of teenagers off to detention after denying them basic constitutional rights.
As a result of their incarcerations, the JLC says, many of the teenagers suffered emotional damage, were unable to attend school, lost scholarships, were refused military enlistment, or attempted suicide. In addition, they and their parents were forced to pay probation fees and evaluation costs and had their wages garnisheed by the court. Some still owe the court money.
And Then Politics Could Finally Stop Forever
Aside from its link-trolling inanity, Meacham's column is another entry in the Villager genre of wishing for some final political throwdown which would finally end all politics and political disagreement so that we could all stop arguing with each other and get back to sipping brandy on the porch.
I don't know exactly why they're constantly dreaming of a world where all political disagreement ends, but they do.
I don't know exactly why they're constantly dreaming of a world where all political disagreement ends, but they do.
Not Dumond
Indeed. The risk of the blowback if clemency recipients commit crimes, especially horrible violent crimes, is already quit high. Some freed convicts, including those who serve their full terms, will subsequently commit crimes but that's not a justification for doing away with clemency or locking people up forever.
People Don't Really Care About The Deficit
Yes when voters are unhappy it's something the opposition party can't point to which suggests that politicians are somehow being irresponsible, but if voters are happy it moves back into the "abstract concept I don't give a shit about" category. Congress needs to do something about jobs soon.
While states have various ways of getting around it, they're constrained by balanced budget requirements. Only the Feds really have the power to step in when there's declining state revenue.
While states have various ways of getting around it, they're constrained by balanced budget requirements. Only the Feds really have the power to step in when there's declining state revenue.
Wanker of the Day
Evan Bayh.
And this is worth quoting:
And this is worth quoting:
When the sad and destructive history of the U.S. over the last decade is written, the coddled, nepotistic, self-serving face of Evan Bayh should be prominently included. It embodies virtually every cause.
Morality For Suckers
As Felix says, our contemporary discourse makes personal debts into moral obligations while no such strings are attached to corporate debts.
And the punchline is... yes, if you are significantly underwater in your home you should consider walking away. There are consequences, but if you bought at bubble prices there is a good chance those consequences are small relative to the (over)price you're paying for your mortgage.
And the punchline is... yes, if you are significantly underwater in your home you should consider walking away. There are consequences, but if you bought at bubble prices there is a good chance those consequences are small relative to the (over)price you're paying for your mortgage.
This Was Post-Bailout (Last Year)
Heckuva job.
Dubai – Citi today announced that it has recently arranged more than $8 billion of financing for Dubai public sector entities. "This is in line with our commitment to the UAE market in general, and reflects our positive outlook on Dubai in particular," said Citi's Chairman, Sir Win Bischoff.
Star Chamber!
The Conspiracy Deepens.
From the Inside: It's all TRUE. And this guy is the Mastermind. See this Important Video.
From the Inside: It's all TRUE. And this guy is the Mastermind. See this Important Video.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Risks We Tolerate
Just make sure you don't let your kids walk to school.\
30 killed on California freeways over Thanksgiving weekend, up from last year
Nobody Could've Predicted
That asking them nicely would not be an effective mortgage modification program.
So many failures of public policy in recent years. No one ever loses their jobs, either.
So many failures of public policy in recent years. No one ever loses their jobs, either.
I'm Not A Freeloader Like Those Other People
So many assholes in this country.
While Mr. Dawson, the electrician, has kept his job, the drive to distant work sites has doubled his gas bill, food prices rose sharply last year and his health insurance premiums have soared. His monthly expenses have risen by about $400, and the elimination of overtime has cost him $200 a month. Food stamps help fill the gap.
Like many new beneficiaries here, Mr. Dawson argues that people often abuse the program and is quick to say he is different. While some people “choose not to get married, just so they can apply for benefits,” he is a married, churchgoing man who works and owns his home. While “some people put piles of steaks in their carts,” he will not use the government’s money for luxuries like coffee or soda. “To me, that’s just morally wrong,” he said.
He has noticed crowds of midnight shoppers once a month when benefits get renewed. While policy analysts, spotting similar crowds nationwide, have called them a sign of increased hunger, he sees idleness. “Generally, if you’re up at that hour and not working, what are you into?” he said.
Maybe One
I think this Times article ignores one superproject - the Hudson Mass Transit Tunnel - but the general point is sound. This country has a definite "no we can't" attitude towards big infrastructure projects.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation has Carl Levin and 3 Republicans who don't hold elective office.
This Week has Lindsey Graham and Bernie Sanders.
Meet the Press has Bill and Melinda Gates and Archbishop Rick Warren. No I don't know why.
This Week has Lindsey Graham and Bernie Sanders.
Meet the Press has Bill and Melinda Gates and Archbishop Rick Warren. No I don't know why.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Perhaps Another Sternly Worded Letter
I'm sure this will work so well.
They're going to try and shame the country's most hated institutions. That will work.
The Obama administration on Monday plans to announce a campaign to pressure mortgage companies to reduce payments for many more troubled homeowners, as evidence mounts that a $75 billion taxpayer-financed effort aimed at stemming foreclosures is foundering.
“The banks are not doing a good enough job,” Michael S. Barr, Treasury’s assistant secretary for financial institutions, said in an interview Friday. “Some of the firms ought to be embarrassed, and they will be.”
They're going to try and shame the country's most hated institutions. That will work.
Design Flaw
I've long wondered why there hasn't been more innovation in dealing with highway car crashes. One crash can cause a backup for hours, at enormous cost, and no realistic capacity increase is going to take care of that.
There Was A Giant Network Of Mobilized Individuals
Who were waiting to continue doing things after the election. They weren't really wanted anymore.
Everyone knows how to win off-year elections. Everyone except Dems.
Everyone knows how to win off-year elections. Everyone except Dems.
Bye Cobra Subsidy
One of the not very talked about goodies was the COBRA subsidy. It's going away.
For workers who are laid off or downsized between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009, the COBRA subsidy pays 65 percent of their job-based health insurance premiums for nine months.
That subsidy, however, expires Monday for Hall and untold thousands of others who began receiving it in March, when it first became available as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
To your health
The right-wing opposes the health care bill because it might be good.
But, you know, it could be a whole lot better - it could save hundreds of billions of dollars and cover everyone if it were a single-payer plan, just as an example.
Fair enough to point out that the arguments the right is making range from crazy-wackadoodle to outright lying (or, usually, a mixture of both).
But whichever way you look at it, there are so many ways to improve this (otherwise pretty crappy) bill.
And that's not even counting the real left-wing option, which is a fully nationalized system such as Britain's very good National Health Service, which costs Britain's taxpayers far, far less than Americans pay in taxes to maintain our own country's commercial health care disaster.
Signed,
Not Atrios
But, you know, it could be a whole lot better - it could save hundreds of billions of dollars and cover everyone if it were a single-payer plan, just as an example.
Fair enough to point out that the arguments the right is making range from crazy-wackadoodle to outright lying (or, usually, a mixture of both).
But whichever way you look at it, there are so many ways to improve this (otherwise pretty crappy) bill.
And that's not even counting the real left-wing option, which is a fully nationalized system such as Britain's very good National Health Service, which costs Britain's taxpayers far, far less than Americans pay in taxes to maintain our own country's commercial health care disaster.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Friday, November 27, 2009
On The Verge Of Jumpstarting
I wish we weren't just jumpstarting, but I guess we should applaud the baby steps.
Let's Make A Deal
I think it would be an excellent idea for Congress to give my local transit authority money to by streetcars from this company so that various mothballed trolley lines could be restarted.
- U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer has announced that, at his recommendation, the White House will invite Chandra Brown, an executive with an Oregon maker of modern streetcars, to participate in President Obama's Jobs Summit Dec. 3. Top administration officials have pointed to Portland's streetcar and light rail networks as a model for "livable communities" that help people walk and use mass transit, cutting down on auto emissions.
Default
As said, borrowers will sometimes default, and lenders who are getting risk premium interest rates should expect this. In the 90s lots of countries were paying high interest rate for loans - because of the supposed risk - and were simultaneously being told by the world financial community that sovereign default would be a nuclear event. Nice trick. I cheered when Argentina defaulted.
People Are Shopping
That seems to be the extent of news today.
Still on holiday posting schedule. Visitors to entertain.
Still on holiday posting schedule. Visitors to entertain.
What's It All For?
I watched the various growth and construction plans in Dubai over the years never quite understanding just what the business model was.
Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Dubai, the Persian Gulf emirate whose state-run companies are seeking to defer debt payments, may owe more than the $80 billion to $90 billion in liabilities assumed by investors, UBS AG analysts said.
“Perhaps Dubai’s debt includes sizeable off-balance sheet liabilities that imply a total debt burden well above the $80 billion to $90 billion markets have estimated so far,” Dubai- based real estate analyst Saud Masud wrote in a note. “This could imply that the debt issued by Dubai in recent weeks is insufficient to meet upcoming redemptions.”
I like this story:
Not Atrios
Judge Voids Mortgage Due to Bank’s "Bad Faith"Happy leftovers,A Long Island judge voided the mortgage of a home-owner after the legal team for the creditor behaved in an egregious manner.
The lender lied in various dunning notices and court papers, claiming a balance due of $527,437.73, including an escrow overdraft of $46,627.88 for advanced taxes — even though the outstanding loan balance was $283,992.48 as of Aug. 10 and the taxes were already paid.
Not Atrios
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tasers
Thinking of digby today reading the Portland Press Herald. After a trial period, a City Council Committee recommended equipping the cops.
Heckuva percentage. Somehow I suspect the ten tasers were not distributed randomly during the three month study period.
Uopdate: Link fixed.
Combative people turn peaceful when they notice the red dot of the Taser's laser sight on them, he said. Some even put their hands behind their back when they see the yellow Taser in an officer's holster.
"Everybody knows about the Tasers," Craig said, "They say, 'I don't want to be Tased.' "
...
Tasers were displayed in 14 incidents and deployed twice. Both deployments involved people who threatened suicide.
Heckuva percentage. Somehow I suspect the ten tasers were not distributed randomly during the three month study period.
Uopdate: Link fixed.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
More Thread
Enough cooking related program activities. I'm going out to eat somewhere in the urban hellhole.
"Fears of Sectarianism"?
I know the violence diminished, but I don't think the sectarianism ever went away...
It'll Never Be Off The Table
I really don't get why people think there's some grand deal to be cut on Social Security which would take it off the table. A couple of years after the deal is cut, new projects with slightly different facts/assumptions will show it "going broke" in "only" 65 years or something and then they'll be back to hack away at it again.
They don't want the programs to survive, they want to kill them.
They don't want the programs to survive, they want to kill them.
Lou Vs. The Hispanic Guy
That'll be fun.
His spokesman then played down the idea. Robert Dilenschneider told The New York Times Wednesday a run for president is a "long way off." The spokesman said there would have to be an "intermediary step," such as the seat held by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).
Menendez is the Senate's only Hispanic member aned a strong advocate for immigrant rights. He's up for re-election in 2012.
Thursday Wednesday Is New Jobless Day
466K new lucky duckies. Still high, but moving closer to normal territory.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sigh
Bad signs.
The Pentagon's top detainee affairs policy appointee has quit the Defense Department just seven months into the job, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.
Phillip Carter, a former Army captain and Iraq War veteran, had been an outspoken critic of Bush-era war on terror detention policy as an attorney and blogging commentator.
What's The Second Time Called Again?
All that money's gotta go somewhere...
The way it's supposed to work is that banks borrow money cheap from the Fed and then lend it to people who are going to build factories or other productive things. Instead the big banks are borrowing cheap and using it to gamble on financial assets. Heckuva job.
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve officials said record-low interest rates might fuel “excessive” speculation in financial markets and possibly dislodge expectations for low inflation, according to minutes of their meeting released today.
The way it's supposed to work is that banks borrow money cheap from the Fed and then lend it to people who are going to build factories or other productive things. Instead the big banks are borrowing cheap and using it to gamble on financial assets. Heckuva job.
The Fierce Urgency Of A Year From Now
Unemployment projected to be higher one year from now than the "peak" predicted last January if the stimulus wasn't passed.
Perhaps someone should do something?
Perhaps someone should do something?
Accounting Gimickry
I missed this call because I was getting shots (needles, not booze), but it's a shame that members of Congress are having to spend time worrying about accounting gimmickry. The economy has big problems, and rather arbitrary budget rules are really not what we should be worrying about.
Pave Over Everything
Hartford had a similar experience to that of many cities, a multi-decade trend of perpetually increasing the amount of parking in the city at the expense of buildings, a decent pedestrian experience, and any reason at all to bother to go to the city other than for work.
Hopefully this attitude is starting to be reversed...
Hopefully this attitude is starting to be reversed...
Revised
That's a pretty big downward revision to 3Q GDP. Looking on the bright side, it means the 4Q number is more likely to be positive!
Fire Sale
Though there wasn't actually any fire.
- LOS ANGELES, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Financier Carl Icahn has offered $156.5 million to acquire the partially built Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort, which has been stalled in bankruptcy court since June, according to the resort's chief operating officer. ... Both bids are dwarfed by the $2 billion that has already been spent on the 3,800-room casino resort, which sits toward the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip. The property is slated to go to auction in January.
Monday, November 23, 2009
So Awesome
Reports have been wrong before, but the intertubes tell me that the Obama stimulus plan involves sending lots of troops to Afghanistan.
The Dollar Is Always Falling
Just adding to this piece from Chris Hayes, I've noticed recently that in the financial press the dollar keeps falling. Except it isn't. It did fall quite a bit over this year, but it roughly stabilized over the past month or so. Still... it's falling!
mcjoan
What she says.
Making taxpayers help pay for people forced to buy crappy health insurance because four senators want to preserve their Daschle retirement option is not good policy or good politics.
Making taxpayers help pay for people forced to buy crappy health insurance because four senators want to preserve their Daschle retirement option is not good policy or good politics.
Slo Mo Implosion
Not especially shockingly, California's UI fund is having problems.
SACRAMENTO — Already grappling with one multibillion-dollar budget deficit, cash-strapped California now is facing a crisis in its unemployment insurance fund — source of the tens of millions paid each week to jobless residents.
Amid record unemployment, the fund will likely finish the year $7.4 billion in the red, according to the latest projections from the state's Employment Development Department. Just to keep checks coming, California has had to reach into Uncle Sam's pockets for some $4.7 billion to date.
The state must return what it borrows by 2011 — or face hundreds of millions in interest payments that would come at the expense of funding for schools, parks and social services.
Dare Them To Vote Against It
If I were a somewhat annoyed progressive Dem House member, I'd be looking for all kinds of ways to reveal the supposedly-but-not-really "fiscally conservative" blue dogs as the frauds they are.
Speaking of Google Maps
When did they start including so much information about retail establishments, etc.? Never really noticed before.
Camden Dreams
It is a big shame that much of the obviously failed Camden redevelopment plans thus far seem to have involved building things on the waterfront to attract visitors and surrounding those things (baseball park, aquarium, concert venue) with acres of parking lot. Too many people see cities as urban theme parks trying to attract visitors, and while people may be willing to drive to park to whatever they're calling the Tweeter Center these days, they're going to leave right after that. One day perhaps people who run cities will remember that they're places that people can actually live, instead of potential sites for tourist attractions.
They could've made the waterfront a very attractive place to live with nice view. Instead it's a series of parking lots. It has good transit to Philadelphia, Trenton, and Atlantic City.
They could've made the waterfront a very attractive place to live with nice view. Instead it's a series of parking lots. It has good transit to Philadelphia, Trenton, and Atlantic City.
Improvements From My Local Transit Authority
Bus schedule information will be added to google transit very soon.
I don't personally have an iPhone or similar (I think my cell phone is still analog), but using GPS+Google Maps/Public Transit Directions is, especially when traveling, quite awesome.
I don't personally have an iPhone or similar (I think my cell phone is still analog), but using GPS+Google Maps/Public Transit Directions is, especially when traveling, quite awesome.
So Much Stuff To Spend Money On
The fierce urgency of sometime next year is really depressing me. I know my views are clouded somewhat by my life in an older urban hellhole, but the list of possible productive infrastructure projects are practically infinite. I'm not talking about make work, I'm talking about real projects from basic maintenance to sewers to pothole filling to the demolishing and reclaiming of property with abandoned buildings etc... etc... The fact that the administration is signaling that it's more worried about the deficit than unemployment is incredibly frustrating.
As a purely crass calculation, if unemployment isn't down significantly by next year the Dems are going to be associated with a shitty economy and, fair or not, the Wall Street bailout. It'll be an awful November.
As a purely crass calculation, if unemployment isn't down significantly by next year the Dems are going to be associated with a shitty economy and, fair or not, the Wall Street bailout. It'll be an awful November.
Remember When It Was Almost A Nightmare Scenario?
Krugman:
Big worry is that instead of building lots of stuff, we're going to get the tax cut fairies again, because that always works so well.
In December 2008 Lawrence Summers, soon to become the administration’s highest-ranking economist, called for decisive action. “Many experts,” he warned, “believe that unemployment could reach 10 percent by the end of next year.” In the face of that prospect, he continued, “doing too little poses a greater threat than doing too much.”
Ten months later unemployment reached 10.2 percent, suggesting that despite his warning the administration hadn’t done enough to create jobs. You might have expected, then, a determination to do more.
Big worry is that instead of building lots of stuff, we're going to get the tax cut fairies again, because that always works so well.
They Don't Learn
As Steve says, conventional wisdom is that supporting good health care reform is the dangerous option for Dems in swing districts and states. I'm pretty sure that conventional wisdom is wrong, but that doesn't mean it isn't believed.
Oyster
A big barrier to public transit usage are the various things which add uncertainty and reduce convenience. Complexity in fare payment is a big issue, including uncertainty about how much to pay and precisely how to pay. My local transit authority is pretty awful in this area. It's ok for regular riders who buy monthly passes, though it's still frustrating that such passes are calendar month rather than 30-day passes, but pretty annoying for occasional riders for various reasons, including the shortage of token machines and complete lack of ticket machines for the regional rail system (they were scrapped because they couldn't read new bill designs).
So good news for Londoners that their Oyster card payment system will soon work throughout London - bus, tube, rail system, etc. From my brief experience, it's a model of how such card systems should work
Here's a map of the services it covers (.pdf). Works (soon) everywhere, can add money and buy passes online, and it caps daily cost at the cost of a daily pass automatically.
Though there's something oddly sad about the de-circling of the circle line...
So good news for Londoners that their Oyster card payment system will soon work throughout London - bus, tube, rail system, etc. From my brief experience, it's a model of how such card systems should work
Here's a map of the services it covers (.pdf). Works (soon) everywhere, can add money and buy passes online, and it caps daily cost at the cost of a daily pass automatically.
Though there's something oddly sad about the de-circling of the circle line...
Debt Hysteria
It happens whenever there's a Democrat in office. Well, except when Bill Clinton was in office and Alan Greenspan started warning us all about the dangers of a surplus (no, really).
Sewage
It isn't sexy, but one of those great projects we could spend even more money on is sewer upgrades. When it rains, they overflow.
Silence
Y is right about this. The only argument in opposition to a public option is that it will lower executive compensation and shareholder value in the health care industry. Or, as atrios says, that it will get rid of the skimmers. It is not surprising that proponents of retention of the worst health care system in the OECD do not make this argument.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Someone Should Ask
David Gregory if trying terror suspects in a military tribunal would also be a show trial. Also what exactly the source of his obsession with what Charles Krauthammer thinks about everything is.
Moving Slowly In The Right Direction
I don't expect my urban hellhole nirvana to be implemented nationwide anytime soon, but I do see more and more encouraging signs that more people are getting that cars are not necessarily inevitable. A lot of what people don't like about dense development is actually the cars that ruin it, but they don't understand that because they can't imagine any kind of development without a bunch of cars to go with it.
Of course, even as we inch closer to my urban hellhole nirvana we will still have cars! They aren't going away. Hopefully more people will have more options, because all those cars take up too much damn space.
Of course, even as we inch closer to my urban hellhole nirvana we will still have cars! They aren't going away. Hopefully more people will have more options, because all those cars take up too much damn space.
Good Luck With That
Unsurprising that Microsoft would try to bring back their walled garden vision of the internet. It's a pretty dumb move, but I guess if everyone wants to waste a bunch of money...
...since people are having trouble reading, here's the lead paragraph:
Basically Microsoft's gonna pay people for the sole right to index their content. I'm guessing that aside from being a waste of money, I'm pretty sure "I won't index you if you ask me politely not to" is more of a courtesy than something arising out of genuine copyright claim fears...
...since people are having trouble reading, here's the lead paragraph:
Microsoft has had discussions with News Corp over a plan that would involve the media company’s being paid to “de-index” its news websites from Google, setting the scene for a search engine battle that could offer a ray of light to the newspaper industry.
Basically Microsoft's gonna pay people for the sole right to index their content. I'm guessing that aside from being a waste of money, I'm pretty sure "I won't index you if you ask me politely not to" is more of a courtesy than something arising out of genuine copyright claim fears...
But David Broder's Experts Disagree!
The media is basically letting all opponents of health care say whatever the hell they want about health care reform with little pushback.
I don't know why I continue to be surprised when this happens, but I do...
I don't know why I continue to be surprised when this happens, but I do...
Afternoon Thread
Waiting for my local transit authority train to take me back to the city from the airport.
Sunday Morning
Just some thread.
Update. Per request.
ABC bobbleheads are Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Fluffy has Dick Durbin, DiFi, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and (not McCain!) Holy Joe.
CBS has John Kyl, Chuckie Schumer and Jennifer Ashton.
I am sure there will be atrocities to document. I am glad CoT watches this stuff so I don't have to.
Update. Per request.
ABC bobbleheads are Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Fluffy has Dick Durbin, DiFi, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and (not McCain!) Holy Joe.
CBS has John Kyl, Chuckie Schumer and Jennifer Ashton.
I am sure there will be atrocities to document. I am glad CoT watches this stuff so I don't have to.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Be Afraid
Watching Republicans on the floor talking about health care reform. I think they believe that if we pass health care reform with a public option, aliens will come to earth, eat all of our brains and then control our every move. Something like that.
The Last Honest Man
The senator from Connecticut lies, and the Village pretends not to notice... every time...
Afternoon Thread
On the road, so light blogging... The rest of you can watch cranky old guys yell at the sky in the Senate.
I'm Sure That Will Help
Yes, Senate procedures suck but those procedures are put in place by... senators. I really don't think a bunch of progressives screaming at senators to change their own procedures is going to help.
They should be changed, and the day some senators start talking about changing them I'll be happy to support that, but the names of those senators are?
They should be changed, and the day some senators start talking about changing them I'll be happy to support that, but the names of those senators are?
Morning Thread
Oh teabaggers, you never fail to come through for us when we DFH bloggers need material.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Oh Dear
It's been awhile since I've had to put anything on the Friedman Unit calendar. 3 more F.U.'s in Afghanistan, according to McCain, if Obama sends more troops.
Of course six fucking years (12 F.U.s) ago he advocated the "muddle through" strategy.
Of course six fucking years (12 F.U.s) ago he advocated the "muddle through" strategy.
Villagers Agree: Public Option Supporters Clueless
Luke Russert.
And Chuck Toddler:
And Chuck Toddler:
# The real game is the actual legislation itself; btw, the disconnect among the public option fighters is vast. 4 minutes ago from Ping.fm
# Current Senate #hcr drama is being WAY over-hyped. Seems silly that we're even doubting that the bill won't get to floor. 4 minutes ago from Ping.fm
Happy Hour Thread
Bit early, but it's Friday and I just took the SUPERTRAIN to the airport.
Travel weekend for me, so intermittent posting...
Travel weekend for me, so intermittent posting...
Of Course It's The Economy
And barring some sort weird noise in the data, unemployment will be even higher in the next release.
Perhaps someone should do something about this?
Perhaps someone should do something about this?
The War On Cyclists
City going to step up enforcement of usually ignored bike laws.
I think a bit of increased enforcement, or at least threat of increased enforcement, is a good idea, though I will say that it isn't as if cops are generally concerned about motor vehicle violations in the city...
I think a bit of increased enforcement, or at least threat of increased enforcement, is a good idea, though I will say that it isn't as if cops are generally concerned about motor vehicle violations in the city...
Mavericky
John McCain shifts to the right on his once big issue: climate. How does Chuck Todd respond?
Yes, obviously, it's Obama's fault that McCain's flipflopping on issues.
In the Village, nothing is ever McCain's fault.
There seems to be a communication breakdown between the two and while some say it's a one-way McCain problem, has Obama reached out enuff?
Yes, obviously, it's Obama's fault that McCain's flipflopping on issues.
In the Village, nothing is ever McCain's fault.
Suing The Ratings Agencies
As with just about everyone else involved in this mess, they seem to have avoided any accountability or, what was that word? Oh yes, change.
Unemployment Is Bad
State level unemployment numbers were released.
I really wish the administration would signal that they understand that no jobs = unhappy voters.
I really wish the administration would signal that they understand that no jobs = unhappy voters.
Hoover Nation
Depressing CNN poll results just arrived in my inbox.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5. Which of the following comes closer to your view of the budget deficit -- the government should run a deficit if necessary when the country is in a recession and is at war, or the government should balance the budget even when the country is in a recession and is at war?
Nov. 13-15 Jan 12-15
2009 2009
Run a deficit 30% 33%
Balance the budget 67% 65%
No opinion 4% 1%
It's A Policy
But I don't think propping up home prices is a good policy...
In its efforts to prop up a shattered housing market, the government is greatly extending its traditional support of real estate, including guaranteeing the mortgages of middle-class and even upper-class buyers against default.
In 2007, the government did not insure a single mortgage in this city, one of the most expensive in the country. Buyers here, as well as in Manhattan, Santa Monica and every other wealthy area, were presumed to be able to handle the steep prices and correspondingly hefty down payments on their own.
Now the government is guaranteeing an average of six mortgages a week here. Real estate agents say the insurance is such a good deal that there will soon be many more.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Boyd
Back during the great Social Security battle of aught 5, part of the strategy was to go absolutely nuclear on any Democrat who made too many noises about supporting Bush or coming up with their own "plan." The reasoning being that if Dems introduced a competing plan, then it would be inevitable that something would pass and that something would be, of course, the eventual destruction of Social Security. I was going to do my small part by permanently listing their names and numbers up top of the page of this humble blog so that the shit list would always be front and center. Boyd was the only one who ever made it up there.
Hopefully he will be gone...
Hopefully he will be gone...
We've All Been Subprime For Quite Some Time
How long is this going to go on before reporters stop being surprised that people other than shifty poor people are in trouble.
The latest evidence was a report Thursday that a rising proportion of fixed-rate home loans made to people with good credit are sinking into foreclosure. That's a shift from last year, when riskier subprime loans drove the housing crisis.
Happy Hour Thread
I am, appropriately, at a happy hour.
I promise not to get arrested for drunk driving on the way home.
I promise not to get arrested for drunk driving on the way home.
Terminated
California's long be a pretty high cost place to live, even before the housing bubble (and still), but it offered some goodies to residents including the promise of inexpensive quality college education for their kids. Oh well.
Do Something
I know I'm repeating myself here, but 10.2% and rising unemployment is not acceptable. If I traveled back in time to January 2009 and managed to convince Larry and Timmeh that I was not insane, and informed them that whatever they planned to do would still cause unemployment to be at 10.2% in October, they probably would have panicked and convinced their boss to do more (or different). But now we're at 10.2% it's like it isn't really happening. What would have been unthinkable back then is now a non-panic inducing status quo.
I don't know why that is.
I don't know why that is.
Timmeh
I'm certainly happy to mostly blame Republicans for the financial mess, but I also think we can blame whoever was head of the NY Fed. I wonder who that was...
Disconnect
One thing I worry about a lot is the impact that our horrible Village media has on people who kinda-sorta wanna pay attention to politics and current events because they think it might be important, and then they learn that things like Sarah Palin are what the Village deems important.
And Speaking Of Foreclosures
Propping up housing prices instead of focusing on keeping people in their homes through principal adjustment really was a mistake. I think the powers that be never really deviated from the idea that this was a just a liquidity problem sparked by irresponsible poor people, they never really got that a housing bubble meant that prices had deviated from fundamentals. As I've said many times, the obvious tip off to me, especially looking at a place like Southern California, was simply that I know that there aren't enough people who make enough money to afford those prices.
Casino Hell
Atlantic City and Vegas are having big problems just as my state has decided casinos are the answer to all of our problems.
Waves
I'm not sure way reporters love to refer to a "second wave" of foreclosures, as if the first wave was ever behind us. I really do get this sense that people think that somehow there was a problem which was solved, or that we managed to get past if only temporarily. The foreclosures just keep on coming...
A second wave of foreclosures is poised to hit the market, potentially undermining housing recovery efforts as more homes add to the glut of inventory and drive down prices.
These homes largely represent loans that are delinquent but have not yet resulted in foreclosure sales.
About 7 million properties are destined to go into foreclosure, according to a September study by Amherst Securities Group, compared with 1.27 million properties in early 2005.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wednesday Night Thread
Gonna board the underground SUPERTRAIN to go see these kids play their geetars.
On The Twitter
For those who are desperate for my truly deepest of deep thoughts, in 140 characters or less, I'm on the twitter with the rest of the cool kids.
Great Moments In Legislating
Congress passed a screwed up unemployment benefits extension bill and lots of people are going to be fucked come Dec. 31.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Public Option
The state level opt-out is apparently in the bill. It's the kind of stupid necessary to get stupid moderate senators on board...
Doesn't Actually Tell MeMuch That's Important
But apparently 10 year jobs health care bill cost is $849 billion, will cover additional 31 million people, and reduce deficit by $127 billion. Exactly how and what this all means I have no idea.
Dana's Got A Secret
Yes it's nice that a Republican says something not crazy, but any mention of Dana and Afghanistan requires this reminder.
My War On Cyclists Continues
In all seriousness, I am of course all for people riding bikes. And, from personal experience, an increasing number of people are riding them in my urban hellhole. Great! But quite a few of them do behave badly. Some behave badly because they're assholes, some behave badly because they're doing what seems reasonable to them but which nonetheless defies expectations of motorists and pedestrians.
And, yes, car drivers are worse and more likely to cause serious injury... I hate cars too! But I want to love the cyclists... they just make it hard!
And, yes, car drivers are worse and more likely to cause serious injury... I hate cars too! But I want to love the cyclists... they just make it hard!
Words Speak Louder Than Actions
One of the weirder media-enabled issues over the past several years is just how much The Words We Use are supposed to matter. Not saying words don't matter - though generally in the opposite way that Rudy 911 thinks they matter - but the emphasis is absurd.
All The Innocent People They Wanted Dead
It isn't polite to say, but those people who advocated for war in Iraq were advocating for policies which would inevitably kill, at a minimum, hundreds of innocent people.
It isn't polite to say, but nor should we forget.
It isn't polite to say, but nor should we forget.
Favorable National Environment
What?
I don't doubt that 11 months from now Dems could self-destruct, but what current favorable national environment are they talking about?
A lack of competitive open-seat House races in 2010 could complicate Republican efforts to fully maximize a favorable national environment and make large seat gains after back-to-back elections where the political winds were blowing in the opposite direction.
I don't doubt that 11 months from now Dems could self-destruct, but what current favorable national environment are they talking about?
Life Insurers
Apparently some are deep into commercial real estate.
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. life insurers, a group led by MetLife Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc., may lose as much as $22.6 billion on investments in commercial real estate through 2011, Fitch Ratings said.
Losses on investments in apartment buildings, offices, shopping malls and other commercial real estate will begin to increase in the next 6 months to a year as rents decline and vacancies increase, said Fitch Senior Director Andrew Davidson. Life insurer losses on commercial real estate have been “virtually nil” so far, he said.
Moustache
Little Tommy Friedman writes a good(!) opinion piece today.
He points out that even if you don't believe in global warming, there are very good reasons to stop running your economy on fossil fuels.
He points out that even if you don't believe in global warming, there are very good reasons to stop running your economy on fossil fuels.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
My Urban Hellhole Isn't Perfect
But from what I've read it's been dealing with foreclosures much better than other places.
Cash For Caulkers
This is a good idea. The best way to do it in terms of stimulus (quick and easy) would probably involve inefficiency and fraud, but perhaps if they sneakily call it "defense spending" such concerns won't matter.
Pretty Obvious Answer
Because for whatever reason, economist lingo is what people in the Obama administration are comfortable with.
Slutty Schoolgirl? Really?
I thought the Newsweek cover was obviously a poor choice even if right wingers were getting a bit overwrought in their criticisms. But they also include a slutty Palin schoolgirl doll? What the fuck?
Of the CNN piece Digby talks about, Wolf Blitzer twittered:
Sweet Jeebus.
Of the CNN piece Digby talks about, Wolf Blitzer twittered:
CNN Jessica Yellin did a very good report in SitRoom on Sarah Palin and her sexuality -- the fact that she's good looking. Did you see it?
Sweet Jeebus.
Let's Put It Where No One Goes
I don't really have any knowledge of the area, but wanting to put a light rail line away from residences and businesses kind of misses the point...
...adding, that if there's room (and zoning) for development to sprout up around the line then it isn't necessarily so bad. I have advocated supertrains to nowhere in the past! But the presence of a very large highway seems to minimize that possibility...
...adding, that if there's room (and zoning) for development to sprout up around the line then it isn't necessarily so bad. I have advocated supertrains to nowhere in the past! But the presence of a very large highway seems to minimize that possibility...
Is Our Leaders Learning?
Maybe they are...
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Monday that Democrat R. Creigh Deeds lost his campaign for governor because he was unable to energize his base, falling into a Republican trap that led him to shrink from the president and his policies.
In a meeting with editors and reporters of The Washington Post, Kaine (D) said Deeds squandered the opportunity to sell his own appealing life story as a guy who had overcome long odds and economic disadvantage. Instead, the rural state senator took the advice of campaign consultants who wrongly assumed Deeds's Democratic support was solid and believed he should instead focus on wooing independents by attacking Republican Robert F. McDonnell.
Afternoon Thread
My local post office is understaffed. Waiting in line at post offices really makes people (not me) angry.
Grand Old PantsPoopers
There was always a duality to the Republican chest-thumping, but I'm actually missing the days when they all had fantasies of personally thwarting major terrorist attacks with their cheetoguns. Now it's all WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH.
The Fierce Urgency Of Sometime Next Year
I don't really care who gets invited to the "jobs summit" because such things are stupid anyway.
And While We're In Southern California
Orange County is widening their bit of the 405, and LA is not widening their bit. This will of course create a bottleneck making the whole endeavor mostly pointless.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Helicopter Drop
Basically what Bernanke and gang have done is drop a bunch of money from helicopters into the big banks in various ways, the idea being that if they have lots of money sloshing around they will perform their role of efficiently allocating capital by lending at appropriate rates for appropriate projects. Of course our banking system has demonstrated in recent years that the idea that it allocates capital efficiently is a complete joke. What Bernanke should do, really, is do an actual Friedman Helicopter Drop and start raining cash down on the rest of us.
Banksters
Heckuva job, Timmeh.
Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York “severely limited” its ability to save taxpayer money on American International Group Inc.’s rescue by refusing to compel banks to take concessions, said a Treasury Department watchdog.
The Fed didn’t use its “considerable leverage” as regulator of several of AIG’s counterparties to force them to accept so-called haircuts on credit-default swaps, Neil Barofsky, special inspector for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said today in a report. The regulator gave up efforts to negotiate discounts from the banks after two days and opted to pay them in full for $62.1 billion in swaps, Barofsky said.
“These policy decisions came with a cost -- they led directly to a negotiating strategy with the counterparties that even then-New York Fed President Geithner acknowledged had little likelihood of success,” Barofsky said.
They Won't Believe It
In my experience, conservatives tend to react to reports on hunger statistics with simple disbelief.
Fire Up The Helicopters
It is true that if Bernanke thinks he has failed in his mandate to get us near full employment then he should be... doing more. Not necessarily more of the same, but as someone into nontraditional monetary policy he should have a few more ideas...
Bidenmentum
Not a fan of the Village hereditary oligarchy, but I'm also not a fan of Republicans, so...
Hunker Down
Roubini has a characteristically pessimistic piece, but his characteristic pessimism has served him pretty well in the last few years.
Need a big jobs bill, like yesterday.
Need a big jobs bill, like yesterday.
Little Hoovers
PA is laying of more employees. Heckuva job, "moderate" senators, removing state aid from the stimulus bill...
Expanding Parking
It's a shame that so many regional rail stations around Philadelphia don't have any transit-oriented development, and instead embrace the park-n-ride model. Obviously I don't know the story with every single location, but over the years I have heard of local authorities resisting efforts by developers to add some dense development near stations. In some places there might not be demand, but in other places the authorities are stopping it from happening.
Big reason people resist dense development is parking concerns, and the solution is always to add more parking.
Big reason people resist dense development is parking concerns, and the solution is always to add more parking.
Waterless World
We seem to regularly be on the cusp of catastrophic regional water shortages. Wonder what will happen if one actually materializes?
Profiles in Cowardice
You'd think one of the luxuries of being an elite pundit would be that you felt free to express what you actually thought about things you're supposed to opine about.
Also, Hitler
I don't think everyone wants to live in an urban hellhole, but I don't like laws and regulations which make building urban hellholes illegal (as I've written many times, my block and basically every residential block in and around center city would be illegal to build today). For some reason the status quo is seen as something given my God and The Market instead of the consequence of regulation and infrastructure policy decisions.
How About Street Cleaners?
I don't actually think all the low hanging fruit with respect to quick shovel ready projects has been picked. It's true now, as it was a year ago (sigh), that big giant sexy infrastructure projects aren't usually the best way to shovel money out the door quickly, but every municipality in this country has projects they could fund.
Identity Politics For Really Stupid People
Chris Cillizza really wrote this:
Yes, women dream of being represented by someone as incompetent as Palin.
Among women, who, theoretically, should form the base of Palin's support, nearly four in ten (39 percent) have a strongly unfavorable impression of her while just 20 percent were strongly favorable. Overall 39 percent of women had a favorable impression of Palin while 57 percent had an unfavorable one.
Yes, women dream of being represented by someone as incompetent as Palin.
Ignatius Still Has A Job
The degree to which unemployment is only affecting the young and those without college degrees is making it not seem real to our elites.
This is a problem.
This is a problem.
Torts
It's odd that that the glibertarians talk about torts in the abstract, as a mechanism for better government, but in the event, not so much. The courts really are the only recourse in some cases.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
David Brooks Is Right
Though it won't stop the Villagers from treating her every facebook update as the big story of the day.
I still haven't quite figured out why.
I still haven't quite figured out why.
Nissan Leaf
Except for certain fleet vehicles (and that's a nontrivial number), I'm a bit skeptical about electric cars until the range gets to about 200 miles, but happy to be wrong...
THE TRAIN WILL KILL US ALL
Living in a city with multiple on street trolleys, I do scratch my head a bit about the extreme concerns for safety. I get that they might be something new for a neighborhood to get used to, but compared to the unpredictability and speed of cars, it really just isn't a big deal.
The Bush Administration
It's like the job recruitment process involved advertising for "the worst people ever born in the history of the universe."
Sullivan was working as an analyst at the Veterans Benefits Administration in Washington in early 2005 when he was called to a meeting with a top political appointee at the VA, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Michael McLendon. McLendon, an intensely focused man in a neatly pressed suit, kept a Bible on his desk at the office. Sullivan explained to McLendon and the other attendees that the rise in benefits claims the VA was noticing was caused partly by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who were suffering from PTSD. “That’s too many,” McLendon said, then hit his hand on the table. “They are too young” to be filing claims, and they are doing it “too soon.” He hit the table again. The claims, he said, are “costing us too much money,” and if the veterans “believed in God and country . . . they would not come home with PTSD.” At that point, he slammed his palm against the table a final time, making a loud smack. Everyone in the room fell silent.
“I was a little bit surprised,” Sullivan said, recalling the incident. “In that one comment, he appeared to be a religious fundamentalist.” For Sullivan, McLendon’s remarks reflected the views of many political appointees in the VA and revealed what was behind their efforts to reduce costs by restricting claims. The backlog of claims was immense, and veterans, often suffering extreme psychological stress, had to wait an average of five months for decisions on their requests.
Matlock Is Bored
I really don't know how anyone could write this sentence seriously.
Broder on Obama and Afghanistan.
Given that reality, the urgent necessity is to make a decision -- whether or not it is right.
Broder on Obama and Afghanistan.
Rudy Pooped His Pants
I suppose there might be reasonable objections to actually giving accused terrorists trials, but according to a transcript I received, Rudy 911 thinks it's too risky for New York. They're not fucking supervillains, moron.
Right wingers are just weird.
Right wingers are just weird.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Meet the Press has Secretary Clinton, Arne Duncan, President Gingrich, Al Sharpton
This Week has Clinton and Attorney General Rudy 911
Face the Nation has Hoekstra and Leahy
This Week has Clinton and Attorney General Rudy 911
Face the Nation has Hoekstra and Leahy
Mornin'
I've jut been re-reading the first couple issues of Planetary, I have no idea what's going on outside. So what's up?
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Heckuva Job
That's what we pay them for.
WASHINGTON — In the official record of the historic House debate on overhauling health care, the speeches of many lawmakers echo with similarities. Often, that was no accident.
Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten, in whole or in part, by Washington lobbyists working for Genentech, one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies.
E-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that the lobbyists drafted one statement for Democrats and another for Republicans.
Jobs
As Herbert says, the administration had better get serious about jobs. The recession is in some ways invisible to elites as college educated people are actually doing pretty well, and places like DC and NYC are faring better than elsewhere for obvious reasons.
They Loved The Myth
It's still deeply depressing just how willing and eager our mainstream media people were to swallow and propagate the obvious lies told by the Bush administration about 9/11, and that years later they aren't filled with revulsion at these truly horrible people.
Yet both Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Vice President Dick Cheney, Farmer says, provided palpably false versions that touted the military’s readiness to shoot down United 93 before it could hit Washington. Planes were never in place to intercept it. By the time the Northeast Air Defense Sector had been informed of the hijacking, United 93 had already crashed. Farmer scrutinizes F.A.A. and Norad records to provide irrefragable evidence that a day after a Sept. 17 White House briefing, both agencies suddenly altered their chronologies to produce a coherent timeline and story that “fit together nicely with the account provided publicly by Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz and Vice President Cheney.”
Farmer further observes that the Bush administration wrongly asserted that the chain of command functioned on 9/11; that President Bush issued an authorization to shoot down hijacked commercial flights; and that top officials at F.A.A. headquarters coordinated their actions with the military. Farmer’s verdict: “History should record that whether through unprecedented administrative incompetence or orchestrated mendacity, the American people were misled about the nation’s response to the 9/11 attacks.”
Hard Work
I dunno, I'm not sure I worry too much about a Lou Dobbs candidacy. I don't think he's especially appealing, and he doesn't strike me as someone with the fortitude to actually stick with it. It's hard work to run for president.
Bye Bye
Pool club gone.
THE SUBJECT LINE on the e-mail simply reads, "The End."
As in, the end of the Valley Club, the small, sleepy Huntingdon Valley community pool that was thrust into the national spotlight this past summer, allegedly for discriminating against minority campers who'd signed up to swim there for 90 minutes each week.
Yesterday, Valley president John Duesler announced that the club's board of directors had voted 5-1 to file this week for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Scared
As far as I can tell, New Yorkers are just fine with another set of terrorist trials here, like the ones after the truck bombing at the WTC. The Boehner bedwetters aren't hanging out anywhere I go.
If It's Friday....
Orion Bank, Naples, FL gets EATED.
Century Bank, a Federal Savings Bank, Sarasota, FL gets EATED.
Big ones.
Century Bank, a Federal Savings Bank, Sarasota, FL gets EATED.
Big ones.
Depends On Who The Leaders Are
Yes it's true that crackpot political movements can achieve power, but they aren't going to achieve it under the leadership of Sarah Palin.
Clear And Present Danger
Just who would willingly pay for Charles Krauthammer's regular ragegasms...
Do Something
Yes, Congress's unwillingness, especially tools like Bayh, to do anything while pretending everything is the president's responsibility has become comedy. Obviously the president has veto power which gives him a significant ability to stop legislation if he wants, but if Congress wants to come up with a "jobs bill" of some sort they, you know, can just do it.
Not Really What It's For?
I know I live in that alternative universe known as the Northeast Corridor where we have good if not perfect passenger rail and, depending on the city, passable if far from awesome local public transit, but I'm always a bit struck by people who fail to comprehend the point and strengths of rail travel.
It's over a thousand miles from Miami to DC. Even if there was a real 200 MPH top speed SUPERTRAIN it would still be, at best, a 7 hour trip given intermediate stops. That's a trip some people might take for various reasons (aversion to flying, sightseeing, potential greater reliability in bad weather seasons), but it wouldn't really directly compete with air travel.
I looked up a ticket on Amtrak from Miami to DC and it was almost $400. I could have hopped a cheap commuter airline for half that. Until passenger rail is cheaper than air travel, its hopes for becoming popular are doomed.
It's over a thousand miles from Miami to DC. Even if there was a real 200 MPH top speed SUPERTRAIN it would still be, at best, a 7 hour trip given intermediate stops. That's a trip some people might take for various reasons (aversion to flying, sightseeing, potential greater reliability in bad weather seasons), but it wouldn't really directly compete with air travel.
Don't Care What's True
Last night in comments to this post I said that I didn't care of Palin's charges were true. My point wasn't that I have no interest in truth, just that I have no genuine interest in the Palin freakshow except to the extent that it says something about our media and John McCain. If true, then the McCain campaign people were tremendous dicks, if not true it means Palin is (shocker!) less than honest but despite this the media is going to spend 3 months talking about her even though her actual political future (meaning elected office or any position with actual power) is probably less promising than my own.
The point is the whole thing's a freak show, and that's much more important than any of the "facts" of the freak show, none of which matter at all, true or not...
...as Boehlert says:
There's never a proper left-right analogy, but imagine if John Kerry had put Dennis Kucinich on the Veep ticket and then lost. Kucinich would have increased stature in the Democratic party, and probably be quite popular with "the base," but the press would mostly ignore him other than to occasionally sneer. I'm not equating Palin and Kucinich, just trying to imagine who might occupy a similar space on the left.
The point is the whole thing's a freak show, and that's much more important than any of the "facts" of the freak show, none of which matter at all, true or not...
...as Boehlert says:
So I guess my question is, besides the larger and authentic one (who, besides journalists and GOP partisans, cares about Sarah Palin?) is, has the press ever treated an election loser the way it now treats Sarah Palin? Has the Beltway press ever turned an election loser like Palin into a political rising star, even though there's no evidence to suggest her stature has changed since last November's embarrassing thumping? (i.e. What "magic" is Stephanopoulos talking about?)
There's never a proper left-right analogy, but imagine if John Kerry had put Dennis Kucinich on the Veep ticket and then lost. Kucinich would have increased stature in the Democratic party, and probably be quite popular with "the base," but the press would mostly ignore him other than to occasionally sneer. I'm not equating Palin and Kucinich, just trying to imagine who might occupy a similar space on the left.
Hot And Sexy Pols
I won't deny that certain kinds of personal charisma matter to some degree in politics, but spend a few hours on the CSPAN, or look through a presidential portrait gallery, and you realize that... well, our elite politics-as-theater-criticism pundits are far more obsessed with how sexy they are than voters must be.
I Don't Think It Is True
Krugman:
Or at least not obviously true. I mean, as a rough rule of thumb I wouldn't argue with it, but there are impacts if unemployment is geographically concentrated, there are impacts on individual long term employment prospects due to long spells of unemployment, etc. I don't think it's obviously true that more total amount of work is always more superior to slightly less but more spread out work.
But, more importantly, more jobs are needed. They aren't appearing.
Should America be trying anything along these lines? In a recent interview, Lawrence Summers, the Obama administration’s highest-ranking economist, was dismissive: “It may be desirable to have a given amount of work shared among more people. But that’s not as desirable as expanding the total amount of work.” True. But we are not, in fact, expanding the total amount of work — and Congress doesn’t seem willing to spend enough on stimulus to change that unfortunate fact. So shouldn’t we be considering other measures, if only as a stopgap?
Or at least not obviously true. I mean, as a rough rule of thumb I wouldn't argue with it, but there are impacts if unemployment is geographically concentrated, there are impacts on individual long term employment prospects due to long spells of unemployment, etc. I don't think it's obviously true that more total amount of work is always more superior to slightly less but more spread out work.
But, more importantly, more jobs are needed. They aren't appearing.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Heckuva Job
I spent some time in New London when this issue was a Big Deal, and while I eventually came around to the idea that while really awful policy it shouldn't be unconstitutional, it was still an example of local private and public players behaving very badly...
...more here.
When Pfizer announced on Monday that it was closing its global research and development headquarters in New London, Conn., the news reverberated far beyond the struggling seaport city. The project, part of an urban renewal effort, was the basis for a much-debated 2005 Supreme Court decision upholding government’s eminent domain rights to take private property for public use.
But the New London redevelopment never got off the ground, even after the local and state governments spent more than $80 million to buy and demolish private property to pave the way. Now comes the blow from Pfizer: how will its withdrawal affect future eminent domain battles in redevelopment projects? What are the lessons learned for urban planners and local governments?
...more here.
Did All That Money Go To Kristol and Barnes?
I thought she was vetted on a Weekly Standard Cruise.
Really classy, McCain campaign.
And she says that most of her legal bills were generated defending what she called frivolous ethics complaints, but she reveals that about $500,000 was a bill she received to pay for the McCain campaign vetting her for the VP nod.
She said when she asked the McCain campaign if it would help her financially, she was told McCain's camp would have paid all the bills if he'd won; since he lost, the vetting legal bills were her
Really classy, McCain campaign.
Shocked
Hey, Politico finds a nut.
The Republican National Committee’s health insurance plan covers elective abortion – a procedure the party’s own platform calls “a fundamental assault on innocent human life.”
Federal Election Commission Records show the RNC purchases its insurance from Cigna. Two sales agents for the company said that the RNC’s policy covers elective abortion.
Credit
All hailed wingnuttia for driving Dan Rather from the teevee. (I happen to think it was a Rovian ratfuck, but that's just me.)
Greg Sargent wonders whether the dirty fucking hippies (and the staid folks at Media Matters) will get the credit for the end of Dobbs' on CNN.
Greg Sargent wonders whether the dirty fucking hippies (and the staid folks at Media Matters) will get the credit for the end of Dobbs' on CNN.
Cycles
For a brief time it seemed like cell phone companies, flawed as they are, had retreated a bit from their earlier widespread practices of screwing their customers whenever possible. Now it seems those days have returned.
Sweet Charity
Good. Someone else who gives a shit can run them with federal tax dollars.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.
Lentz
I have no knowledge of the other people in the race, and I really haven't followed what he's been doing in as a state rep, but I met Bryan Lentz several times and he seemed to be a decent guy. I was impressed with his basic campaign strategy, which was to knock on every door in his district, a feat just about doable given the size.
Anyway, whoever wins the primary hopefully Dems keep Sestak's seat... well, hopefully a good Dem keeps the seat, anyway.
Anyway, whoever wins the primary hopefully Dems keep Sestak's seat... well, hopefully a good Dem keeps the seat, anyway.
How To Lose Elections
As I've written many times, swing voter types vote Republican because they worry Dems will take their tax dollars and give goodies to people who don't deserve them. They vote Dem in hopes that Dems will actually give them some goodies. If the conservadems continue down this path 2010 will be awful. Conventional wisdom will assure us that 2010 was awful because Marxist Obama passed a socialist health care plan, but the true story will be that Dems lost because they didn't give the goodies to the right people.
...correct link in there now.
...correct link in there now.
All The Action Just Went To The FHA
That's what a mortgage broker told me in early '08...
Housing isn't going to recover. Sure there are some submarkets where extreme overbuilding happened and things really are at fire sale prices, but overall...housing isn't going to recover because home prices are still high relative to historical trends. They're only remaining that way because of all of the efforts to prop up home prices.
The Federal Housing Administration said Thursday morning that its cash reserves had dwindled significantly in the last year after a record drop in home prices.
.
Still, agency executives stopped short of saying that a direct bailout would be needed. The F.H.A., which insures loans made by private lenders, guaranteed more than $360 billion in mortgages in the last year, four times the amount in 2007.
...
“They’re running on empty,” a consultant Ann Schnare said. “It all depends how long it takes housing to recover.”
Housing isn't going to recover. Sure there are some submarkets where extreme overbuilding happened and things really are at fire sale prices, but overall...housing isn't going to recover because home prices are still high relative to historical trends. They're only remaining that way because of all of the efforts to prop up home prices.
Pushed Out
I guess it's to CNN's credit that Lou Dobbs was pushed out, if a bit slowly. I don't really agree with their conception of what they are/should be, but whatever that is Dobbs surely didn't fit it.
What Are We Doing There?
At least with Iraq, proponents of "Iraq forever!" generally had pleasing stories to tell. That is, crazy or not, they had a plausible sounding justification for why we were there and why we needed to stay. I guess this was in large part due to the Bush message machine and lockstep Republican/conservative mouthpieces, but it did create a degree of plausibility. I don't know how fast we're really going to draw down forces in Iraq, but at least the trend seems to be going in the right direction.
But with Afghanistan... it's... what? I guess someone would have to try to explain just what the fuck we did for the past 8 years before attempting to explain how... now it's going to be different!
At least, maybe, Obama's skeptical...
But with Afghanistan... it's... what? I guess someone would have to try to explain just what the fuck we did for the past 8 years before attempting to explain how... now it's going to be different!
At least, maybe, Obama's skeptical...
Deferment
In case you haven't seen this one by now.
The General has it up.
Oh, and what digby says regarding getting it up.
The General has it up.
Oh, and what digby says regarding getting it up.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Bye Lou
We'll miss you.
Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views made him a TV lightning rod, plans to announce Wednesday that he is leaving the network, two network employees said.
Happy Hour Thread
A bit early today, it's a holiday! And no one on my block, including me, realized that meant that trash collection wouldn't happen...
No Surprise
JMM:
I think this is an underappreciated phenomenon of the past 8 years, that even when their team ran everything they still felt marginalized and were perpetually acting as victims. "Some Guy With A Sign Somewhere" was a great threat to their personal liberty, as was anyone who didn't pay appropriate respects to Just How 9/11 Made Them Feel.
On the other hand, I think back to how paranoid and in the thrall of their own victimization these folks were a few years when they ran the entire country. So I'm not sure we should be surprised that they go totally crazy when they're largely shut out of power in the country at the national level.
I think this is an underappreciated phenomenon of the past 8 years, that even when their team ran everything they still felt marginalized and were perpetually acting as victims. "Some Guy With A Sign Somewhere" was a great threat to their personal liberty, as was anyone who didn't pay appropriate respects to Just How 9/11 Made Them Feel.
Oy
One risk with putting Dems in power is that they end up doing stuff that they would try to stop Republicans from doing if they were out of power...
He's Going To Decide Which Abortions Are Naughty Or Nice
Buckeye Nut Schell is coming to town... Buckeye Nut Schell is coming to town...
...I'm always surprised by the number of people who can't quite comprehend that, no, actually, the person who inseminated a woman doesn't actually have any say over whether or not she carries that child to term and who can't quite comprehend the implications of suggesting otherwise.
...I'm always surprised by the number of people who can't quite comprehend that, no, actually, the person who inseminated a woman doesn't actually have any say over whether or not she carries that child to term and who can't quite comprehend the implications of suggesting otherwise.
Even Lindsey Isn't Wingnutty Enough For Them
Funny.
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Republican leaders in a South Carolina county have censured their own U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham for working with Democrats on a climate bill and other legislation.
Veterans' Day
I don't have a problem with there being a holiday called Veterans' Day, but it is a shame that we repurposed the November 11th Armistice Day for it.
Green Shoots
I recognize that one can cherry pick good news and bad news to make the case that the economy is getting better or getting worse, but as I've long said it's hard to imagine the economy turning around before the foreclosure crisis ends. It isn't ending.
Car Sharing
Obviously one could do actual research and try to get a more solid answer, but, hey, this is a blog, so I'll just say that I highly doubt that car sharing programs are "bad" from any perspective. Yes, I probably drive more often than I did when I didn't have a car and wasn't a carshare member, but on the other hand I drive a lot less than I would if I actually owned a car. If not for carsharing, I probably would have been car free for a few years and then I would've purchased a car. They're useful things to have, even in the urban hellhole, and I never liked relying on friends for the occasional car need.
Even if total driving miles stayed exactly the same in a car share versus non car share world, there's great social value in having fewer cars on crowded streets. More parking spots for the rest of you!
And more than that, by reducing the number of necessary cars per household, car sharing reduces overall urban living costs, making it more affordable. Relative to most suburban living, urban hellhole dwellers have a lot more non-car options, whether or not they have a carshare membership.
Even if total driving miles stayed exactly the same in a car share versus non car share world, there's great social value in having fewer cars on crowded streets. More parking spots for the rest of you!
And more than that, by reducing the number of necessary cars per household, car sharing reduces overall urban living costs, making it more affordable. Relative to most suburban living, urban hellhole dwellers have a lot more non-car options, whether or not they have a carshare membership.
Infrastructure
It isn't sexy, repairs and unseen upgrades rarely are, but water systems all over the country need work. Fed says weak recovery and no jobs soon. I'm sure if Obama proposed spending another $30 billion for water projects, the Republicans would say "water projects aren't stimulus." But they said that about, you know, everything.
WIth Us On Everything Except The War
It'll be interesting to see if Reid does cut some deal with Short Bus Lieberman because Washington's Last Honest Man is motivated solely by his higher principles.
Morning Thread
If bearded Greeks equal Al Qaeda I fear for Zach Galifianakis's career (and maybe Arianna Huffington's past).
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
But.... ACORN!
How lovely it's all been.
WASHINGTON — Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode in which Blackwater security guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, according to former company officials.
...
Blackwater’s strategy of buying off the government officials, which would have been illegal under American law, created a deep rift inside the company, according to the former executives. They said that Cofer Black, who was then the company’s vice chairman and a former top C.I.A. and State Department official, learned of the plan from another Blackwater manager while he was in Baghdad discussing compensation for families of the shooting victims with United States Embassy officials.
Missing
I don't think there was ever much hope these mortgage modification plans would help a significant number of borrowers. Plenty of people don't think they should be helped at all, but even aside from the fact that many of these people were victims of dishonest predatory lending practices, there are tremendous social costs to widespread foreclosures.
I'm Pretty Skeptical
I actually doubt the strong conclusions in the described real estate report. I can buy slow shifting tastes moving people to have greater demand for more urban environments, but I don't expect it to happen very quickly. Near term, of course, overbuilt suburban locations will have problems, but as I regularly acknowledge, we have suburban sprawl, in part, because people like it!
Some Did The Right Thing
Plenty of the Dems on this list are, to put it mildly, frequently disappointing. Still, it's useful to provide some evidence that doing the right thing doesn't go unnoticed.
We Know This, Why Don't They
Depressing base turnout is how people lose off-year elections, especially. This is not controversial.
I was Hopey that the Dems had learned this. I guess not enough of them have. Don't let the door hit you...
I was Hopey that the Dems had learned this. I guess not enough of them have. Don't let the door hit you...
If Not For All Those Meddling Poor People
It is depressing how much horseshit Republicans get away with spewing.
Subprime lending was the early signal of the oncoming crisis, but because it was convenient to blame all those shifty poor people our elite press and policymakers continued to be oblivious to what was happening. As I've written many times, way back in 2007, at an ACORN presidential candidate forum, basically every audience member was screaming about predatory lending, but no one paid any attention. Poor people were impacted first by predatory and otherwise crappy lending, but they were only the beginning..
Subprime lending was the early signal of the oncoming crisis, but because it was convenient to blame all those shifty poor people our elite press and policymakers continued to be oblivious to what was happening. As I've written many times, way back in 2007, at an ACORN presidential candidate forum, basically every audience member was screaming about predatory lending, but no one paid any attention. Poor people were impacted first by predatory and otherwise crappy lending, but they were only the beginning..
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