Michelangelo found behind sofa in Buffalo, NY

How did a Michelangelo make it over unnoticed though? The history behind the story should be interesting.

It is not a city famous for olive groves, romantic piazzas or baroque fountains, but Buffalo, in gritty upstate New York, does have one feature that even Florence or Rome might be jealous of: a "Pietà" – a painting of the Virgin Mary cradling the body of Jesus – by Michelangelo.

The people of Buffalo could be forgiven for being unaware of this until now. Rather than hanging on a museum wall, the unfinished painting was for years stuffed behind a sofa in the house of the Kober family. Even the Kobers, who took the picture off their wall after it was hit by an errant tennis ball, weren't sure whether it was priceless or worthless. If it is a Michelangelo, it is considerably closer to the former than the latter, and, if similar works at New York'sMetropolitan Museum of Art are any guide, could be worth anything up to $300m (£190m).

Read the rest of this post...

Pres. Palin is going to look to Obama for guidance on whether she should be evil? Seriously?

From AMERICAblog Gay:

There's increased chatter, as the spies would say, from the Obama administration and from administration apologists about the notion that the President simply has to appeal our DADT & DOMA victories in court lest a future Republican president refuse to appeal legal challenges to Obama's health care reform bill or the Hate Crimes bill.

The President's near fanatical desire for "bipartisanship at all costs" is by now legendary. He seriously seems to believe that by giving something to the GOP for nothing, the Republicans will at some future date return the favor. And, not surprising to anyone born before yesterday, they never do. But he keeps trying. He keeps scaling back his promises, keeps caving on key legislative provisions at the drop of a hat, keeps putting conservative Ds and Rs in charge of his major policy priorities, from health care reform to the budget deficit, and keeps ceding more and more power to his Secretary of Defense on DADT, as though Robert Gates were the boss of Barack Obama - all in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, one of these opponents will be nice to him since he was nice to them.

But it hasn't worked out very well because life doesn't work that way, at least not in Washington, DC. The Republicans are never "nice" to Democrats because Democrats ceded ground first. To a Republican, you didn't give them a peace offering, you conveyed weakness. How many campaign promises does he have to self-sabotage before the President understands that the goody-two-shoes school of political diplomacy simply doesn't work in this town?

The notion that President Sarah Palin is going to look to Barack Obama for guidance on what to do on health care reform is laughable. And the notion that any Republican is going to give a damn about Obama's positions on gay rights when deciding whether to once again bash the gays is preposterous.

Read the rest of this post...

CNBC's Cramer surprised bankers chose bonuses over shareholder dividends

Is he new to this game? He's so naive you might confuse him with a White House economist.

The financials are "by far the worst performing group" in the S&P; 500 index, down 3.98 percent in the last year and 25 percent over the past three years. These assets pay almost no dividends to the shareholders, yet these financial institutions feel it's appropriate to pay out record bonuses.

Cramer said the shareholders, not the employees, deserve this money. The people "showering themselves with money" didn't do something so "monumental" as to justify these paydays.

Read the rest of this post...

Help Billy Kennedy defeat the homophobe Virginia Foxx

After every election cycle, there's usually one race where I think, damn, if we'd only focused more attention, we could have defeated a bad Republican. I got early training in that back in 1990 when State Rep. Patrick McGowan came within 5,000 votes of defeating then-Congresswoman Olympia Snowe. Imagine how different the world would be if she ended her political career back then.

One race that seems to be on that potential list is in North Carolina's Fifth Congressional District. The incumbent is renowned homophobe Virginia Foxx. This week, her opponent, Billy Kennedy got endorsed by the major paper in the district, the Winston-Salem Journal:

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from Watauga County, has not achieved any great accomplishments for the residents of the 5th Congressional District, and has angered and embarrassed many with her sometimes wild statements that seem designed to provoke. It’s time for a fresh, progressive voice in the 5th District. We believe that Democrat Billy Kennedy, a Watauga farmer and carpenter who says he’ll work to reverse the high rate of unemployment in the district, is that voice. He’s the best candidate in the Nov. 2 election for the 5th District.

Three of my favorite people, Pam Spaulding, Digby, Howie Klein are big fans of Billy. That says a lot to me.

Digby has an excellent post titled, This One Could Surprise People:

Aside from the important work of spreading the good word and building movement politics for the long term, sometimes, unexpected things happen. For instance, Blue America candidate Billy Kennedy, who is challenging the intellectually challenged Virginia Foxx in NC-05, may just pull this thing out, despite the fact that the DCCC has behaved as if the loony Republican is impossible to beat. In fact, the major newspaper of the district, the Winston-Salem Journal, which normally endorses Republicans, came out for Kennedy this past week-end and made a very good case for his election:

And, Pam hosted Billy in a live chat last month, which we also posted at AMERICAblog Gay.

In this week that we mark the twelfth anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death, let's remember what Foxx said of him:

I also would like to point out that there was a bill -- the hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. this -- the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.

A hoax:


Blue America is raising money for Kennedy and running their own ad in the District. Their ActBlue page is here. We know November 2nd could be a tough night. But, defeating Foxx would be a nice silver lining. Every little bit helps.

And, finally, a snippet of the Foxx-Kennedy debate last night:

No contest. Read the rest of this post...

TIME Poll: Women giving boost to Dem Senate candidates

Some good news:

Women voters are emerging as a firewall for Democrats' hopes of holding the Senate in the 2010 midterm elections, steadying Democratic Senate chances in Washington and Delaware, and providing what could be their candidates' last hope in West Virginia and Wisconsin, where support for the party's picks is fading, a new CNN/TIME/Opinion Research poll of likely voters finds.

Read the rest of this post...

Gloria Feldt's book-reading in DC tonight

I know Gloria and wanted to help promote her book reading this evening in DC.

No Excuses: Gloria Feldt Reads & Discusses New Book
Wednesday, October 13 · 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Location: Busboys & Poets
1025 5th St. NW
Washington, DC

More on Facebook Read the rest of this post...

Majority of Americans would prefer a third party

Surprising?

Fifty-four percent of respondents in The Hill 2010 Midterm Election Poll said they’d like an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans.

That number rose to 67 percent for self-identified independents. But even a plurality in the established parties — 49 percent of Democrats and 46 percent of Republicans — said they’d like another choice.

“That’s probably the strongest number I’ve seen in a poll of people in America saying that they're interested in a third party,” said pollster Mark Penn.

Read the rest of this post...

84 additional foreign companies caught donating over $800k to Chamber of Commerce acct. used for US elections

ThinkProgress:

Yesterday, the Chamber’s chief lobbyist Bruce Josten, who has been spoon-feeding much of the media distortions about our report, went on Fox News (whose parent company donated $1 million to the Chamber recently for its ad campaign) to again try to dilute the issue by dissembling about the Chamber’s fundraising and membership. “We have probably 60 or so foreign multi-national companies in our membership that we have had for decades, many of which have been in the United States for half a century or a century,” said Josten.

The Chamber is being deceptive. In addition to multinational members of the Chamber headquartered abroad (like BP, Shell Oil, and Siemens), a new ThinkProgress investigation has identified at least 84 other foreign companies that actively donate to the Chamber’s 501(c)(6). Below is a chart detailing the annual dues foreign corporations have indicated that they give directly to the Chamber (using information that is publicly available from the Business Council applications and the Chamber’s own websites)...

Again, the information above documents the fact that foreign donations that go directly to the Chamber without any intermediary, like an “AmCham” or another Chamber affiliate organization. In fact, a Chamber spokesperson acknowledged the foreign funds go into the Chamber’s general account. Any responsible reporter should have to note these direct donations given to the Chamber, which the Chamber has refused to discuss. Or, reporters should contact us directly if there is any confusion about our report.

Read the rest of this post...

GOP is already picking the drapes, getting a wee bit cocky are we?

Politico:

Two Republican House candidates in the last day have announced that House Minority Leader John Boehner has promised them valuable committee assignments.

Rep. Charles Djou of Hawaii was promised a seat on the Appropriations Committee and Vicky Hartzler, running against Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), was promised a spot on the panel that oversees the military.

Read the rest of this post...

More than 500,000 denied health insurance

Big Insurance does this because their friends in Washington helped them get away with it. Who doesn't have some sort of pre-existing condition? Financial Times:

The four largest health insurance companies in the US denied coverage to more than half a million individuals because of their pre-existing conditions from 2007 to 2009, according to a congressional investigation.

On average, the four companies – Aetna, Humana, UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint – denied one out of seven applicants’ coverage based on conditions such as pregnancy, angina, diabetes and heart disease.

The investigation found that the number of people who were denied coverage increased about 49 per cent from 2007 to 2009. In that period, the groups refused to pay 212,800 claims for individuals who were already insured based on their previous medical conditions.

Read the rest of this post...

FRC's Tony Perkins wants Obama to appeal DADT ASAP

Looks like Team Obama will make someone happy by appealing the DADT decision: The gay-obsessed, right-winger Tony Perkins. According to Perkins, appealing DADT will somehow be good for the Democrats in this year's elections:

Critics of the ruling include Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council and a proponent of the don’t ask, don’t tell law, who accused Judge Phillips of “playing politics with our national defense.”

In a statement, Mr. Perkins, a former Marine, said that “once again, an activist federal judge is using the military to advance a liberal social agenda,” and noted that there was still “strong opposition” to changing the law from military leaders.

Mr. Perkins predicted that the decision would have wide-ranging effects in the coming elections. “This move will only further the desire of voters to change Congress,” he said. “Americans are upset and want to change Congress and the face of government because of activist judges and arrogant politicians who will not listen to the convictions of most Americans and, as importantly, the Constitution’s limits on what the courts and Congress can and cannot do.”

Right. Because those voters who are angry about "activist judges and arrogant politicians" aren't motivated already. But, Perkins is only trying to be helpful.

And, I'm sure Perkins will be happy to offer strategy advice for the reelection campaign, too. I agree with Richard Socarides on the political implications:

Such a move would carry risks, said Richard Socarides, who was an adviser to President Bill Clinton on gay rights issues. “There will be an increasingly high price to pay politically for enforcing a law which 70 percent of the American people oppose and a core Democratic constituency abhors,” he said.

Read the rest of this post...

Americans very pessimistic about economy and future

Though the public is more critical of Bush than Obama, this is still not an encouraging environment at election time. Also, with the public so angry with Wall Street and the mortgage industry (for valid reasons) it's a mystery why Obama is so afraid to tackle that problem. With another record bonus season coming, the industry is proving to everyone that they can't show self-restraint or appreciation for being rescued. Bloomberg:

Wall Street financial firms and the mortgage industry get the most blame for the country’s economic weakness. More than three-quarters of the 1,000 Americans polled say the former has hurt the economy, while more than 80 percent fault the latter. Former President George W. Bush also comes in for criticism, with three times as many people saying he hurt the economy as those who believe he helped it.

Americans are more ambivalent about the roles that President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke have played, with those surveyed about evenly split between whether the two men have helped or hurt the economy.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner comes off worse, with 34 percent saying he’s had a negative effect on the economy versus 20 percent who say his impact was positive. The rest of the respondents aren’t sure.

Read the rest of this post...

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

I stayed up way too late watching the live coverage from Chile. The whole story has been so intense and engaging. And, the rescues, which are still underway, have been really amazing. Wow. I'm a bit claustrophobic so the idea of being in that little cage kinda freaks me out.

Both the President and Vice President have light schedules. Obama is doing event to talk about the impact of the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) on college students. Biden doesn't have any public events.

Michelle Obama is getting out on campaign trail today. She's heading to Wisconsin for Russ Feingold, then Illinois to help out Alexi Giannoulias and several House candidates.

As I write this, Don't Ask, Don't Tell is inoperable. It's unconstitutional and Judge Phillips has blocked it enforcement. We fully expect the Department of Justice to seek a stay of the decision, pending appeal. The main activity from the Obama administration on LGBT equality these days is defending DOMA and DADT in courts. That's some fierce advocacy. Really inspires LGBT voters....really. Read the rest of this post...

Tory spending cuts will cut 1 million jobs in UK

It's a PWC study so it wouldn't be a surprise if the job cuts numbers could actually be worse. Why would anyone want to drive their economy into a double dip like this? The Independent:

Almost one million jobs will be lost as a result of the Government's programme of deficit reduction – many in the very regions and industries that have already suffered most in the recession, according to a powerful report from a leading firm of accountants.

Economists at PricewaterhouseCoopers say that a further half a million jobs will be lost among private sector contractors and suppliers as a result of the Chancellor's anticipated £84bn in cuts, due to be announced in detail in eight days' time. The Office for Budget Responsibility has already acknowledged that half a million public sector jobs will go by the time the cuts programme is fully implemented, by 2015. The outlook for the UK economy, PwC says, "remains in the balance". It adds: "There is no escaping the fact that the fiscal squeeze will have a significant adverse effect on many sectors and regions."

Read the rest of this post...

Over 1.5 million hit the streets in France

Neither side is backing down for the moment though the protests yesterday appeared to be much larger than earlier this month. There is little doubt that the pension reform will be finalized though for many, this is much more about deterring Sarkozy from running for reelection in 2012. BBC:

French unions have staged their biggest strikes and demonstrations so far in opposition to the government's pension reform plans.

Unions put the national turnout on the third day of protests this month at 3.5m, while police said 1.2m people were involved.

The cabinet wants to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, and from 65 to 67 for a full state pension.

Some unions say they might extend or continue the strikes.

On Tuesday evening, strikers in the RATP Paris transport network voted to renew their action.

Read the rest of this post...

Boston Terrier vs Kitten

Read the rest of this post...