Snowmageddon update

So far, I'm seeing about six inches of wet snow. Would make one wicked snowball. The worst of the storm is starting now, and going for the next 12 hours - dumping between 12 and 18 15 and 21 inches, they say - with another 6 to 10 coming through the day on Saturday. It's quite pretty so far, though I'm worrying about my evergreens (especially the Sky Pencils). The good news is that if you live in DC there are a number of snowball fights to choose from tomorrow. I'll be attempting to trek down to the one at Dupont Circle at 2, but the entire list is here. Read More......

Standing ovation at Teabagger conference for birther speech

The reports from reporters on the scene is that Joseph Farah, the editor of WorldNetDaily, a far-right online publication that is highly influential with the Republican party, is spending most of his speech at the Tea Party conference questioning Obama's birth and citizenship. According to the reporters, the crowd is loving it. They just gave him a standing ovation. And this is a new "political party." It's the worst of the worst of the Republican party. All the hate and paranoia distilled. Wonder if the Washington Post will continue to write about the Teabaggers as if they're the second coming of George Washington.

And yes, Farah does bear a creepy resemblance to Freddy Mercury of Queen.

Here are a few of the Tweets:

@daveweigel: Joe Farah's entire speech basically about Obama's birth certificate.

@daveweigel: Standing O for Farah!

@daveweigel: 10 minutes of birtherism

@daveweigel: Holy shit Farah now saying there's more proof about Jesus's birth than Obama's. Read More......

NYT plays the Republican tune

I turned on my computer the other day to see the New York Times had the Republican party line on its front page as "News Analysis." David Sanger wrote that "there is virtually no room over the next decade for new initiatives" because our deficits are too big. The NYT also had the Republican line on its op-ed page. David Brooks said "For decades, federal spending has hovered around 20 percent of G.D.P. By 2019, it is forecast to be at 25 percent and rising. The higher tax rates implied by that spending will mean less growth and fewer opportunities."

Both of these statements take for granted the implicit (and very Republican, even Norquistian) assumption that all government spending is just wasted, money down a rathole. David Sanger seems to imagine that there is no conceivable initiative that could possibly warrant borrowing money to achieve it. He seems to find it equally impossible that any new initiative could possibly be more valuable than any of the old ones we are already spending money on.

David Brooks bites the Republican hook even harder - he simply takes it as an article of faith that if you fully fund a new initiative with tax revenue, then you will get less growth.

What rot. These people should go take an intro econ course. It ain't rocket science and it barely even rises to the complexity of "common sense," but when you are looking at a 3 or 4 trillion dollar budget there are lots of different kinds of expenditure in there and not all of them are created equal. Some, indeed, are money down a rathole and we can all cite our favorite pork barrel project in support of that. Some though, are investments which really do promote growth and without which we would be in deep trouble.

By Brooks' logic, we should never have built our interstate highway system because "the higher tax rates implied by that spending will mean less growth." Perhaps we should do away with spending on education because "the higher tax rates implied by that spending will mean less growth." Or maybe it is silly to fund research in clean energy or biotechnology.

These sorts of Republican truisms can only sound remotely plausible if you never attach any specifics to them. It is the job of the media to do just that, flesh out the specifics, and when the NYT starts sounding just like Grover Norquist they are completely abdicating their responsibilities. They are supposed to provide the factual context for silly economic statements, not just repeat them as if they were obviously true. Read More......

Geithner gushes about the economy. Econ prof says, I don't think so.

I just read a new ABC News story quoting Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner talking about how the chances of a double dip recession are at their lowest point ever! And he mentioned the incredible growth this past quarter. And I remember reading that the growth was kind of anomaly, it wasn't real growth, so to speak, as it was based on businesses working through their inventory. So I asked our resident econ prof, Professor Steven Kyl from Cornell, what he thought about Geithner's comments. Here's what Steve wrote me:

Hey everyone is entitled to an opinion, but it is a bit distressing to see important administration people engaging in cheerleading when they ought to know better.

Sure, 6% quarterly growth is pretty good but one quarter doesn't make a recovery especially, when a large part of it was an entirely predictably (and predicted) inventory bounce. That is not what makes a sustained recovery. In addition, I and others always said that the current stimulus will run out of steam later this year if it isn't followed with a second wave of stimulus. This is still true, but is in fact even worse now that the administration has started to parrot the deficit scolds and talk about actually decreasing spending. This talk is everywhere, see for example my post later tonight in which the NYT is simply accepting as true GOP talking point that we can't spend money on any new programs for another decade. It just isn't true.

Of course, I could be wrong and Geithner right. But I wouldn't count on it.

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'Trust me, after taxes, a million dollars is not a lot of money' - GOP chair Michael Steele

That's what the Chair of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, thinks anyway.

Life's rough when one only makes a million, I guess. But, I just have to think most Americans can't relate to that statement. Read More......

Senator Shelby helps kill Volcker reform - collects millions from finance and insurance

Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) has been in the spotlight over his "hold" on all of Obama's nominations until Shelby gets his pork. But, that's not all he's been up to. It's no wonder he's one of the leaders of the party who can't stop saying "no" to everything. Shelby is taking money hand-over-fist to fill his campaign war chest from those who are most opposed to the reforms that people want. It doesn't help that Democrats like Dodd push back but it's the GOP who is making a living out of protecting the groups that are ravaging the country. How can we expect any reform when political leaders are receiving so much money from the businesses who have deep enough pockets to block any reform? The GOP continues to be the party for Wall Street and against Main Street. Why does Senator Shelby hate America? WSJ:

At first, Sen. Dodd seemed to back the Volcker Rule, but in subsequent statements, he's backtracked. Even with his support, it's unlikely to move reform forward. He's not running for reelection this fall. His political persuasiveness has been undercut.

Sen. Shelby has his own interests. He is running for reelection this year. Wall Street has been the leading contributor to his campaign and the leadership political action committee this cycle, with $600,000 in donations through Jan. 10, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Add the real estate and insurance industries and Mr. Shelby has taken $2 million from financial interests, more than double the contributions from the next leading industry, the CRP said.

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House Dems. will have a vote on opposition to privatizing Social Security

The House Democrats have had it with the GOP's games over the budget, Social Security and Medicare. So, they're finally giving the Republicans a chance to vote on one of the right wing's favorite issues: privatizing Social Security. Actually, it's not that the Democrats are giving them a chance. It's that Democrats are finally playing hardball by pushing a resolution opposed to privatizing Social Security. So, GOPers, put up or shut up:

House Democrats are going to force their Republican colleagues to vote on a resolution opposing the privatization of Social Security. The move shows Democrats are putting their full political muscle into painting the Republicans as enemies of Social Security and using the chief GOP budget writer Rep. Paul Ryan's plan to cut benefits as evidence.

Rep. John Larson (D-CT) and Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) this afternoon introduced the resolution which "expresses the will of House Democrats to preserve Social Security and reaffirms our commitment to working in a bipartisan way to make common sense adjustments to strengthen the program for generations to come."

It's the sort of tough political vote that Democrats have rarely pushed Republicans on since winning back control of Congress in 2006, and similar to resolutions the GOP constantly forced the Democrats to take positions on when they were in power.

Can't wait to see the roll call vote on this one.

Democrats don't force tough votes, but they should. It's the best way to expose the GOP's agenda. Read More......

$16.1 million bonus for JPMorgan CEO

I wonder what their numbers would have looked like without the TARP money? They would have been better than others on Wall Street but not this much better. Now that Dimon has gone public, wait for the big news to come from Goldman. The rumor has varied from $40 million up to $100 million. Can we get back the billions we funneled through AIG now that these guys are doing so well?

We're now supposed to be impressed because Dimon's bonus is in stock and not cash. Impressed? Read More......

The snowpocalypse approacheth

As Joe noted earlier, it's as if Martians have landed in DC. Everyone is in all out panic mode due to the weather. A friend just Tweeted that he spent an hour and ten minutes in the check out line at the grocery store. Last night, it was more like a 2 hour wait. (I got my Swiss Miss earlier in the day.) Having said that, they should be, a bit. The Weather Service is now saying we may break our all time record of 28 inches. That's a hell of a lot of snow in 24 hours. Especially for a town in which 10 inches is a rarity. Assuming we can walk there, our friend Jason is planning a Snowpocalypse II snowball fight tomorrow, 130ish I believe, at the Circle - Jason will tweet it out when he decides for sure. And this one won't be BYOG.

Read More......

Gibbs criticizes GOP Senator for holding up every administration appointment until he gets his pork

Washington Post:

The White House ramped up its criticism of Republican senators blocking presidential appointments Friday after the leader of the Senate complained that an Alabama member has placed a blanket hold on more than 70 administration nominees in order to secure funding for home-state projects.

"If that's not the poster child for how this town needs to change the way it works, I fear there won't be a greater example of silliness throughout the entire year of 2010," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. "It boggles the mind to hold up qualified nominees for positions that are needed to perform functions in a government because you didn't get two earmarks."

Sen. Richard Shelby's office said his concerns are rooted in the future of the KC-135 Air Force tanker fleet, a project that could generate thousands of jobs in Alabama.

No, I'm sorry, but Mr. Shelby has made it patently clear that spending money on government programs does not create jobs. Remember, Shelby, along with every other GOP member of Congress, save three, voted against the stimulus package because they didn't believe America was having a jobs crisis, and they continue to attack the President for his "socialist" notion that the govt. can spend and save jobs.

So is Dick Shelby a socialist, or just a hypocrite? Read More......

Un-American chickenhawk Tancredo does his best McCarthy impression

So in addition to being a chickenhawk who got out of fighting for his country, we now we find out that Tancredo is an un-American McCarthyite to boot:

The former congressman from Colorado and 2008 Republican presidential candidate blasted President Obama, saying “people who could not even spell the word ‘vote’, or say it in English, put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House. His name is Barack Hussein Obama.”

Media Matters has the video.

Remember when Markos called Tancredo on his non-war-record - Markos is a veteran - and Tancredo threw a hissy fit and stormed off the set? I just can't shake the whole Miami Vice goes La Cage aux Folles motif of an aging Tancredo in his super cool 1980s collarless shirt and jacket below. A cheap toupé and some hair plugs would have made it complete. Oh, never mind...

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Odd Obama statement on HCR

I'm not sure what to make of this statement from President Obama last night:

So there’s a lot of information out there that people understandably are concerned about. And that’s why I think it’s very important for us to have a methodical, open process over the next several weeks, and then let’s go ahead and make a decision.

And it may be that — you know, if Congress decides — if Congress decides we’re not going to do it, even after all the facts are laid out, all the options are clear, then the American people can make a judgment as to whether this Congress has done the right thing for them or not. And that’s how democracy works. There will be elections coming up and they’ll be able to make a determination and register their concerns one way or the other during election time.

In a sense, it sounds like the President is trying to put more pressure on Congress to make health care reform happen. At the same time, it's not very committal, and is hardly a hard press for passage of the bill. Often when the President speaks one feels the need to parse every syllable in order to discern what he "really" means. It would be far easier for everyone, and probably far more effective, if the President simply stated, clearly and unequivocally, what he wants. Read More......

Does anyone have any contacts with LinkWithin?

Folks, does any out there know the people who put together LinkWithin? It's a very cool service that we, and other Web sites, use to provide links to "related content" below our posts. The thing is, they put these thumbnail photos that can get far too busy on the home page. I'm trying to figure out how to turn off the thumb nails, just for the home page here and on the gay home page. I've been trying to for a month to email the folks at LinkWithin, and while their Web site says they'll get back to you in a day or two, after 30 days and almost as many emails, I'm starting to suspect that whoever built the company has left it on auto-pilot and moved to other things. Which is sad, because it really is a great service. But it's not a great service at all if you can't get any support whatsoever.

So, does anyone know anyone with contacts to these folks? Or, do any coding experts know how to turn off LinkWithin's thumbnails just for the blog home page? Thanks, JOHN Read More......

Unemployment drops to 9.7% but 'economists expect the situation to worsen before it gets better'

Some good news on unemployment. It dropped a bit. But, the overall jobs picture doesn't seem to be improving:

The United States economy shed 20,000 jobs in January, the government said Friday, deepening concern that relief from the deepest economic downturn in a generation would be slow to come. But the unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent from 10 percent in December.

As the broader economy gains steam and crucial sectors like manufacturing spring back to life, analysts say the recovery appears to be intact. But the nation’s stubbornly high unemployment rate remains a persistent thorn in the side of optimists, and economists expect the situation to worsen before it gets better.

Some forecasts call for the jobless rate to reach nearly 11 percent by year’s end, which would significantly dampen spending by consumers, a critical driver of growth. That has prompted concern that the economy could enter a period of extremely slow growth or even fall into another downturn.

This is why all we'll hear from our elected officials is: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. But, that talk has to turn to action -- and produce jobs, jobs, jobs.

If Republicans want to block and obstruct job creation, which they do, that has to be draped around all of their necks. The GOPers put politics over putting people back to work. Read More......

Friday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

You should know that the nation's capitol is in a frenzy over the impending snow storm. We're under a "Winter Storm Warning," which includes this prediction:

ACCUMULATIONS...STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 18 TO 24 INCHES.

This is a town that freaks out over 2 -3 inches of snow. And, it's the second big storm of the winter.

John Cole wrote a tweet last night that captures the situation:

I think a lot of the problems in this country can be directly traced to the way the beltway pundit class reacts to... snow.

Yes, it is.

The DNC Winter Meeting started yesterday with a couple fundraisers attended by Obama. We don't expect much news from that event. On the other hand, the teabaggers convention, taking place in Nashville, should be interesting. Sarah Palin is the keynote speaker at the big dinner tomorrow night. (And "Banquet Only tickets (featuring keynote speaker Sarah Palin) still available!")

Let's get threading... Read More......

Dodd continues to block Volcker reforms

If Senator Dodd wasn't so cozy with Wall Street for so many years he might actually be believable. Somehow it sounds like a tough sell to suggest Volcker's reforms are so radical that they can't be implemented. Maybe it would be hard to do but shouldn't everyone expect much more from the Senate after they did so little as the crisis unfolded? Boo hoo, it's a tough job. What do they think the 10% (or 17%) of unemployed Americans are thinking about how tough their job is these days? They may not be terribly sympathetic.

US Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said Thursday it will be hard to write a bill to curb proprietary trading by banks as specific as the White House proposed in its so-called "Volcker rule."

In a sign of trouble for the rule unveiled last month by President Barack Obama, Dodd said it would be easier to write a bill requiring regulators to examine questions related to the proposal backed by White House economic adviser Paul Volcker.

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Greece and global markets react to crisis

Just in case anyone thought we were out of the woods on the economy, there are still plenty of problems out there. Greece may be the first to fall into serious financial trouble but others (Spain, Portugal) are not far behind. It's not unlike the financial problems in California or other troubled areas in the US. The only way forward is severe cuts and who really likes that? How many more countries, states and cities are looking at the same in 2010?

The Greek government's emergency efforts to revive the country's ailing economy met with angry protests in Athens yesterday, as customs officials and tax collectors went on the first of an expected rash of rowdy strikes.

The two-day protest comes after the government enacted a brutal reform package in response to a disastrous economic picture in the eurozone's weakest economy. The absence of the customs workers was already making itself felt yesterday, as lines of trucks formed at the country's borders unable to bring imports into the country except perishable goods and pharmaceuticals. Fears arose that a fuel shortage would soon result.

Read More......