With music: tralalah
Saturday, June 04, 2011
What Digby Said
The wingnut Freedom and Faith conference includes such dignitaries as James O'Keefe and Ralph Reed.
Digby:
Digby:
Old corporate sponsored GOP operatives never die, they just lay low for a little while and let media amnesia do its work.
Today's Economics Lesson
Is the rinse-repeat one Atrios reminds us of so often.
This time it comes from Robert Kuttner:
Yup. The overall May 2011 unemployment rate still hovered around 9% and the rates for African Americans (16.2%) and Latinos (11.9%) were even higher, not to mention the youth unemployment rate (24.2%). But guess what the most relevant rate for those Washington insiders themselves might be? Probably the rate for individuals over 25 with at least a bachelor's degree.
Now that was a relatively puny 4.5% in May. Which explains why the Village can concentrate on worrying about the deficits.
This time it comes from Robert Kuttner:
Lately, the media and the Washington hothouse have been busy debating deficit reduction. Those are the wrong debates. Deficit reduction does nothing for job growth, and is economically perverse at this stage of a weak recovery.
Yup. The overall May 2011 unemployment rate still hovered around 9% and the rates for African Americans (16.2%) and Latinos (11.9%) were even higher, not to mention the youth unemployment rate (24.2%). But guess what the most relevant rate for those Washington insiders themselves might be? Probably the rate for individuals over 25 with at least a bachelor's degree.
Now that was a relatively puny 4.5% in May. Which explains why the Village can concentrate on worrying about the deficits.
Musical interlude
I liked this so much I have had to listen to it 12 more times.
Oh, and good morning. It's actually sunny and warm in London.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Oh, and good morning. It's actually sunny and warm in London.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Andrew Breitbart, Ethical Paragon
Tommy Christopher is telling us that Breitbart is chock full of integrity in the whole Weinergate idiocy.
Why? Because even though Breitbart knew that the whole thing is based wholly on a Tweet that only one person in the whole world on Twitter saw, and that one person, as Breitbart knew perfectly well, is an obsessed psycho who with his pals has been stalking high school students in order to manufacture dirt on Weiner, never mentioned the high school girls' names.
That is a pretty fucking low bar. Breitbart gleefully ran with this shit, and his single source was and is an obsessed loon who stalks high school girls. Whose names would have obviously become widespread after Breitbart ran with this shit.
Why? Because even though Breitbart knew that the whole thing is based wholly on a Tweet that only one person in the whole world on Twitter saw, and that one person, as Breitbart knew perfectly well, is an obsessed psycho who with his pals has been stalking high school students in order to manufacture dirt on Weiner, never mentioned the high school girls' names.
That is a pretty fucking low bar. Breitbart gleefully ran with this shit, and his single source was and is an obsessed loon who stalks high school girls. Whose names would have obviously become widespread after Breitbart ran with this shit.
Friday, June 03, 2011
Rick Scott, the Pro-Life Governor of Florida
My, what a busy beaver he is! In just the last few weeks he has managed to turn large chunks of the Medicaid system to for-profit health care providers:
Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed two historic Medicaid bills Thursday, placing the health care of nearly 3 million Florida residents into the hands of for-profit companies and hospital networks.Medicaid is the program which funds health care for certain low-income groups. But it also funds the majority of nursing-home care for the frail elderly.
Lawmakers said the program was overwhelming the state budget and needed to be privatized to rein in costs and improve patient care. Critics fear the bills build on a flawed five-county experiment where patients struggled to access specialists and doctors complained the treatments they prescribed were frequently denied.
But wait! There is more! Rick Scott also signed into law new abortion restrictions:
House Bill 97 removes coverage for abortions in health care insurance exchanges created by federal health care reform. The law provides exceptions for cases of rape, incest and a threat to the woman’s life.AND he cut funding for the care of at-risk infants. I'm not kidding you:
Last week, Gov. Rick Scott signed the state’s budget, which proposed reductions to health services for women and children. He also vetoed millions more in health service projects set aside specifically for women and children. Programs that aim to lower infant mortality and increase women’s health in the state have seen a major setback since Scott took office.There you go! Unborn children are valuable but once they are born children Rick Scott does not care. Neither does he care about the elderly or the poor.
Among the many vetoes from last week: a program that would add a test for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease, or SCID, to the list of genetic diseases newborns are tested for in Florida.
When We Replace The Marines With A Pizza, We Will Call The Pizza The Marines
That's basically what the Republicans, aided by the Villagers, are trying to do with Medicare.
Not Sticky Enough
I actually don't think there are substantial enough network effects in the online coupon business, and think unless GroupOn (and similar companies) figure out how to make their offering more sticky, they'll all face plenty of endless competition. Nothing wrong with that, but I just don't see how they corner the market.
Pivot
It's a nice idea, but I do not think it is likely that the administration will pivot back to jobs. Hope is the plan.
Anti-Stimulus
I was hunting for this information earlier. The point is that as the stimulus winds down, it actually becomes anti-stimulus. That would be fine if the economy was roaring. But it's, you know, not.
Bring Back That Panic Feeling
I was reading through a few of my posts from 2009 about housing and the economy and I was reminded of the perfectly appropriate sense of panic that existed then, not just in dirty hippies like me but from basically everyone. There were tremendous problems, people were trying (not necessarily in the right ways) to solve them. It was the job of the government to do that.
And then... calm.
And then... calm.
Going Forward
Let's hope politicians and the media remain focused on abstract concepts that have no direct impact on our lives.
Must...not...mention...recovery...summer...
Must...not...mention...recovery...summer...
Monthly Jobs Report
+54K total jobs, including -29K public sector jobs. AUSTERITY NOW AND FOREVER BITCHES. Unemployment increases to 9.1%. Emp-pop unchanged.
So, uh, not good news.
So, uh, not good news.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
An Inqy commenter to this article.*
And while that's the kind of sentiment which makes me giggle, there's nothing wrong with it. Back in 1965 there probably was a starker, simpler choice between urban and suburban living, for people for whom parking was a priority, the suburbs won. But it also is a reminder that per capita auto ownership increased over time, that for awhile parking in South Philly probably wasn't as much of a problem, not until they started creeping towards the one-car-per-driving-age-household-member standard. The point being, dense cities are compatible with cars, just not too many of them.
*The Inqy is apparently experimenting with moving comments from articles which will be, uh, controversial, to facebook in hopes that it restrains people. Nope.
My Dad got us out of South Philly in 1965 because he had to walk 4 blocks in the rain for a parking space. We moved to South Jersey with a 150' driveway and a large garage and only came back for weddings and funerals.
And while that's the kind of sentiment which makes me giggle, there's nothing wrong with it. Back in 1965 there probably was a starker, simpler choice between urban and suburban living, for people for whom parking was a priority, the suburbs won. But it also is a reminder that per capita auto ownership increased over time, that for awhile parking in South Philly probably wasn't as much of a problem, not until they started creeping towards the one-car-per-driving-age-household-member standard. The point being, dense cities are compatible with cars, just not too many of them.
*The Inqy is apparently experimenting with moving comments from articles which will be, uh, controversial, to facebook in hopes that it restrains people. Nope.
Fixed
Last 20 email subject headers from Chris Cillizza's The Fix.
Mitt Romney channels Ronald Reagan
Fast Fix: Mitt Romney is in (VIDEO)
Mitt Romney's announcement speech: It's the economy, stupid
Afternoon Fix: Sarah Palin goes to Fox News
Anthony Weiner: Can't say with certitude lewd image isn't me
Many Republicans "not impressed" with Republican field
Jim DeMint again says no to presidential race
Newt Gingrich: Assessing the damage done
Afternoon Fix: Ohio auditor endorses Pawlenty
Mitt Romney's health care "problem"
Morning Fix: The unorthodoxy of Sarah Palin
Monday Fix: Republican presidential contenders? first real test begins on Memorial Day
Live Fix Chat: Palin, Palin, and more Palin (also some NY-26 and other 2012 handicappings)
Worst Week in Washington winner is... [Paul Ryan]
Rick Perry opens the door to 2012 bid (and the rest of the top 10 contenders)
Fast Fix: Is Sarah Palin back? (Video)
Morning Fix: Mitt Romney's New Hampshire moment
Sarah Palin (still) not playing in early states
Morning Fix: Medicare: the new third Rail of American politics?
Afternoon Fix: Bill Clinton tells Paul Ryan to call him
The Wheels On The Bus Go Round And Round
Often I think like the Villagers only have a few scripts that they keep running through over and over again. The ZOMG WE HAVE TO DESTROY MEDICARE TO SAVE IT and WHERE'S YOUR PLAN? HUH? HUH? stuff is just the same as it was when Bush was trying to destroy Social Security.
Medicare is cheap, it's our health care system that's expensive.
Medicare is cheap, it's our health care system that's expensive.
And There Was Much Rejoicing Throughout the Land
And real time bus information is now available through my local transit authority. Even better, they're going to release an API so everyone can write their own apps for it.
It's not all that important for high frequency lines at peak periods. If buses are coming roughly every 10 minutes the wait is never that big of a deal. But for lower frequency routes, especially at non-peak times, it'll make a huge difference. It will be much easier to answer that "cab or bus" question later in the evening.
It's not all that important for high frequency lines at peak periods. If buses are coming roughly every 10 minutes the wait is never that big of a deal. But for lower frequency routes, especially at non-peak times, it'll make a huge difference. It will be much easier to answer that "cab or bus" question later in the evening.
When There's Nothing Left To Burn, Set Yourself On Fire
I'm sure it will work this time. No, really. Shut up hippies!
Greece agreed with its EU and IMF lenders to impose yet deeper austerity, a senior official said on Thursday, as unease grew in the ruling party that the government will try to speed the package through parliament undebated.
Should
There was a lot the administration could have done with the blessing of President Snowe. There's probably less of that going forward, though there are things they could do. But more than that, I have no idea what the administration (Obama, Treasury, others, whoever) thinks they should do. I know what they didn't think they should do - cramdown, a HAMP that actually did what they initially claimed, aggressively prosecute mortgage fraud - because they aren't doing those things. I don't know if there's anything they would like to do that they are being stopped from doing. A discussion of what they could do is ultimately a discussion of "why the hell aren't they doing it?" And the answer, presumably, is because they don't want to.
Kids
It'd be nice if, every now and then, we could move past the political coverage in which policy positions are basically allegiances to a certain team in the culture war. That is, there's no sense that the policies matter, it's simply a way for politicians to declare whether they're mods or rockers, hippies or squares.
In that world, someone would ask Sarah Palin and many other politicians, "What do you think should happen to people whose parents brought them here when they were infants and who have been here for 20 years?"
In that world, someone would ask Sarah Palin and many other politicians, "What do you think should happen to people whose parents brought them here when they were infants and who have been here for 20 years?"
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
You Aren't The World
This won't happen.
Bernanke won't bail out the world. He might bail out certain extra large financial institutions, including foreign ones, and the people they employ at absurdly inflated salaries. He might bail out the investors in certain classes of financial assets. The rest of us, not so much.
“There is one bet right now: Bernanke will bail out the world,” said Brian Kelly of Brian Kelly Capital. “If that does not happen, then no investment will be safe.”
Bernanke won't bail out the world. He might bail out certain extra large financial institutions, including foreign ones, and the people they employ at absurdly inflated salaries. He might bail out the investors in certain classes of financial assets. The rest of us, not so much.
Patent Wars
I used to think that enough big players would eventually get tired enough of the perpetual lawsuits that they'd figure out how to implement some sort of legal truce, but I guess that's not likely to happen. Yes, as with most things, the system mostly benefits big players relative to the little guys, but the big players also spend their days taking each other to court.
Maybe They'll Even Let Emptywheel Back On The Teeve
Once she comes up with an appropriate euphemism for "blowjob" anyway.
thought it already was a euphemism?
thought it already was a euphemism?
Penis, Penis, Penis
They just luv saying that on TV.
Next will be erect and hard-on won't be far behind.
Next will be erect and hard-on won't be far behind.
We Do It For You
As a religious freedom supporting atheist, I'm constantly annoyed at the failure of religious people to understand that doing things like teaching religion in schools or having school officials lead prayers are, in practice, more like to genuinely offend them than me. I know we're in this ecumenical Christian "don't talk about any actual theological or doctrinal differences" world, but the fact is different Christians believe different stuff, like different prayers, and have different traditions and practices, even within relatively homogeneous communities.
The System Is Blinking Red
We are probably close to panic time, though I don't expect the powers that be to panic.
Jobs
Monthly report comes out Friday, ADP estimate of private sector jobs is... +38K. That doesn't include public sector jobs, which will most likely be negative.
So, uh, not good news.
So, uh, not good news.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Well Played, Ma'am
Grace under pressure.
She also quotes Oscar Wilde: “The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything. Except what is worth knowing.”Hire her, some progressive institution. She has chops.
We Should Respect You... Because?
Just what do you have to do before CNN stops treating you as a Very Serious Person?
If you're a conservative, anyway.
If you're a conservative, anyway.
Autocar Skeptic
I'm generally a technology skeptics, not in the "get off my lawn" sense as I'm happy to be wrong, but in the "not sure this is really going to work" sense. Happy for us to all download ourselves into our robot bodies in the future, just don't think it's very likely.
And I'm really not too positive about the potential for self-driving cars. I'm sure building a system from the ground up (infrastructure, vehicles) would be basically doable right now, but the real promise is that it can be grafted onto our existing road infrastructure and operate with the current fleet of mostly not self-driving cars.
And I'm really not too positive about the potential for self-driving cars. I'm sure building a system from the ground up (infrastructure, vehicles) would be basically doable right now, but the real promise is that it can be grafted onto our existing road infrastructure and operate with the current fleet of mostly not self-driving cars.
The Worst People In The World
Once the wingnut harassment machines cranks up, you realize they have no boundaries.
I forget the precise details lost as they are in the mists of blog time, but there was one time years ago when the screeching wingnuts behaved like assholes, digging up and publicizing personal information. Then they decided we should all agree that such behavior was bad, and we should all sign up for some online Dignitude/Civilitude pact which was something along the lines of "you shouldn't mess with people like that unless wingnuts think they really deserve it."
I forget the precise details lost as they are in the mists of blog time, but there was one time years ago when the screeching wingnuts behaved like assholes, digging up and publicizing personal information. Then they decided we should all agree that such behavior was bad, and we should all sign up for some online Dignitude/Civilitude pact which was something along the lines of "you shouldn't mess with people like that unless wingnuts think they really deserve it."
Walking (?????????)
Sarah Goodyear has more on the topic of the post below.
There is no shortage of big houses with big yards near highway interchanges in this country. There is a shortage of affordable housing in walkable neighborhoods with good access to transit.
There is no shortage of big houses with big yards near highway interchanges in this country. There is a shortage of affordable housing in walkable neighborhoods with good access to transit.
They've Figured Out The Cunning Plan
What continues to amaze me is (assuming they're being honest) people a) fail to realize that government already plays a massive role in telling people what they can and cannot build on private property and b) really seem to believe that very small changes to existing policies which will likely have precisely zero impact on their current house/neighborhood are, in fact, part of a cunning plan by people like me to force them to live in Manhattan.
Or Maybe They Don't Have Any Money
I'm not against the idea that the last few years have caused a wee shift in peoples' preferences for owning housing, but there are also simpler explanations.
I'm sure people have, quite sensibly, reevaluated homeownership due to the Kafkaesque nightmare it's become for millions of people. I'm also sure that unemployment is at 9%.
Though there had been hopes in the industry that prices were troughing and ready to turn higher, the latest trends show little hope in sight until later this year or early in 2012, he added.
"Everybody's now keeping their fingers crossed for 2012 and wondering wheter people just don't want to own homes anymore," he said.
I'm sure people have, quite sensibly, reevaluated homeownership due to the Kafkaesque nightmare it's become for millions of people. I'm also sure that unemployment is at 9%.
Default
If the big European powers want to bail out their banks, they're free to do so. They lent money voluntarily to Greece, or acquired their bonds, because they thought it was a good deal. Turns out they were wrong, and Greece can't afford to pay them back without causing mass suffering in their country. Oops, guess the banksters screwed up again. Of course, for some reason, they never pay for their stupid decisions.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Monday Night
Apparently Palin went to Gettysburg. Whose side is she on?
I have no idea where the Republican freak show is heading.
I have no idea where the Republican freak show is heading.
Calculations
One can't read minds and distinguish between pure political calculations and ideology, though I tend to think they overlap frequently, but apparently the political risk of "the wrong people (aside from rich assholes) getting help and a ballooning federal payroll" was seen as a bigger deal than the political risk of "massive long term unemployment." I'm sure it's in part because they downplayed the risk of the latter, but...it's, uh, May 2011? The January '09 projection argued that if the stimulus passed, then unemployment would be about 6.8% now. Without it, about 8%. It's 9% now.
And There Was Much Rejoicing Throughout The Land
Finally my local transit authority will offer real time bus location information.
There Could Be Jobs
Krgthulu:
As I see it, policy makers are sinking into a condition of learned helplessness on the jobs issue: the more they fail to do anything about the problem, the more they convince themselves that there’s nothing they could do. And those of us who know better should be doing all we can to break that vicious circle.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
How About The Keys To The Acropolis
Give us everything that isn't nailed down, much of what is, completely destroy your economy, and maybe, just maybe, we'll do you the favor of bailing out our banksters.
European leaders are negotiating a deal that would lead to unprecedented outside intervention in the Greek economy, including international involvement in tax collection and privatisation of state assets, in exchange for new bail-out loans for Athens.
People involved in the talks said the package would also include incentives for private holders of Greek debt voluntarily to extend Athens’ repayment schedule, as well as another round of austerity measures.
Lots Of Innocent People Inevitably Die In War
I know that sounds like an obvious point, but apparently it isn't.
Freak Show
Yes I do my best to ignore she who will never run for nor win the nomination nor become president, but her latest is weird even by her usual standards.
Pure Genius
Or, you know, not.
The musicians will branch out into light classics and film scores, exchange white tie and tails for something less "stuffy," and perform in an environment that is more theatrical and accompanied by extras such as digital program notes and after-concert events.
Sunday Bobbleheads
This Week has Mitch Daniels and Tim Pawlenty.
Meet the Press has Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer.
Face the Nation has Cantor, Wasserman Schultz, and Governor Jay Nixon.
Document the atrocities!
Meet the Press has Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer.
Face the Nation has Cantor, Wasserman Schultz, and Governor Jay Nixon.
Document the atrocities!
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