Where did the deficits come from?
Part of the Republican defense is that extending unemployment benefits extends the amount of time people remain unemployed. But this is a crazy argument that assumes all situations are equal and that there are plenty of jobs out there waiting to be filled: http://griperblade.blogspot.com/2010/07/who-cares-about-unemployed-we-got.html
Looks like somebody's playing the blame game:
Good news for accountability advocates: The government will soon launch an investigation of claims that it was involved with the torture, abuse, and "rendition" of terrorism suspects.
The British government, that is.
Eighteen months into the Obama administration, there has been no movement towards a full, public investigation of America's treatment of detainees. But on Tuesday afternoon in the UK, David Cameron, the new conservative prime minister, announced that his government will launch an inquiry into Britain's role in alleged detainee abuse. "Our reputation as a country that believes in human rights, justice, fairness and the rule of law—indeed for much of what the [security and intelligence] services exist to protect—risks being tarnished," Cameron said. "The longer... questions [about potential abuse] remain unanswered, the bigger the stain on our reputation as a country that believes in freedom, fairness and human rights grows."
###
Father Kevin Gray had better things to do with his time.
Apparently for the past seven years Gray has been spending church money to fund trips to New York and pay for sessions with male escorts, and he also racked up $200,000 in restaurant bills including a large tab at Tavern on the Green.
It is a step up for the church, from child molesters to hedonistic embezzlers. Progress!
###
Rasmussen (the "Republican polling outfit" as Andrew Sullivam refers to them), put out another of their twisted polls which allowed them to make the following claim: http://mariopiperni.com/conservative-bullshit/lies-numbers-and-rasmussen.php
###
An Economic Tragedy
If the worst economic depression of the last seventy years were a play, it's genre would no doubt be classified as a tragedy. Two pundits lay out the players.
Republicans block an extension of unemployment benefits, rail about the deficit and complain that Democrats don't understand that economic renewal will come when the private sector is unleashed. The problem is that since Republicans are in the minority, they have to work with the Democrats to get anything done. I suspect that their strategy — standing on the sidelines and yelling, "The Democrats are doing it all wrong!" — will not win as much favor from voters as the GOP hopes.
Democrats.
Democrats, on the other hand, do have the power to enact an agenda. But individual members of Congress act as if they are more concerned about their own electoral prospects than about bringing those unemployment numbers down. If a second economic stimulus is the answer, then that's what Democrats should do. If the answer is something else, fine. But they should know that whether they call themselves progressives or Blue Dogs or whatever, voters see them as one party and will hold them accountable.
Seventy years ago, Americans found themselves in the depths of despair. The economy had crashed, unemployment was at 25 percent, people lined up at bread lines and soup kitchens, and nearly everyone was reeling in anxiety at what the future held for them. But as dire as things were, few Americans expected an immediate remedy. What they expected was some sort of action. Franklin Roosevelt first boosted morale by promising to tackle the problem and then set about on a long course to do just that — a course that wouldn't conclusively end until World War II. Through it all, the country by and large demonstrated extraordinary maturity and patience. It persevered.
In our current economic travails, the public attitude is strikingly different. Americans want the economic disaster to be over now, and we are angry that it isn't. We don't have time for financial reforms or pump-priming or a long-term transformation to a green economy. We expect a magic wand. And who can blame us? Unlike our forebears, we live in a society in which nearly everything happens instantly. Impatience is the new American way.
Will the wishes of a self-serving few in Congress determine the final act?
###
Shouldn't knowing the basics of the oil leak be a good place to start? After watching the Bush years push away science it would be a pleasant change to see the Obama team insist on at least knowing information such as how much is leaking. Is it really asking for too much? More from Dan Froomkin at the Huffington Post.
###
And if you think we have a problem now, just wait a while:
More than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells lurk in the hard rock beneath the Gulf of Mexico, an environmental minefield that has been ignored for decades. No one – not industry, not government – is checking to see if they are leaking, an Associated Press investigation shows.If Big Oil's previous commitments to the environment are any indication, let alone their safety record, this will almost certainly come back to bite us in the ass.
...
The part that malfunctioned, a hydrogen compressor, traps noxious chemicals, which can then be reused for fuel in the plant and other purposes. When the compressor stopped working, BP decided to send the gases to a 300-foot high flare, whose high temperatures turn the dangerous material into carbon dioxide.Except that it didn't.
When are we going to do something about these environmental terrorists?
And why the fuck is the Coast Guard still allowing BP to clamp down on news coverage? Why is BP permitted to use local law enforcement as a goon squad to harass the press? Why does the Coast Guard use a reservist as a press liaison official when that same reservist works for BP's PR firm?
The Coast Guard might as well change its motto from Semper Paratus to Semper Pro Brittania Oleum. For I am starting to wonder where their loyalty lies.
