Open Thread

Never a dull moment, huh? Read More......

Chinese official sends the dollar to a new low

Oh the tangled web that Bush has woven.

Currency traders gave the dollar a thorough pounding today after a Chinese official suggested that the country could begin to diversify its huge foreign-exchange reserves.

The euro broke the $1.47 barrier before retreating a little and the pound climbed above $2.10, a value it had not reached 26 years ago. Other currencies also posted gains against the dollar.

Remarks by Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the National People’s Congress in China — a colossal dollar investor by virtue of its $1.43 trillion in currency reserves, most of which are presumed to be denominated in dollars — helped drive the dollar lower.

Once the dollar broke through the 1.45 support number, there was very little to keep it afloat. It's time to let Bush and the GOP explain their miserably failed economics to the public before they get on their high horse and talk about fiscal responsibility. Who in their right mind wants to throw money into the US market when it's this bad? Read More......

Stock market falls again on credit fears

Ruh roh. Read More......

ENDA passes US House: 235-184

Anyone who didn't feel a sense of history watching this debate today. Well, I just feel sad for you. Today was a chance to educate America, and 200 Democrats, and 35 Republicans, rose to the occasion. You just couldn't watch this debate and not feel a sense of pride, and of change. It doesn't matter if it's only one House. My God, we've never had one House on a federal gay civil rights bill. Now we do.

Here is Barney's kick-ass closing statement - do watch it, it's history in the making:

Rep. Frank: “I want to address the motion to delay. Mr. Speaker, we say here that we don't take things personally, and usually that’s true. Members, Mr. Speaker, will have to forgive me — I take it personally. 35 years ago, I filed a bill that tried to get rid of discrimination based on sexual orientation. As we sit here today, there are millions of Americans in states where this is not the law. By the way, 19 states have such a law. In no case has it led to that decision. The Massachusetts law passed in 1989, that did not lead to the decision in 2004, unrelated. But here’s the deal: I used to be someone subject to this prejudice. And through luck, circumstance, I got to be a big shot. I’m now above that prejudice. But I feel an obligation, to 15-year-olds dreading to go to school because of the torments, to people they’ll lose their job in a gas station if someone finds out who they love. I feel an obligation to use the status I have been lucky enough to get, to help them. And I want to ask my colleagues here, Mr. Speaker, on a personal basis, please don’t fall for this sham. Don’t send me out of here having failed to help those people.”

Read More......

GOP final effort to kill ENDA: Claiming ENDA will let gays marry

UPDATE: Republican motion to recommit, effort to kill the bill, fails.

UPDATE: Barney just gave an amazing floor speech. The video will be coming soon.

Wow, the Republicans truly are a twisted bunch. They're arguing that a bill to outlaw job discrimination against gays will cause gay marriage. So their amendment is to send the bill back to committee to clarify that the job discrimination bill doesn't legalize gay marriage. Wow. Hateful bunch, these Republicans. They literally had no other argument against the bill. All they can say is that it's a marriage bill. A job discrimination bill is a marriage bill. Wow.

And as an aside, it's always a special pleasure to see southern bigots leading the charge against a civil rights bill. Ah Virginia, you're still for haters. Read More......

Tammy just pulled her amendment

So much for three weeks of United ENDA screaming that they be permitted to offer this amendment, an amendment to include transgender people in ENDA. Now that they get their chance, now that they get a vote on the amendment they've been asking their grassroots to lobby congress in favor of for weeks, Tammy Baldwin pulls the amendment and says it wouldn't have won anyway.

Kind of makes the entire coalition look not quite ready for prime time. Read More......

Civil rights hero John Lewis (D-GA)

Rep. Lewis: “Madam Speaker, I for one fought too long and too hard to end discrimination based on race and color, not to stand up against discrimination against our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. During the 1960’s, we broke down those signs that said ‘white’ and ‘colored.’ Call it what you may, to discriminate against someone because they are gay is wrong, it is wrong, it is not right. There’s not any room in our society for discrimination. Today we must take this important step after more than 30 long years and pass the employment Employment Non-Discrimination Act. It is the right thing to do. It is the moral thing to do. Let us do it. Not just for this generation but for generations yet unborn. Today we have an opportunity to bring down more signs. Now is the time to do what is right, what is fair, what is just. The time is always right to do right. Let us pass this bill.”

Read More......

More video from today's ENDA floor debate

Barney Frank

Read More......

House GOP using parliamentary maneuver to try to kill ENDA

From HRC's blog:

BREAKING: Minutes ago, House Republicans used a procedural motion to adjourn the U.S. House as a desperate delaying tactic to keep ENDA from moving forward....

From the Library of Congress:
A motion to adjourn is a nondebatable motion to end the day's session of the House or Senate or a committee. It sometimes specifies the time or day for reconvening, or makes reconvening subject to the call of Chair. Since a motion to adjourn is of the highest privilege, it must be voted on immediately. It cannot be offered in the Committee of the Whole.

Unbelievable. Our opponents are determined to make this a long, ugly debate...

Read More......

Tammy Baldwin may withdraw her own transgender amendment

UPDATE: The Speaker's blog has video from the ENDA floor debate.

ENDA is being debated on the House floor right now. The chair just said that Tammy Baldwin may not even offer her transgender amendment, even though Monday the House gave Baldwin permission to offer her amendment. Why is Baldwin now talking about withdrawing her amendment, i.e., not offering her amendment, when for weeks NGLTF and Baldwin and their allies have been screaming bloody murder that we'd better let them try to include transgender people in the bill? We were told for weeks by the folks calling for ENDA to be killed if it doesn't include gender identity, that it would be easy to pass the bill with gender identity because America, and Congress, have already come around on trans issue (e.g., cross-dressing, sex changes, and more). I've been arguing that such an amendment would go down in flames, as would an ENDA that includes trans coverage, and set the transgender community (and gay community) back politically. And now that Baldwin finally got official permission to offer her amendment to include trans back in the bill, she appears to be backing off.

Why?

Oh, it gets better. The House Republicans are now demanding that the full House vote on Tammy's trans amendment. Think about that. The Republicans who want to kill this bill, stymie our civil rights, and use gay issues to bash Democrats in the election are the only people pushing for Tammy's amendment now - are the only people pushing for what was, until a few minutes ago, the position that United ENDA, including NGLTF and all of its allies, have been supporting and lobbying for.

Why is United ENDA suddenly pulling its amendment when they told us for weeks that we were crazy, that trans issues would easily pass the Congress, that even a loss on trans issues would be a win, there was no downside to losing, and that there was no reason to believe that the Republicans would use trans issues to bash Democrats and kill ENDA?

Pretty much everything I predicted is now coming true. And everything United ENDA predicted, and supported, and pontificated about has now become the position of the far-right anti-gay Republicans.

Time for folks to call Tammy and ask her why she just threw the transgender community under the bus.

(Myth vs Fact re ENDA.) Read More......

Bush's brother Neil in trouble again

Heck of a family.

The inspector general of the Department of Education has said he will examine whether federal money was inappropriately used by three states to buy educational products from a company owned by Neil Bush, the president’s brother.

John P. Higgins Jr., the inspector general, said he would review the matter after a group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, detailed at least $1 million in spending from the No Child Left Behind program by school districts in Texas, Florida and Nevada to buy products made by Mr. Bush’s company, Ignite Learning of Austin, Tex. Mr. Higgins stated his plans in a letter to the group sent last week.

Members of the group and other critics in Texas contend that school districts are buying Ignite’s signature product, the Curriculum on Wheels, because of political considerations. The product, they said, does not meet standards for financing under the No Child Left Behind Act, which allocates federal money to help students raise their achievement levels, particularly in elementary school reading.

Read More......

The Pakistan problem

My impression of the situation in Pakistan is similar to that of Matt Yglesias, who writes this morning, "I keep veering between a sense that since this Pakistan business is one of the most important things going on right now I should write about it, and a sense that there's no reason for me to play fake Pakistan expert." I share that perspective; on the other hand, I've also been reading as much as I can and talking to actual Pakistan experts, having greater access to this rare breed than the average news junkie, and I think there are a few clear elements amidst a general sea of uncertainty.

First, "President" Musharraf claims the declaration of a "state of emergency" in Pakistan -- which is for all intents and purposes an imposition of martial law -- is due to terrorist threat. This, by all credible accounts, is false. Musharraf is reacting to approaching elections, an impending supreme court decision on his role in the government, and the ascension of opposing political groups, highlighted by the return of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. While there are certainly extremist elements in Pakistan, they're by no means a majority or a major threat to the military (and therefore Musharraf himself).

A persuasive (if scary) analogy is to the Shah in Iran, circa 1979, a comparison which Vali Nasr made yesterday but which people have been making for months. On that note, the idea that this was some big, out-of-nowhere surprise is also totally false. Foreign policy observers have been worrying about this for a while.

Unfortunately, according to WaPo, there's literally no one at the wheel with this issue:

"The problem is exacerbated by a dramatic drop-off in U.S. expertise on Pakistan. Retired American officials say that, for the first time in U.S. history, nobody with serious Pakistan experience is working in the South Asia bureau of the State Department, on State's policy planning staff, on the National Security Council staff or even in Vice President Cheney's office."

The article says "even in" the VP's office, of course, because that's where US foreign policy is run, so apparently it's the most important place to have experts.

Two more quick notes: First, there seems to be widely differing opinions on the nuclear issue. The administration is saying that there's no chance of nukes (or nuclear materials) getting out of Musharraf's control . . . but that's exactly what they'd say even if there was a concern about it, simply as a CYA measure in the wake of yet another foreign policy failure. My friends who know Pakistan well, *especially* those in the Middle East and subcontinent, have some concerns. My best understanding is that it's not an immediate problem, but one that could be should things take a turn for the worse.

Finally, the alliance of pro-democracy forces and violent religious extremists is, obviously, a complicated and worrying thing. The most vocal protesters thus far have been attorneys and judges committed to rule of law and . . . Islamic fundamentalists. Musharraf remains very popular among the middle class, which you might not expect given this paranoid crackdown, and his grip on the military is reportedly tight, so it's not like he's on the verge of being toppled. But it seems to be an issue of bend versus break: if he had given up some power, he probably could have maintained virtually the same level of control as before. Having refused to make any concessions, however, he's now facing a serious opposition and a fairly horrified international community.

Not good all around, and I'll continue to try to watch and synthesize as things develop. Read More......

Pat Robertson wants Rudy to be President

One of the pillars of the anti-gay, anti-abortion theocratic community, Pat Robertson, is supporting the thrice married mayor who supports a woman's right to have an abortion. So reports Chris Cilizza at The Fix:

Pat Robertson, one of the most influential figures in the social conservative movement, will announce his support for Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid this morning in Washington, D.C., according to sources familiar with the decision.

Robertson's support was coveted by several of the leading Republican candidates and provides Giuliani with a major boost as the former New York City mayor seeks to convince social conservatives that, despite his positions on abortion and gay rights, he is an acceptable choice as the GOP nominee.

Apparently, Robertson and his ilk only challenge Democrats on social issues. Robertson is nothing more than a political hack. Let's stop pretending there are any morals behind anything he does. Read More......

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Good elections results in Virginia and Kentucky. Be good, very good, to say that after next year's elections in those states too.

Let's get it started.... Read More......

Royal Dutch Shell "flower" ads banned in UK

Big Oil is always pretty clever about promoting their green credentials no matter how small they may be so it's great to see them finally called out on their adverts. I've seen similar adverts for most of the oil companies and always wondered how they could get away with such ridiculous claims.

Britain's advertising watchdog criticized a newspaper ad by Royal Dutch Shell that portrays the outline of an oil refinery with flowers sprouting from its chimneys, saying that two of its environmental claims were likely to mislead readers.

The Advertising Standards Authority, which issued the ruling Tuesday, only has the authority to remove ads from Britain's media, which the oil producer has already done.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it accepted the decision but found it disappointing.

"The advertisement was one part of a series that aim at opening and deepening the debate about meeting the energy challenge. We believe that the advertisement is a creative and striking way of drawing attention to the problem of waste disposal," Shell said in a statement.

And they wonder why they are so disliked. Read More......

Oil passes $98, dollar hits new low around the world

The Fed will again have to balance their desire to lower interest rates to help promote buying against the global pressure on the dollar. Realistically the US can't have it both ways but this won't stop Bernanke from trying to please everyone. The lower the rates, the lower the return from investors who will also view cuts as a lack of faith in the economy. Lower faith in the economy leads to investors searching for better markets which leads to a softening dollar. The softening dollar is linked to oil prices heading north and higher energy prices pushes up inflation concerns. (The dollar index against six leading global currencies hit a 34 year low.) In short, our options all stink.

The Bush administration, Mr Bubble and Wall Street Big Finance didn't create this deep and tangled economic problem overnight and it's not going to be solved overnight. When you hear two of the richest, most successful American investors (Buffet and Soros) talk about the problems with the US economy (and put their money where their mouth is) there is good reason to be concerned. Now is not the time to listen to Bush and the GOP talk about how superior they are with fiscal responsibility. Now is the time to shove this collection of problems back in their face and tell them to step aside. It's quite simple...they trashed the US economy. Read More......

Open Thread

Take it through the night. Read More......