Oil slick reaches current that could take it to Florida

As long as BP continues to call the shots, it will only get worse. Somehow hearing tales of how "weathered" it may be are not comforting.

Federal scientists said Wednesday that a small portion of the oil slick from the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico has reached a powerful current that could take it to Florida. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists said they have detected light to very light sheens in the loop current, which circulates into the Gulf and takes water south to the Florida Keys and the Gulf Stream.

The agency says that any oil would be "highly weathered" and could evaporate before reaching Florida. And it might never reach the state at all. But scientists said diluted oil could appear in isolated locations if persistent winds push the current toward Florida.

Read the rest of this post...

GOP blocking science and technology bill

The Party of No lives! They might break out with a rash if they were somehow associated with anything as progressive as science and technology. They're tripping over themselves to save Big Oil from their financial responsibilities but somehow it's OK to spend taxpayer money for oil spills caused by bad the oil industry.

It was strike two for a major science funding bill Wednesday as House Republicans again united to derail legislation they said was too expensive.

Going down to defeat was the America COMPETES Act, which would have committed more than $40 billion over three years to boost funding for the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies involved in basic and applied science, provided loan guarantees to small businesses developing new technologies and promoted science and math education.

Read the rest of this post...

Go to law school out of state, lose your health care

This is another great example of why we needed, and still need more, health care reform. It still irks me that Democrats, and our groups, didn't do more to push these kind of horror stories. I know that if I ever moved back home to take care of my parents, we they ever to need it, I'd lose my health insurance because I moved states. And then just guess who's going to want to insure me with my bad eye, asthma, etc.

From the NYT:

Ever since Thomas DeLorenzo was accepted to three law schools outside his home state of California, he has spent entire days on the phone with health insurers in other states, compiling information that he enters on a giant spreadsheet.

Mr. DeLorenzo, who has AIDS, will lose his health coverage in California if he moves out of state. To replace it, he has found policies that seem to promise comprehensive coverage, but actually cover only catastrophic events like car crashes and major surgery. One plan looked attractive but did not cover the drugs he needed. Most of the prescription drug formulas were so complicated, it was hard to make sense of them.

“Everyone keeps asking me why I haven’t made a decision about law school, but I can’t because I don’t have a decision about health care,” said Mr. DeLorenzo, 47, of Los Angeles. “There are policies out there to be purchased, but there’s usually a catch. You have to pick each one apart.”

One of the most publicized aspects of the new health care act is a ban — starting in 2014 — on refusing coverage to people like Mr. DeLorenzo because of a pre-existing condition like AIDS.

Read the rest of this post...

Florida beach tar balls not from Gulf leak

On the one hand, that's encouraging news for now, at least. But on the other, where the heck did those disgusting clumps come from? Yuck.

Tar balls that floated ashore in the Florida Keys are not linked to the oil spill, the Coast Guard said Wednesday, but that did little to soothe fears a blown-out well gushing a mile underwater could spread damage along the coast from Louisiana to Florida.

"The results of those tests conclusively show that the tar balls collected from Florida Keys beaches do not match the type of oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The source of the tar balls remains unknown at this time," the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Read the rest of this post...

CBS News threatened with arrest by US Coast Guard - 'BP rules'

Watch CBS News Videos Online
What the hell is going on? Screw BP and their rules. Can somebody in Washington please take control and tell BP to go f--- themselves? Read the rest of this post...

Like Nixon to China: Obama and Social Security

Just like it takes a Republican to open Communist* China, it takes a Democrat to kill Social Security. Get ready, folks. If you thought the corporate gifts in the so-called Health Care bill were bad, just wait till Obama's so-called Deficit Commission gets its claws into Social Security.

Jane Hamsher put up a must-read article earlier this week that serves as a intro to her online salon with Steven Gillon, author of The Pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the Rivalry that Defined a Generation.

In her intro, Hamsher discusses how Clinton worked with Newt Gingrich to pass pass a "fix" to Social Security. There were secret meetings and everything. (It almost looks like a club, doesn't it.) The plan included the usual witches' brew — cutting benefits, raising the retirement age, and fiddling with the cost of living increase. Even privatization was on the table, according to Gillon.

That effort failed, thanks to Clinton's wandering mind . . . and Monica Lewinski. According to Gillon, the Monica scandal forced Gingrich back into the loving arms of his base, and killed the deal they were cooking up.

In addition to telling that story, Hamsher neatly ties Clinton's attempt with Obama's:

Clinton had been trying to deal with Social Security for some time. In 1994, HHS Secretary Donna Shalala had appointed the 13-member Danforth Commission to advise on Social Security. She appointed three members from labor (including Richard Trumka), Republican Alan Simpson (appointed by Obama to co-chair his Deficit Commission with Bowles) and Pete Peterson (the hedge-fund billionaire funding much of the current economic work being used to justify dismantling Social Security). The Danforth Commission was always deeply divided and was never able to reach a consensus, largely due to the fact that the appointees had different perspectives, but Obama apparently learned that lesson: His 18-member commission already is packed with 14 members who support cutting benefits, and many who support some form of privatization. It takes 14 votes to pass any recommendation. [emphasis mine]

Hmm. Pete Peterson. That Pete Peterson. And that one too. Him. Yep, the one with the grandson, the offspring Digby called — let me check, I want to get the quote just right — a "living argument against aristocracy." Nice debut, kid.

All I'm saying is, I think it's coming for real. It takes a Republican to neuter the Right; it takes a Dem to neuter the Left. Don't be confused. Looks like Obama hearts him some Pete Peterson. Welcome to the club, Mr. President.

If you want to stay updated, here's a good place to start. The first couple of paragraphs are especially helpful, and the coverage is ongoing.

(By the way, the theme of this post rather neatly ties to John's earlier post about the brilliant Dear Dems letter. Seems we're all having those thoughts.)

GP

* "Communist" China, like "Communist" Russia is a massive misnomer, the product of a weirdly synchronized east-west PR campaign. No "communist" government in our lifetime could touch the hem of Karl Marx's coat, much less represent his thought. These governments are actually various flavors of State Capitalism, the dirty old system we're used to, but with a different owner. Just sayin'. Read the rest of this post...

FOX's Glenn Beck says Obama is 'trying to destroy the country' and is pushing America toward civil war

Remember the rule: If they accuse of something, then they're already guilty of it.

Read the rest of this post...

Right-wing Israeli activists threaten to protest Rahm Emanuel’s son’s bar mitzvah in Jerusalem

Regardless of Rahm's sins, I get nervous when you bring someone's underage kids into the debate (when they haven't already used their own kids as props - ahem, Palin). From ThinkProgress:

Last year, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel announced at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America in Washington that he was planning to take his son Zach to Israel for his bar mitzvah. “This memorial break, I am taking my son, my nephew Noah with Ari my brother, so they can have their bar mitzvah in Israel,” said Emanuel. Now, right-wing Israeli activists, who consider Emanuel a “traitor” to Israel because of the Obama administration’s stance against new settlement construction, are threatening to “blow up” his son’s ceremony with protest.

Israel's Taliban. Read the rest of this post...

Limbaugh wants Sierra Club and environmentalists to fund oil clean up

Nothing quite like hearing from the leading Republican voice. For some reason, he has shut up about oil being "as natural as the ocean water is." What else should we expect from him? Read the rest of this post...

Dear Dems: We need to talk. Love, the Gays

ACTION: Sign our open letter to the Dems on ENDA and repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell!

Dear Democrats,

We need to talk.

This may be a hard letter to read, but I need to figure out if this relationship is still healthy for me.

For the longest time, I thought we had something special. Remember how much fun we used to have back when we were young, and control of the Congress and the presidency was just a crazy dream? You always used to ask me for help, and you knew I'd never turn you down.

You were so adorable when we were courting. Sure, you never really understood me, but I liked that you seemed to try. The White House cocktail parties were totally fun, and that Easter Egg Roll is something I'll always cherish. Or remember the time you let me march in the Inaugural parade! Other than that whole Rick Warren thing, I really thought we had a connection.
I know you kept telling me that you weren't ready for marriage, but I was willing to wait since you had promised so much else in the meantime.

But now, I've kind of had it. I'm just not getting what I need out of this relationship. You rarely call me anymore, and when you do it's to ask for money. We talked about joining the military together -- but now it seems like you are flaking on that commitment. You promised to protect me from the homophobes at work, but you don't seem to be in a hurry to actually do it. And -- that Department of Justice brief thing was just cruel. I'll never understand why you did that.

It almost seems like you're embarrassed by me in public. I know not everyone in your family approves of us, but before you got your new job, it seemed like you didn't care what they thought and were always ready to fight for me. Now, it's like you're a different person.

Please don't take this the wrong way. I still think we have a future. I want us to have a future. But I need this relationship to be healthy for both of us. And I just can't get excited anymore by your empty promises and half-gestures.

I need you to take a real step. You know what I'm talking about -- the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell.

I still worry every day that I can be fired in 29 states just because I'm gay. And my friend who is transgender can be fired in 38 states. I know you can do it. You've helped protect people from employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, disability and many other characteristics. Each time me and my friend have been left behind. It's our turn. ENDA's time has come.

It's our turn to be welcomed into the military as well. I want to serve my country openly and proudly. I was so excited when you promised you would repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell this year after 17 long years of putting up with it.

Now, I can't even get you to talk about DADT.

You promised to change. I know that you can. But why should I stand by your side when you can't keep your promises to me?

I get that you're scared. But I'm scared too -- scared of losing you. You need to prove to me that you really care. You need to finally give me the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, like you promised.

I have enough disappointments in my life. I need you to not be one of them.

Love,

Read the rest of this post...

Roubini doubts effectiveness of financial reform

He also had some interesting remarks about the sovereign debt crisis and competitiveness so click through and read the entire article. Concerning the financial reform, Roubini is still concerned that it is not enough and is too mild to address some key problems. The "economies of scale" argument has always sounded bogus to me whether in banking or any other industry. How well has that really worked out for consumers? It's great for the mega-deal makers who take their cut but otherwise it presents more problems than solutions. CNBC:

“We need more radical reforms," he added. "The idea that we’ll be able to close down an institution like Goldman (Sachs) in an orderly way—a business that operates in nearly a hundred countries—is absurd.”

Roubini, an NYU professor who has been called "Dr. Doom" for his dire economic outlook, said the three main problems with big banks like Goldman were that they were 1) Too big to fail, 2) Too big to be bailed out and 3) Too big to be risk managed.

Attempting to manage the risk of the largest financial institutions is “mission impossible,” according to Roubini, a task that “even the most amazing risk manager can’t do” because financial institutions are far too complex.

“Experience has shown that ‘economies of scale’ achieved by the largest banks as a result of Glass-Stegall have been very small,” Roubini said. “The cost of being too big to fail has been much larger.”

Read the rest of this post...

Words rarely seen in Politico: 'Republicans failed spectacularly'

There's a lot of post-election day commentary this morning. The talking heads are in overdrive. Both sides of the inside-the-beltway DC establishment took their lumps in the Senate primaries. But, those were intra-party contests. There was just one match pitting a GOPer against a Democrat. And, the GOPers were really, really cocky about their chances. As Politico makes clear, the biggest loser yesterday was the GOP:

In the only House race that really mattered to both parties—the special election to replace the late Democratic Rep. John Murtha in Pennsylvania’s 12th District—Republicans failed spectacularly, losing on a level playing field where, in this favorable environment, they should have run roughshod over the opposition.

Given the resources the GOP poured into the effort to capture the seat and the decisiveness of the defeat—as it turned out, it wasn’t really that close—the outcome casts serious doubt on the idea that the Democratic House majority is in jeopardy and offers comfort to a Democratic Party that is desperately in search of a glimmer of hope.

The district itself couldn’t have been more primed for a Republican victory. According to one recent poll, President Barack Obama’s approval rating in the 12th was a dismal 35 percent, compared to 55 percent who disapproved. His health care plan was equally unpopular—just 30 percent of those polled supported it, while 58 percent were in opposition.

"Republicans failed spectacularly." Read the rest of this post...

Inhofe and GOP line up to protect oil industry from responsibilities

It's yet another attempt to make the American public pay for the mistakes of the corporate world. Why should everyone else fund Wall Street or Big Oil's problems? Let those welfare spongers use their own money. Haven't we seen enough of privatized profits and socialized losses? Why is Senator Inhofe such an extreme corporate socialist who doesn't believe in personal responsibility?

President Obama denounced Republicans on Tuesday for "playing special-interest politics" after a GOP senator thwarted a Democratic effort to raise the liability cap for oil spills to $10 billion.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was seeking the unanimous consent of the Senate to move forward on the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act, which would retroactively boost the legal cap of $75 million on how much companies must pay for economic damages.

But Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) blocked the effort, saying it would make drilling too expensive for smaller companies. "Big Oil would love to have these caps there so they can shut out all the independents," he said, echoing the argument of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who halted an identical move last week.

Read the rest of this post...

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

How about those elections yesterday?

The GOPers had a really rough day. They were supposed to win the Murtha seat in Pennsylvania. They were really getting cocky about it. They lost.

And, the teabaggers took over the Republican Party in Kentucky. Just snatched it away from Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader. I do think it's hysterical that Rand Paul had his victory party at his swanky country club. Democratic nominee Jack Conway will make this a very competitive race.

The DC Democratic establishment also took its lumps last night. President Obama, the DSCC and Organizing for America went all out for Arlen Specter. And, Blanche Lincoln also had the strong support of the Democratic Party. Not such a good night.

The worst part of this will be the ever painful and endless analysis from the pundits. Last night's elections are making their heads spin. And, has anyone else noticed that every time Howard Fineman is on t.v., his hair is a different color? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

President Calderón of Mexico arrives in Washington today for a state visit. There's even a state dinner tonight. Calderón and Obama will be holding a press conference this afternoon, too.

And, the Senate is getting close to wrapping up the Wall Street reform bill. While we were watching election returns last night, there were some last minute shenanigans. David Dayen has the details.

Lot going on... Read the rest of this post...

Markets and euro slide following German ban on short selling

It may have helped if Germany bothered to coordinate their efforts instead of going it alone. Then again, there is little reason to support such a strong euro. But does the US even want a strong dollar? For exports, a weaker currency is not such a bad thing. Following the German ban, the euro has dipped below $1,22 in early trading while the German DAX exchange has slipped by nearly 2%.

Germany banned risky bets on bonds, stocks and credit protection, stunning investors and setting euro zone markets up for a rough ride on Wednesday amid fears Berlin's attack on speculation will backfire.

Germany banned some trades in a strategy known as short selling to fight financial speculation, which it blames for much of Europe debt crisis. Analysts said, however, the move could do more harm than good, draining funds away from the euro zone and deepening risk aversion.

Some called it an act of desperation.

"Germany just switched off the financial lights in Europe," said a senior forex trader at a European bank in Singapore.

Read the rest of this post...

Thai army moves into protest camp

And of course, more violence. BBC:

Thai soldiers with armoured vehicles have stormed the barricaded camp occupied by anti-government protesters, after days of clashes in Bangkok.

At least four people have been killed, including an Italian photojournalist, and dozens wounded as demonstrators and army units exchange fire.

Troops have gained control of an area south of the site and some protesters have fled, said a government spokesman.

The government said the security operation would be continuing all day.

Read the rest of this post...

Welsh wine wins three international awards

I chuckled at first but why not good wine from Wales? Somehow I don't think I'm going to find a bottle in France - they don't even like American wines in shops - but if I did, I'd love to see what it's like. They're growing pinot noir and chardonnay which are of course, the grapes grown in Champagne.

The first vintage of a newly-planted vineyard in a sunny valley in Monmouthshire has won two medals at leading wine competitions this week.

Ancre Hill Estate's prosaically-titled White Welsh Regional Wine 2008 was awarded a silver at the Decanter World Wine Awards and a bronze at the International Spirit and Wine Competition, and has been commended or won a medal at a third major show, the International Wine Challenge.

Richard Morris, a chartered accountant who turned his passion for wine into a business five years ago, planted three types of vine – pinot noir, seyval blanc and chardonnay – in a south-facing meadow outside his home four years ago.

Read the rest of this post...

Why the universe is composed of matter, not anti-matter

I love this shit. I was lucky enough in high school to get into some special program Fermilab had for high school kids. We'd go every Saturday morning and have these physics classes taught by a number of the scientists, including Leon Lederman, who was running the place, and who went on to get a Nobel. It was so much fun, they even let us play with their computers. I remember one Saturday they taught us - geeky 16 year olds that we were - a formula for determining how much time would slow, relative to someone sitting still, if you neared the speed of light. God I loved that stuff.

Anyway, the boys and girls at Fermilab are doing more cool stuff:

Physicists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory are reporting that they have discovered a new clue that could help unravel one of the biggest mysteries of cosmology: why the universe is composed of matter and not its evil-twin opposite, antimatter. If confirmed, the finding portends fundamental discoveries at the new Large Hadron Collider outside Geneva, as well as a possible explanation for our own existence.

In a mathematically perfect universe, we would be less than dead; we would never have existed. According to the basic precepts of Einsteinian relativity and quantum mechanics, equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have been created in the Big Bang and then immediately annihilated each other in a blaze of lethal energy, leaving a big fat goose egg with which to make stars, galaxies and us. And yet we exist, and physicists (among others) would dearly like to know why.

Sifting data from collisions of protons and antiprotons at Fermilab’s Tevatron, which until last winter was the most powerful particle accelerator in the world, the team, known as the DZero collaboration, found that the fireballs produced pairs of the particles known as muons, which are sort of fat electrons, slightly more often than they produced pairs of anti-muons. So the miniature universe inside the accelerator went from being neutral to being about 1 percent more matter than antimatter.

Read the rest of this post...