Then there's Afghanistan

Oh yeah. Almost forgot. The other war. The good war gone bad.

"Before I support any more troops to Afghanistan, I want to see a strategy that includes an exit plan," said Rep. Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts liberal who at one point wanted to cut off money for the Iraq war.

Added Wisconsin Democrat Sen. Russ Feingold, another fierce war opponent: "The idea of putting the troops in without having more clarity at least gives me pause."

The Obama administration is in the midst of a sweeping strategy review. The results of that assessment might not be released for several weeks. In the meantime, the administration is expected to approve an immediate request from the top military commander in Afghanistan for three more brigades, roughly 14,000 troops.

It is expected that more troops would follow, eventually doubling the presence from 33,000 to 60,000.

I'm not personally opposed to escalating in Afghanistan, but we have to know what the plan for victory is. It's downright criminal what Bush and the Republicans did, pushing Afghanistan to the side in order to invade Iraq on a whim. We are paying yet another serious price for GOP caprice. But I'm not convinced that that's a good reason to withdraw. Afghanistan is a mess, but it's a very dangerous mess to ignore, as we learned in September of 2001. Read More......

Fannie, Freddie to channel mortgage rescue: sources

If they're going to help some people, then they should help everybody. It's really not fair to tell people who lived within their means, bought smaller homes, didn't buy a home at all, or just as bad, crimped and saved and spent every penny they had on their mortgage in order to avoid default, that they made the wrong decision. I firmly believe we have to help people, if only to forestall a depression. But I don't like the idea of sending the message, to those who didn't overextend themselves, that, in essence, they made the wrong choice. Read More......

John McCain, GOP troll

What a surprise! No one could have predicted that, in response to Obama reaching out to (well, bending over for) Republicans, Republicans would respond by - what? - accusing him of being too partisan. Maybe if Obama makes 99% of the stimulus package tax cuts for big companies, then the Republicans will like him. It's worth a try, in the spirt of post-partisanship and all.

Republican Sen. John McCain says that Democratic lawmakers putting together an economic stimulus plan are no more open to input from the opposing party than the GOP was during the Bush administration.

The Arizona Republican says that he thought there was going to be a change in the tone of partisanship in Washington when the Obama administration took over, but he adds that he's not seeing it.

Yeah, McCain thought there was going to be a change in tone, then McCain and his GOP cronies attacked Obama in a partisan manner, so now there's no change in tone and it's Obama's fault. Again, Joe and I have written for years about how the Republicans always, always, always accused US of doing what THEY are ACTUALLY doing. It's their oldest trick in the book, and it still works. Read More......

German Bishops calling for expulsion of Pope's buddy, the Holocaust denier

I feel bad for the German Catholic church. First German Pope, and what do they have to contend with? A guy who's giving signals that he's sympathetic to the Nazis and Jew-hatred. Only set Germany back about 65 years.

Germany's Catholic bishops are calling for the expulsion of a bishop, recently brought back into the church by Pope Benedict XVI, after new reports that Richard Williamson denies the Holocaust.

In statements to Spiegel Online, the Web site of the German news magazine, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch said the church should part ways with Bishop Williamson, a member of an ultra-conservative group that split off after Pope John Paul II excommunicated him and three other bishops in 1988.

"Mr. Williamson is impossible and irresponsible," Zollitsch, chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, told the magazine in an article published Saturday. "I now see no room for him in the Catholic Church."

Read More......

Vilsack proposes merger of food safety oversight

As with Wall Street, the division of oversight has not always delivered effective results. A deeper review is a good idea. Business likes the current "divide and conquer" structure though the end result for consumers is less than satisfactory.

Right now, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture share oversight responsibilities, along with other government agencies, dividing authority along lines that don't always make sense. For example, the FDA oversees eggs in the shell, while the Agriculture Department is responsible for processed egg products.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency share some food oversight as well.

"You can't have two systems and be able to reassure people you've got the job covered," Vilsack said. "This is a grand opportunity for us to take a step back and rethink our approach."

A salmonella outbreak blamed on Peanut Corp. of America has sickened at least 575 people in 43 states. At least eight have died. More than 1,300 foods that used ingredients from the company's processing plant in Blakely, Ga., have been recalled. While the outbreak appears to be slowing down, new illnesses are still being reported.

Read More......

Kansas Governor Sebelius to head HHS?

That's the latest rumor (or trial balloon) -- apparently fed by "two Obama administration officials" to CNN's Ed Henry:

In a sign that she is getting a close look for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius recently met with senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, according to two Obama administration officials.

Sebelius has a good personal relationship with the President and remained in the running for the vice presidential slot until near the end of the process, the officials also told CNN.

But the officials cautioned that President Obama is considering others for HHS as well. Those getting a look include Oregon Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden and Tennessee’s Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, according to the officials.

Sebelius would be a much, much better choice than Bredesen. He'd be a disaster as our good friend Jacki Schechner made crystal clear:

"A lot of elected officials are in bed with the insurance industry, but Phil Bredesen doesn't stop there. He let them pay to redecorate his mansion. We can't think of anyone more wrong for health care reform or more wrong for America," said Jacki Schechner, spokeswoman for Health Care for America Now. "This is a guy whose single greatest health care achievement is stripping 200,000 people of health care coverage in Tennessee - a move that was not only bad policy but an unconscionable act."

Read More......

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

Remember all those painful Sundays when the Bush administration sent out its top officials to push its agenda? Well, now it's our turn. Today's shows feature several top figures in the Obama administration to talk economic recovery and jobs. Lots of Republicans today, too, of course. Now, will any of the hosts ask these Republicans why they want to destroy the economy and prevent job creation? Doubt it. But, they should have to defend their adherence to the failed policies of the Bush era. That's what got us into this mess, although the Republicans and the traditional media overlook that glaring fact.

The new GOP Chair, Michael Steele, should explain the major scandal he's got brewing, too.


Here's the lineup:

ABC's "This Week" — Lawrence Summers, director of National Economic Council; Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele.

___

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Christina Romer, head of the Council of Economic Advisers; Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

___

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; and Reps. Mike Pence, R-Ind., and Barney Frank, D-Mass.

___

CNN's "State of the Union" — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood; Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Summers; Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Read More......

Consumers falling behind on dept payments

No surprise here.

U.S. consumers are falling further behind on their debt payments even as both borrowers and lenders struggle to keep the debt burden from getting even heavier in the face of a worsening recession and employment picture, a credit bureau executive told Reuters.

Dann Adams, president of U.S. Information Systems for Equifax Inc , said consumers are missing payments on mortgages, credit cards and auto loans, prompting lenders to further scrutinize borrowers' profiles for signs they should clamp down on credit.

"Lines of credit are being very closely monitored," said Adams, whose clients include banks struggling to prevent more bad debt from piling onto their balance sheets.

Banks are, for example, warily watching their credit card portfolios in anticipation that consumers whose home values are plunging will turn to credit cards as their home equity lines of credit are cut or canceled.

They are also preemptively culling inactive cards, seeing them as a potential liability: "If the consumer gets in trouble with someone else they'll start using the bank's card, and the bank doesn't want them to do that," he said.

Customers whose credit scores are on a downward trend are finding themselves on the receiving end of more aggressive action to limit or cut off credit.

And more lenders are requesting an Equifax product called "bankruptcy scores" that expresses the probability that an individual will be bankrupt over the next one to two years, Adams said.

Equifax cashing in from chaos. It's a natural move in this environment but it's still unsavory to be touting services like this. I see the point but someone could just as easily get on such a list and we all know how watch lists work. Read More......

The other side of the Australian heat wave

Yesterday I posted the story about the koala seeking refuge (and yes, they normally do not like people as was mentioned in the comments) but Australia has been battling with some especially dangerous wildfires this year. As almost always seems to be the case, arsonists are suspected. What goes through someone's mind to start such fires?

At least 35 people have died in Australia's worst wildfire disaster in decades as flames rage across the south-east of the country. There are fears that the death toll could exceed 40.

A fatal combination of scorching temperatures, tinder-dry leaves and strong winds saw huge bush fires engulf parts of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.

Worst hit was Victoria, with 35 confirmed deaths in a massive blaze that swept through four rural towns in the Gippsland farming region, north-west of Melbourne, as firefighters struggled on at least 12 major fronts. Witnesses described seeing trees exploding and skies raining ash.

Six people in one car were killed at Kinglake, while four deaths were reported at nearby Wandong, three at Strathewen and one in Clonbinane.

"This is an absolute tragedy for the state and we believe the figure may even get worse," said state deputy police commissioner Kiernan Walshe. "We base that on the fact that we're only just getting into these areas now... to search buildings... the figure could get into the forties."

Hundreds of homes had been razed to the ground and police believe arsonists are responsible for some of the blazes.

Read More......