A Haitian-American on the earthquake, her father and reclaiming Haiti

A year ago today, that massive earthquake nearly obliterated Haiti. Today, the country is still in ruins. Marjorie Valbrun, with whom I've had the great pleasure of working with in the past, has a very powerul op-ed in the Washington Post today. She tells the story of the earthquake through the experience of her 83 year old father, who survived the destruction. And, she writes of the responsibility to her native country:

My Papa, like thousands of others who sought to build better lives for their families in the United States and then returned to Haiti to live out their old age, gave our family a precious gift: a life of opportunities we could never have had in Haiti. But he also helped us hold onto our past by keeping us tethered to memories. I continue to love a country I left so long ago because, well, Papa taught me to.

Later this month he will travel to Haiti to assess the landscape, inspect his broken house, decide whether to rebuild or sell the land and be done with it. I will go with him and do some personal assessing of my own. It's time.

Even after everything, Papa still wants to eventually return to Haiti for good. When I ask why, he responds: "Your Papa still feels like a young man, why should I stay in Florida? To watch TV and wait to die like the other old people? Not me. I want to live in Haiti."

At 83, his work is done. It's time for all those Haitian fathers and mothers who sacrificed so much for their children to finally rest. Now it's up to my generation of Haitian Americans to reclaim Haiti and help it get back on its feet. Our work is just getting started.

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American public wants us to default on national debt, sending world economy into chaos for decades

Huff Post Hill, writing about this Reuters story:

We try so hard to give the American People the benefit of the doubt, but they keep making it harder: Two in three Americans now favor defaulting on the U.S. debt and sending the global economy into a tailspin, throwing millions out of work. Reuters: "The U.S. public overwhelmingly opposes raising the country's debt limit even though failure to do so could hurt America's international standing and push up borrowing costs, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday. Some 71 percent of those surveyed oppose increasing the borrowing authority, the focus of a brewing political battle over federal spending. Only 18 percent support an increase... Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last week warned that a failure to raise the borrowing limit in the coming months could lead to 'catastrophic economic consequences.'" Survey respondents had much less appetite, though, for cutting spending. Their budgets suggestions? "Some 73 percent support scaling back foreign aid and 65 percent support cutting back on tax collection -- two very small lines in the massive federal budget ledger." Yes, cutting back on tax collections will do wonders for the deficit.

Don't believe them? Listen to GOP Senator Lindsey Graham (and Reuters):

"Let me tell you what's involved if we don't lift the debt ceiling: financial collapse and calamity throughout the world. That's not lost upon me."

A default by the U.S. government would, in effect, cause a long lasting tax on all Americans and the loss of millions of jobs -- and the economic catastrophe would last for decades. Not even to mention that the longtime standing of the U.S. dollar and Treasury bond as the world's financial standard bearers would be given up for good, interest rates would spike, and investors within the U.S. and around the world would likely be spooked.

Welcome to an America in which the Republicans demagogue and the Democrats refuse to respond appropriately. The public ends up believing voodoo economics that would quite literally destroy our economy.

We're number one. Read the rest of this post...

Live coverage of the memorial service in Tucson, Arizona

UPDATE @ 9:19 PM: My take is that the President did a great job tonight. Very impressive. He delivered for the country.
__________________________
The President is in Tucson with the First Lady. They're sitting in the front row with Mark Kelly (the husband of Rep. Giffords), Daniel Hernandez and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, among others. Here's the live feed from MSNBC

UPDATE:I've removed the MSNBC embed.

The transcript of the President's speech is after the break.

Here are the remarks, as delivered:

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

AT "TOGETHER WE THRIVE: TUCSON AND AMERICA,"

A MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR

THE VICTIMS OF THE SHOOTING IN TUCSON, ARIZONA

McKale Memorial Center

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

6:43 P.M. MST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Please, please be seated. (Applause.)

To the families of those we’ve lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants who are gathered here, the people of Tucson and the people of Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today and will stand by you tomorrow. (Applause.)

There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: The hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy will pull through. (Applause.)

Scripture tells us:

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

On Saturday morning, Gabby, her staff and many of her constituents gathered outside a supermarket to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and free speech. (Applause.) They were fulfilling a central tenet of the democracy envisioned by our founders –- representatives of the people answering questions to their constituents, so as to carry their concerns back to our nation’s capital. Gabby called it “Congress on Your Corner” -– just an updated version of government of and by and for the people. (Applause.)

And that quintessentially American scene, that was the scene that was shattered by a gunman’s bullets. And the six people who lost their lives on Saturday –- they, too, represented what is best in us, what is best in America. (Applause.)

Judge John Roll served our legal system for nearly 40 years. (Applause.) A graduate of this university and a graduate of this law school -- (applause) -- Judge Roll was recommended for the federal bench by John McCain 20 years ago -- (applause) -- appointed by President George H.W. Bush and rose to become Arizona’s chief federal judge. (Applause.)

His colleagues described him as the hardest-working judge within the Ninth Circuit. He was on his way back from attending Mass, as he did every day, when he decided to stop by and say hi to his representative. John is survived by his loving wife, Maureen, his three sons and his five beautiful grandchildren. (Applause.)

George and Dorothy Morris -– “Dot” to her friends -– were high school sweethearts who got married and had two daughters. They did everything together -- traveling the open road in their RV, enjoying what their friends called a 50-year honeymoon. Saturday morning, they went by the Safeway to hear what their congresswoman had to say. When gunfire rang out, George, a former Marine, instinctively tried to shield his wife. (Applause.) Both were shot. Dot passed away.

A New Jersey native, Phyllis Schneck retired to Tucson to beat the snow. But in the summer, she would return East, where her world revolved around her three children, her seven grandchildren and 2-year-old great-granddaughter. A gifted quilter, she’d often work under a favorite tree, or sometimes she'd sew aprons with the logos of the Jets and the Giants -- (laughter) -- to give out at the church where she volunteered. A Republican, she took a liking to Gabby, and wanted to get to know her better. (Applause.)

Dorwan and Mavy Stoddard grew up in Tucson together -– about 70 years ago. They moved apart and started their own respective families. But after both were widowed they found their way back here, to, as one of Mavy’s daughters put it, “be boyfriend and girlfriend again.” (Laughter.)

When they weren’t out on the road in their motor home, you could find them just up the road, helping folks in need at the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. A retired construction worker, Dorwan spent his spare time fixing up the church along with his dog, Tux. His final act of selflessness was to dive on top of his wife, sacrificing his life for hers. (Applause.)

Everything -- everything -- Gabe Zimmerman did, he did with passion. (Applause.) But his true passion was helping people. As Gabby’s outreach director, he made the cares of thousands of her constituents his own, seeing to it that seniors got the Medicare benefits that they had earned, that veterans got the medals and the care that they deserved, that government was working for ordinary folks. He died doing what he loved -– talking with people and seeing how he could help. And Gabe is survived by his parents, Ross and Emily, his brother, Ben, and his fiancée, Kelly, who he planned to marry next year. (Applause.)

And then there is nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green. Christina was an A student; she was a dancer; she was a gymnast; she was a swimmer. She decided that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the Major Leagues, and as the only girl on her Little League team, no one put it past her. (Applause.)

She showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age. She’d remind her mother, “We are so blessed. We have the best life.” And she’d pay those blessings back by participating in a charity that helped children who were less fortunate.

Our hearts are broken by their sudden passing. Our hearts are broken -– and yet, our hearts also have reason for fullness.

Our hearts are full of hope and thanks for the 13 Americans who survived the shooting, including the congresswoman many of them went to see on Saturday.

I have just come from the University Medical Center, just a mile from here, where our friend Gabby courageously fights to recover even as we speak. And I want to tell you -- her husband Mark is here and he allows me to share this with you -- right after we went to visit, a few minutes after we left her room and some of her colleagues in Congress were in the room, Gabby opened her eyes for the first time. (Applause.) Gabby opened her eyes for the first time. (Applause.)

Gabby opened her eyes. Gabby opened her eyes, so I can tell you she knows we are here. She knows we love her. And she knows that we are rooting for her through what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult journey. We are there for her. (Applause.)

Our hearts are full of thanks for that good news, and our hearts are full of gratitude for those who saved others. We are grateful to Daniel Hernandez -- (applause) -- a volunteer in Gabby’s office. (Applause.)

And, Daniel, I’m sorry, you may deny it, but we’ve decided you are a hero because -- (applause) -- you ran through the chaos to minister to your boss, and tended to her wounds and helped keep her alive. (Applause.)

We are grateful to the men who tackled the gunman as he stopped to reload. (Applause.) Right over there. (Applause.) We are grateful for petite Patricia Maisch, who wrestled away the killer’s ammunition, and undoubtedly saved some lives. (Applause.) And we are grateful for the doctors and nurses and first responders who worked wonders to heal those who’d been hurt. We are grateful to them. (Applause.)

These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle. They remind us that heroism does not require special training or physical strength. Heroism is here, in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens, all around us, just waiting to be summoned -– as it was on Saturday morning. Their actions, their selflessness poses a challenge to each of us. It raises a question of what, beyond prayers and expressions of concern, is required of us going forward. How can we honor the fallen? How can we be true to their memory?

You see, when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations –- to try and pose some order on the chaos and make sense out of that which seems senseless. Already we’ve seen a national conversation commence, not only about the motivations behind these killings, but about everything from the merits of gun safety laws to the adequacy of our mental health system. And much of this process, of debating what might be done to prevent such tragedies in the future, is an essential ingredient in our exercise of self-government.

But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized -– at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who happen to think differently than we do -– it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we’re talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds. (Applause.)

Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding. In the words of Job, “When I looked for light, then came darkness.” Bad things happen, and we have to guard against simple explanations in the aftermath.

For the truth is none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped these shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind. Yes, we have to examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of such violence in the future. (Applause.) But what we cannot do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other. (Applause.) That we cannot do. (Applause.) That we cannot do.

As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let’s use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy and remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together. (Applause.)

After all, that’s what most of us do when we lose somebody in our family -– especially if the loss is unexpected. We’re shaken out of our routines. We’re forced to look inward. We reflect on the past: Did we spend enough time with an aging parent, we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices that they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in a while but every single day?

So sudden loss causes us to look backward -– but it also forces us to look forward; to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. (Applause.)

We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we're doing right by our children, or our community, whether our priorities are in order.

We recognize our own mortality, and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame -– but rather, how well we have loved -- (applause)-- and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better. (Applause.)

And that process -- that process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions –- that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires.

For those who were harmed, those who were killed –- they are part of our family, an American family 300 million strong. (Applause.) We may not have known them personally, but surely we see ourselves in them. In George and Dot, in Dorwan and Mavy, we sense the abiding love we have for our own husbands, our own wives, our own life partners. Phyllis –- she’s our mom or our grandma; Gabe our brother or son. (Applause.) In Judge Roll, we recognize not only a man who prized his family and doing his job well, but also a man who embodied America’s fidelity to the law. (Applause.)

And in Gabby -- in Gabby, we see a reflection of our public-spiritedness; that desire to participate in that sometimes frustrating, sometimes contentious, but always necessary and never-ending process to form a more perfect union. (Applause.)

And in Christina -- in Christina we see all of our children. So curious, so trusting, so energetic, so full of magic. So deserving of our love. And so deserving of our good example.

If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate -- as it should -- let’s make sure it’s worthy of those we have lost. (Applause.) Let’s make sure it’s not on the usual plane of politics and point-scoring and pettiness that drifts away in the next news cycle.

The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better. To be better in our private lives, to be better friends and neighbors and coworkers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their death helps usher in more civility in our public discourse, let us remember it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy -- it did not -- but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to the challenges of our nation in a way that would make them proud. (Applause.)

We should be civil because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other’s ideas without questioning each other’s love of country and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American Dream to future generations. (Applause.)

They believed -- they believed, and I believe that we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved life here –- they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that’s entirely up to us. (Applause.)

And I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us. (Applause.)

That’s what I believe, in part because that’s what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. (Applause.)

Imagine -- imagine for a moment, here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that some day she, too, might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council. She saw public service as something exciting and hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.

I want to live up to her expectations. (Applause.) I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it. (Applause.) All of us -– we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations. (Applause.)

As has already been mentioned, Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called “Faces of Hope.” On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child’s life. “I hope you help those in need,” read one. “I hope you know all the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart." (Applause.) "I hope you jump in rain puddles.”

If there are rain puddles in Heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. (Applause.) And here on this Earth -- here on this Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and we commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.

May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

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Boehner opts for fundraiser over going to memorial service in Tucson

Classy guy who obviously has his priorities:

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) turned down an offer by President Barack Obama to travel on Air Force One to Arizona for a memorial service on behalf of the victims of Saturday’s shooting, a decision that has upset some Democrats.

Boehner is instead scheduled to attend a reception on Wednesday night on behalf of Maria Cino, a former top House GOP aide who is seeking the Republican National Committee chairmanship. Boehner is backing Cino’s challenge to current RNC Chairman Michael Steele.

Boehner’s reception for Cino was first reported on Wednesday morning by POLITICO.

Read the rest of this post...

Dylan Ratigan on 'corporate communism'

It's nearly 10 minutes long, but well worth the investment. Read the rest of this post...

AZ Republicans resign after Giffords shooting, citing threats from Tea Partiers

Read the headline, then remember, these are Republicans talking, not the "politicizing" left. Think Progress:

Just hours after 22-year-old gunman Jared Loughner launched a shooting spree at a Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) constituent event in Tucson on Saturday that left six dead and 14 wounded, Legislative District chairman Anthony Miller, a Republican, announced that he would resign his position. In an email to the state’s GOP chair, Miller cited “constant verbal attacks” after his election last year “and Internet blog posts by some local members with Tea Party ties made him worry about his family’s safety.” Many of his Republican colleagues followed him out the door[.]

Click through to read the full story on Anthony Miller and his colleagues. By my count, the number of resignations from Republican party positions in that district is four. The Republican state senator from that area, John McComish of Ahwatukee, was asked for comment:

A longtime Republican activist, McComish said contentious battles for local party leadership posts are nothing new, but this one appears to be more extreme[.]

Ya think? (H/t Joe in DC via Twitter for the link.)

By the way, this is Anthony Miller, for the record:


Side comment: Some days I think I've woken from a dream and entered a novel. Today is one of those days.

I can't stop feeling stunned by the surreality, the absolutely on-the-nose otherworldliness, of a South Carolina gun manufacturer coming out with a line of assault rifle parts commemorating Rep. Joe Wilson's famous "You Lie" comment. Remember where he said that, and to whom? That would be on the floor of Congress, to our first black president.

South Carolina. Assault rifle parts. Black President. All this, only days after an assassination attempt is made on another federal official, while another is assassinated.

GP Read the rest of this post...

Boehner against any new gun control changes

Is there anything that could happen in the US that might change the attitude? The Hill:

Even Capitol Hill’s most ardent gun reformers don’t anticipate any changes to the nation’s gun laws will be forthcoming in the 112th Congress. They say the combination of a GOP-led House and the powerful gun lobby is simply too formidable to take on over an issue that’s become a proverbial third rail of Washington politics.

“Anything you can get through the gun lobby is going to have little consequence,” Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), a longtime supporter of tightening Second Amendment restrictions, said in a phone interview. “I don’t see the likelihood of much progress — I don’t see much hope.”

Aside from King’s proposal, longtime gun-control advocates Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) are working on legislation to prohibit high-capacity ammunition magazines like those allegedly used by Jared Lee Loughner, the 22-year-old college dropout who’s been charged in the Arizona rampage.

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Clyburn: Palin intellectually 'not to be able to understand what's going on here'

In Palin's case, he's correct. She's not just trash, she's dumb. But in the case of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, FOX News overall, and much of the leadership of the Republican party, these people are anything but stupid. Either they don't care about the consequences of their actions, and how they feed America's culture of violence, or there's some kind of mental block. While being dumb is likely Palin's excuse, the rest of the GOP can't get off so easily.

Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said that Palin had missed the point by releasing a statement this morning blasting the media for "blood libel" for looking to assign blame in part to her rhetoric after the attempted assassination of Giffords last weekend.

"You know, Sarah Palin just can't seem to get it, on any front. I think she's an attractive person, she is articulate," Clyburn said on the Bill Press radio show. "But I think intellectually, she seems not to be able to understand what's going on here."

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Feud erupts between Glenn Beck and Joe Scarborough

Awfully defensive, these conservatives, for someone who's innocent. Here's MSNBC's Scarborough:

"I have a lot of family members that listen to him and watch him and are frightened by the things that he says every night with his chalkboard...my mom and a lot of other people like her that watch him every day start to believe if they hear every day, every day, that there's this guy in Washington D.C., this black guy that hates all white people and he wants to take your money . . . and he wants to destroy the country you grew up in. You feed that vile message to Americans every day, it's going to have an impact."

Read the rest of this post...

Joe Wilson 'You Lie' line of assault weapons to go on sale

Sick.

Rep. Joe Wilson's (R-S.C.) health care-era "you lie" interruption of President Obama is now reportedly being commemorated with a place on a new, limited edition line of assault rifle components.

The Columbia Free Times reports that the words are being engraved on a series of lower receivers manufactured for popular AR-15 assault rifles. Lower receivers are one of the primary pieces of the firearms.

"Palmetto State Armory would like to honor our esteemed congressman Joe Wilson with the release of our new 'You Lie' AR-15 lower receiver," the weapon manufacturer's site writes in the product description. "Only 999 of these will be produced, get yours before they are gone!"

Read the rest of this post...

Defensive Palin finally responds to Tucson massacre, attacks media

Via Facebook, of course, Sarah Palin finally responded to the mass shooting that occurred in Tucson on Saturday. As we all know, her rhetoric and the infamous "gun sights" target list have featured prominently in the post-shooting discussion. But, we haven't really heard from Palin, until now. She also included a well-rehearsed, carefully staged video. And, she chose to release this statement and video on the day of the memorial in Tucson, which Obama will attend. Sarah wants to be in that story.

It's a fairly typical Palin screed. A defensive screed. And, there's an attack on the media, of course. Here's Greg Sargent's take:

A few quick things to note. First, the obvious care that went into making this video -- the pre-written script is over seven minutes long; she clearly rehearsed the reading at some length; and the backdrop includes an American flag on the right flank -- demonstrate once again that Palin and her advisers knew this was a potential make-or-break moment. Palin, of course, has long taken her case directly to supporters via Twitter and Facebook, while not permitting herself to be exposed to any journalistic cross-examination. Utilizing a pre-taped video message is a new twist on that strategy, and a reflection of how high the stakes have become.

Second, her core accusation on the video, the one that was clearly selected with an intent to drive headlines, not only accuses critics of "blood libel," but actually accuses them of expressing concern and outrage about the shooting in bad faith, as if they are doing so in an effort to do nothing more than damage her politically

Greg's right. The headlines are all including the term "blood libel." The Hill notes:

Palin lashed out at the media, one of her traditional targets, saying they fueled the notion that rhetoric played a role in the Arizona attack.

Lashing out, that's Sarah. Looks like she's trying to force Republicans to defend her. Will they?

Palin has the audacity to cite Giffords in her screed:

Just days before she was shot, Congresswoman Giffords read the First Amendment on the floor of the House. It was a beautiful moment and more than simply “symbolic,” as some claim, to have the Constitution read by our Congress. I am confident she knew that reading our sacred charter of liberty was more than just “symbolic.”

Since Palin chose to cite Congresswoman Giffords, we will too. From March 25, 2010:

"For example, we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list, but the thing is that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district, and when people do that, they've gotta realize there are consequences to that action."

Giffords and 19 others faced the real consequences of being in a gun sight.

Palin is now dealing with the political consequences of using that violent imagery and urging her followers to RELOAD!. This is a test for Palin. She's failing. Read the rest of this post...

Rep. Dan Burton: Enclose House chamber in plexiglass

That genius Rep. Dan Burton has a solution to protect members of Congress from violence:

An aide to Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) tells CBS News that the Indiana Republican plans to introduce legislation next week that would encase the House Gallery in "a transparent and substantial material" such as Plexiglas that would keep members of the public from being able to throw explosives or make other attacks on members on the House floor.

Burton has introduced similar legislation in the past. It reads in part, "The Architect of the Capitol shall enclose the visitors' galleries of the House of Representatives with a transparent and substantial material, and shall install equipment so that the proceedings on the floor of the House of Representatives will be clearly audible in the galleries."

Does he want to enclose members in plexiglass, too?

Seriously, there aren't many more secure buildings in the world than the U.S. Capitol. How about putting some thought into how to protect the rest of America from violence, too? Read the rest of this post...

Barclays Bank CEO Bob Diamond 'resents' questions about banker pay

He would much rather people stop asking about the nearly $50 billion Barclays Bank borrowed from the US Federal Reserve emergency lending program. What this means is that without the US Fed, Barclays probably would not have survived. So now the extremely arrogant American banker has the nerve to "resent" this issue being raised. Well, most Americans who bailed out the British Bank probably "resent" a banker like this being upset for being saved.

Diamond, of course, comes from the gambling side of the business like many of the bank executives these days. His side was the side that drove the big profits gambling but now he'd also like to pretend that's not the case. He's a conservative guy, you know. The reality of modern day "banking" is that without the gambling, there are no flashy numbers to report. None. This means the banks would have to come down to pay levels that are still considered quite generous by the schmucks who bailed out the bankers. But naturally, that won't be enough to satisfy the inflated egos of the banking industry.

They don't come any more arrogant than Bob Diamond:

Mr Diamond batted away the possibility of waiving his bonus, saying: "I haven't been offered a bonus yet. That decision is out of my hands. I would discuss [waiving] it with my family."

Responding to suggestions that Barclays Capital, the separate investment bank he used to run, indulged in "casino capitalism" and "black jack", Mr Diamond responded angrily.

"I resent the fact you refer to it as black jack. I think it is wrong. I think it is unfair. I think it is a poor choice of words. We have some fantastically strong financial institutions in this country and I think they deserve better. It is not appropriate to talk about casino banking in Barclays Capital."

Related to Barclays Bank, why is it that they have the honor of having their name plastered on the front of the London bike share program? If anyone should be there, it should be the US Federal Reserve. We're kidding ourselves if we keep playing this silly shell game and letting corporations get the limelight like this. The bank was on the verge of collapse and needed a lifeline from US taxpayers. Instead of playing this annoying game, just tax them and retain some level of dignity. Read the rest of this post...

Floodwaters continue to rise in Queensland, Australia

The details coming out of Queensland have been terrible and the situation is likely to get worse. Flooding from La Niña is blamed for the current problems. The Guardian:

Thousands of Brisbane residents were stockpiling food and stacking sandbags or fleeing their homes yesterday as the worst floodwaters to hit Queensland for 50 years surged towards Australia's third-largest city.

Many people in the state capital, fearful of the damage already done, appeared to have heeded the authorities' evacuation warnings. By last night, Brisbane's city centre was a ghost town populated only by a few shop owners hoping to save their businesses with last-minute barricades of sandbags and plastic sheeting.

Ten people died on Monday as cars and pedestrians were swept away in an "inland instant tsunami" that sent a wall of water coursing through the city of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. More than 40 people were pulled from rooftops by military helicopters that were still searching for 90 missing people yesterday. Another 200 Australian Defence Force personnel are being dispatched to southern Queensland, which has been declared a disaster area. The flooding has claimed 14 lives in the last two weeks, but police fear the death toll could rise significantly as the bodies of people who may have drowned in their cars and homes are found.

Read the rest of this post...

Bill Clinton on Giffords' assassination attempt

Via HuffPost Hill:

Bill Clinton in an interview set to air on BBC World News tonight: "On the 15th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City incident, in April, I wrote an essay in which I said I could see this level of anger rising as it did once before when I was elected, and that no one intends to do anything that encourages this sort of behaviour -- and I think it's wrong for anyone to suggest it. But we cannot be unaware of the fact that, particularly with the internet, there's this huge echo-chamber out there, and anything any of us says falls on the unhinged and the hinged alike, and we just have to be sensitive to it."

I'm not sure whether anyone "intends" for people to use guns on their political opponents, but I'm also not sure that they give it much thought either way. It's almost as if they don't care. To wit: Palin continuing to use her gun imagery, and gun language, when asked to stop by the woman her bullseyes were targeting. She simply didn't care what the repercussions were, or didn't believe they were possible. The same way she and McCain didn't care what might happen when they told their gun-toting followers that Obama palled around with terrorists (and also didn't seem to care that their followers were showing up at Obama rallies with their guns). Anyone could tell that it wasn't a very safe combination - enraged McCain/Palin lemmings and guns - but it's as if McCain and Palin either didn't care, or had some bizarre notion that nothing bad could ever come of it.

Either way, even if it's not intentional, it certainly sounds negligent. Read the rest of this post...