A law enforcement official said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, was taken into police custody after being removed from an airplane at Kennedy Airport.
According to the official, Mr. Strauss-Kahn allegedly forced a cleaning woman onto his bed and sexually assaulted her at around 1 p.m. Saturday inside his room at the Sofitel Hotel near Times Square.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Our Galtian Overlords
Innocent until proven...
Things That Never Occurred To Me
Because, you know, it was completely obvious that the entire blogger system was down.
I Bet They Just Happened To Be Friends Of His
I don't think there's anything about liberalism which suggests that horse racing tracks should be state owned, but nor is there anything (supposedly) conservative about transferring state ownership into private hands without any bidding process. Just a "deal."
Friday, May 13, 2011
That's Always What Bipartisanship Has Been About
Except for proclamations stating that bad guys are "bad" and puppies are "good," bipartisanship has always been about the two parties giving themselves cover to screw voters. And, yes, it makes Fred Hiatt all tingly.
I Read The News Today Oh Boy
But then could not blog about it, so the world was denied my witty and trenchant observations.
Trump is an asshole.
America's most famous senator, Herb Kohl, is retiring. Harold Ford spotted in Madison wearing a cheesehead hat.
Jim Cramer is an asshole.
Trump is an asshole.
America's most famous senator, Herb Kohl, is retiring. Harold Ford spotted in Madison wearing a cheesehead hat.
Jim Cramer is an asshole.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The Important News
CNN went from "Trump Questions Bin Laden Raid" to "Palin's (bristol) Changing Face."
Kids Today
Not being around them much I don't have any strong sense, but I think it's reasonable to think that the internet, and then mobile internet, are really the first major socially disruptive technological advances since cheapish machines which made household chores a bit less onerous. Or maybe The Pill. Anyway, just musing on the existence of actual real generational divide. Kids entering college basically have no memory of life before the internets.
Run, Newt, Run!
Newt is now officially pretending to run for president. I admit I didn't think he'd take it this far.
Everything I Know About WWI I Learned From Blackadder
Not really, though I don't know much of anything about how the war was perceived outside of Britain, but yes I thought this was basically the CW about the war.
Whiners
LEAVE REPUBLICANS ALOOOOOONE.
They always whine when Democrats actually point out how much they suck, and then Fred Hiatt or someone else on his crayon scribble page tut-tuts the Dems for playing politics with politics. Or something.
Still it occurs to me that there hasn't been a grand coordinated hissy fit for awhile. Lindsey Graham losing his touch?
They always whine when Democrats actually point out how much they suck, and then Fred Hiatt or someone else on his crayon scribble page tut-tuts the Dems for playing politics with politics. Or something.
Still it occurs to me that there hasn't been a grand coordinated hissy fit for awhile. Lindsey Graham losing his touch?
Back To The 90s
Things are a bit different now, but I think back in the 90s you had to be really tuned in to know just how stupid and insane the political journalism was then. And all journalistic sins from that era have been wiped clean.
Dozens of Stories
Of course the big story was always that, at the height of Monica madness, the press covered up for Newt.
Disgraced Former Speaker
No, I don't think that 8 years from now Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards will be compared to de Gaulle by Matt Bai in the pages of the New York Times.
Everywhere
Pretty cheap, too.
A foundation bankrolled by Libertarian businessman Charles G. Koch has pledged $1.5 million for positions in Florida State University's economics department. In return, his representatives get to screen and sign off on any hires for a new program promoting "political economy and free enterprise."
Traditionally, university donors have little official input into choosing the person who fills a chair they've funded. The power of university faculty and officials to choose professors without outside interference is considered a hallmark of academic freedom.
Under the agreement with the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, however, faculty only retain the illusion of control. The contract specifies that an advisory committee appointed by Koch decides which candidates should be considered. The foundation can also withdraw its funding if it's not happy with the faculty's choice or if the hires don't meet "objectives" set by Koch during annual evaluations.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
There Are Not Enough Rich People
There's no point to adding administrative burden to Medicare other programs in order to take away the benefits for rich people because you aren't actually going to gain any money by pulling back their benefits. It isn't worth the effort.
It is the case, however, that those not many rich have a fuckload of money. If you want the government to benefit from that fact you increase their taxes.
It is the case, however, that those not many rich have a fuckload of money. If you want the government to benefit from that fact you increase their taxes.
While He Doesn't Say It...
What we should really be talking about is increasing Social Security benefits, not cutting them.
Also, too, good politics.
Also, too, good politics.
Make Some Noise
Fairly regularly I see some explicit or implicit criticisms of people like me for freaking out about a particular issue such as Social Security. The basic issue is something like "You said Obama was going to cut Social Security and he didn't!" Well, I never said Obama, or Democrats, were going to cut Social Security, just that they're leaving the possibility on the table. And I think not cutting Social Security is rather important, so when the possibility is raised I'm going to freak out about it. I don't know if this blog or any activism at all is good for anything, but the point of freaking out and making noise about a possible policy option is to send a message that people like me... are going to freak out about such things. Maybe that freaking out serves no purpose, in which case I don't know why people care at all beyond the basic "somebody on the internet is wrong" dynamic, or maybe, just maybe, it manages to play some small role in convincing lawmakers to do their damage elsewhere.
Shut It Moochers
What's true of the Washington Post is true of the Philadelphia Orchestra is true of many institutions I'm aware of. The people in charge suck, and they respond by extracting all the value and screwing the workers.
Fuck War
Indeed.
I'm not sure exactly when I started seeing myself as a pacifist. It's one of those words which to Very Serious People means "you like it when the bully punches you in the face don't you dirty fucking hippie!" But what I've learned over the increasingly many years of my life is that the existence of just about any war in which the US is involved means that the Very Serious People, with all the power they have, fucked up completely. Even if that war is, in some sense, "necessary," it still means that the people who run this place screwed up and at the very least should resign in shame before sending people off to kill and be killed. But they don't. They go on Meet the Press to talk about how awesome they are.
I'm not sure exactly when I started seeing myself as a pacifist. It's one of those words which to Very Serious People means "you like it when the bully punches you in the face don't you dirty fucking hippie!" But what I've learned over the increasingly many years of my life is that the existence of just about any war in which the US is involved means that the Very Serious People, with all the power they have, fucked up completely. Even if that war is, in some sense, "necessary," it still means that the people who run this place screwed up and at the very least should resign in shame before sending people off to kill and be killed. But they don't. They go on Meet the Press to talk about how awesome they are.
The Worst People In The World
Breibart isn't the first conservative to devote himself to the all-important cause of shining the light on the serious problem of racist African-Americans.
The Game
Republicans always offered conservative means to achieve more liberal goals as a way of thwarting any way of achieving those goals. They'd always be enabled by ThirdWayNoLabelsDLCTNR wankers who would praise them as Very Serious Policy Thinkers. So, carbon tax becomes cap and trade, and then cap and trade becomes... just like Hitler!
Cunning Plan
What Boehner wants is for Democrats to own unpopular spending cuts. And with the McCaskills and Conrads of the Senate, he'll likely succeed.
Oops
Naughty naughty.
The husband of Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, former Maine Gov. John McKernan, is the chairman of a large for-profit college company being sued by the Department of Justice for allegedly improperly paying recruiters based on how many students they sign up to enroll.
The lawsuit is gaining attention in Washington as Snowe prepares to run for a fourth-term in the Senate next year.
The Justice Department joined a whistleblower lawsuit, filed by former employees of Education Management Corp., that also includes 11 states and the District of Columbia, though not the state of Maine. The company does not have a location in Maine.
Basically, Abortion Has Been Outlawed in S. Dakota
Kudos to Amanda Marcotte for staying on top of this story.
My question, as always, is how do these people get elected. Over and over again.
My question, as always, is how do these people get elected. Over and over again.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Really Bad Senators
The great thing about Republicans is that they can simultaneously run for and against Medicare, all with the aid of awful Democrats like Claire McCaskill.
....more from MoveOn.org.
A plan to cap U.S. government spending that’s gaining support in the Senate could require deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that parallel those proposed in House Republican Paul Ryan’s budget.
The Senate proposal by Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee and Democrat Claire McCaskill of Missouri aims to save $7.6 trillion over 10 years by capping federal spending at 20.6 percent of gross domestic product within a decade, down from 24.3 percent now.
....more from MoveOn.org.
On TeeVee
I'll pose a related question. When will advertisers realize that women watch sports? At least here in the urban hellhole the wimmenfolk seem to quite like that baseball thing, judging by the number of them decked out in team gear watching at the stadium, in bars, etc. The advertising is almost all squarely aimed at your 1982 frat boy archetype, except with a bit more disposable income, plus penis and gout pills.
It's Your Fault, Assholes
As Krugman says, the Very Serious People fucked everything up. I'm sure there will be a BoBo column along shortly that tells us that unless we're nicer to our Galtian Overlords and submit to more beatings, their feefees will be hurt and they'll head to the Gulch.
Please just go already.
Please just go already.
A Little More Super
Currently the Acela does the Philly-NYC run in 1:12. I'm not quite sure I believe the funded improvements (thanks Lex!) will bring that down below an hour, but I suppose it's close enough. Though absent the ARC tunnel (screw you Christie!) or similar, there's still a serious capacity constraint crossing the river into NYC.
...adding that I've only taken the Acela once to NYC. The "normal" service can be as quick as 1:19, but most trains take between 1:25-1:30.
...adding that I've only taken the Acela once to NYC. The "normal" service can be as quick as 1:19, but most trains take between 1:25-1:30.
People Riding Trains
It's true that much of the country doesn't have inter-city rail, and even in places that do have it the frequency and reliability are not exactly awesome, but it isn't true that the NE corridor (much less the mid-Atlantic bit) is the only place with decent service. The wikipedia tells me that 2.6 million people rode on the SLO-San Diego line in 2010.
People Riding Bikes
While the stereotype of the urban biker is a fixed gear riding hipster, from what I've observed the high level of and great increase in South Philly bike commuters is due to Mexican and Vietnamese immigrants.
...adding that Philly is relatively bike friendly in that it's mostly flat, and neighborhood connectivity is pretty good most places in that there aren't as many severe disruptions due to large urban highways that you find in many cities.
...adding that Philly is relatively bike friendly in that it's mostly flat, and neighborhood connectivity is pretty good most places in that there aren't as many severe disruptions due to large urban highways that you find in many cities.
Magic Ponies Will Be Their Doctors
Perhaps Washington Post reporters are unaware of all of the bake sales and benefit concerts that happen regularly for people who don't have insurance or whose insurance isn't paying for some needed treatment.
Blithering Idiots
Returning to the latest Worst Idea Ever, even if you implement a "Do Not Ride" list for Amtrak, it would be impossible to do so in any reasonable fashion for the numerous commuter rail systems (many of which share track with Amtrak), rendering a mostly pointless security system completely pointless.
More than that, it's really unclear how preventing (not that it would) potential terrorists from boarding trains...achieves anything. The reason we want to keep potential "bad guys" from boarding planes is that it's not that most difficult thing in the world for a passenger to take a plane down from within. But a train passenger can do... what? Doing damage to trains and train-related infrastructure is much easier to do from outside the train.
More than that, it's really unclear how preventing (not that it would) potential terrorists from boarding trains...achieves anything. The reason we want to keep potential "bad guys" from boarding planes is that it's not that most difficult thing in the world for a passenger to take a plane down from within. But a train passenger can do... what? Doing damage to trains and train-related infrastructure is much easier to do from outside the train.
Thanks, Lex Luthor
So, much of Florida's SUPERTRAIN money will be used to make some improvements in the Northeast Corridor.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Actual liberal media
Cliff Schecther and Dday (David Dayen) will be tonight's guests on Virtually Speaking Sundays at 9:00 PM Eastern.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
Please Just Make It Stop
Can any development make things better instead of worse?
(Reuters) - A senator on Sunday called for a "no-ride list" for Amtrak trains after intelligence gleaned from the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound pointed to potential attacks on the nation's train system.
Um, No?
Really? Facebook?
I mean, yes, I'm sure people are glancing at maps on their iPhones when they drive, but Facebook?
The article's about the problematic issue of the San Francisco parking iPhone app. It tells you where open spots are, but there is the wee problem that someone driving alone probably shouldn't be staring at their phones while driving. Can I suggest audio directions and a voice control system?
But Ms. Soltami, the TV reporter, said using the app would probably join the array of activities already performed by drivers.
“We’re already looking at Google Maps and Facebook on the phone while we drive,” she said. “Aren’t we always looking at something on our phone, or changing the radio, or drinking coffee? You’re always slightly distracted when you’re driving.”
I mean, yes, I'm sure people are glancing at maps on their iPhones when they drive, but Facebook?
The article's about the problematic issue of the San Francisco parking iPhone app. It tells you where open spots are, but there is the wee problem that someone driving alone probably shouldn't be staring at their phones while driving. Can I suggest audio directions and a voice control system?
Bankruptcy's Expensive
The Galtian Overlords are going to destroy it.
I've already received two legal documents and one notice explaining why I'm receiving legal documents. Multiply that by tens of thousands of subscribers/ticketholders. Not just the postage, of course, but the law firm billing for handling it...
Supposedly in the Atlas Shrugged movie there's a scene where when of the Galtian Overlords lights his oilfields on fire to stick it to the moochers and informs us that he's leaving it just the way he found it. That seems to be the attitude.
The route they have chosen, bankruptcy, has waged war on friends - musicians, the Pops, the Kimmel - and war has been expensive. So far, 17 lawyers have been tapped to work on the case on behalf of the association, musicians, Kimmel Center, and Pops, according to court records.
That doesn't include the associates and paralegals, or financial consultants; it does not include the thousands of creditors, many of whom will want to retain legal representation; and it does not take into account the taxpayers' money spent through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and U.S. Trustee Program.
Fees range from $235 and $750 an hour. Just up to the moment before the bankruptcy filing, the association ran up a $319,000 bill at Dilworth Paxson. Will the financial rewards of this episode outweigh the bills?
I've already received two legal documents and one notice explaining why I'm receiving legal documents. Multiply that by tens of thousands of subscribers/ticketholders. Not just the postage, of course, but the law firm billing for handling it...
Supposedly in the Atlas Shrugged movie there's a scene where when of the Galtian Overlords lights his oilfields on fire to stick it to the moochers and informs us that he's leaving it just the way he found it. That seems to be the attitude.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation has John Kerry and Don Rumsfeld.
Meet the Press has Rudy 911, Chertoff, and Hayden.
This Week has Condi Rice, NSA Adviser Tom Donilon, and the Ambassador to the US from Pakistan.
Happy Mother's Day!
Meet the Press has Rudy 911, Chertoff, and Hayden.
This Week has Condi Rice, NSA Adviser Tom Donilon, and the Ambassador to the US from Pakistan.
Happy Mother's Day!
Thread
I have some questions:
1. If the military is there to protect our way of life, what is our way of life? And where have they been for the last 30 years?
2. It's a pretty good bet that a Republican is going to win one of the next two presidential elections. Which is worse: a Republican president in the next term, or a Republican president four years later?
And here's an unrelated link: Hero of the Internet
Signed,
Not Atrios
1. If the military is there to protect our way of life, what is our way of life? And where have they been for the last 30 years?
2. It's a pretty good bet that a Republican is going to win one of the next two presidential elections. Which is worse: a Republican president in the next term, or a Republican president four years later?
And here's an unrelated link: Hero of the Internet
Signed,
Not Atrios
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