A rather odd ad at the NYT Web site

My friend Rex Wockner noticed the above ad on the NYT Web site about an hour ago. Click the picture for a larger version. Read More......

Obama backtracking on "change" slogan

President Obama's grassroots organization, Organizing for America, formerly Obama for America, sent out an email today lauding the one year anniversary of Obama's election (the good news - their email system apparently isn't broken). In a preamble sent along with the email, OFA informs us that Barack Obama's election was not really about "change." His election was, and I quote:

"[O]nly an opportunity to make [change] a reality and that everyone's continued support would be necessary to bring about lasting change."

First off, I don't think we needed a mass blast email to tell us that the election of Barack Obama as president wasn't about real change. We get that now. What is interesting, however, is that Team Obama is feeling the need to blast an email out to their supporters explaining why many of the things that candidate Obama promised aren't happening, or worse, are being thrown overboard. It also sounds, from this email, like the blame is being shifted to the very people who voted for Obama (more than a bit ironic). If change doesn't happen, it's because you haven't supported the President enough.

You can read the email in full after the break.

Friend --

One year ago today, you made history.

We all knew that electing Barack Obama President was only the opportunity to bring about change; that we would all have to keep working to fulfill the promise our victory offered.

And you've come through -- by making hundreds of thousands of calls to Congress to push health reform forward, by pouring your effort into seemingly insurmountable challenges time and again, and, since January, by building on the power of our campaign to create Organizing for America.

And now, with the finish line on health reform in sight, we need your voice more than ever before.

To mark this special day, President Obama just recorded a video for supporters like you -- please watch his message, and sign up to join OFA in your community today.

Thank you so much for fighting so hard and giving so much to make the promise of a stronger, more just and prosperous America in the years ahead a reality:

http://my.barackobama.com/Year

My best,

David Plouffe

A year ago it was an opportunity. Today it's a missed opportunity. Read More......

GOP Senator Tom Coburn using secret hold to block bill on veterans benefits

We always knew "support the troops" didn't really mean anything to Republicans. It was a slogan, nothing more. And, that's being confirmed by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) who is using the anonymous "hold" procedure in the Senate to prevent action on a bill designed to support veterans. Usually, these "holds" are secret, but the veterans have outed Coburn:

Thirteen major military and veterans groups have joined forces to try to force one senator — Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma — to release a hold that he has placed on a major veterans benefits bill.

Coburn has been identified by Senate aides as the lawmaker preventing consideration of S 1963, the Veterans’ Caregiver and Omnibus Health Benefits Act of 2009, by using an informal but legal practice of putting a hold on a bill.

Maybe the Democrats should file a cloture motion on S. 1963 to force the GOP caucus to choose between Coburn and the vets. Read More......

Ten years in prison right or too much?

In the US biking community, this story has received a lot of attention. As a cyclist who has been cut off by cars (and crashed into them because of it) it infuriates me to hear about irresponsible drivers. Even worse in this case, it was a doctor who probably often witnessed and helped people who were victims of horrible accidents. As a cyclist, you're highly exposed when interacting with cars and it's a battle you are not going to win. At the same time I see irresponsible cyclists every day that don't help create a good road environment. (Obviously nothing excuses this driver and his extreme behavior.) At the same time, bikes can't inflict the same amount of damage as a ton of steel.

So because of a very poor decision, this doctor is going to prison for five years. What a waste for society. As angry as I get when drivers act like nuts (and I just had a truck rev his engine and charge me last week after being squeezed onto the curb) five years sounds really extreme. Then again, the victims were hurt very badly and could have died. As an ER doctor, shouldn't he have known the risks? Even speaking as a person who has lost family and friends to irresponsible drivers, I'm torn on the possible severity of the prison term. The ER doctor was 1000% wrong and there's no defending his actions but again, what a waste. As more people hit the streets biking, we're bound to see more stories like this.

Prosecutors alleged that Thompson stopped his car after passing the two cyclists and shouting at them to ride single file. The cyclists testified that they began maneuvering to ride one after the other when they noticed Thompson's car approaching fast behind them but that the driver passed dangerously close before abruptly stopping.

Ron Peterson, a coach for USC's and UCLA's cycling team, was flung face-first into the rear windshield of the doctor's red Infiniti, breaking his front teeth and nose and lacerating his face. Christian Stoehr, the other cyclist, hurtled to the sidewalk and suffered a separated shoulder.

A police officer testified that Thompson told him soon after the accident that the cyclists had cursed at him and flipped him off, so he slammed on his brakes "to teach them a lesson."

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Why is Obama helping to roll back post-Enron reforms?

C'mon, this is getting silly. Since more than half of the public companies are below the $75 million mark, this has potential to be very damaging to investors who are already beaten down. Companies are already doing audits so it's questionable how painful this argument really is. There have been enough problems related to audits (and the auditors, in particular) but to weaken the system any more seems to run counter to properly reforming a very damaged system. Huffington Post:

The provision mandates that firms obtain audits of their internal controls. Companies say it costs too much. Though these firms have received annual deferrals from this requirement since its 2004 enactment -- some think the fiercely anti-regulatory Bush administration had something to do with this -- SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said last month that the deferrals had ended, and that the firms would be expected to comply by 2010.

So Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), John Adler (D-N.J.) and Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) went to work. All three offered amendments to delay or prevent its planned implementation. Adler's amendment from last week went the furthest, proposing to exempt four out of five publicly traded companies.

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Processed and fatty foods linked to depression

Not much of a surprise, but still interesting to see how bad processed food is. The difficulty is that for many reasons (time, easy access, cost) this is what many people eat. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables takes a bit more work but in the long run is so much better for the health. AFP:

They compared participants -- all civil servants -- who ate a diet largely based on "whole" foods with a second group who mainly ate fried food, processed meat, high-fat dairy products and sweetened desserts.

Taking into account other indicators of a healthy lifestyle such as not smoking and taking physical exercise, those who ate the whole foods had a 26 percent lower risk of depression than those who ate mainly processed foods.

People with a diet heavy in processed food had a 58 percent higher risk of depression.

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NY Daily News: What if the White House had actually helped Bloomberg's Democratic opponent?

The Daily News uses the word "squishy" for the White House's support of the Democrat. A perfect word for far too much this White House does.

What if President Obama - instead of delivering a squishy, nonendorsement-endorsement of Thompson, after his press secretary couldn't even come up with Thompson's name - had stumped for the man?

"There are a number of people around Bill who felt that he was let down and that, yes, it could have helped if President Obama had campaigned with him," one senior Thompson adviser said last night. "But that's not who Bill Thompson is. He has not been bitter."

Bitter or not, the question remains.

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Hill Dems. don't want to vote on Dem. agenda

Members of Congress ask us to support them because they claim to share our values and our agenda. Then, they win -- and they whine and moan when we actually expect them to pass the agenda they promised during the campaign. According to The Hill, several Democrats are actively trying to ditch the Democratic agenda:

Vulnerable House and Senate Democrats want their leaders to skip the party’s controversial legislative agenda for next year to help save their seats in Congress.

In the run-up to the 2010 midterm elections, they don’t want to be forced to vote on climate change, immigration reform and gays in the military, which they say should be set aside so Congress can focus on jobs and the economy.

Got that? Key Democratic constituencies (environmentalists, Latinos and gays) = "controversial legislative agenda." So, here's the question: Why should we support any Democrats who throw us under the bus? Trying winning elections without environmentalists, Latinos and gays. Try it. Read More......

Good times on Wall Street - $117.6 billion set aside for bonuses

And the year isn't even over yet. Ahh yes, lessons learned starting with "let them rot and go bankrupt next time." As important as the Wall Street bailout was for preventing a much worse recession, any possibility of future assistance has been wiped out with this excessive greed. Playing Mr. Nice Guy with Wall Street is never good policy.

Critics say it is also a sign that banks have learned few lessons from last year's financial crisis, which has been widely blamed on Wall Street's pursuit of short-term profits that pumped up pay.

"Banks don't appear to have learned much, at least on the compensation side, from what we've been through," said Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law at Boston University. "Don't tell me you are bringing me back to the good old days of yesterday. Getting back to pre-Bear Stearns or Lehman is not fixing it. It is setting us up for another fall."

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White House official slams Democratic Cong. Anthony Weiner, saying he should have "manned-up" in NY Mayor's race. Just sexist or homophobic too?

Manned up? So is the White House saying that Weiner is acting like a woman or a gay? And which one does our White House find worse?

On the day after a huge civil rights defeat for the gay and lesbian Americans, in a battle in which we were abandoned by President Obama and the Democratic National Committee, it's telling that they White House is using effeminate slurs to defame Democrats who question why the President didn't bother lifting a finger to help in a far too many races.

Mayor Bloomberg won yesterday, but not by much. The President of the United States, who is also the leader of the Democratic Party, didn't really help the Democratic candidate for mayor in New York, Bill Thompson. When Rep. Anthony Weiner pointed that out, someone at the White House shot back with a very nasty, and rather homophobic, attack on the Congressman from New York.

And if you don't think it's a slur against women or gays, then imagine the White House saying that Barbara Boxer or Barney Frank need to "man up" - never gonna happen. It's a slur used against men who supposedly act like women or homosexuals.

From Ben Smith at Politico:

Bloomberg’s meager five-point win left Democrats pondering what might have been if New York’s Democratic donors hadn’t turned their back on Thompson, if its politicians had worked for him, and most of all if President Barack Obama had offered anything more than the lamest words of praise.

“Maybe one of those Corzine trips could have been better spent in New York. Who knows?" remarked New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, who weighed his own run for mayor, referring to the White House’s devout attention to the New Jersey contest.

“Maybe Anthony Weiner should have manned-up and run against Michael Bloomberg,” shot back a White House official, who attributed the night’s results across the board to anti-incumbent fervor.

The New York race deepened the impression that a White House that prides itself on resisting conventional political analysis had badly misjudged the key contests Tuesday — committing itself most heavily to a New Jersey election that Republican Chris Christie won handily, studiously avoiding a referendum to preserve same-sex marriage that was defeated in Maine and giving up too early in New York City.

It is amazing how often anonymous White House officials attack other Democrats and Democratic allies. And "manned-up? Sounds like a lot like "sissy." Weiner only pointed out the obvious. The White House should have stood up and supported the Democratic candidate, and supported the Democratic base in other states as well.

And, does Obama know and approve of how obnoxious his senior staffers are towards other Democrats? That wasn't the change we signed up for a year ago today. We expected leadership and a new direction.

Manned-up. Someone should look in a mirror. Read More......

Senate GOPers have temper tantrum over not getting their way on climate change

These people are supposed to be dealing with one of the most important issues facing our planet, but, instead they act like children. Senate GOPers didn't get their way, so they wouldn't attend a hearing. Really? :

Republicans today boycotted the start of a Senate hearing on climate-change legislation.

The Republican members of the Environment and Public Works Committee are demanding a full Environmental Protection Agency analysis of the climate bill.

But despite the boycott, committee Chairwoman Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) still held the meeting, arguing that the EPA's partial analysis, based on a similar bill passed by the House of Representatives in June, was sufficient.

Making all the projections and running all the models would take the EPA about five weeks.

Because the Senate bill is largely based on the House legislation, the EPA said that full analysis "would likely show the impacts ... would be similar." So the EPA conducted a simplified analysis, drawing heavily on the study it already had made of the House bill and highlighting the parts that differed.

But that approach was not enough for committee Republicans, who were demanding a full, original analysis before they would take a vote on moving the bill out of the committee.

I guess they really showed Barbara Boxer, huh? It's mind-numbing how puerile these Senators are. No wonder climate change has become such a problem. Our so-called leaders have temper tantrums if they don't get their own way. Read More......

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

So, that was some election night, huh?

We knew Deeds would lose, but I thought Corzine would pull it out in New Jersey. The Teabagger lost in NY-23, which was one positive note.

On the equality front, it looks like we'll win in Washington State. Voters appear to have approved Referendum 71 to keep the state's "everything but marriage" law. In Kalamazoo, the forces of good won, too. Voters approved the anti-discrimination ordinance. Congrats to everyone in Washington State and Kalamazoo.

And, then, there's Maine where hate prevailed. The Bishop of Maine, Richard Malone, must be quite pleased with himself. He ran a campaign of lies, hate and distortions -- and convinced enough Maine voters to vote with him. It's going to take me a couple days (or more) to get my head around this one. But, for now, suffice it so say: HATE was the winner in Maine. Hate and the Catholic Bishop. But, this isn't over. Time and justice really are on our side.

Start threading the news... Read More......

EU court bans crucifix in Italian schools

This is a very big move by the European Union court. Though the court has been asserting itself on business issues such as competition, social issues have been less controversial. It's going to be interesting to see what new cases related to church and state come as a result of this. In this particular case it is somewhat understandable to accept the argument that the crucifix is part of the Italian identity (from a purely historical perspective) though it's harder to make the argument that the crucifix in classrooms today is much more than imposing a specific religion on students. Especially since their mandatory presence was made law by Mussolini.

There was uproar in Italy today over a ruling by the European court of human rights that the crucifixes that hang in most Italian classrooms are a violation of religious and educational freedoms.

The seven judges, whose decision could prompt a Europe-wide review of the use of religious symbols on public premises, said state schools had to "observe confessional neutrality".

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Volcker calls for reduction in consumer spending to drive economy

But then how will Wall Street make money? Sounds like he's part of the left of the left. Reuters:

The alternatives to help bolster future economic growth include boosting exports, applying innovative technology to green issues and improving the nation's infrastructure, Volcker said.

The former Federal Reserve chairman, who now heads the White House Economic Recovery Advisory Board, said Obama understands that "We cannot have so much consumption."

Consumer spending accounted for 70 percent of the U.S. economy before last year's economic meltdown, a level that Volcker said was sustained only by "the magic of financial engineering."

Read More......

A loss in Maine on marriage equality

AP called it. Read More......