The NYT finds a new conservative to replace Kristol

This one sounds downright human. What am I missing? Read More......

Tweety's making me hot

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Democratic GOP chair Michael Steele says abortion is "an individual choice"

I kind of like this guy when he's being frank and honest. He's clearly not a Republican at heart. Kind of sad, really. Too bad it's probably going to get him fired. From Taegan:

In an interview with GQ, RNC Chairman Michael Steele made some statements that will likely be controversial with many of his Republican constituents.

On if women have the right to choose an abortion: "Yeah. I mean, again, I think that's an individual choice."

On whether homosexuality is a choice: "Oh, no. I don't think I've ever really subscribed to that view, that you can turn it on and off like a water tap. Um, you know, I think that there's a whole lot that goes into the makeup of an individual that, uh, you just can't simply say, oh, like, 'Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being gay.' It's like saying, 'Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being black.'"

Comparing being gay to being black? The religious right is going to FLIP. Well, they're already going to fire him over the abortion comment - the gay one is just icing on the cake. Read More......

Westboro Baptist Church meet the men of Alpha Delta Phi at the University of Chicago

March 9, 2009. Seems Fred Phelps was upset that Obama once taught at the U of C. I have never seen Fred Phelps' klan be forced to quit a protest, ever. Until now. Never underestimate the power of a few committed frat boys to change the world.


(Hat tip, DKos.) Read More......

Data privacy breach at SUNY-Binghamton

The story is from WHRW, the radio station of the SUNY-Binghamton campus:

Last week WHRW News reporters were exploring the lecture halls of Binghamton University, a public building open to all people until very late in the evening. While wandering around they came across a door in a lecture hall which was taped open. Inside the door was what seemed to be the “hall of student records,” for lack of a better term. Inside the two floor storage space were multiple unlocked filing cabinets appearing to contain records of tuition payment for every student of, at least, the past four years. The records were sorted by year and social security number, and included at the bottom of some of them credit card numbers of the payees. Next to those filing cabinets were filing cabinets with records of students establishing residency in the state of New York, these files are much more troubling than the receipts of tuition payment because they often contained tax information, and copies of social security cards, of students' parents. One particularly troubling file contained scans of a student's social security card, drivers license and vehicle registration, scans of a letter from the U.S. Government to his mother granting her asylum, scans of the student's parent's tax W-9 tax forms, containing both their social security numbers, and scans of the tax forms for the small business they own, which included social security numbers and vital information of employees of the business.

This was, however, only the tip of the iceberg. In other filing cabinets were what appeared to be receipts of credit and debit card payments to the university, scattered around the two floor space were binders dating back as far as the mid-nineties stuffed full of papers with records of payment to the university for a variety of student accounts (sorted by social security number,) and, perhaps worst of all, a box of tax forms, containing addresses, names, social security numbers and more, sent out to students that were returned to Binghamton University due to failure of delivery. This box, the binders, and piles of important information were left on top of (lockable) filing cabinets and on book shelves with no form of security, or even seeming indexing.

Not cool. Read More......

Majority of Voters View Limbaugh Negatively, 45 Percent "Very, Very Negatively": Study

Leave Rush alone!

The Democracy Corps released results of a public survey on Wednesday that underscores just how astute a political strategy it is for Democrats to tie the Republican Party to Rush Limbaugh.

According to the Democratic polling firm, voters view the conservative talk show host "negatively by a two-to-one ratio (53 to 26 percent), with nearly half the country, 45 percent, viewing him very, very negatively. Among independents, the ratio rises to three-to-one."

In short, Limbaugh is toxic for the GOP brand. But the findings only get worse from there. "By a nearly two-to-one ratio (57 to 32 percent) a majority of voters -- and independents -- say Limbaugh does not "share their values," but Republicans are in a different world where, by two-to-one, they believe he shares them."

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Polis' hiccup

Andy Towle reports on a recent gay rights gaffe by openly-gay freshman congressman Jared Polis (D-CO). Basically, Polis told a questioner that the federal hate crimes law already covers hate crimes against gays and lesbians. It doesn't. A number of folks in the gay blogosphere, and beyond, were upset that Polis didn't know this. At first, my gut instinct was to ignore this. Everybody screws up. But on thinking more about it, it is surprising that an openly-gay member of Congress seemed unfamiliar with one of the two premiere pieces of legislation that the gay community been pushing for two decades. Polis says he misspoke. In fact, he was corrected right after he spoke and admitted that he didn't realize the bill hadn't yet passed. I'm not sure what to make of this. But the best thing Rep. Polis can do to rectify things is work doubly hard to get the darn thing passed. People will forget this little glitch once we have a few victories under our belt. Read More......

Steele adviser issues bizarre explanation for "scurrying mice" comment

In a rather bizarre update, an adviser to embattled GOP chairman Michael Steele issued a clarification to an incendiary statement Steele made to columnist Cal Thomas, in which he appeared to suggest that Republican members of Congress were "scurrying mice." The adviser now says that when Steele referred to people on "the Hill" as "scurrying mice" he really meant people working everywhere else BUT the Hill. Ben Smith has more:

Anderson emails that, the reference to "the Hill" aside, Steele was referring to "political operatives," not Congress.

"It’s ridiculous, unfair, and inaccurate" to suggest otherwise, he emails. "The hill is obviously used as a metaphor for just about everything that happens in Washington…lobbyists, political operatives, reporters, etc."

The explanation is simply bizarre. When one says "the Hill" in Washington, DC, it means "the Congress." It doesn't mean reporters, political operatives and lobbyists - and it most certainly doesn't refer to anyone other than Hill staff and members of Congress. Lobbyists work on "K street." Reporters work at their own newspapers (for example, reporters who cover the White House don't respond, when asked what they do for a living, "I work at the White House.") Or is Steeel's adviser now claiming that Steele in the future will refer to all lobbyists, journalists and political operatives who ever visit the White House as "the White House"?

And another thing: So Steele was dissing Republican political operatives and lobbyists? Yeah that's it - clearly Steele was saying that people were ticked at him because now that he's the chairman, they no longer have access. Those people clearly aren't Democrats, as they didn't have access to the GOP chairman before Steele arrived on the scene. He means Republicans. Republicans who are ticked at him because he shook things up, got rid of the old boy's network, and now they don't have access.

So which Republican operatives and lobbyists was Steele referring to when he called them "scurrying mice"?

Oh wait, Cal Thomas is now issuing a correction as well. He didn't mean to say that Steele referred to "scurrying mice" on "the Hill." He thinks Steele really meant "scurrying mice" on "the hill" (small "h"). Clearly Steele was using the well-known metaphor, "scurrying mice on the hill." Come on, you'll all familiar with that famous saying right? Uh huh. Keep digging boys. Read More......

The royal wedding is off

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston have broken off their engagement. I write this not for the gossip element (though it's tempting), but rather to point out, yet again, how crassly political the Republicans are. Tell me this wasn't a shotgun wedding to help McCain and Palin get elected? These are young people's lives, and a baby, we're dealing with. But none of that mattered to the McCain campaign. Making political fodder of marriage and babies is just another day at the office for Republicans. Read More......

GOP chair Steele appears to disparage Republicans on Hill as "scurrying mice"

The Republican civil war continues.

Very weird quote from chairman of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele.

Mr. Steele said he is in stage two of a two-stage process to reform and transform the Republican Party. He won't reveal details, because, "The mice who are scurrying about the Hill are upset because they no longer have access to the cheese, so they don't know what's going on." He says his process has been "insular" because he doesn't want people "pontificating" on his decisions or second-guessing them before they are made."

Sounds like stage two of a two-stage process to get himself fired. While it's not 100% clear who Steele is referring to, it's difficult to read this - in context - as anything other than a reference to his GOP critics on the Hill. Not very smart.

A top adviser to Steele, in a Politico piece just two days ago, confirms the notion that Steele thinks a lot of Republicans are unfairly after him, which seems to be the notion behind the "scurrying mice" quote:

The chairman promised to clean house at the RNC if he won. He did, and he did. This has led to some serious griping inside the Beltway. Many were lying in wait, hoping he would stumble, so they could pounce. He did, and they did....

Change is never easy, of course, and many feel threatened by it. Steele’s election as chairman of the Republican Party was a shock to the system for many of the Republican ruling class, the old guard in Washington. Over the past week, countless anonymous sources have brought out the long knives. Indeed, over the past week, the empire has struck back.

Did Michael Steele just attack congressional Republicans one week after he narrowly survived a dust-up with Rush Limbaugh? The man seems to have a political death wish. We'll see if he survives this one. Read More......

Congress Approval rating at highest level since Feb. 2005, spurred by Democrats

Well, well, well. Look what happened when Congress actually started acting in the interests of the American people. The approval rating increased. From Gallup:

Americans' job approval rating of Congress is up an additional 8 points this month, after a 12-point increase last month, and now stands at 39% -- the most positive assessment of Congress since February 2005.

Here's how the approval rating has looked (click on the picture for a larger image)

Here's part of the analysis from Gallup:

The latest increase suggests the reason for the improved ratings of Congress in 2009 may go beyond simply the change from split control to one-party control of the federal government, to include an assessment of the work Congress has been doing with the new president on the economy and other issues.

Such an explanation seems plausible given that a majority of Democrats now approve of the job Congress is doing, and that the gap between Democratic and Republican approval of Congress is growing, as Congress passes and President Obama signs laws to deal with the economy and other issues that largely follow a Democratic philosophy of governing.

Even though the Democratic Party had majority control of both houses of Congress in 2007-2008, it was able to achieve little of its legislative agenda while Republican Bush remained in the White House. This lack of results may have soured Democrats' opinions of Congress.

So, Congress, keep doing what you're doing.

And, this should serve as a heads up to all of the Democrats who want to block the Obama agenda. Obstructionism and the failure to address serious issues is what makes people hate Congress. Don't sour people on Congress again.

The American people want change, not the same old tired games on Capitol Hill. We expect that from the Republicans. Don't let the Blue Dogs and conservatives in the Democratic Party be the roadblock to change.

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CNBC's Jim Cramer tried to fight back against Jon Stewart. All he did was give Stewart more fodder.

Jim Cramer and Joe Scarborough are no match for Jon Stewart. They shouldn't even get in the ring with him. Stewart makes them look like jackasses. Watch Stewart's latest rebuttal to the multi-pronged attack from Cramer and his NBC toadies.

We love a good CNBC-bashing here at AMERICAblog. Definitely worth a watch:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Basic Cable Personality Clash Skirmish '09

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The Bush Team "united in our belief in what President Bush did" stands by their man

In case there is any doubt that Bush's inner circle has always been completely delusional, we now know for sure. There's a pack of them, including Rove and Fleischer, still out there trying to spin his legacy -- even as the new administration tries to dig out from the disasters he left behind:

Even though Bush is keeping quiet in Texas before heading out on a lucrative speaking tour, an informal network of former aides is keeping his views in the political bloodstream, defending his legacy in TV appearances and backgrounding reporters about his record.

Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer calls the Bush pundits “a loose confederation of people united in our belief in what President Bush did, and we’re freer now to talk about some things than we used to be — good and bad.”

The Bush defense forces include Fleischer; former press secretary Dana Perino; Bush political czar Karl Rove, who has contracts with Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek; economics guru Tony Fratto; the prolific Peter Wehner, former director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives; and the graceful speechwriter Michael Gerson, who writes an opinion column for The Washington Post.

The former aides are armed with many of the same arguments that they tried out on reporters when they strolled the hallways of the West Wing.

Yes, they are using the same old arguments. And, defending the same old policies. The Bush didn't pay any attention to the facts or reality when they were in the White House. Why would it be any different when they're out? Working for Bush made them all very rich -- even as it destroyed the economy for just about everyone else.

UPDATE: From our pal, Paddy at The Political Carnival, who had the news that Ms. Perino is now perched at CNN, which gives the Bush sycophants yet another prominent perch to spin the Bush legacy. Paddy noted:

If former Bushies keep infiltrating the media, they'll remake him into FDR by the end of the year.

They're sure trying.

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Okay, yesterday, the traditional media was insane. The cable news networks completely jumped the shark. They were all abuzz about Obama hitting the 50-day mark like it was the most important news event EVER. Lots of questions about whether Obama has achieved its goal -- in 50 days. Or, was the Obama administration doing too much -- in 50 days. It was beyond. Just beyond.

There is some very exciting news about today: a new season of South Park starts tonight.

Start threading.

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I'm with Roubini on this one

An 18 or 24 month recession would be great (now that we're in it) but it's too optimistic. We still have not seen any stabilization out there and the second half of the year is likely to produce new "surprises" by some of major economies who have so far, avoided massive banking problems. (And by avoided, I mean avoided by looking the other way.) That will have an impact on an already delicate US economy that is looking for direction. The US banks also are not showing any signs of recovery and as long as the US government strings them along, they won't bounce back.

The man who predicted the current financial crisis said the US recession could drag on for years without drastic action.

Among his solutions: fix the housing market by breaking "every mortgage contract."

"We are in the 15th month of a recession," said Nouriel Roubini, a professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, told CNBC in a live interview. "Growth is going to be close to zero and unemployment rate well above 10 percent into next year."

Echoing a speech he made earlier in the day, Roubini said he sees "no hope for the recession ending in 2009 and will more than likely last into 2010."

Roubini, who is also known as "Dr. Doom," told CNBC that the risk of a total meltdown has been reversed for now but that the economy is going through "a death by a thousand cuts." He also said that "most of the U.S. financial institutions are entirely insolvent."

"The market friendly view for the banks is nationalization," said Roubini. "Temporarily take over the banks, clean them up and get them working again."

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Hedge funds to slash jobs

And they offered so much value and benefit to the global economy. That's what they like to tell us, at least.

Battered by losses and redemptions, hedge funds worldwide could slash some 20,000 jobs this year as the outlook for investment managers remains dim.

The Options Group, a Wall Street recruiting and compensation firm, Tuesday estimated record 14 percent job losses for an industry that had been growing by leaps and bounds for more than a decade, until recently.

Last year's market turmoil triggered an exodus of hedge fund customers and their money, forcing hundreds of firms to shut down and even more funds to reduce spending. So far in 2009, customers continue to drain assets from hedge funds.

"All financial services firms are scaling back and hedge funds are seeing the same thing," Options Group Chief Executive Michael Karp said. "A lot of redemptions are coming; businesses are consolidating."

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British economy on track for worst since 1931

This is not going to be a quick recovery for many countries and especially the UK. There may be some substance to the suggestions that the UK (and the US) are ahead of others in terms of shedding toxic assets and cleaning up the banks but there is still so much pain to come. The losses are horrendous and years of fake numbers are not going to be overcome in a year or two. The UK economy relied too much on banking/finance and the previous big growth years are going to be challenging to replace.

The Office for National Statistics reported yesterday that manufacturing output fell by 6.4 per cent in the three months to January – an even faster rate of decline than the 4.9 per cent contraction seen in the quarter to December. The motor industry was one of the hardest-hit sectors – output falling by 10.6 per cent during the quarter. Overall, the annual rate of decline in output has reached an alarming 12 per cent.

Analysts were shocked by the figures, as they point to a GDP decline in the early part of this year that may prove even steeper than that seen during the last few months of 2008, when GDP shrank by 1.5 per cent. The research firm Capital Economics said that the trends could point to GDP contracting over 2009 by "4 per cent or so".

Such a result would rank as the country's worst year for economic growth since 1931 – which saw a fall in excess of 5 per cent, the collapse of a Labour government and ushered in a miserable decade of mass unemployment and hunger. A 4 per cent slide would easily beat the post-war record of a 2.1 per cent slump, set in 1980.

David Kern, the chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said of manufacturing: "The sector has so far failed to benefit from the sharp falls in sterling. The critical priority is to ensure that the vital skills base is not lost during this recession. Urgent measures are needed to help viable and well-managed firms hold on to their trained and skilled employees."

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