If Moses had the Internet

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Transocean execs to donate 'safety' bonus cash to oil rig victims

The initial story was pretty shocking, even for the oil industry, though they seem to have woken up and done the right thing. This would probably be a good time for the families of the victims to speak up if Transocean is stalling on any other compensation. CNN:

Top executives of the company that owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig announced Tuesday they will donate their safety bonuses to the families of the 11 workers killed in the April 2010 explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

The announcement follows criticism of a Transocean Ltd. financial filing that claimed 2010 was its "best year" in safety.

"The executive team made this decision because we believe it is the right thing to do," Chief Executive Officer Steven Newman said in a statement Tuesday. "Nothing is more important to Transocean than our people, and it was never our intent to diminish the effect the Macondo tragedy has had on those who lost loved ones," he said. "We offer our most sincere apologies and we regret the impact this matter has had on the entire Transocean family."

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Drunk Pawlenty staffer breaks into little girl's house, Pawlenty has no comment

Pawlenty's gonna have to do a lot better than that if he wants to be President. (The staffer can always go work for what's his face, the diaper adulterer from Louisiana - oh yeah, David Vitter. We hear he doesn't have a problem with criminals who terrorize women.) Read the rest of this post...

Glenn Beck suggests Soros connected with Japan disaster, NZ earthquake, Ivory Coast civil war, Hamas, a union mtg, and the shooting of a poet's son in Mexico

Actually, my title doesn't do this justice. He's claiming that all the issues are related to each other - they're not "isolated incidents."

The guy is nuts, or the biggest con man out there nowadays.  You have to wonder whether his apocalyptic meanderings are part of the reason Fox isn't renewing his contract.  Did Fox worry that some nutjob, convinced the world was going to end, might eventually do something crazy?  Beck already has the inspiration of one violent nutjob, at least, under his belt, according to Media Matters.

Today Beck went off about the following eight stories, and claimed they're all not "isolated incidents."

1. Shooting of a son of a poet in Mexico.
2. A gathering of unions at the Peace Arch.
3. George Soros had a meeting about Breton Woods III.
4. Ivory Coast is having trouble.
5. Hamas is doing something (he didn't explain what).
6. Something "important" happened in France that you need to know about (again, what?).
7. The crisis in Japan (post tsunami/earthquake/nuclear disaster).
8. Earthquake in NZ.

Here's what he said after listing the above stories:

"This is a global time we live in.  If you look at all of these stories just as one isolated incident, you will of course say 'it's nuts.'  What are you making such a big deal out of it.  But if you learn to look at the world like this [points to crazy chalkboard with all the above incidents marked on it] what you will see coming is going to sweep the world here [points to Africa], then here [Europe], then here [North America].  And it's gonna get faster and faster."

Seriously messed up. Read the rest of this post...

Spending in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race—Republicans win 4-to-3

In the Journal Sentinel article I linked to earlier, was this tidbit about spending in the Kloppenburg–Prosser race:

The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University Law School estimates interest groups spent more than $3.5 million on TV ads, breaking the $3.38 million record set in the 2008 Gableman-Butler contest, with four conservative groups backing Prosser spending a total of 37% more than one liberal group backing Kloppenburg.

That's actually not a bad ratio, considering how deep are the pockets of big business. Looks like someone underspent. Think they'll correct that next time?

(Speaking of spending, you can still help Recall the Republican 8. Just click the link on the right. Thanks.)

And this just in: JoAnne Kloppenburg has declared victory:

Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg declared victory Wednesday, based on results reported by the Associated Press.

The Associated Press shows Kloppenburg received 740,090 votes and incumbent David Prosser received 739,886 votes. The margin is 204 votes.

Congratulations, Wisconsin. So far, so good.

GP Read the rest of this post...

Stiglitz: We have a government 'Of the 1%, by the 1%, and for the 1%'

That headline is the evaluation of Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winner and former Chief Economist of the World Bank. Not that this is news to many, but it's good that men of Stiglitz's reputation are making the point so publicly.

In a feature article in the May 2011 Vanity Fair, Stiglitz says baldly — We're now a government by the very very rich. The point is stark, and Stiglitz has the data (and the magazine space) to back it up.

For reference, the income of the top 1% starts at $500,000 and rises to several billion. Here's his opening (my emphasis throughout):

Americans have been watching protests against oppressive regimes that concentrate massive wealth in the hands of an elite few. Yet in our own democracy, 1 percent of the people take nearly a quarter of the nation’s income—an inequality even the wealthy will come to regret. ... In terms of wealth rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in life has improved considerably. Twenty-five years ago, the corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent.

That time span starts mid-Reagan (the father of our woes) and ends in 2010. This translates as follows:

Total income of the top 1% grew from 12% to 25%.
Total wealth of the top 1% grew from 33% to 40%.

But doesn't a rising tide "lift all boats"? Aren't we all getting rich along with them? The answer would be No:

[The "rising tide"] response would be misguided. While the top 1 percent have seen their incomes rise 18 percent over the past decade, those in the middle have actually seen their incomes fall. For men with only high-school degrees, the decline has been precipitous—12 percent in the last quarter-century alone. All the growth in recent decades—and more—has gone to those at the top. In terms of income equality, America lags behind any country in the old, ossified Europe that President George W. Bush used to deride. Among our closest counterparts are Russia with its oligarchs and Iran.

The article is terrific for the data; you can read it for that alone. But I'm interested in the consequences. I've been asking myself for months: Do the rich really need the rest of us? Do they think they still need us? And if not — if the very wealthy continue this process of wealth concentration — what's the outcome?

For Stiglitz, there are several outcomes. One is that, once the process reaches "critical mass" (my term), it continues almost on its own:

[W]e’re doing inequality on a world-class level. And it looks as if we’ll be building on this achievement for years to come, because what made it possible is self-reinforcing. Wealth begets power, which begets more wealth. During the savings-and-loan scandal of the 1980s—a scandal whose dimensions, by today’s standards, seem almost quaint—the banker Charles Keating was asked by a congressional committee whether the $1.5 million he had spread among a few key elected officials could actually buy influence. “I certainly hope so,” he replied.

And he notes this stark reality:

Virtually all U.S. senators, and most of the representatives in the House, are members of the top 1 percent when they arrive, are kept in office by money from the top 1 percent, and know that if they serve the top 1 percent well they will be rewarded by the top 1 percent when they leave office. ... [Thus when] pharmaceutical companies receive a trillion-dollar gift—through legislation prohibiting the government, the largest buyer of drugs, from bargaining over price—it should not come as cause for wonder. It should not make jaws drop that a tax bill cannot emerge from Congress unless big tax cuts are put in place for the wealthy. Given the power of the top 1 percent, this is the way you would expect the system to work.

His conclusion sounds a warning bell, the Cairo-to-Wisconsin connection:

In recent weeks we have watched people taking to the streets by the millions to protest political, economic, and social conditions in the oppressive societies they inhabit. Governments have been toppled in Egypt and Tunisia. Protests have erupted in Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain. The ruling families elsewhere in the region look on nervously from their air-conditioned penthouses—will they be next? ... [T]here is one thing that money doesn’t seem to have bought: an understanding that their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live.

On the last point, I think I disagree. Is their fate bound up with ours? I'm not sure.

I wonder if the super-rich haven't decided that they really can do without the rest of us, without middle-class America. After all, isn't that what villas in France are for? They're certainly doing everything in their power, via their eager operatives in both parties, to turn back the clock to the age of the robber barons, regardless of consequences.

Perhaps one of the following is true: Either they really don't need us any more (as we go offline as consumers, billions of Asians take our fading places). Or they simply think they don't need us.

Either way, it spells trouble for the new America, a world I once said could easily become "a faltering second-world economy with a useful first-world military." That's a dangerous combination for us left-behinds to deal with.

GP Read the rest of this post...

GOP congressmen caught on tape urging govt. shutdown

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Glenn Beck's TV show going off the air

It's hard to decipher the suspiciously perky press release.

Fox News and Mercury Radio Arts, Glenn Beck's production company, are proud to announce that they will work together to develop and produce a variety of television projects for air on the Fox News Channel as well as content for other platforms including Fox News' digital properties. Glenn intends to transition off of his daily program, the third highest rated in all of cable news, later this year.

They're making it sound all happy-happy, but as we learned a month ago, Fox News officials were already talking about "life after Beck" in view of his declining ratings.

Since last August, when he summoned more than 100,000 followers to the Washington mall for the “Restoring Honor” rally, Mr. Beck has lost over a third of his audience on Fox — a greater percentage drop than other hosts at Fox.

[T]he erosion is significant enough that Fox News officials are willing to say — anonymously, of course; they don’t want to be identified as criticizing the talent — that they are looking at the end of his contract in December and contemplating life without Mr. Beck.

As are we all. Read the rest of this post...

(Updated) What happens if there is a recount in Wisconsin?

UPDATE: The Journal Sentinel article linked below has been updated with recount information. To see the full description, click the link and search for the phrase "Here's how the process would work".

In the short version, county canvassing starts no later than this Thursday, and a recount could start as early as the following Tuesday. Once a recount starts, "Observers could challenge ballots, which would then be set aside for further review."

Which leads to this, from Prosser campaign director Brian Nemoir (he also turns up here):

Nemoir said Wednesday that with a recount looming in the Supreme Court race between Prosser and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg, the next step is to make sure "ballot integrity" is protected.

Nemoir said the campaign was beginning the process of checking with vote counters in each of the state's 72 counties to make sure ballots are protected and not tampered with.

"Ballot integrity" — smells like ACORNs, doesn't it. And Milwaukee. Get ready for a full dose of the ugly. Looks like it's coming.
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As I write, we're still waiting for a result in the Wisconsin state Supreme Court race.

The closeness of the vote count means that a recount is at least likely, if not certain. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this to say on the subject, from a more general article on the ongoing vote count (my emphasis):

That close margin had political insiders from both sides talking about the possibility of a recount, which Wisconsin has avoided in statewide races in recent decades. Any recount could be followed by lawsuits - litigation that potentially would be decided by the high court. ...

Either candidate can request a recount once the votes have been officially canvassed. If the margin between the candidates is less than 0.5% - as it is likely to be in this race - the state charges nothing to conduct the recount. If the margin is between 0.5% and 2%, the candidate asking for the recount must pay $5 per ward.

It looks, from the Republican side, that a recount is certain:

At the Seven Seas Restaurant in Hartland, Prosser told a handful of supporters at 1:40 a.m., "There is little doubt there is going to be a recount in this race."

I was interested in the comment above about litigation. The phrase "decided by the high court" can only mean by the state Supreme Court, on which Prosser currently sits.

One of the most contentious issues for this court is recusal — when does a judge have to recuse himself? For example, the conservatives justices believe that a judge doesn't have to recuse himself or herself from cases involving campaign contributors. Will Prosser recuse himself from deciding his own case? It's likely, but not certain. Stay tuned.

Also, stay tuned for this, regarding Gov. Walker's anti-union law:

Legal challenges to the new law - which would eliminate most collective bargaining for most public employees - are expected to reach the high court, but it's not clear if the justices would take up the case before this race's winner is scheduled to be sworn in Aug. 1.

One more way for Prosser to rule would be to put this case before the Court ahead of the election result, especially if Prosser's not likely to be elected.

Never forget Republican Law RL-1: When you have the power, use it.

GP Read the rest of this post...

Obama's base: Already inflamed, thanks

A Washington Post article today reports on the current federal budget push-me-pull-you between Ds and Rs, and includes this:

At the same time, White House officials are reluctant to agree to proposals that would inflame Obama’s liberal base, especially during the same week that the president launched his reelection campaign with a direct appeal to core supporters who provided the energy for his 2008 bid.

"Would inflame"? Meaning, might do so in the future?

Judging by the reaction to this post yesterday, I'd say Mr. Obama's "core supporters" are feeling pretty inflamed already. Fired up, to be sure, though not in the way Mr. Obama is thinking.

And as long as you're over at the WP, don't miss this Harold Meyerson column. Money quote right at the top:

If it does nothing else, the budget that House Republicans unveiled Tuesday provides the first real Republican program for the 21st century, and it is this: Repeal the 20th century.

Thanks to the indispensable Greg Sargent for the heads-up on both articles. If you don't check into Greg's "Plum Line" blog, add it to your daily reading list. Read the rest of this post...

UPDATED: WI supreme court race too close to call, 600 224 votes separate candidates

UPDATED @ 12:46 PM: Waiting on three one more precinct (turns out all of Milwaukee County is in, so only one left from Jefferson County), Kloppenburg's lead is now 224: 739,574 to 739,350.
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UPDATE @ 11:11 AM: Still waiting on five more precincts, only five left. Kloppenburg's lead is now 447: 739,014 to 738,567.
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UPDATE @ 11:01 AM: Five more precincts in, only five left. Kloppenburg's lead is now 369: 738,883 to 738,514.
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UPDATE @ 10:48 AM: With only 10 of the 3,630 precincts left to report, the margin is 140 votes. Kloppenburg now leads Prosser: 738,368 to 738,228. So, yeah, expect a recount.
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You'll recall that this is the race Gaius has been writing about, in which a stooge for GOP Governor Scott Walker was facing an unexpectedly difficult re-elect after the governor went all nuts on the unions.  Payback is a rhymes-with-witch.

As of early Wednesday, April 6, Justice David Prosser has a narrow lead over Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg in the state Supreme Court race.

But even with 99% of the vote counted, fewer than 600 votes - about 0.04% of ballots - separated the candidates

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Radioactive leak at Fukishima plant plugged

There's a lot more work to be done but it sounds like there is finally some good news on the crisis in Japan. CNN:

Workers scored a key victory Wednesday in their struggle to gain the upper hand in the weeks-long crisis at the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear power facility, though a top Japanese official cautioned that the fight was far from over.

At daybreak, authorities with the Tokyo Electric Power Company noticed that water was no longer gushing into the Pacific Ocean from the turbine building of the No. 2 reactor, one of six operated by the utility at its plant..

Radiation levels in the water tested 7.5 million times the legal limit on Saturday. On Tuesday, it was still 5 million times above the norm.

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NATO doesn't have enough aircraft for Libyan campaign

It's hardly a surprise, but did anyone really think the US had enough aircraft either? How many wars can be fought at one time? It's especially difficult now that we're in the age of austerity with budget cuts all around. The US military is barely cutting spending but everyone else in NATO is dealing with less money available. It's not right to ask voters to tighten the belt and fun undefined missions around the world. The Guardian:

Nato is running short of attack aircraft for its bombing campaign against Muammar Gaddafi only days after taking command of the Libyan mission from a coalition led by the US, France and Britain.

David Cameron has pledged four more British Tornado jets on top of eight already being used for the air strikes. But pressure is growing for other European countries, especially France, to offer more after the Americans withdrew their attack aircraft from the campaign on Monday.

"We will need more strike capability," a Nato official said.

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Bahrain fires workers who participated in protests

When people wonder why our Middle East policies are so bad, it's partially because we support goons like the government of Bahrain. Al Jazeera:

Bahraini firms have fired hundreds of mostly Shia Muslim workers who went on strike to support pro-democracy protesters, the opposition group Wefaq has said.

Officials at Batelco, Gulf Air, Bahrain Airport Services and APM Terminals Bahrain said they had laid off more than 200 workers due to absence during a strike in March.

"It's illegal in Bahrain and anywhere else in the world to just strike. You have to give two weeks' notice to your employer," one executive who did not wish to be named told Reuters news agency on Tuesday.

Bahrain's unions called a general strike on March 13 to support the Shia protesters against the Sunni-led government. The strike was called off on March 22.

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Report: Gbagbo negotiating surrender from palace bunker

Al Jazeera is reporting that Gbagbo is not negotiating, but at this point his only other option is certain death. Quite a few people, including Gbagbo, could have lived had he only accepted the election results. The Guardian:

Ivory Coast's president, Laurent Gbagbo, has been holed up in a bunker with his family and a handful of supporters as army generals negotiated his surrender.

The former history professor turned politician, who refused to accept that he had lost last year's election, is facing an ignominious end to his 10-year rule after waging a desperate war to preserve it.

As he sheltered in the basement of his presidential palace surrounded by forces loyal to his rival, Alassane Ouattara, the UN said that it had received calls from Gbagbo's three top generals – the head of the armed forces, the head of the police and the head of the elite republican guard – offering to negotiate terms for surrender in return for guarantees of safety.

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