We could afford to bailout Wall Street, we can afford unemployment benefits

Leave it to the Republicans to make a fuss about extending a few hundred dollars a week of unemployment benefits. If it's OK to fund a war that nobody wants and it's OK to bailout the Wall Street gamblers, this is chump change. Unemployed is unemployed, whether you are living in a state where the rate is above 6% or below. The people complaining don't have this worry because even if they're voted out of office they will land on their feet with cushy lobbyist jobs not to mention a pension plan rarely seen in the outside world. Read More......

Congress subpoenas food testing companies

Who would imagine that testing companies might test until they receive the desired results? Don't these people eat and don't they also have families in the real world? This is outrageous behavior and yet another reason why the system needs change.

For months, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee has investigated the possible circumvention of government import alerts. Foods posing a potential danger can enter the marketplace only after a laboratory has determined that they are safe, according to Food and Drug Administration rules. But investigators have been told that it is a routine practice for private labs to test food until a clean result is obtained.

"This repeated testing is done without FDA knowledge that potentially dangerous food has been imported into this country and has entered commerce," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., and chairman of the House subcommittee that authorized the subpoenas.

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Is water the new oil?

T. Boone Pickens thinks so. Read More......

'John McCain is Still the One for George Bush'

John Hall, Democratic Congressman from NY, demands that McCain stops using his song at events. I think this song is maybe a little racy for the McCain crowd but oh the memories. Pass the jello, please. Read More......

Friday Orchid Blogging

Phal. Haur Jin Diamond 'Ching Hua'

This is a beautiful plant I bought at a home show here in DC probably 3 years ago. The plant has never thrived under my care, but it hasn't died either. Just kind of limps along, growing VERY slowly. And this year it finally flowered. Sure, it only has two flowers (one is still coming, so only one is in bloom), and sure, it should have like 10 flowers, but I remember now why I bought this plant. I mean, is that a great flower or what? Some people hate this style of orchid, called "harlequin." It's a genetic mutation that was cultivated, and now there are tons of these splotchy harlequin orchids around. I've always loved them. So, while I'm still a bit annoyed that my plants is still baby sized (it should be huge at this point), I'm really happy to see that it can flower, and that the flowers are so grand. Really a lovely plant. Oh, I've also posted another picture, below, of the entire plant. Orchid people don't often publish the entire plant, you'll often only see the flowers (at least in this country - in Japan, you'll often see the entire plant in photos). It kind of gives you more perspective on the flower, I think. Enjoy. JOHN

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Brokaw announcing Russert's death

UPDATE: From the NYT blog...

5:17 p.m. | Cause of Death Undetermined: Mr. Russert’s doctor tells NBC that Mr. Russert collapsed in the bureau, resuscitation was done immediately, he was transferred to Sibley Memorial Hospital where resuscitation was continued. The cause of death has yet to be determined and an autopsy being performed. This is at variance with what was on the NBC Web site, which said Mr. Russert had a heart attack.

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BREAKING NEWS: Tim Russert dead of heart attack

NYT reports on its front page:

BREAKING NEWS 3:23 PM ET: Tim Russert Is Dead of a Heart Attack, His Family Says

He was 58.

Hunting for more information now. Will update as soon as I have it.

MSNBC is now reporting the news that Russert collapsed and died at work at the NBC news bureau in Washington, DC this afternoon. He had just returned from a trip to Italy with his family. Tom Brokaw is sharing the tragic news and clearly broken up. How awful.

"This news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice."

UPDATE: Brian Williams just tossed to Andrea Mitchell who is on now. I don't know how they are doing it. They are all so obviously devastated. My heart aches for them. I can't imagine having to stay composed and report on the loss of a friend.

Brian Williams sums it up: "Even this coverage is being compiled by family members of a very sad family." Read More......

Oh my God, airlines are now charging extra to reserve a seat

Let the mo-fos go bankrupt for all I care. Now I'm going to be paying $15 to even reserve a seat? Are they kidding? Oh, and notice how all the carriers are increasing their prices at the same time, again. Yeah, no collusion there.

Baggage fees are fast becoming an unavoidable part of U.S. flying — three of the largest carriers now charge $15 for a first checked bag. No. 2 United Airlines and No. 7 US Airways announced their new fees on Thursday, three weeks after No. 1 American Airlines set the precedent for the charge....

Most U.S. carriers already have instituted a $25 charge for checking a second bag....

He expects the legacy carriers to follow the lead of discount carrier Spirit Airlines, which now charges extra for seat reservations — $5 for middle seats, $10 for window and aisle seats and $15 for exit-row seats. Other airlines also have begun charging for window or aisle seats....

As of July 1, Southwest Airlines will be the only U.S. carrier that permits two checked bags for free, according to air travel expert Tom Parsons, who expects still more service fees to come.

Then Southwest it is. Read More......

Governor of Massachusetts' daughter comes out

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has an 18 year old daughter who is openly gay and proud of it. Neat story from the local gay paper in Boston, Bay Windows:

On June 14, 2007, the day that lawmakers finally voted down an anti-gay marriage amendment to the state constitution, Katherine Patrick stood outside the State House and looked up at her father. Gov. Deval Patrick was standing on the front steps, surrounded by a jubilant crowd of hundreds that mobbed the brick sidewalk and spilled halfway across Beacon Street. As they cheered the defeat of the amendment - an effort led by the governor, Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Sal DiMasi - Katherine had never before felt more proud of her father.

"Because, of course, he didn’t know that I was gay then," the 18-year-old recalls. "So, for someone so publicly to fight for something that doesn’t even affect him was just like, ’That’s my dad,’ you know?" she says with a laugh. "That’s all I could think. I was very, very proud to be part of this family, and this state in general."

"It was great. I’m very glad," she adds, looking at her father. "Don’t cry, Dad." Patrick’s eyes are brimming with tears, prompting some good-natured teasing from his daughter. "He’s done some good things," she says with a laugh, patting his arm. "I appreciate it. Want a tissue? Oh, God. He’s a crier."

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McCain: I never supported Social Security privatization. But in 2004, he did.

Again, he's either a liar, or losing his faculties. Watch a video of McCain making both statements, below, here:

"But I'm not for quote privatizing Social Security, I never have been, I never will be." - New Hampshire Town Hall, 06/12/08

"Without privatization, I don't see how you can possibly, over time, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits." - C-Span Road to the White House, 11/18/2004

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CPI jumps again in May, confidence drops

Which may explain why consumer confidence has hit a 28 year low, when Jimmy Carter was in office. CNBC again tells us that inflation not so bad. Provided you ignore food and energy costs and think more about that $18 less for your TV set, you'll be fun. Back in the real world a 17% jump in the last year is big news. Read More......

Bush administration in "disarray" after Supreme Court slapdown on habeas

Yeah, those 5-4 decisions are a real bitch, President Gore. From the Washington Post:

In the days following the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush and his advisers sought to create an unprecedented parallel system to detain suspected terrorists far from the normal scrutiny of the U.S. judiciary. The naval base at Guantanamo Bay offered a way to indefinitely hold those individuals the administration considered among the most dangerous in the world.

But the Supreme Court's decision yesterday to grant habeas corpus rights to the detainees struck at the very core of the administration's approach, as a narrow majority ruled that even hardened suspects are due the basic right to challenge their custody in federal court. The ruling throws into disarray the administration's detention strategy, almost certainly leaving to Bush's successor and the next Congress the dilemma of what to do with the Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Good. You don't get to cherry-pick the Constitution. The Republican message on this entire issue has been incredibly destructive to the public's understanding of what our country stands for and how it even works at the most basic level. If you have a case to make, make it, but you don't get to imprison people based on George Bush's best judgment. And people are no less people just because they're foreigners. Read More......

Iraq war may end up costing $2.7 trillion

Smells like... bankruptcy.

(CNNMoney.com) -- As the Iraq war continues with no clear end in sight, the cost to taxpayers may balloon to $2.7 trillion by the time the conflict comes to an end, according to Congressional testimony.

In a hearing held by the Joint Economic Committee Thursday, members of Congress heard testimony about the current costs of the war and the future economic fallout from returning soldiers.

At the beginning of the conflict in 2003, the Bush administration gave Congress a cost estimate of $60 billion to $100 billion for the entirety of the war. But the battle has been dragging on much longer than most in the government expected, and costs have ballooned to nearly ten times the original estimate.

William Beach, director of the Center for Data Analysis, told members of Congress that the Iraq war has already cost taxpayers $646 billion. That's only accounting for five years, and, with the conflict expected to drag on for another five years, the figure is expected to more than quadruple. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told members of Congress that the war costs taxpayers about $430 million per day, and called out the Bush Administration.

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Olbermann to McCain on our troops: "You’ve sold them all out, Senator. You."

Keith Olbermann did another Special Comment last night and directed his anger at McCain (video below). As I watched, I had a random thought.

If McCain implodes before the convention, could Republicans get a new candidate or are they stuck with him no matter what?

It just seems like he's getting deeper and deeper into the muck - and while that is obviously excellent for Democrats, it's hard to imagine the Republican Evil Machine sitting by and saying, "Oh well, f*ck it. We'll get 'em next time."

Could they pull a rabbit out of the hat?

Joe's traveling, but I managed to get his input on the run:

I think we are seeing the real McCain. This is who he is. They are stuck with him. Unless, for some reason, John McCain develops an 'excuse' to get out. But he has the delegates. He won them. So the GOP is stuck with him.

He's a smarty, that Joe. McCain...lately, not so much.

Here's Keith on the Incredible Shrinking Candidate:

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Headlines we live for

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Foreclosures up 48% in May

It's not a problem though. Wall Street says they're doing just fine thanks to the generous bailout so they've hardly skipped a beat. Mission Accomplished. Besides, don't the people losing homes know that Chanel perfume is actually more expensive than gas? They probably also didn't realize that a TV is $18 less this year. Some people are never happy with good news. Read More......

Billions everywhere but no oversight

A familiar story that could be for any number of issues such as banking or food but in this specific case, this is related to our favorite black hole of spending, Iraq. It's nice to see that people such as McCain, who are such strong supporters of the war, can never bother to look into wasteful taxpayer spending. They don't mind cutting oversight or cutting important US programs but when it comes to Iraq, it's untouchable. Why do Republicans care so little about how billions are being spent?

The Army's contracting budget has exploded since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began — from $46 billion in 2002 to $112 billion in 2007. Yet the number of people who hunt down crooked companies and corrupt officials has stayed about the same, according to Associated Press interviews and research.

Army investigation chiefs told the AP they need a dramatic increase in agents to fight contract fraud. In combat zones, deals can be made quickly, often with foreign companies in countries where bribes are a routine part of doing business. Yet to monitor those billions in contracts, just under 100 civilian agents are assigned to the Army Criminal Investigation Command's procurement fraud office.

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2000 year old seed germinates

This is an amazing story. The seed pre-dates the Roman invasion of Masada.

A 2,000-year-old seed recovered from the ancient Jewish fortress of Masada near the Dead Sea has become the oldest seed in the world to have germinated successfully, scientists said yesterday.

The seed, which grew into a date palm plant, was one of three recovered during archaeological excavations in the early 1960s, but it was only planted two years ago as part of an experiment to see if it could germinate and grow after such a long time.

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