Wednesday Stuff

I haven't made it through all of K.O.'s hour-long health care "Special Comment" tonight, but what I've seen so far is quite moving (can't think of a word to describe how pathetic it is that the "action item" is to, in essence, shame Dem senators into not supporting a Republican filibuster, but we are where we are).

Someone named Izzy Forman at 360i on behalf of MSNBC was kind enough to send me the following links - many thanks:

Here is the transcript.

Here is Keith telling us that health care as basic as life itself, pointing out that there is no higher human priority than health and therefore no more basic government responsibility than ensuring the care of its citizens.

Here Keith warns that America is actually getting worse at addressing the health concerns of its citizens and is on track to surpass even the tragic conditions of Dickensian England.

Here he outlines how the current American health insurance system is so much more focused on making money than making Americans healthy that in some cases companies actually benefit when their employees die.

Here he presents a personal perspective on the pain of illness and the difficulties of end-of-life decision making - physical and emotional pain worlds away from the insulting "death panels" debate.

Here he outlines his intention to show his support for American health reform by donating to the National Associations of Free Clinics to offer a free clinic every week in the capitol cities of the states of the six senators standing in the way of health reform in the Senate. Details for viewer participation to come.

And as I watched this, this song kept running around in my head.

Another Wednesday Mashup (10/7/09)

(And I also posted here.)

So Rudy 9iu11ani has endorsed Meg Whitman for governor of California, huh?

Well then, let’s note here that, by her own admission, Whitman has a lousy voting record, supports public funding of abortions and California’s strict gun laws (here), and once endorsed a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate (Barbara Boxer, as noted here).

Also, the following should be noted about Whitman:

In 2007, Whitman Received A "Package" Worth $10 Million. As reported by the Associated Press, "Retired EBay chief executive Meg Whitman received compensation valued at US$10 million in 2007, a pay package that included $787,936 for personal air travel, according to a securities filing by the company on Monday. Whitman, a billionaire who owns a two per cent stake in online auctioneer EBay, the second largest holding, retired in March after 10 years at the helm. Considered one of Silicon Valley's most powerful women, she remains on EBay's board and serves as a special adviser to incoming CEO John Donahoe. Her 2007 pay package included a salary of $995,016, a bonus of $243,013, and $1.4 million in non-equity incentive pay, according to the company's proxy statement. She received stock and option awards valued at $6.6 million when they were granted and other compensation equal to $792,436, including the travel expenses." [Associated Press, 4/28/08]

Whitman Received A $2.9 Million Salary In 2005. As reported by Forbes, eBay CEO Meg Whitman received $2.9 million in 2005. [Forbes, accessed 8/29/08]

Despite Retiring, Meg Whitman Still Draws $1.2 Million Annually As A "Special Adviser." As reported by Barron's, "In an 8-K filing with the SEC this afternoon, eBay disclosed that outgoing CEO Meg Whitman will draw a $600,000 annual salary as a "special advisor" to the company through the end of the year. She also will have a target incentive bonus equal to her base salary, i.e., another $600,000." [Barron's, here]

Given all of this, I just have four words to say in response to Giuliani’s endorsement…

Way to go, dude!

Update 10/8/09: Here is more.

Also, while I don’t really care a whole lot about a certain Flush Limbore having enough dough to pair up with Dave Checketts, the owner of the St. Louis Blues hockey team, in an effort to buy the St. Louis Rams football team (here), I think certain Democratic-friendly owners ought to pay attention to the $230,050 number next to the Rams’ political donations on behalf of the party currently in power here and realize that that would dry up to zero if those two took over (that seems high, but Open Secrets is generally pretty credible).

And of course, this is a typically crass maneuver by perhaps the most notorious demagogue of the air waves (a lot of company there, of course), particularly given his antipathy to African Americans, including both a certain 44th president and a certain quarterback trying to work himself back from injury, as noted here.

Update: YEAH BAY-BEE!!!

Update 10/11/09: I know K.O. supported his right to own the Rams, but this sounds like more trouble for him, and rightly so.

This tells us the following…

NEW YORK — Private unlicensed gun dealers were captured on video selling weapons to undercover investigators who admitted they couldn't pass background checks in a sting operation by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to highlight the "gun show loophole."

…

Nine states, including New York, have passed laws to close the loophole, requiring background checks on at least all handgun purchases at gun shows. Bloomberg has long campaigned for Congress to close it, and for states to do it on their own if the federal government does not.

Even in states that haven't closed the loophole, federal law bars "occasional sellers" from selling guns to people they have reason to believe would fail background checks.

This is where the Bloomberg operation says 19 out of 30 sellers broke the law during the investigation, in which undercover investigators posing as buyers wore tiny cameras concealed in baseball hats and purses and audio recorders hidden in wristwatches.

In each purchase, the investigator showed interest in buying a gun, agreed on a price and then indicated that he probably could not pass a background check. Most sellers allowed the purchases anyway, responding in some cases by saying, "I couldn't pass one either," or "I don't care," according to the videos.

Two assault rifles and 20 semiautomatic handguns were bought this way, the report said.

And as noted here, both those with links to overseas-based terrorist groups and such home-grown cases as Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, Timothy McVeigh and David Koresh have exploited this loophole to arm themselves for their most heinous purposes.

However, there is some good news; as noted here, Pennsylvania is one of the nine states noted in the story for closing the loophole, though the state requirement is for handguns only (33 states have taken no action whatsoever, and the high court of Hangin' Judge JR is apparently trying to figure out how to make things worse, based on this).

Meanwhile, the bill introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg to fix this horrific problem continues to sit, utterly inactive (paging Harry Reid…).

God Bless America.

Update 10/08/09: OF COURSE this won't create as big a stir as ACORN, since, as noted by Thers at Eschaton (from where I got this), an actual law is being broken here.

Tuesday Stuff

(Either tomorrow or Thursday could end up as a no-posting day, by the way.)

I actually found myself not caring about Keith's interview with Joe Trippi until about the last minute, where they talk about the Dem senatorial primary between Snarlin' Arlen and Admiral Joe (funny that Specter did some impromptu stand-up comedy last August during the congressional recess making fun of Sarah Palin, but he voted for her when it counted).

I have to tell you that this race worries me a bit. Obviously, Admiral Joe is the better choice because he's an actual Democrat, though I haven't agreed with all of his votes by any means. However, it couldn't be more plain that the Democratic Party establishment is solidly behind Specter, which we know.

I think that if Sestak manages to beat Specter (which we want), we're actually going to have a problem (we'll have one either way). I have a nightmare image of that same Democratic establishment deciding to sit on its hands if Sestak is the nominee, and I see filthy, unkempt liberal blogger types definitely not doing a lot if Specter wins (who is damaged goods, let's face it, even though he's spent a career winning fights like this somehow).

Let's be plain - despite how I personally feel, I will support Specter if he wins because he would be the standard bearer of my party. Besides, a split like this could help full-mooner, Club-For-Growth wingnut Pat Toomey to actually win this thing, which would be a catastrophe (think Little Ricky all over again, though a shade smarter).

Finally, while it's true that I could have a more intelligent foreign policy (or ANY policy) discourse with my cat than I could with Sarah Palin, let's not sit around chortling over her too much. We may think "Palin fatigue" is the most powerful motivating political force out there, but sadly, it isn't. Wrongly of course, Obama hatred is Number One. And that would come into play for Toomey also of course, and let's remember that Obama didn't win PA, even though he had a lot of support then as now. Hillary beat him.

All I'm saying is that this race is going to be a fight regardless of whether or not Sestak or Specter wins the Dem primary (for different reasons for each candidate). We'll lose it if we assume any different.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

...so Chris Christie blows off the media, huh? That's not going to do much for his sinking poll numbers, is it?...



..."Worst Persons" (Betsy McCaughey gets the "bronze" for paling around with the guy who came up with that graphic of Obama as a witch doctor, which CNN thought was "satire"...yep, Keith, she's bad news, you're right, but given this, I think you ought to have a little talk with Dylan Ratigan; Rupert The Pirate is also called out for, in essence, firing Sandra Guzman, the New York Post editor who called out her publication over the offensive cartoon noted here; but Michele Bachmann does it again for more thuggish imagery in her bizarro pronouncement about Nancy Pelosi and the "Bush Dogs" - maybe people vote for Bachmann because they're afraid she'll kill them if they don't...???)...

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...and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the only non-'80s music video featuring a llama.

Tuesday Mashup (10/6/09)

Not content with pundit wankery for the moment, Bret Stephens of the Murdoch Street Journal decided to “look into the future” and imagine more scenarios of failure for President Obama, to wit (from here, in which a U.N. resolution is passed forcing Israel to give up its atomic weapons, and the U.S. under Obama of course abstains)…

At the time, the U.S. opposed a resolution focused on Israel but abstained from a more general motion calling for regional disarmament. "We are very pleased with the agreed approach reflected here today," said then-U.S. Ambassador to the IAEA Glyn Davies.

Since then, however, relations between the Obama administration and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, never warm to begin with, have cooled dramatically. The administration accused Tel Aviv of using "disproportionate force" following a Nov. 13 Israeli aerial attack on an apparent munitions depot in Gaza City, in which more than a dozen young children were killed.

Mr. Netanyahu also provoked the administration's ire after he was inadvertently caught on an open microphone calling Mr. Obama "worse than Chamberlain."

Gee, “Bibi,” isn’t that a little harsh?

I mean, I’m sure Obama doesn’t have the same power moves to the basket as this guy…

…but hey, he’s still got “game,” don’t you think?

(Yes, I know who Stephens is talking about – I’m giving him all the seriousness he deserves.)

Not to be outdone, former Bushco mouthpiece Dana Perino, currently taking up space with Fix Noise, opined as follows (from here)…

If the administration really thinks America needs another stimulus to end the recession, they're going to have to be straightforward about why the February stimulus hasn't worked. America is going to want answers to questions including, “Where are all the shovel ready projects you talked about? Why is the unemployment rate rising when you said it would go down if we supported the package? And where are all the new green jobs?”

Well, I’m sorry to trouble her “beautiful mind” with some reality here, but Think Progress informed us of the following (here, when Perino was busy telling lies about our prior ruling cabal – it takes a particular kind of gall for this woman to criticize the current administration over the official unemployment rate, considering that she once said that the best way to fix unemployment is for people to “get back to work”)…

It is both insulting and naive to suggest that people aren’t working because jobless benefits are somehow too generous and they’re too lazy to look for work again. People aren’t working because Bushonomics have hemorrhaged jobs and slashed the safety nets for laid off workers:

…

The Bush administration’s refusal to extend a helping hand to those punished by the economy it created is nothing new: Last month, the White House threatened to veto a second stimulus package over opposition to an expansion of food stamps benefits.

And of course, Bush had vetoed an extension of unemployment benefits before the incident noted by Think Progress took place.

By the way, here is a little compilation of Number 43 in action (or “inaction,” more precisely) on the economy; I know of no other president in my memory who oversaw not one, but two recessions (of course, Dana, being a little dim on history such as this event, wouldn’t know that, I realize).

Update: Sorry Jed's video is hosed - oh well.

Finally, I have a question – are you as sick of looking at this insufferable, sanctimonious mug as I am?

It belongs to widely syndicated pundit Cal Thomas, spewer extraordinaire against all things Democratic/liberal/progressive/whatever. And I honestly try to avoid this guy partly because, unlike many of his ilk, he actually did serve our country. However, he concocted a particularly odious mess last week, and I was fortunate to find someone who gave Thomas the comeuppance he deserved.

Here is Thomas…

Has anyone noticed the apparent uptick in terrorist activity? …(The) Justice Department has brought charges in three "unrelated" bomb plots. In the most serious case, Najibullah Zazi, an airport shuttle driver from Denver, was indicted in New York on charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property in the United States. Authorities last week also arrested a 19-year-old Jordanian citizen, Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, and accused him of trying to blow up a downtown Dallas skyscraper. And an Illinois man, Michael C. Finton (aka Talib Islam) was ordered held last week on charges he tried to blow up a federal building in the state's capital.

Are we being infiltrated and surrounded by people who want us dead and our country destroyed? Try a little experiment, Google "Islam near" and then type in the name of any city or town. When I tried the small town of Bryn Mawr, Pa., 10 Islamic-related sites came up.

Oh goody, this sounds like fun! Can I play too? Here is what I was able to locate also.

Meanwhile, in the world of adults, here is some commentary from Jay Bookman…

So the presence of Islamic related sites is evidence of a terror conspiracy? What Thomas seeks is the marginalization and rejection of Muslim Americans, the very process that in European countries has made their Muslim communities more prone to radicalization. He seeks to create the very thing he claims to despise.

It’s useful to recall that after the fall of communism, this very same Thomas called for a “cultural war crimes tribunal” in which many of his fellow Americans would be forced to answer for their opinions. At those trials, he wrote, “people from academia, the media, government and the clergy who were wrong in their assessment of communism would be forced to confront their mistakes.”

Sounds just like democracy, doesn’t it?

In 2003, this stalwart defender of democracy again called for a domestic war crimes tribunal, this time to bring to account “scores of false media prophets who predicted disaster should the U.S. military confront and seek to oust the murderous regime of Saddam Hussein.” This was in those short heady “Mission Accomplished” days right after the invasion of Iraq, before most Americans truly understood that we were not being greeted with roses and chocolate.

“The purpose of a cultural war crimes tribunal would be to remind the public of journalism’s many mistakes, as well as the errors of certain politicians and retired generals, and allow it to properly judge their words the next time they feel the urge to prophesy…,” Thomas wrote. “All of the printed and voiced prophecies should be saved in an archive. When these false prophets again appear, they can be reminded of the error of their previous ways and at least be offered an opportunity to recant and repent.”

The mindset of people such as Cal Thomas is far more undemocratic and dangerous than that of most of the Muslim Americans whom he seeks to smear.

And it’s not as if Thomas has ever drawn the line at former presidents either, as noted here.

Monday Stuff

"When," indeed...



...and as I watch this, I realize once more what a pathetic life form Sen. Blanche Lincoln truly is...



..."Worst Persons" (George Will still denies climate science - maybe he'll start to find a clue when the Potomac just about dries up into a pond, but I'm not counting on it; Flush Limbore claims that Obama lost out at Copenhagen because ACORN couldn't stuff the ballot boxes, or something (I've noticed that radio station WPHT in these parts is advertising ol' Flush a lot more these days - I hear the ads during the Phillies' games...maybe his audience is either dying off more than they thought or dumping him in droves due to the drug-infused balderdash he keeps spewing); but Repug U.S. House Rep Paul Broun of Georgia gets the nod here for a variation on the Dubya-stated theme that "Everyone already has health care in this country. You can just go to the emergency room." when one of his constituents tries to communicate his struggles with depression - the takeaway here for yours truly is someone from the audience calling out for the public option...wonder how much play THAT will get on the news networks with initials for names?)...

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...and any band that disses Glenn Beck certainly deserves a video link, I always say.

Monday Mashup Again (10/5/09)

(And I also posted here.)

The last item in this post pertains to a J.D. Mullane blog post in which he tells us that he’s “keeping it local” from now on (his blog post was dated September 19th).

Well, as noted here, he criticized David Letterman over his staff indiscretions on September 30th.

In my 9/22 post, I gave Mullane about two weeks before he got bored with “keeping it local.” However, he ended up not even making it that far (unless New York City is now considered to be “local”).

Well, there is a bit of good news here; at least Mullane’s paper remembered to publish an Op-Ed section today, which they mysteriously forgot to do yesterday.

Repug U.S. Senator John Thune of South Dakota called for using about $330 billion of unused TARP funds (out of about $700 billion total) to pay down the debt in this Murdoch Street Journal Op-Ed today.

Well, based on this story, I think the funds should be used instead for shoring up unemployment insurance (not just in South Dakota, but across the country…the percent of unemployment in Thune’s state is lower than other areas of the U.S., but the state’s benefit fund is running out).

And the money could be put to other uses; as noted here, an updated version of the WPA (including more infrastructure projects) would end up putting a lot more people to work than tax cuts and state stabilization funds ever could (though the latter is important, I realize).

Yes, it’s important to balance the budget. But not in the midst of a crisis (of course, Thune, being a member of the political party that dug this hole to begin with, will continue his little exercise in reality avoidance as long as he can until and unless the voters of his state come to their senses and send him packing next year).

I really didn’t say much about the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China last Thursday, but I was reminded to do so after reading this Op-Ed in the New York Times yesterday, claiming that, between Mao Tse-tung and Deng Xiaoping, “Deng is the leader to celebrate.”

To me, that’s like having to choose between a brutal dictator and one who was only slightly less repressive.

I am not a scholar in these matters, I readily admit. And Deng does deserve a good bit of credit for China’s economic development.

But I think it’s more than a little sad that people like Mao and Deng are considered to be synonymous with China’s development, while Zhao Ziyang serves as little more than a historical footnote.

As noted here…

Deng was originally Zhao's mentor and appointed him to carry out economic reforms, but Zhao criticizes Deng's idea of political reform as merely "a kind of administrative reform." What Zhao describes as Deng's beliefs have since become the conventional wisdom among China's top leaders: "Deng believed that a precondition of reform was an upholding of the Communist Party's one-party rule. . . . Deng was particularly opposed to a multiparty system, tripartite separation of powers, and the parliamentary system of Western nations."

This is more than a history lesson. China's current leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, owe their careers to the political coup that took place in 1989. Mr. Hu indirectly benefited when he was praised for his bloody crackdown on protests in Tibet. Mr. Wen, who once considered Zhao a mentor and accompanied him to Tiananmen Square to speak to students before the crackdown, seems not to have been influenced by Zhao's political beliefs. But this generation will not run China forever.

And this tells us of Zhao’s memoir published earlier this year; it is to be devoutly hoped that his dream of genuine political reform in China is kept alive, long after the current leaders of his country who stifle it utterly disintegrate into the dust.

Finally, I need to “go rogue,” if you will, and stray off-topic somewhat.

As we left Sunday services yesterday (yes, a filthy, unkempt liberal blogger type such as yours truly actually goes to church), I noticed a sign in the vestibule advertising a screening of the film "The Jeweler's Shop," based on a book written by Karol Wojtyla about three marriages from a spiritual perspective (Wojtyla, of course, would eventually become this guy). The screening will take place this Friday at the parish (I’m not mentioning the name of our parish for a reason that will be evident soon – besides, the issue isn’t confined to just here).

I’m recounting this because the sign advertising the film said, "Who would think a pope would author a movie starring Burt Lancaster?" (one of the film’s stars).

Wow. What a crappy attitude.

And why exactly is that, I’ve wondered.

Well, when you read this Wikipedia article, the answer becomes plainly evident…

Lancaster was an unabashed liberal, who frequently spoke out with support for racial minorities. He was also instrumental in the formation of many liberal groups, through financial support. At one point, he was rumored to be a member of the Communist Party, because of his involvement in many liberal causes. He was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War and political movements such as McCarthyism, and he helped pay for the successful defense of a soldier accused of fragging another soldier during the war.[5] In 1968, Lancaster actively supported the presidential candidacy of antiwar Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, and frequently spoke on his behalf in the Democratic primaries. In 1985, Lancaster, a longtime supporter of gay rights, joined the fight against AIDS after his close friend, Rock Hudson, contracted the disease. He campaigned for Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election.

(Oh, and by the way, yesterday was “Respect Life Sunday” – I guess “respect” doesn’t extend to those with whose ideology you disagree.)

Well, I think the person who created that sign is at least a little ignorant of the history of our faith; as noted here…

The Catholic Church exercised a prominent role in shaping America's labor movement. From the onset of significant immigration in the 1840s, the Church in the United States was predominantly urban, with both its leaders and congregants usually of the laboring classes. Over the course of the second half of the nineteenth century, nativism, anti-Catholicism, and anti-unionism coalesced in Republican politics, and Catholics gravitated toward unions and the Democratic Party.

…

More recent examples of catholic social justice in action is the Campaign for Human Development created in part as an outgrowth of the work of Msgr. Geno Baroni, who founded the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs (NCUEA). NCUEA spawned, funded and trained hundreds of parish, neighborhood and community based organizations, organizers, credit unions, and local programs. Baroni's Catholic social justice in action included notable proteges, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-OH, currently the longest serving woman in Congress and Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-MD. President Barack Obama's first community organizing project was funded by the Campaign for Human Development.[2]

OMIGOD! The Catholic Church sponsored a community organizing project for that socialist, liberal, closet-Kenyan president of ours?? HORRORS!!

Well, despite that, I hope to watch the film one day because I’m sure it will be illuminating. Even if the movie does star Burt Lancaster.

(Actually, given the fact that Lancaster so devoutly supported causes pertaining to social justice, I believe that Pope John Paul II should have felt fortunate that the actor helped him to tell his story.)

Saturday Stuff

Maybe you should spend a little less time hitting that little white ball and more time trying to master the concept of constituent service, Representative Man Tan...



...and speaking of clueless white people, I'll bet you're wondering what happens when the executive board of the Valley Swim Club decides to "let its hair down" - wonder no more.

Friday Stuff

Aw, c'mon Newt! Can you imagine how many lap dances Ms. Rizos had to perform and how many drunken, rowdy teenage boys she had to dry-hump in order to earn 5 grand? The LEAST a serial philanderer like you is pony up and give her the damn award already!

And just listen to her agent Mr. P(r)ecker tell the story if you don't want to believe me (heh)...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Update 10/9/09: Oooooh - Snap!

..."it goes off," indeed! Happy weekend, one and all.

Where The Rubber Meets The Road (10/2/09)

As reported in last Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer, here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes last week (and once again, except for highlighting another particularly awful vote by Joe Pitts, I got nothin').

House

Extended jobless benefits. Voting 331-83, the House passed a bill (HR 3548) providing 13 more weeks of jobless checks for those in high-unemployment states whose current allotments have expired or soon will expire.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: John Adler (D., N.J.), Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.).

Not voting: Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.).

At this point, I need to back up a bit (and I'm sure Gerlach was busy trying to raise money so he could run for governor - heh, heh).

I’ve been doing these writeups on congressional votes for better than three and a half years (don’t mean to pat myself on the back here), and I’ve catalogued all kinds of bad votes by the mistake from PA’s 16th U.S. Congressional district.

However, this is in a wholly other league from the other awful “No” votes.

And that’s because (as noted here)…

There have been plenty of signs the recession is beginning to loosen its grip on the country: Consumer spending is up, new-home sales have risen sharply and orders for durable goods surged at their fastest pace in two years.

Just don't tell that to folks looking for work in Lancaster County.

The jobless rate here crept to its highest level in more than 26 years, to 7.4 percent in July, a new report shows.

That's up from June's 7.3 percent.

Nearly 20,000 people are out of work here, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry report.

"Things are still continuing to get worse," said Ryan Horner, an analyst with the state's Center for Workforce Information & Analysis.

And this is Lancaster County, Joe. Lancaster freaking County!

You lose Lancaster County, you’re done!

We can only hope.

Medicare premiums. Voting 406-18, the House sent the Senate a bill (HR 3631) to freeze Medicare premiums in 2010 at the current level of about $96 per month. Medicare premiums are deducted from Social Security checks, and the rationale of this bill is that since there will be no Social Security inflation adjustment in 2010, there should be no rise in Medicare premiums.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Adler, Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Fattah, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Pitts, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.

Senate

National park system. Voting 79-19, the Senate tabled (killed) an amendment to shift $420 million in the 2010 Interior Department budget (HR 2996) from land acquisition to maintenance in the national park system. The $32.2 billion appropriations bill was later sent to conference with the House.

A yes vote was to kill the amendment.

Voting yes: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Ted Kaufman (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), Robert Menendez (D., N.J.), and Arlen Specter (D., Pa.).

Offshore drilling. Voting 56-42, the Senate tabled (killed) a Republican bid to speed implementation of a law to expand offshore oil and gas drilling. Although approved last year, the new drilling cannot begin until 2012 for contractual reasons. In part, the expansion authorizes Outer Continental Shelf drilling 100 miles off the Atlantic and Pacific shorelines and beyond. This vote occurred during debate on HR 2996 (above).

A yes vote was to kill the GOP motion.

Voting yes: Carper, Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.

This week, the House took up nonmilitary aid to Pakistan and energy and water spending, while the Senate debated the 2010 defense budget.

Friday Mashup (10/2/09)

(And I also posted here.)

This has been in my “in” box for a little while, so I thought I’d better get to it; the following article recently appeared on phillyburbs.com, telling us the following.

(You have to think about the pic for a minute, I know, but trust me – when mentioning Cawley, it fits.)…

Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley will start raising cash after the announcement Tuesday afternoon that he is forming an exploratory committee for lieutenant governor.

"I want people to be aware that I am taking this decision very seriously, it's something I am being very thoughtful and reflective about," he said. "And I want to continue to go out and talk to more people across the state about their concerns."

Cawley has already crisscrossed the state as what he called a "surrogate speaker for the statewide judicial team," and specifically Supreme Court candidate Joan Orie Melvin.

Last week Attorney General Tom Corbett announced his candidacy for governor in 2010 and Cawley said he was there. Corbett plans to bring his campaign message to Spring Hill Manor in Ivyland tonight and Cawley said he'll be there as well.

…

This summer Cawley and fellow GOP Commissioner Charley Martin hosted at cocktail party for Corbett at the Temperance House in Newtown and raked in $75,000.

As I’ve said before, I admire the heck out of Joe Hoeffel (the likely Dem PA gubernatorial candidate), but with the state budget problems in this country due to no help from whatsoever from Washington over the last eight years until Obama took over, I cannot see how many incumbent Dem governors (to say nothing of the party itself) won’t end up paying a price for it (considering the “through the looking glass” world of our politics in general). And barring some major flubs and/or odious revelations on the campaign trail (always a possibility), I cannot see how we will avert the coronation of Tom Corbett as PA governor next year (definitely pains me to say that).

So if Jim Gerlach is somehow reading this, he’d better hurry up and lose his party’s nomination so he can compete for the lieutenant governor spot as well, though Cawley, having raised all that dough for Corbett, definitely has a “leg up” at this point.

Personally, in the event of a Corbett win (ugh), I’d love to see him take Cawley along with him to Harrisburg, thus making Charley (“I Have A Semi-Open Mind”) Martin sweat out his re-election prospects just a little more.

And maybe if Cawley goes, I wonder if he could take “independent” Bucks County Commissioner candidate Jay Russell along also (and that would REALLY make things interesting for Martin).

Update 1/7/10: Looks like Gerlach is getting smart for a change (here).

I happened across this item at The New Yorker from the blog of writer George Packer, on the matter of President Obama supposedly running his administration as if he is still campaigning for president (to which I ask, who doesn’t do that anymore?)…

In a campaign, which is a battle for nationwide perceptions, this kind of control is understandable, and it has a better track record than the alternatives (compare the Obama press operation with Hillary Clinton’s or McCain-Palin’s and you have at least one part of the reason for his victory). But government is something entirely different. For policies to work, they have to be explained to the country, not once but again and again, and not just by the President in infrequent speeches but by the senior-level officials who helped establish them and are charged with carrying them out. Otherwise, public confidence can turn to dust in a hurry. Afghanistan is a case in point.

…

My November worry has now become a September alarm. I want the President to succeed in Afghanistan, and I don’t think he’s well-served by a philosophy that treats policy as one more variation on stratcom, and that fears a few slips more than an unexplained war.

“Stratcom,” by the way, is pundit-speak for “strategic communications” and message discipline in general, as noted by Packer.

However, I cannot imagine how Packer can assume that Obama has conducted “infrequent” media appearances. I suppose Packer’s point is that Obama needs to more clearly define the objectives in Afghanistan and line up the generals in accordance with that overall policy, which is well taken. But Packer doesn’t mention Afghanistan until after he makes the “infrequent” claim. If anything, the claim can be made (but not by me) that Obama has made too many appearances, primarily in the urgent matter of health care (among other urgent matters, including the climate crisis).

But this appears to be another case, ultimately (putting aside the pretext of Obama’s supposed “infrequent” appearances), of Packer cheerleading for Afghanistan just as he did for Iraq (noted here).

And he was every bit as wrong then as he is now, by the way.

Finally, this being Friday, I should take note of another print appearance by Christine Flowers. However, I don’t wish to comment on her Daily News screed about Roman Polanski today (red meat for “values voter” simpatico columnists like Flowers, I realize – and I thought this was an interesting development with Flowers’ employer).

Instead, I’ll note her Letter to the Editor that appeared in the New York Times today (have to scroll down a bit...it would seem like a strange venue for her, given her frequent ridicule of the paper, until you realize what it is that she’s whining about)…

The traditional mantra of the pro-choice movement has always been “If you don’t like abortions, don’t have one.” I always felt that to be a simplistic and somewhat arrogant characterization of the moral stance held by most abortion opponents — that abortion is intrinsically evil. But I could live with the idea that not all Americans share that view.

What I can’t accept is the philosophy, expressed in your editorial, that “in a rational system of medical care, there would be virtually no restrictions on financing abortions.”

Mandating that my tax dollars be used to finance someone else’s abortion forces me to underwrite what I consider an immoral act, and also violates my First Amendment rights.

So to paraphrase that other ubiquitous abortion-rights slogan, “My body, my choice,” my response would be “My wallet, my choice.”

Christine Flowers
Philadelphia, Oct. 1, 2009

The Times editorial with which Flowers takes issue points out the following, linked to her letter (the real “takeway” here which Flowers, true to form, misses completely, probably on purpose)…

In an effort to defuse the issue and allow health care reform to proceed, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, have backed a proposal that follows the spirit of the federal restrictions while allowing some leeway for people to choose plans that cover abortion on the exchanges.

This proposal would prohibit the use of federal tax subsidies to pay for almost all abortions. Health plans could provide abortion coverage provided they used only the premium money and co-payments contributed by beneficiaries and kept that money segregated from the subsidy. In every state, there would have to be at least one plan that covers abortions and one that does not.

And I thought the Times made an excellent point here…

This compromise is still far more restrictive than the rules for other tax-subsidy programs. The subsidy for employees’ contributions to their health coverage at work, for example, can be used to buy insurance that covers abortion. Roughly half of the employer-provided policies cover the procedure. Nor are there any restrictions on paying for abortions with the tax-favored health savings accounts so beloved by conservatives.

Ah yes, those “health savings accounts” so favored by the prior ruling cabal (of use to the “pay no price, bear no burden” crowd that constituted Dubya’s beloved base, and practically no one else, as a GAO report noted here).

As the Murdoch Street Journal tells us above, funds in health savings accounts are used primarily as a tax shelter for those who can afford it. And these funds should of course be restricted from use for abortion-related medical services (or does Flowers’ professed concern for the unborn extend only to the limit of her bank account?).

And I’ll go further than that; if an employer makes a contribution to a health savings account for an employee, and those funds are used for an abortion, not only should the employee be criminally liable, but the employer should be also.

Hey, do you care about the unborn or don’t you, Christine? Isn’t abortion “intrinsically evil,” as you put it? And how about the holders of those accounts incurring additional tax penalties for using their HSA for abortion-related services?

“My wallet, my choice,” huh? How about “their wallet (and no one else's) or NO choice”?

Thursday Stuff

Consider yourself "called out," Sen. Kyl (AP photo by Evan Vucci)...



...and yep, Jon Stewart is right again, sadly (and speaking of Ensign, his puddle of doo-doo just got a lot deeper)...

Democratic Super Majority

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

..."Worst Persons" (Flush Limbore tries to malign Obama schools adviser Kevin Jennings - tell ya what, Flush: when Jennings starts abusing OxyContin and flies to Puerto Rico in search of underage hookers, let me know, OK?; Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari - now there's a mouthful! - gets the "silver" for trying to funnel money to a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan - he admitted charges of terrorism financing and conspiracy to commit wire fraud...quite a plumb that Bushco would have crowed about had he not also made about $35 K in contributions to Repug political committees..."just say 'oops' and get out, Abdul Tawala et cetera, et cetera, et cetera"; but Michael Steele gets the top nod here for making a video in commemoration of "National Hispanic Heritage Month" that managed to exclude Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Cesar Chavez AND fellow Repug Mel Martinez - no hablarás en serio, Mike!)...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

...and I just have one thing to say in response to this - woof!

Deciphering The Spin On A Bushie’s Money-Mad Musings

(And I also posted here.)

This New York Times story from last Monday tells us the following…

WASHINGTON — The president of the World Bank said on Monday that America’s days as an unchallenged economic superpower might be numbered and that the dollar was likely to lose its favored position as the euro and the Chinese renminbi assume bigger roles.

“The United States would be mistaken to take for granted the dollar’s place as the world’s predominant reserve currency,” the World Bank president, Robert B. Zoellick, said in a speech at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins. “Looking forward, there will increasingly be other options to the dollar.”

Mr. Zoellick, who previously served as the United States trade representative and as deputy secretary of state under President George W. Bush, said that the euro provided a “respectable alternative” for financing international transactions and that there was “every reason to believe that the euro’s acceptability could grow.”

In the next 10 to 20 years, he said, the dollar will face growing competition from China’s currency, the renminbi. Though Chinese leaders have minimized their currency’s use in international transactions, largely so they could keep greater control over exchange rates, Mr. Zoellick said the renminbi would “evolve into a force in financial markets.”

And…

Mr. Zoellick criticized President Obama’s plan to put the Federal Reserve in charge of reducing “systemic risk” and to regulate institutions considered too big to fail. Saying that Congress had become uneasy about the Fed’s exercise of emergency powers to bail out financial institutions and prop up credit markets, Mr. Zoellick argued that the Treasury rather than the Fed should get more power because the Treasury was more accountable to Congress.

Hmm, sounds like the head of the World Bank wants to be the next treasury secretary in a (gulp) Repug presidential administration, people.

And as far as how we got to where we are in our current economic difficulties, Zoellick told fellow traveler Larry Kudlow the following here…

Well, I think across different administrations, across different times, you know, we haven't been able to get the discipline over the budget deficit across parties, different Congresses, different parties.

Different Republican administrations, Bob; President Clinton didn’t have any trouble balancing a budget (funny how “Zoely” is trying to deflect blame now that he and his pals are out of power).

And on the subject of the decline of the dollar mentioned by Zoellick (this stuff is legitimate Page One news, by the way, as opposed to a certain Polish film director who may be extradited to this country over 32-year-old rape charges), economist Nouriel Roubini told us the following in the Times last May (here)…

Traditionally, empires that hold the global reserve currency are also net foreign creditors and net lenders. The British Empire declined — and the pound lost its status as the main global reserve currency — when Britain became a net debtor and a net borrower in World War II. Today, the United States is in a similar position. It is running huge budget and trade deficits, and is relying on the kindness of restless foreign creditors who are starting to feel uneasy about accumulating even more dollar assets. The resulting downfall of the dollar may be only a matter of time.

…

If China and other countries were to diversify their reserve holdings away from the dollar — and they eventually will — the United States would suffer. We have reaped significant financial benefits from having the dollar as the reserve currency. In particular, the strong market for the dollar allows Americans to borrow at better rates. We have thus been able to finance larger deficits for longer and at lower interest rates, as foreign demand has kept Treasury yields low. We have been able to issue debt in our own currency rather than a foreign one, thus shifting the losses of a fall in the value of the dollar to our creditors. Having commodities priced in dollars has also meant that a fall in the dollar’s value doesn’t lead to a rise in the price of imports.

Now, imagine a world in which China could borrow and lend internationally in its own currency. The renminbi, rather than the dollar, could eventually become a means of payment in trade and a unit of account in pricing imports and exports, as well as a store of value for wealth by international investors. Americans would pay the price. We would have to shell out more for imported goods, and interest rates on both private and public debt would rise. The higher private cost of borrowing could lead to weaker consumption and investment, and slower growth.

And when the opportunity to reduce our deficits presented itself under our prior ruling cabal, I have no evidence that Zoellick acted with the required urgency for that purpose.

Because (and let us not forget this) Zoellick is a neocon through and through, an original PNAC signatory as noted here.

And this tells us of the time he preached his free trade mantra in Darfur (hardly an economically self-sufficient area of the world – the post also noted that Zoellick was a paid consultant on Enron’s advisory board); this tells us that he pursued North Korea over counterfeiting, which ended up getting the UK PO’ed at us and driving Kim Jong Il away from nuke talks; this tells us that Dubya nominated him to head the World Bank in the wake of another neocon, Paul Wolfowitz (even though Zoellick didn’t have “extensive development experience”); and this tells us that he called for aid to China along with developing countries (which looks particularly ridiculous now especially considering that the renminbi, as Roubini notes, could one day supplant the dollar as the world’s reserve currency).

As I contemplate all of this from Zoellick (given that he could have acted when he had the chance under Bushco), I cannot help but feel that the matter at hand is not so much a matter of the diminishing stature of certain financial instruments so much as his own prestige.