Paulson now wants to create a VAT and chop corporate taxes

Good grief, no. The Republicans are always looking at new ways to punish the middle class and give a free ride for corporate America and here's their latest plan. Slap a VAT on who knows what and then slash corporate taxes, because the US is already known as such a tough place to do business. Uh huh, the world business community is always talking about what a tough place it is to do business. Who buys this nonsense?

The Treasury document is partly an attempt to counter a proposal by Charles Rangel, the Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to cut the corporate rate to 30.5 percent from 35 percent. Rangel’s bill contains proposals to offset his tax cuts with the elimination of special tax breaks for corporations.

So Rangel is lowering the corporate tax rates but the GOP still isn't happy? I may have my disagreements with Rangel's new tax plan but I hope that he gives it right back to Paulson. I mean sheesh. I know Paulson is a nothing now that he left Goldman and went to work for Bush but this is just stupid. Maybe Paulson needs to get out more and see the world because the US is the business climate that most in Europe would love to have at home. Read More......

Bush endorses Musharraf's dictatorship

Ah yes, the beacon of hope to the world. Not so much. From the Wash Post via Huff Post:

President Bush yesterday offered his strongest support of embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, saying the general "hasn't crossed the line" and "truly is somebody who believes in democracy."

Bush spoke nearly three weeks after Musharraf declared emergency rule, sacked members of the Supreme Court and began a roundup of journalists, lawyers and human rights activists. Musharraf's government yesterday released about 3,000 political prisoners, although 2,000 remain in custody, according to the Interior Ministry.

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Bush administration tells injured Iraq troops to give their money back

How may times do Republicans have to screw our troops before the public accepts the fact that the Republicans simply do not care about our troops? Once is a mistake - but repeated attacks on the troops practically every month, is a pattern of neglect.

The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments.

To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases.

Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back.

One of them is Jordan Fox, a young soldier from the South Hills.

He finds solace in the hundreds of boxes he loads onto a truck in Carnegie. In each box is a care package that will be sent to a man or woman serving in Iraq. It was in his name Operation Pittsburgh Pride was started.

Fox was seriously injured when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle. He was knocked unconscious. His back was injured and lost all vision in his right eye.

A few months later Fox was sent home. His injuries prohibited him from fulfilling three months of his commitment. A few days ago, he received a letter from the military demanding nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus back.

"I tried to do my best and serve my country. I was unfortunately hurt in the process. Now they're telling me they want their money back," he explained.

It's a slap for Fox's mother, Susan Wardezak, who met with President Bush in Pittsburgh last May. He thanked her for starting Operation Pittsburgh Pride which has sent approximately 4,000 care packages.

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More on Reid blocking Bush's recess appointments

Good for Senator Reid.

And check out the cry-baby comments coming from the White House:

White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said... "If the Senate would provide fair hearings and votes the question of recession appointments would never be a topic of discussion."

What exactly is a "fair" hearing versus any other kind of hearing? Oh that's right, George Bush's White House is used to having Congress serve only a pro forma, ornamental role in advising and consenting on presidential appointments. After all, that's what the Republicans did for the six years that they were in charge of the Congress during Bush's presidency - nothing. So now that the Democrats are filling their constitutional role of actually holding real hearings, asking real questions, George Bush can't take the notion of having to share power with anyone. So he whines about how unfair the Senate hearings are.

You know, if George Bush is so afraid of a Senate hearing, how is he going to protect us from Al Qaeda? Read More......

Saudis defending whipping raped woman for "crime" of being in a car with an unrelated male relative

They're barbaric. A backwards, barbaric country that has far too much power for its 12th century maturity. Had we bothered investing in alternative energy right after September 11 we'd have a chance to start, eventually, decreasing the stranglehold that barbarians like the Saudis, the Iranis, Chavez in Venezuela and more have over our nation. Instead, we're wedded to these loons now more than ever (and oil is now hitting $100/barrel). Enough is enough, the madness needs to stop. In addition to faulting Bush, Cheney and the Republicans, who wouldn't dare help America become energy independent lest it hurt their corporate buddies in the oil industry, I fault the enviro groups and the pro-Israel lobby for not doing more following September 11 (and the invasion of Iraq) to take advantage of the growing national consensus that our ties to Middle Eastern oil countries are harming rather than helping America. We had a chance to do something about this, and the groups, like (liberal) groups always do, dropped the ball. Read More......

Clinton mocks Obama and Obama mocks Clinton

Hillary mocks Obama:

Hillary Rodham Clinton ridiculed Democratic rival Barack Obama on Tuesday for his contention that living abroad as a child helped give him a better understanding of the foreign policy challenges facing the U.S.

"Voters will have to judge if living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next president will face," Clinton said. "I think we need a president with more experience than that, someone the rest of the world knows, looks up to and has confidence in."

And Obama strikes back:

Obama's retort: "I was wondering which world leader told her that we needed to invade Iraq."

Obama expands on that point:

"Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld have spent time in the White House and traveled to many countries as well, but along with Hillary Clinton they led us into the worst foreign policy disaster in a generation and are now giving George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran. The real choice in this election is between conventional Washington thinking that prizes posture and positioning, or real change that puts judgment and honesty first."

They're both right. I don't disagree with Obama's contention that living abroad as a child gives him more of a window on to the world. It does. My mom is an immigrant, and it not only made her more international, so to speak, but she gave me the bug as well (dad helped too). But, it was a comment that was just begging for the retort Clinton gave it.

As for Obama's contention about Clinton, well, he has a point. The Iran resolution was creepy, and all too familiar. It wasn't to help Bush pressure Iran diplomatically or otherwise. It was meant to do two things. First, to put Democrats into yet another bind, pitting their knowledge of how Bush has abused these resolutions in the past against their desire not to look weak on Iran (or anything else military). And second, it was meant to give Bush the authorization to go to war (that was certainly Lieberman's intent). We all know it. And suggesting that the resolution didn't do that, well, that just doesn't fly. It's yet another example of Democrats being unable and unwilling to stop this kind of nonsense in its tracks. Read More......

Supporting the troops . . .

. . . by arresting them in VA hospitals, where they're seeking mental help for PTSD, anxiety attacks, and flashbacks.

"It's humiliating, degrading," Faulkner, 22, of Stanton, said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press minutes before his release from the Fayette County Detention Center. "It's made me lose respect for the military. To come and arrest me at the VA, it wasn't like I was trying to hide, trying to run. I was getting help. I am being punished for getting help."

He returned from Iraq nine months ago and was scheduled to be sent back this week.

Gut-wrenching. Read More......

Latest national poll shows Democratic race tightening. Bad time for Hillary to be losing momentum.

As I've mentioned here before, I really think Hillary may have a problem getting the Democratic nomination. First, a caveat: At this point, national polls don't really matter. The key polls are those in the early states including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. That being said, however, there is a trend developing in the national polls for the Democratic nomination shown in the latest Reuters/Zogby poll. Hillary Clinton isn't looking so dominating and invincible:

Clinton led Obama 38 percent to 27 percent in the new poll, a 10-point fall from her 46 percent to 25 percent lead last month. The drop followed a month of attacks on the New York senator from her rivals and a heavily criticized performance in a late-October debate.

Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina remained in third place, climbing four points to 13 percent. All other Democratic contenders scored in low single digits, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson at 4 percent.

About 14 percent of Democratic voters nationwide are still uncertain of their choice as the first contest approaches in Iowa, which kicks off the state-by-state battle to pick candidates for the November 4, 2008, presidential election.

The poll was similar to several other national and state surveys showing Obama, a first-term Illinois senator, gaining on Clinton, the senator from New York who has led most polls all year.

This is a bad time to be losing momentum for any candidate. Tomorrow starts the holiday season. Even in the early states, it's going to be hard for voters to focus on caucuses and primaries which fall in early January. It's going to be very difficult for Clinton to regain momentum during December. The first caucus in Iowa is January 3rd. There's almost no time to refocus the attention of voters after the holidays but before voting actually starts.

I don't have a horse in this nomination race. I'll support the Democratic nominee whoever she or he may be. But from the perspective of a political junkie, this is getting very, very interesting to say the least. Read More......

In Iowa, Huckabee is on the move

The hard-core conservatives in Iowa are coalescing around a hard-core conservative Presidential candidate. And, it's not Romney, Thompson, McCain or Giuliani. It's Huckabee. He's got the big momentum heading towards January 3rd:

The poll found that overall, 28 percent of likely GOP caucus-goers support Romney, while 24 percent support Huckabee. Thompson ran third in the poll at 15 percent, with Giuliani at about the same level, with 13 percent. McCain, whose Iowa campaign appeared to derail earlier this year over his stance on immigration, had 6 percent and was tied with Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.), who rose from 2 percent in July.

Huckabee's gains were concentrated among the party's conservative core. He saw a 28-percentage-point jump in support from evangelical Protestants, to 44 percent, and a 19-point rise among conservatives, to 30 percent. Among previous caucus attendees, his support increased from 9 percent to 29 percent.

Huckabee's people are committed, too:

The enthusiasm among Huckabee supporters was striking, particularly in a year in which Republicans have been considerably dissatisfied with the field of candidates. Half of those who now back the former Arkansas governor said they are very enthusiastic about him, compared with 28 percent of Romney's backers.

This could be fun to watch. Read More......

Paulson finally sees what everyone already sees

Next year will be an ugly year for loan defaults.

"The nature of the problem will be significantly bigger next year because 2006 (mortgages) had lower underwriting standards, no amortization, and no down payments," Paulson said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, according to an excerpt on the newspaper's Web site.

And who was supposed to be providing oversight? Just as "profit" is not a dirty word, the same goes for "oversight." It is possible to have both despite what the GOP believes.

Meanwhile, the OECD is forecasting mortgage losses in the US to be valued at $300 billion. Let Bush and the GOP defend their incompetence to voters in 2008. They can tell us all about the benefits of the free market without regulations. Go ahead and run with it folks. Sounds like a winning strategy. Read More......

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

So Scott McClellan admitted lying for his boss, George Bush, about the leak of Valerie Plame's name. Bush and his lackeys lie all the time. It's just rare any of them will admit it.

What makes this so egregious is that Bush and crew lied to the White House press corps knowing that several members of that White House press corps knew they were lying. A number of reporters sitting in the James S. Brady press briefing room at the White Hosue were recipients of the leak about Valerie Plame, but still reported the Bush denials. Bush and Rove knew they could get away with lying because those reporters would just regurgitate their lies. And, that's exactly what happened.

Then, of course, during the 2004 election, those same reporters dutifully reported the lie that Bush was strong on national security -- and let Bush get away with attacking John Kerry's honorable and heroic service to his country.

It's appalling all around. And, it sure sounds like Scooter Libby isn't the only perjurer in the Bush circle.

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

Strikes in France continue, talks resume

In theory many union workers have drifted back to work though according to the Metro website, disruptions continue. (Different Metro lines in Paris have different unions, with some more radical than others.) In the mean time streets are full of bad drivers from the suburbs and velib bikes continue to be in demand by commuters. Support for Sarkozy continues to remain high and a strong majority support him in addressing this issue.

The issue here is fairness. Most people in France no longer support easier retirement plans that were based on work conditions that made sense years ago (when coal was used, for example) but are out of step with the times. The system in France needs reform and the left failed miserably to offer their own ideas which is why they lost so badly in the recent elections. Even today the left is disorganized and lacks support. The elections in May weren't a 51/49 split as we've seen in the US presidential elections but an old fashioned blowout. As much as the French hate change, they demanded change at the polls and they still support that position.

Moving forward, this may not be the "Thatcher moment" that the media wants but the system in France will change. It has to change. France is currently listed as the worst market in the world for business-labor relations and that doesn't help anyone in any way. France needs to solve this problem if it wants to get the economy rolling again because decades of 8%-10+% unemployment just won't cut it any longer. Read More......

Greenhouse gases going up again

Here in Europe, there has been a steady migration of factory jobs moved to the eastern European EU states who have successfully groaned about the need to pollute. In their infinite wisdom the traditional EU states have accepted this and looked the other way while previously good jobs have moved out of the west. The manufacturing jobs are disappearing in the West and moving to the East where environmental regulations are minimal and the pay is a fraction of the total charges. This new UN study is a good wakeup call as we keep moving manufacturing "over there" and ignore the problems.

It blamed continued growth in Western economies and a revival of growth in former East Bloc nations, with pollution from transport the biggest culprit by sector.

"Industrialised countries' overall greenhouse-gas emissions rose to a near all-time high in 2005," UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said in a press conference telecast from Bonn.

"Greenhouse-gas emissions between 1990 and 2000 went down, but then between 2000 and 2005 they increased again, by 2.6 percent."

Big business is happy that not only can pay much less but they can also ignore the environment. Out of sight, out of mind. If these companies are going to continue moving jobs to the East, the executives ought to also enjoy the fine living conditions and local salaries that they think are so good for everyone else. Let them breath in the pollution. Let their kids live with the full quality of life that sounds so attractive to them. Let them earn centimes on the euro in salary and benefits. Think of the money it would save. Read More......

UK loses data on 25 million people

In a country of 59 million, this is an amazing event. The data loses in the US have added up to around 219 million (which may have some overlap) out of a population of 303 million but it's been more of a bleed.

Two computer discs holding the personal details of all families in the UK with a child under 16 have gone missing.

The Child Benefit data on them includes name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and, where relevant, bank details of 25m people.

In a true sign of bravery, the loss has been blamed on a "junior official" by Britain's Chancellor Alistair Darling. The Tories may be wrong about a lot of things but they are spot on with their criticism and people ought to be furious.

Moving forward, is there anyone in office who is taking action to prevent the next big loss either by government or private industry? There's plenty of talk, but this is an obvious problem and concern waiting for a resolution. (h/t to reader NP) Read More......