Houston TSA in diplomatic row with Indian’s UN envoy

Doesn't this envoy know that the TSA is above the law? It's also interesting to see that despite what the TSA says, there are many exceptions to the TSA rules. More from ThinkProgress:

The paranoid environment created by the 9/11 attacks has allowed for a myriad of civil rights infringements under the guise of national security. Airport security especially ratcheted up racial profiling, marking any Middle Eastern sign or symbol a suspicious target, particularly the turban. Even turbaned individuals with no affiliation with Islam or the Middle East, such as Sikh men, have become “a superficial and accessible proxy for the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks” and a “target of discriminatory conduct,” including employment discrimimation, harrassment, and violence.

But now, this long-permitted prejudice is creating diplomatic tension between the U.S. and India. Today, the Indian press reported on an incident last month in which Houston, Texas airport security officials detained Indian’s UN envoy Hardeep Puri in a holding room for 30 minutes because he was wearing a turban. As a Sikh, Puri is obliged to keep all hair intact and his head covered in public at all times. The turban symbolizes self-respect and piety — “touching of the head dress in public is not allowed” and can only be removed “in the most intimate of circumstances.”

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Al Franken supports Obama tax cut deal

Shades of the Iraq War vote, when Dem after Senate Dem talked against and voted for. Deeds, folks. You're about to pull the bolt on the last lock on the door; the very time we live in calls you out.

Franken:

"Extending the Bush tax breaks for the super-wealthy will explode our deficit over the next two years without doing anything to help our economy."

Franken worries ... If [permanent extension for the cuts] happens, "we're in big trouble," Franken writes.

And:

"I am taking the President at his word that he will fight harder to put an end to these wasteful tax breaks in 2012 than he did in 2010."

Please cancel my subscription; thanks.

GP Read the rest of this post...

Senate 'Yes' votes on Obama tax cut deal (Dems edition)

Suitable for framing — or remembering.

I'm only including the Dem Yes votes on cloture. With a margin like 83 – 15 (2 not voting), the No votes tell you nothing, from either party.

Some No votes are sincere, and some are just PR. Once the outcome is assured, both Reid and McConnell will give permission to some members to vote an ineffective No ("Sorry, Lib/Teabag supporters; I really really tried."). For example, what about these two? Dunno.

Any bets on whether "permission to vote No" (or Present) comes at a price? Either way, here are the Dem Yes votes.

YEAs – 45+1 (Dems)
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennet (D-CO)
Boxer (D-CA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Conrad (D-ND)
Coons (D-DE)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Franken (D-MN)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Manchin (D-WV)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Specter (D-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-NM)
Warner (D-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)

I highlighted a few that interested me. It's weird when people call themselves out so baldly, but hey, it's the times we live in.

Just like that No Labels group. Thanks, folks, for ID-ing yourselves as part of the painfully obvious "Cave to Republicans" PR campaign. Saves the rest of us the trouble of searching the google. No Labels – an easy label to remember you by.

GP Read the rest of this post...

Wisconsin Tea Party governor scares away business already

The new GOP governors are destroying tens of thousands of jobs and they haven't even started. You have to be a fool to run that many jobs out of your state during such an economic crisis. The Spanish high speed train manufacturer Talgo is the first to pull out of the states that are rejecting federal money, but with such attitudes, they won't be the last. ThinkProgress:

Talgo currently employs 40 people in Milwaukee, WI and “was hoping to grow their staff to as many as 125 to fulfill the orders” that current Gov. Jim Doyle (D) and his administration had made in preparation for the project. Those orders would’ve spurred some 13,000 badly-needed jobs in a state facing a 7.8 percent unemployment rate. (Ohio will lose 16,000 jobs.) Instead, Talgo plans to take that business to three of the states that will share in the federal money taken away from Wisconsin and Ohio, most notably Florida.

Florida’s Gov.-elect Rick Scott (R) also sounded off against high-speed rail during his campaign but, unlike Walker and Kasich, has waffled on whether he’d actually kill the project. With over $2 billion in stimulus money and the prospect of new business flocking to the state, Scott isn’t as willing to shun such potential economic development as his Tea Party brethren.

But Wisconsinites should not be fooled by the flight of business. As he said on election night, Walker’s victory means “Wisconsin is open again for business” — regardless of what actually happens.

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Airlines nickle-and-diming consumers for billions

It has been years since I flew domestically in the US so the baggage fees that I encountered recently were shocking. In Europe, it's typical to charge baggage fees when you have a $50 (or less) flight with a discount carrier. Getting slammed with $25 fees when the ticket is with a major carrier and a standard (expensive) fee is excessive. It's no wonder Southwest is capitalizing on this gouging. CNN:

At the top of the baggage fee revenue list is Delta Air Lines, followed by American Airlines and US Airways.

In three quarters, Delta already has surpassed its total baggage fee revenue from 2009. Delta has made $733 million so far this year. In all of 2009, it made $481 million.

Revenue from baggage fees has been skyrocketing since 2007, when the total revenue was $464 million, one-fifth of what's been made in three quarters in 2010.

Similarly, revenue from cancellation and change fees has nearly doubled since 2007, adding up to about $1.7 billion in three quarters this year, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. In 2007, fees totaled $915 million, though 2010's numbers actually fell 3.8 percent in the third quarter from the same time last year.

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WikiLeaks Assange: 'Visa, Mastercard, PayPal are instruments of US foreign policy'

Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder and target of a world-wide governmental effort to shut him and his organization down, has been released on bail in London.

The night before his release, Assange said in a written statement (as quoted by The Guardian):

"We now know that Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and others are instruments of US foreign policy. It's not something we knew before," Assange said in a statement likely to add new impetus to the spate of cyber attacks being perpetrated by Anonymous in support of WikiLeaks.

That's one of the most stark statements I've read on the matter to date, but it's difficult to dispute.

VISA is an agent of U.S. foreign policy. Still letting that sink in.

GP

UPDATE (12/16): Assange was granted bail, but not released pending appeal of the bail decision. The British high court has since agreed with the magistrates court, and release is expected. Latest details here. Read the rest of this post...

Michael Moore helps post bail for Julian Assange, offers servers for WikiLeaks

At least some people aren't afraid to stand up to the bullies in Washington who are doing their utmost to smear Assange. Michael Moore:

Yesterday, in the Westminster Magistrates Court in London, the lawyers for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange presented to the judge a document from me stating that I have put up $20,000 of my own money to help bail Mr. Assange out of jail.

Furthermore, I am publicly offering the assistance of my website, my servers, my domain names and anything else I can do to keep WikiLeaks alive and thriving as it continues its work to expose the crimes that were concocted in secret and carried out in our name and with our tax dollars.

We were taken to war in Iraq on a lie. Hundreds of thousands are now dead. Just imagine if the men who planned this war crime back in 2002 had had a WikiLeaks to deal with. They might not have been able to pull it off. The only reason they thought they could get away with it was because they had a guaranteed cloak of secrecy. That guarantee has now been ripped from them, and I hope they are never able to operate in secret again.

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GOP House Banking Committee Chief, Bachus: 'my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks'

Of course he believes it. He's been a staunch defender of the worst banking practices and has profited handsomely by Big Finance campaign contributions. The Democrats may only be treading water but the GOP is happy to let us all drown. The only "main street' perspective that Bachus brings to the discussion is Wall Street. Even among the Teabaggers, American voters are hardly in favor of an easier ride for the bankers.

Bachus, in an interview Wednesday night, said he brings a "main street" perspective to the committee, as opposed to Wall Street.

"In Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated, and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks," he said.

He later clarified his comment to say that regulators should set the parameters in which banks operate but not micromanage them.

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Wikileaks releases Boehner's Netflix file (satire)

SatireWire:

“I used to go to the movies. I can’t even go to theaters anymore. It’s the stories. ‘Sophie’s Choice.’ ‘Bambi.’ All these people chasing the American dream. Netflix brings those to me,” [Boehner] sobbed, eventually burying his head into the shoulder of House Minority Whip Eric Cantor.

Boehner’s lachrymose side has been on display since the election, and most notably on Sunday when he broke into tears twice during an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes. Democrats have begun to question his stability, but Republicans are standing behind their leader — often with tissues at the ready — saying his methods have already proven effective.

At the White House, President Obama agreed, revealing that his recent compromise with Republicans was primarily an effort to placate Boehner, who “fell apart” during a meeting in which the President said he wanted to raises taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

“My first mistake was going to the Republican Caucus on a Thursday, which, I learned, is chick-flick night,” Obama recalled. “So they’re all an emotional mess by the time I get there."

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Another take on the tax cut deal

From The Angry Liberal:

Let me also say that I fully understand [the President's] argument about being held hostage, that if he didn't do this the GOP would've voted against extending unemployment benefits, so Obama was acting as the bigger person and "caving" for the sake of the unemployed. I get that, BUT could we at least hear him be just as stinging and harsh in his comments about this craven maneuver by the Republicans as he was when commenting on the liberals and healthcare reform -- is that too much to ask? As opposed to him graciously and overly-respectfully describing it as the most important issue Republicans feel they must fight for -- no bite, no sting, no condemnation, no harsh tone.

And what makes him think Republicans won't repeatedly use this "hostage taking" tactic over and over again? Why wouldn't they? It worked for them beautifully this time, with hardly a fight and no mean words or mud-slinging. No wonder McConnell and others were praising Obama for acting so presidential. That in itself spoke volumes about how Obama made a mistake.

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Barbara Walters: Boehner has an emotional problem

"This guy, I'm sorry, he's gonna be Speaker of the House, and he's not gonna invite me to his Christmas party, but this guy has an emotional problem that every time he talks about anything that's not 'raise taxes' he cries. If this were a woman, if you saw Nancy Pelosi, who's been villified, and I'm not taking sides, if you saw her getting up and crying... I hope he's a good Speaker of the House, but he's got a problem."

- Barbara Walters on The View, December, 13, 2010. Watch the video here.

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Holbrooke's last words: 'You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan'

Today's Washington Post has an extensive, front-page obituary on Richard Holbrooke. It's filled with his accomplishments and anecdotes about his style. Holbrooke's last assigment was as the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. These are the last lines of the obit:

On Friday morning, he was taken to George Washington University Hospital after he became flushed and suffered chest pains during a meeting with Clinton.

He underwent a 21-hour operation that ended on Saturday to repair his aorta.

As Mr. Holbrooke was sedated for surgery, family members said, his final words were to his Pakistani surgeon: "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan."

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

So, where are we with Congress? That's the big question today. The other question is when will this Congress end. They are all getting paid until January 3rd. They all better keep working til they get their jobs done.

Yesterday, the Senate voted to proceed on the Obama/McConnell tax deal -- by a wide margin: 83 - 15. There will be a final vote on that package today. Then, it heads to the House. The Senate is going to move to the continuing resolution (CR), which funds the government. The current one expires on Friday. There's an expectation that the Senate GOPers will play some kind of game with that one. Failure to pass the CR means the government has no money.

Then what? START remains a top priority for the White House. Still unclear when the Senate will deal with DREAM and DADT. Two key constituencies want those bills passed -- this year. (And, GOPers are basically sealing their fate with Latinos, the fastest growing voting demographic, if they block DREAM.)

I do feel better knowing Speaker Pelosi is engaged on DADT. She's the only leader who knows how to get things done.

It's 22 degrees here in DC, but feels like 8 with the wind chill. I'm still shivering from our recent dog walk. Petey is nonplussed. Read the rest of this post...

Ireland to failed bank: pay bonuses and you won't get bailed out

Finally, someone is standing up to the overvalued banking goons. Let the bankers fight this in court and see what happens. The alternative if they win is that they will wipe out the bonus money in taxes. It took a desperate situation to help a government find some spine but there's no reason to think other banks in other countries won't be seeking help again in the future.

If the money isn't there to stay afloat, it sure isn't there to pay out bonus money. How ignorant does one have to be to miss this point?

Ireland's finance minister has forced one of the country's debt-ridden banks not to pay a controversial €40m (£34m) bonus to its top staff.

Allied Irish Bank (AIB) announced this evening that it would no longer pay out the money, news of which had caused widespread outrage across the Republic at the weekend. Opposition politicians had threatened to introduce emergency legislation to the Dáil to take more than 90% of the bonus had the bank gone ahead.

In a letter to AIB, minister Brian Lenihan warned the bank that state support to shore it up was conditional on the non-payment of the bonus fund. Lenihan told AIB that "no matter when they have been earned" there would be no bonus payments to around 2,500 staff.

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London police allegedly drag student fee protester from wheelchair, twice

There never seems to be any progress with the Metropolitan police and problems such as this. During the G20, someone died as they innocently passed through and this year there has already been a report of a brain injury allegedly from a police baton. You can see the video here where the student who suffers from cerebal palsy was dragged across the road, including an interview with the BBC. The student protester is unable to move his wheelchair by himself due to his condition and his brother was pushing the chair.

Decide for yourself if this looks like they are dragging him to a curb "for his own safety" or not. The Guardian:

Police launched an internal investigation last night after footage emerged of a man allegedly being pulled out of his wheelchair and dragged across the road by an officer during Thursday's demonstration.

The grainy video, which was posted on YouTube, does not show the moment Jody McIntyre leaves his wheelchair but appears to show the 21-year-old being dragged to the side of the road by an officer as onlookers voice their concerns.

McIntyre said it was the second time police had pulled him from his wheelchair during the protest. He said in the first incident several officers lifted him from his chair and carried him 100 yards "for his own safety".

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Wall Street on target for record year thanks to government handouts

These are the people who claimed to want unbridled capitalism, so let them have it. Cut off the latest handout, also known as QE2, and see how they do without their sugar daddy. They're complete frauds and our political leaders in Washington continue to be as gutless as ever. The Wall Street crowd is not nearly as important as they think they are. Even worse they provide little, if any, benefit to society. It's sickening to see so many Americans struggling to get by while Wall Street sucks up more and more easy money from the government. Here is yet another reason why Ben Bernanke was a bad choice for the Federal Reserve. Giving the Fed the freedom to extend so much influence over the economy is an equally bad decision. Disgraceful, but typical.

Wall Street’s biggest banks, rebounding after a government bailout, are set to complete their best two years in investment banking and trading, buoyed by 2010 results likely to be the second-highest ever.

The five largest U.S. firms by investment-banking and trading revenue -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley -- will likely have a better fourth quarter than the previous two periods, driven by equity underwriting and higher volume in stock and bond trading, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Even if this quarter only matches the third, the banks’ revenue will top that of any year except 2009.

The surge has come after the five banks took a combined $135 billion from the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program and borrowed billions more from the Federal Reserve’s emergency-lending facilities in late 2008 and early 2009 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Since then, the firms have benefited from low interest rates and the Fed’s purchases of fixed-income securities.

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