Betty White's biggest fan

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US apologizes for medical experiments in Guatemala

Is saying "sorry" really enough? As Americans, we like to think this is how other countries behave. "Medical experiments" on unwilling and unknowing victims is what other countries do, right? It's an unfortunate reality that the US has engaged in acts such as this and torture.

The US today apologised for "outrageous and abhorrent" experiments in Guatemala by American doctors who infected hundreds of prisoners, soldiers and mental patients with syphilis in the 1940s.

The experiments were intended to test the use of penicillin, then an early antibiotic. Medical researchers sought out prostitutes with syphilis to deliberately pass on the sexually transmitted disease to men through intercourse. Other men were injected. Conducted between 1946 and 1948, the experiments were led by John Cutler, a US health service physician who would later be part of the notorious Tuskegee syphilis study in Alabama in the 1960s.

According to Susan Reverby, a Wellesley College professor who uncovered records of the experiment and thereby led to today's apology, Cutler chose Guatemala because he would not have been permitted to do the experiments in the US.

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Are we at war in Pakistan, or with Pakistan?

This Rachel Maddow Show story is a follow-up to an earlier one in which Richard Holbrooke was interviewed on the same subject — what does it mean when we cross borders in our "global" wars? And Rachel asks the right question — what would it mean to us if another nation crossed our border in pursuit of their national objectives?

Understandably, the Pakistanis are not pleased, and they're showing it by cutting our supply routes. The segment:



Here's where the whole international structure could start coming down. Pakistan is a big country, with nukes, with many citizens, and many ethnic nationals abroad. If people outside the U.S. perceive the U.S. as a rogue nation — and this doesn't just apply to Pakistanis — it's kind of over. (1) An international discussion on "Is America a rogue nation?" would generate a lot of yes votes; and (2) International terrorism will likely see another quantum increase. Do we really want all this war, with all these many people?

Listen to the earlier Pakistan segment that includes the Richard Holbrooke interview. (It's in two parts — here and here; if you're pressed for time, start with the second link.) Holbrooke sounds so certain, and I'm sure he speaks for the whole muscular-liberal establishment, the Albrights, the Clintons, all of them, with tenacles way back to Truman's creation of the national security state in the late 40s. This could be big. For me, it's as frightening as the possibility of eight years with Jeb Bush.

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Bank of America halts foreclosures in states that regulate the process

It's shocking what happens when banks are required to provide basic information to the courts instead of simply pulling demands out of thin air. Maybe most of the houses will be foreclosed though it's only fair for consumers that the banks are being forced to provide proof that they own the properties. For the remaining twenty-seven states that do not require the banks to provide accurate documents, consumers are left with few, if any, options. Tell me again why regulation and oversight is so bad?

Bank of America said on Friday it is delaying foreclosures in 23 states to review whether it has been conducting them properly. Two other big lenders—JPMorgan and Ally Financial's GMAC Mortgage—have already suspended foreclosures.

Also, a Maine state court judge reprimanded GMAC Mortgage for how it repossesses homes. The judge concluded that GMAC submitted a company official's affidavit to support a foreclosure "in bad faith."

Companies are scrambling to defend and where needed improve their foreclosure procedures in the face of anger among homeowners and regulators.

The issue came to the forefront last month when GMAC revealed that officials had signed thousands of affidavits supporting such proceedings without knowing their contents.

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Family values anti-masturbation activist, & GOP US Senate candidate, Christine O'Donnell dabbled in Hare Krishna after witchcraft

Seriously.

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Portrait of the Bush economy

Continuing our swirl through the land of the Rich and the devastation left behind them, here's our friend David Cay Johnston with an exclusive peek at a new report on the Bush economy.

We knew it wasn't pretty; these are the gruesome details:



Notice Bush's list at about 1:05 of the clip — the cuts will help "businesses that create jobs," those at the "low end of the economic ladder," and "small businesses."

The first isn't true unless you replace jobs with profits. The second is just a lie. And the third isn't true unless you replace small businesses with billionaires. ("Replacement phrases" that make Movement Conservative nonsense make sense are discussed here.) The facts are these:

Income for the average worker (adjusted for inflation):

2000 average income — $61,500
2008 average income — $58,000

"Jobs":

Bush created 3.5 million jobs over 8 years. Recall that one of our magic numbers is 150,000 new jobs/month — that's what it takes to break even with population growth. 96 Bush months x 150,000 = 14.4 million jobs needed to break even. He missed by a factor of four.

But true to form, profits were way up. The number of people making $200,000/year or more increased almost ten-fold.

And finally "small businesses" (i.e. billionaires):

30% or more of the tax savings in 2007 (the height of the "boom") went to those with incomes over $1 million/year.

12.5% of the savings went to the top .1% — those with $2 million/year income or more. (Johnston misspoke; "one in a thousand" is the top .1%, not the top .01%, as Table 7 here shows.)

Johnston's summary: "Clearly this was focused on helping a narrow group of people at the very top." Note also Keith's implication that Bush was deliberately "starving the beast" — deliberately strangling government of revenue.

Here are some more magic numbers, by the way — easy-to-remember breakpoints for income distribution (not wealth distribution). Sources for this include the excellent Slate multi-part series, Emmanuel Saez's academic site, plus the google. There's a mix of years and methodologies here, so this isn't gospel; but it's good enough:

Top 20%   = $100,000 per year
Top 10%   = $150,000 per year
Top  5%   = $200,000 per year
Top  2%   = $250,000 per year (tax cut point)
Top  1%   = $400,000 per year
Top  .5%  = $600,000 per year
Top  .1%  = $2 million per year
Top  .01% = $10 million per year

Check the Slate article for changes in the ratios over time. The highest income I'm aware of is David Tepper, Appaloosa Management — $4 billion in 2009. I'm sure he's piker compared to some.

Welcome to Bush-world, the real one, and Blue Dog–world as well. There's a movement afoot in parts of our ever-helpful press to rehabilitate the ex. Resist, guys.

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Harry Enfield - Considerably richer than you

I've been in rain-soaked Birmingham (England) for a few days but today it's bright and sunny. How did that happen? It's been a while since I've been over this way (or at least, around Birmingham) and it has been the first time I strolled around the city. Though I enjoy London and all it has to offer, it's hard not to like the people here. Really nice folks here. Last night I picked up a funny kids book for one of our nephews and haven't been able to stop reading it. My friend told me how her daughter loved reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid and yeah, it's funny. Hopefully the nephew will also enjoy it once I finish reading it.

Meanwhile, a funny old clip from Harry Enfield. Read More......

Rocket attacks hit Nigerian capital

This is probably not the way many in Nigeria expected to celebrate the anniversary. The Guardian:

At least eight people were killed in Nigeria today when suspected militants from the country's oil region attempted to wreck 50th anniversary celebrations for the country's independence with an unprecedented series of car bomb attacks on Abuja, the capital.

The explosions came an hour after the main militant group in the oil-rich southern delta, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), threatened in an email to attack the festivities and warned people to evacuate the area.

"Several explosive devices have been successfully planted in and around the venue by our operatives working inside the government security services," the email, signed by spokesman Jomo Gbomo, said. "In evacuating the area, keep a safe distance from vehicles and trash bins."

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Rahm on Obama: I want to thank you for being the toughest leader any country could ask for in the toughest times any president has ever faced.

Rahm on Obama:

"I want to thank you for being the toughest leader any country could ask for in the toughest times any president has ever faced." 

And then HuffPost Hill weighs in:

Indeed, Lincoln never had to deal with Fox News and FDR didn't have HuffPost carping at him for selling out. So, sure, toughest times ever.

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