Krugman is still at it

I give the guy points for persistence. And to those who say he should be in the administration, first, he'd slit his wrists working in a bureaucracy, and second, he's far more helpful on the outside where his opinions won't be neutered. Here's his latest, via ABC:

"For people who felt that Obama was going to bring change, a real difference, it somehow feels quite a lot as if we've got the same old gang still making the policy decisions, despite how discredited they are in the eyes of the public..."

"We've got the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression and we've got a set of half-measures in terms of economic policy and a general sense that the Treasury Department and Obama think if they can do a little more on the technical side, we'd wake up and realize it's two years ago all over again."...

"The buck stops with Obama. He makes the decisions. In a way, I think I've got as much input as anyone can reasonably hope to have," Krugman said. "I'm rooting for him. I hope I'm wrong in being pessimistic about this plan."

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CNN's Ed Henry tries to explain his "interaction" with Obama (because only 40 million people saw it)

Beyond pathetic:

The most amazing part of the exchange to me is that I didn't go into the East Room intending to ask President Obama about AIG.

After frantic preparation for the prime-time newser with several colleagues, especially lead CNN White House producer Tim McCaughan, I had several provocative questions in my pocket.

The most amazing part is that Henry doesn't know what a putz he is for writing this diatribe. He should know the press conference was televised, right? Nielsen reports 40 million people watched. So, we don't need his spin. We saw it for ourselves. Read More......

Texas reaches for the dark ages, again

Looking at this latest "debate" in Texas reminds me again why we need Obama to be successful. The GOP has nothing to offer other than backwards ideas, when they even have that. It's always good to see the Republicans remind everyone why they are the wrong choice and controlled by religious lunatics.

The Texas Board of Education this week will vote on science standards that critics say seek to cast doubt on the theory of evolution.

The board -- considering amendments passed in January -- will hear from the public on Wednesday. It will then take votes -- an initial one Thursday and the final vote Friday.

"This specific attack on well-established science ignores mountains of evidence and years of research done by experts in a variety of fields," said Steven Newton, project director at the Oakland California-based National Center for Science Education, a proponent of evolution.

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California unemployment to hit 12%

I knew the situation was bad in California but that's a stunning figure more in line with what is seen in Europe. (To be fair to Europe, the numbers are counted differently and if counted the same, the US figures would probably be around the same.) In Europe the scariest numbers are coming out of Spain (14.5% and forecasts suggest 20% are coming) which also had a booming real estate market until recently.

For the past six months I have been seeing no shortage of friends and colleagues losing their jobs as I'm sure everyone has seen. This is part of my frustration with the current economic team who continue to work in a "business as usual" manner. These aren't usual times. Even if it's not the worst recession since the Depression (maybe it is, maybe it isn't) this one is bad. Business as usual needs to be sent packing before we lose the economic battle and invite the Republicans back into power. Obama says that he gets it but unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be the case.

California's jobless rate will climb to a staggering 11.9 percent between April and June next year, and double-digit unemployment will linger in the nation's most populous state at least through 2011, according to a new economic forecast.

The somber outlook in the quarterly Anderson Forecast from the University of California at Los Angeles, to be released Wednesday, came as the state struggles with a housing meltdown, budget crisis and slack consumer demand that has hurt the retail, manufacturing and trade sectors at the heart of the state economy.

The projected jobless rate would grow to 11.9 percent between April and June 2010, and average 11.7 percent for that year. The figure stood at 10.5 percent in February. Forecasters say it will average 11 percent for 2009.

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While the nation is in crisis, Conservative Democrats are busy building a new bridge to a mythical place where everyone gets along

Evan Bayh wants to be in charge of something. He's tried the Democratic Leadership Council, but that group is tanking. He'd like to be president, but his campaign couldn't get off the ground. He would have settled for V.P., but there were too many corporate conflicts. So, he's set up his own group of so-called moderates, who are actually more like conservatives, in the Senate. Now that he's officially a "leader," today, Bayh along with two of his sidekicks, wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post titled, "Building Bridges on The Hill." This is just another bridge-to-nowhere idea from the corporate-supported Democrats who have no problem undermining Obama's agenda. They put their interests and egos first:

As moderate leaders, it is not our intent to water down the president's agenda. We intend to strengthen and sustain it. Moderation is not a mathematical process of finding the center for its own sake. Practical solutions are practical because they offer our best chance to make a difference in people's lives today without forcing our children to pick up the tab tomorrow.

The stakes are too high for Democrats to fear a policy debate. Such debates produce better legislation. On nearly all important votes, a supermajority of 60 senators will be needed to pass legislation. Without Democratic moderates working to find common ground with reasonable Republicans, the president's agenda could well be filibustered into oblivion.

Um, when was the last time there was a productive debate in the Senate? And, um, where are those reasonable Republicans? Bayh is living in a world doesn't exist anymore. From what I can tell, the bridge these folks are building is just a place for them to negotiate with themselves. That's a classic move from this new spineless caucus. We were hoping those days of caving in to the GOP were over when the Democrats had such big wins last November. Not to be.

The Republican Party wants Obama to fail -- and they are unabashed about it. And, the true result of this cabal of "moderate" Democrats, while negotiating with themselves, is to abet the GOP and undermine the Obama agenda.

Bayh is proving our point. See, at the same time Bayh is purporting to be a great man of the moderates, he's been doing the bidding of the banking industry to water down the mortgage cram down bill, which has passed the House. Jane Hamsher has been dogging his activity on this:

The person pushing for a "narrower" cramdown bill, blocking the House version and reported to be writing his own?

Some Senate Democrats, including Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, continue to push for ways to narrow the bill, encouraged by the banking industry, which says the legislation would drive up the cost of credit.

You can bet Bayh is being encouraged by the banking industry (you know, because the banking industry is doing so well right now everyone should listen to them.) This is happening, as Jane notes, even as Bayh's home state, Indiana, is suffering a huge foreclosure problem. The original House-passed bill could benefit his own constituents, but Bayh is siding with bankers. There doesn't have to be a narrowing of the bill, but Bayh and his crew are doing it anyway. Negotiating with themselves, again.

Now, Bayh has been encouraged by the banking industry before. He did vote for the bankruptcy bill back in 2005 as did every Republican and a slew of other Democrats including the other "moderates" like Carper (DE), Landrieu (LA), Lincoln (AR) and Nelson (NE). Nothing showed love for the financial services industry like that vote. See, instead of regulating the banks, which were running amok, they put the burden on the little guy. But, no worries, these "moderates" now really want to help Obama. Right. Read More......

AIG unit hints at need for more cash

It never ends with AIG. One can only hope they locate private funding instead of more federal dollars.

American International Group's aircraft leasing unit may need additional financing from its cash-strapped parent or a third party to meet its obligations.

International Lease Finance Corp, or ILFC, disclosed details of its financing needs in its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

ILFC, one of the world's largest aircraft leasing companies, is one of the units AIG has put on the auction block. Private equity firms are eyeing the firm, and a buyer could get financing help from AIG under revisions to AIG's U.S. financial rescue earlier this month.

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House Republicans are trash talking one of their leaders, Eric Cantor

The House Republicans are getting cranky about one of their top guys. Eric Cantor is being trashed by fellow Republicans. This GOP fratricide is showing no signs of subsiding. It's great:

A rising star in the Republican Party has dimmed over the past week.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), a politically shrewd up-and-comer in the GOP, has broken with his party on two high-profile issues. And the defections on last week’s AIG bonus tax bill and the Obama administration’s troubled assets plan have exasperated some members in the GOP conference.

The grumbling started when Cantor unexpectedly voted with Democrats last week on a measure to recoup the bonuses of AIG executives. Many Republicans called the bill unconstitutional, with more than half of the GOP conference rejecting it. Cantor, who has been labeled “Mr. No” by some Democrats, was one of only two Republican leadership officials who voted for the bill. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) was the other.

“All the unconstitutional stuff aside, if you don’t believe in raising taxes, why would you vote to raise taxes?” House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter (Texas) said.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) added that supporting the retroactive tax cut “sets a terrible precedent, just terrible.”

Cantor is a terrible leader, just terrible. But, then again, any Republican would be terrible.

It is fun to see the cranky old GOPers knock the "politically shrewd up-and-comer" Cantor around. Read More......

Got a question for the President? You know you do.

Last night, the usual suspects from CNN, NBC, ABC and CBS got to ask questions of the President -- again. However, the White House isn't limiting questions to the press types who squeeze into the East Room. Their questions usually don't reflect reality. So, the White House has opened it up at Open For Questions. From the website, we're told Obama will be answering some of the questions himself:

We invite you to participate in our community-moderated online town hall. Submit your own question about the economy and vote on submissions from others. We also encourage you to include a link to a video of yourself asking your question (ideally 30 seconds or less), but text submissions are all you need. Come back on Thursday to watch the President answer some of the most popular submissions live at WhiteHouse.gov.

Submit your question or video -- or vote for the ones you want answered. You know these questions will be better and more pertinent than what the talking heads come up with. The past couple times I've gone to the White House press conferences, we got some great suggestions for questions. Send them directly to Obama. Read More......

Jindal defends Limbaugh, stands proudly with the Republicans who want Obama to fail

"Fail" is the motto of the GOP these days. Led by Rush Limbaugh, Republicans blatantly want Obama to fail, which means the country fails. It's pretty fricking disgusting.

The latest defender of the fail strategy is the GOP's star speaker, Bobby Jindal. While Obama was answering tough questions about the nation's future, Jindal was partying it up with a bunch of GOP members of Congress. And, Jindal was espousing the policy of failure:

It's OK for Republicans to want President Obama to fail if they think he's jeopardizing the country, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal told members of his political party Tuesday night

Gov. Bobby Jindal is offering a spirited defense of Republicans who say they want President Obama to fail.

Jindal described the premise of the question -- "Do you want the president to fail?" -- as the "latest gotcha game" being perpetrated by Democrats against Republicans.

"Make no mistake: Anything other than an immediate and compliant, 'Why no sir, I don't want the president to fail,' is treated as some sort of act of treason, civil disobedience or political obstructionism," Jindal said at a political fundraiser attended by 1,200 people. "This is political correctness run amok."

Since conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh said that he hoped that Obama would fail, Republicans have been pressed by Democrats and the media about Limbaugh's comments.

Jindal, a potential 2012 presidential candidate, told the Republican audience he would "not be brow beaten on this, and I will not kowtow to their correctness."

Now, the GOP is used to failure. George Bush was a disaster as President. Obama has to deal with so many major issues because of Bush's failed policies. But look where that left the nation. That may be acceptable to the Limbaugh Republicans, but it's not good for the rest of us.

The DNC's Press Secretary, Hari Sevugan, took Jindal to task today:

"We understand that Governor Jindal has had some problems with public speaking lately, but turning to Rush Limbaugh to be your new speechwriter doesn't help. What we know has failed is the reflexive partisan politics of the past that Rush Limbaugh and his Republican party continue to be mired in. Rather than rooting for failure, we urge the Republican party to play a constructive role in moving the country forward and offer a budget proposal"

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Heading to the White House today, and an email question

Two totally unrelated things. First, I'm heading to the White House in a few hours for the Greek Independence Day reception that President Obama is hosting. It should be interesting, as I'm not going as a blogger, but rather as a Greek-American (but how can you know the dancer from the dance?).

The Greek community in DC exists, but it's different than it is back home in Chicago. We have a huge community in Chicago, and everybody knows somebody who knows your family. In DC, I'm told there was a large community at one point - we even had our own Greek Town - but now it strikes me as a bit more disparate. Then again, DC isn't as "ethnic" as Chicago. Back home, it's common to ask someone "what are you?" Meaning, what's your ethnic background (or your "nationality" as we say in Chicago). Here, if you asked someone "what are you?" (which I mistakenly have before), you tend to get an odd look. Anyway, we do have a vibrant Greek-American political community here in DC, and like some other ethnic groups, our power as a community tends to be far beyond our numbers. The reception is at 5, so I'll let you know how it went later tonight, with photos. I'll also try to Twitter from the event - here is our Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/americablog

Now, my email question. How in God's name do you guys handle the increasing onslaught of email? I'm asking this publicly because I think the problem I'm facing is one that a lot of people face, and maybe by talking about it publicly, and soliciting your advice, we can find some solutions that benefit all of us.

First, let me say, every one of you who actually sends me a real email - one that you wrote yourself, that you're sending just to me - I want those. Keep em coming. Never worry about whether you're bugging me. If you are writing to me, and not to a whole slew of people at once and just happening to add me to the list, I want that email.

Now, let's talk about what I don't want...

I am getting so inundated with emails - not just spam, but actual emails - that I'm regularly losing things now, not even seeing emails people send me. Part of the problem is people not thinking, and just sending crap. I don't mean you readers in general. I want, I like, and I need actual real emails from our readers. It's when people blast email something, put you on an email list without asking, that the crap begins.

Generally speaking, I think I've come up with a working rule to separate great email content from crap. If you're emailing it to one person, what you're sending is probably good. If you're emailing it to 5 or more people, it's probably crap. I can't think of ever having received an email from a reader, an email that was sent only to me, that wasn't useful. Now, we don't always print every story or tip a reader sends, but they are always useful, so keep sending them. But the email lists people put us on, dear God.

An example. Let's start with Hill offices. Why in God's name do I care that the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee commended Janet Napolitano about the southwest border initiative. Seriously, who in their right minds think that this is news? And why in God's name would you send something like that to one of the liberal political blogs? Oh, you can just unsubscribe, you might say. No you can't. Tried that. The Homeland Security Committee computer told me that I must have used a different email to subscribe to their list. Yeah, funny that. I never did subscribe to their list. They just added me to their press list without asking, and now are sending me crap on a regular basis. I finally had to ban them in my spam filter yesterday - no more Homeland Security Committee for me. But is that really what they want? To have top bloggers, and media, banning them so that they never communicate with us again?

Let me say one more time. Keep those emails coming if you are a real human being writing to just me. Our regular pen pals know how valuable we find their emails - because a lot of our stories are things they sent us. But something has to be done about people sending crap on a regular basis to large numbers of people, people adding you to their email list without asking you first. I now regularly miss emails that people send me. I just don't see them because they get overrun with all the other garbage. Email is no longer a sure way to reach me. And that's crazy.

So what do you guys do? I'd like to hear from people who get a lot of email. How do you manage the onslaught? Will gmail help? And even in gmail, how do you manage so much email so as not to lose things that really matter? Read More......

Durable goods order above forecast

Another small, but promising indicator coupled with bad news. At least it's not all bad news.

New U.S. orders for long-lasting manufactured goods unexpectedly rebounded in February, rising for the first time in seven months, according to a government report on Wednesday that could bring some cheer to an economy mired in recession.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 3.4 percent to $165.6 billion in February, the biggest increase since December 2007, after a revised 7.3 percent plunge the prior month, previously reported as a 4.5 percent decline.

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Olbermann interviews ThinkProgress' Amanda Terkel about O'Reilly's ongoing harassment

Amanda did great. She's really quite excellent at TV, I had no idea. She and Olbermann discuss the fact that O'Reilly, apparently, had two men stalk Amanda outside her home and then secretly follow her while she was on vacation, finally confronting her with the two men, while she was alone on a street. Why? Because O'Reilly didn't like a blog post that Amanda had written.

You'd think O'Reilly would be sensitive about harassing women after his sexual harassment lawsuit and settlement.

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Obama got great reviews for last night's press conference

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

This week seems like it's going by pretty fast.

That was some performance by the President last night. He's good. The press corps, the elite members who just assume they'll ask questions, seemed particularly fired up. It was as if they were finally going to get him. Think of that scene in the Wizard of Oz when the wicked witch is cackling "I'll get you, my pretty." But, didn't happen. Obama knows what he's talking about. And, while the talking head types seem to believe the GOP talking point that Obama is doing too much, he explained repeatedly how issues are interwoven. That makes sense to the American people, but I don't think too many of our "elites" can grasp that.

What's going on in the world? Read More......

China blocks YouTube, again

The Olympics changed everything. Let's see what an economic meltdown and mass protests can do for the regime.

Google said Tuesday that its YouTube video-sharing Web site had been blocked in China.

Google said it did not know why the site had been blocked, but a report by the official Xinhua news agency of China on Tuesday said that supporters of the Dalai Lama had fabricated a video that appeared to show Chinese police officers brutally beating Tibetans after riots last year in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

Xinhua did not identify the video, but based on the description it appears to match a video available on YouTube that was recently released by the Tibetan government in exile.

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Ford CEO gets a pay cut to only $13.6 million

Hang in there, old boy. Times will get better. The $28 million for four months work guy is struggling with tough times but has kindly offered to suck it up and sacrifice with the rest of the team. What leadership!

Investors and employees burned by the fierce decline of the U.S. auto industry won't be shedding any tears for Alan Mulally, but the Ford Motor Co. chief executive didn't come out of the historically brutal year unscathed.

Mulally's total compensation fell by 37% to $13.57 million in 2008, according to a proxy filing from Ford on Tuesday. He earned $2 million in salary but received no bonus. In 2009 and 2010, Mulally will also see a 30% cut while Ford eliminates merit increases and incentive bonuses for salaried workers.

Impressive considering Mulally and his team lost $15 billion. Read More......

UK ready for a black political leader

Maybe. If the UK actually had a community of black politicians, it might be more believable. At a minimum the UK is ahead of Europe who are decades behind.

The authors have analysed all available polling from the two countries, including 50-year Gallup series and the poll series British Social Attitudes. They have been able to show that since the 1980s the proportion of whites who admit to discomfort at the idea of a black person marrying into the family has been falling in both nations by around two percentage points each year. In the UK, since the 80s, the percentage of people who object to a black boss has fallen by half from 20% to 10% – a similar decrease to that in America. Last week, Tidjane Thiam was appointed the first black chief executive of the Prudential financial service company.

Though there is little polling on attitudes to black politicians available in the UK, researchers point to an increase in the number of Americans saying they are willing to vote for a black candidate – from 53% in 1967 to 94% today. Given the pattern of change is similar in the UK and US on other variables, the reports' authors argue that the UK may now be ready for a black prime minister.

But the study also bears out the fears of senior British figures including Trevor Phillips, the chair of the equalities and human rights commission, that the lack of routes into politics for black British candidates still means the UK lags behind America in the number of black and ethnic-minority politicians.

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AIG execs from troubled unit resign

Oh no! What will AIG ever do to recover from losing the team that drove them into the ground? And how will they ever find new applicants in this market? We're all doomed.

A handful of senior executives working within American International Group Inc's controversial financial products unit have resigned, said a company spokeswoman late on Monday.

The division is at the heart of the financial problems that brought AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) to the brink of bankruptcy last September, saved only by a taxpayer bailout that has now swelled to as much as $180 billion.

The spokeswoman declined to specify the exact number of resignations, noting they were expected to be "manageable," and said there were indications that more will follow.

The resignations come after $165 million in bonuses paid to employees of this AIG division on March 15 ignited fury across America, with taxpayers questioning why they were footing the bill for individual retention bonuses of up to $6.4 million.

Under pressure from Capitol Hill, AIG Chief Executive Edward Liddy last week asked many recipients to return at least half the value of the awards. Many have also been asked to take sharp cuts in compensation for 2009.

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Barney calls Scalia a "homophobe"

And he is. Read More......