Wednesday Mashup (5/25/11)

This tells us that CNBC business news anchor Mark Haines passed away last night – my sympathies to his family and friends.

And by the way…

As noted here, Haines “provided a false analogy in order to mock a new rule that will reportedly require banks to pass a test before they can repay TARP funds.”

Here, he helped to propagate the lie that GM workers made $70 an hour (using that rigged formula for computing benefits and adding that amount to hourly autoworker compensation…wonder what Haines’ hourly compensation was using that formula?).

Here, he verbally attacked fellow CNBC reporter Erin Burnett in a sexist way while they disagreed over the awful call by umpire Jim Joyce that robbed Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Gallaraga of his perfect game (oh, but Haines was just joking – sure he was).

And here (in a bit of a similar incident), he went “weirdly postal” on Arianna Huffington for saying that equity holders in the banks receiving TARP funds should have to fend for themselves, more or less (which I agree with, seeing as how they received taxpayer funds to cover their losses).

Just sayin’…

Continuing (with the theme of Men Behaving Badly), I’m not sure how many people out there are aware of the verbal abuse that Elizabeth Warren endured recently at a House oversight committee hearing chaired by Repug Patrick McHenry (noted here), but here is an excerpt…

Warren, a Harvard professor hand-picked by President Obama to set up the new bureau, and whom some Democrats hope will run in 2012 against Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), was angered after McHenry, who chaired the hearing of a House Oversight subcommittee, requested she stay for additional questions. Warren said she had been told she could leave after an hour.

McHenry maintained no such arrangement was made, which set off a round of bickering between the two in the packed hearing room.

“That was never the pledge,” said McHenry.

In response, Warren accused Republicans of making repeated changes to the schedule late into the previous day.

“Congressman, when you asked to change the time four times in the last 12 hours, including waking people up at home last night to change the time again ... ” she began.

McHenry interrupted, saying, “Let me be direct with you: I never made a single phone call about this.

“I never heard you had to leave at 2:15,” he added.

“Congressman, you might want to have a conversation with your staff,” Warren responded.

McHenry then refused to recess the hearing as members left for votes, maintaining that GOP staff never promised Warren she would be free to leave after an hour, and would merely try to accommodate the request.

“I’m not trying to cause you problems, Miss Warren,” he said.

“Congressman, you are causing problems,” she responded. “We had an agreement. ... I committed to you based on representations of your staff.”

“You had no agreement,” responded McHenry.

“We had an agreement,” she rebutted.

“You’re making this up, Miss Warren,” said McHenry.

At that point, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the full committee, interjected.

“Mr. Chairman, you just did something that — I’m trying to be cordial here — but you just accused the lady of lying,” he said.

Warren then offered to respond to the remaining questions in writing, so they could be entered into the public record.

McHenry agreed to allow Warren to do so, and permitted her to depart from the hearing as the panel recessed.

In response, I would ask that you name a single politician, appointee or public figure of any type or occupation (or political affiliation) who has had to endure comparable treatment at a congressional hearing.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

…

With this in mind, allow me to point out how utterly scared shirtless the Repugs are of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that Warren would head up, and McHenry’s thoroughly despicable treatment is part of an effort to harass her to the point where Warren will just say the hell with it and walk away from everything (which I sincerely hope she does not do, and I know I have a lot of company on that).

And that is even more of a reason to sign this petition from Senator Al Franken calling for President Obama to name Professor Warren as a recess appointment, putting an end to these childish theatrics.

All of this is typical for McHenry, though, who, as noted here, flip-flopped in a truly putrid fashion on the CAFTA vote along with Mikey the Beloved. Also, McHenry once called a member of the Iraq coalition forces a “two-bit security guard” here; this person had the temerity, apparently, to tell McHenry he couldn’t work out at a gym in the Iraq “green zone” (probably trying to keep from getting McHenry’s sorry ass shot off…McHenry apologized, as well he should); also, the Pentagon told McHenry he couldn’t re-air a video he'd shot in Baghdad after accusations surfaced that McHenry breached operational security in detailing enemy rocket attacks (here).

So I suppose having the “bravery” to attack a woman and an esteemed professional in her field testifying before his committee is about par for the sorry course.

Update 7/18/11: Why am I not surprised (here)?

In conclusion, I give you three instances of wingnuttia – the first is from Laura Ingraham here (chiding President Obama for having the temerity to hoist a pint of Guinness while the south and the Midwest endure horrific weather problems – kind of plays into this).

Really, wingnuts, do you want to go there? And by the way, Obama has already said he'll tour Joplin, Missouri on Sunday when he gets back from overseas.

Update: What Think Progress sez here - come on, Ed, you know better than that!

Update 5/26/11: Better...

Next, Burt Prelutsky whines as follows here…

Why, as a business owner, would I vote for a guy or a party that wants to raise my taxes, in part to pay the salaries of federal employees, the only segment of the American workforce that’s continued growing — 11,000 new jobs in the first quarter of 2011 — in the years since Obama was elected?

As noted here, Obama signed the largest middle class tax cut in history into law through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. And as noted here, this country just added the most private sector jobs “in years” (though we have far to go on that score, I’ll admit), while public sector jobs are on the decline (here).

And with that in mind, Mark Halperin wanked as follows here…

While it is impossible to predict with certainty, it is clear that like much swirling about in politics today, the outcome of the 2012 election (for both president and control of Congress) will be determined in large part by whether there is a grand bargain on deficit reduction (including Medicare changes), and, if there is such a bargain, what the terms of it are.

As noted here in a Gallup Poll from a couple of weeks ago…

General economic concerns (35%) and unemployment (22%) are the specific issues currently at the forefront of Americans' minds. The percentage mentioning the economy in general is up significantly from 26% in April, while unemployment is up just slightly from 19%.

And the debt polled at 12 percent.

Only brainless pundits like Halperin and the rest of the Beltway blowhards care about the deficit, and only for reasons of political bloviation. The only thing the rest of this country cares about is jobs.

Those last two sentences should be so concise and to the point that even Halperin can understand them.