Fox News host Bolling: It’s the liberals fault that I ignored 9/11 attack

How convenient. Read the rest of this post...

Wash Post: "Top lawmakers target ‘grand bargain’ for debt plan"

Just out in the Washington Post, looks like the Dems are having their way with the Republicans. Boehner et al have agreed to work on the Grand Bargain, complete with massive cuts, after all. "Democrat" Kent Conrad plays a key supporting role (natch).

The Post headline says it all, but of course there's more (h/t Jim Roberts; my emphasis):

Top lawmakers target ‘grand bargain’ for debt plan

Even as President Obama and congressional leaders focus on a fallback plan to lift the nation’s debt ceiling, top Democrats and Republicans have begun to map a new way to craft the same sort of ambitious deficit-cutting plan they abandoned last week.

As part of the deal being discussed to raise the debt ceiling, leaders on Capitol Hill are forming an especially powerful congressional committee that would be charged with drawing up a new “grand bargain,” possibly by the end of the year.

Key elements for a big deal remain in place. Obama has been clear that he wants one and has started making the case to skeptical factions of his own party that getting the nation’s fiscal house in order is in their best interest. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) also remains committed to an ambitious plan, having told his troops that he didn’t become speaker to do small things. And, perhaps most critically, the markets are demanding it. The credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s says Washington must agree to reduce the debt by $4 trillion over 10 years to avert a downgrade.

“We cannot as a country fail to deal with the debt threat,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), one of the bipartisan “Gang of Six” senators who tried to reach an agreement in recent months.

The article is chock full. For example, there's the "balanced budget amendment" dance still on the Kabuki Card. And if you start reading here...

To get backing from House Republicans, McConnell and Reid are adding $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. And they are drawing up the committee, with six lawmakers from each party, which would report by the end of the year.

...you'll learn about that "especially powerful" congressional committee, whose report would be "protected from Senate filibuster" and "not ... subject to amendment." Take that, sixty votes; I knew there was a way if they really wanted one.  (NOTE FROM JOHN: Funny how they found a way around the filibuster in order to do something the Republicans want.)

A few things to note:

(1) Obama seems to get a "Lawrence O'Donnell eleventy-mensional" pass in the first sentence, but is handed responsibility lower down.

(2) A snarky headline writer might have titled this article: Obama to Republicans: "You know you want it; it's here in my hand."

(3) Note the role of the S&P in this. They've been banker-handmaidens for decades. They created the illusion of safety in the housing mortgage fraud-scheme (sorry, derivatives crisis). Now they're creating the illusion of danger, by playing "confidence fairy of last resort," since no other bond vig has shown up. Nice of them. I'm sure there's a Thank You down the road. (Prosecution? Nah, they've "suffered" enough.)

(4) Digby notes the role of the "U.S." (my snark) Chamber of Commerce in this article. Everyone has a role.

It's kind of over, isn't it, unless the progressives in both houses grow an unbending spine. (Mr. Franken, Mr. Sanders — don't senators get "holds" on legislation?)

Time to move to the states. For example, there's an excellent opportunity for someone to be governor of Wisconsin in a recall of Gov. Scott ("Reporting for duty, Mr. Koch") Walker of Wisconsin.

GP Read the rest of this post...

David Cameron had deep ties to discredited News Corp execs

What exactly was happening? It's odd that the PM had extended a privilege to the News Corp executive that was not even extended to senior members of his team. Certainly a ruthless media that could discredit the opposition could be extremely valuable for a politician. Very curious.

The scale of private links between David Cameron and News International was exposed for the first time last night, with the Prime Minister shown to have met Rupert Murdoch's executives on no fewer than 26 occasions in just over a year since he entered Downing Street.

Rebekah Brooks, who resigned yesterday as chief executive of Mr Murdoch's Wapping titles over the escalating scandal, is the only person Mr Cameron has invited twice to Chequers, a privilege not extended even to the most senior members of his Cabinet. James Murdoch, News Corp's chairmanin Europe and the man responsible for pushing through the BSkyB bid, was a guest at the Prime Minister's official country residence eight months ago. And the former NOTW editor Andy Coulson – who was arrested this week in connection with police corruption and phone hacking – was invited by Mr Cameron to spend a private weekend at Chequers as recently as March.

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China throws temper tantrum over Obama meeting with Dalai Lama

Who threw the rattle out of the pram? Wahhhhh.

Obama met the Nobel Prize laureate for 45 minutes, praising him for embracing non-violence while reiterating that the United States did not support independence for Tibet.

China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of being a separatist who supports the use of violence to set up an independent Tibet, reacted swiftly, saying Obama's meeting had had a "baneful" impact, and summoning a senior U.S. diplomat in Beijing.

"This action is a gross interference in China's internal affairs, hurts the feelings of the Chinese people and damages Sino-U.S. relations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement released in the early hours of Sunday.

On a positive note, here's a recent interview with Radio Free Asia with the Dalai Lama during his visit to Washington, DC. Read the rest of this post...

Obama has chosen Richard Cordray to lead Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The President passed over Elizabeth Warren to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), but has chosen one of her top aides: Richard Cordray. The "official" announcement will be made tomorrow, but the White House sent out this statement today:

President Obama said, “American families and consumers bore the brunt of the financial crisis and are still struggling in its aftermath to find jobs, stay in their homes, and make ends meet. That is why I fought so hard to pass reforms to fix the financial system and put in place the strongest consumer protections in our nation’s history. Richard Cordray has spent his career advocating for middle class families, from his tenure as Ohio’s Attorney General, to his most recent role as heading up the enforcement division at the CFPB and looking out for ordinary people in our financial system.”

President Obama continued, “I also want to thank Elizabeth Warren not only for her extraordinary work standing up the new agency over the past year, but also for her many years of impassioned leadership, and her fierce defense of a simple idea: ordinary people deserve to be treated fairly and honestly in their financial dealings. This agency was Elizabeth’s idea, and through sheer force of will, intelligence, and a bottomless well of energy, she has made, and will continue to make, a profound and positive difference for our country.”

Hopefully, Warren will continue to serve the country. We need her. United States Senator Elizabeth Warren has a nice ring. And, let's see how Cordray's nomination plays out in the Senate -- and whether the White House will fight for him.

PCCC's Stephanie Taylor summed up what a lot of people are probably thinking:

With her track record of standing up to Wall Street and fighting for consumers, Elizabeth Warren was the best qualified to lead this bureau that she conceived -- and we imagine Richard Cordray would agree. That said, Rich Cordray has been a strong ally of Elizabeth Warren's and we hope he will continue her legacy of holding Wall Street accountable.

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Report: Murdoch paper may have hacked Jude Law’s phone on American soil

If this story turns out to be true, Murdoch's News Corp could have some very serious legal problems. David Beckham is also claiming that he was a victim of the hacking and remember that he did live in the US while playing soccer for the LA Galaxy. News Corp apologists need to wake up and accept that there is enough smoke to warrant an investigation.

The News of the World allegedly hacked into the mobile phones of Jude Law and his personal assistant while they were in New York, opening the way for News International to be prosecuted in the United States.

In the first specific example of a case of hacking on US soil, it has emerged that the actor and his assistant, Ben Jackson, were allegedly targeted shortly after arriving at New York's JFK airport.

Their mobile telephones were operating on American networks, meaning that regardless of where the alleged hacker was based, American law would apply.

It would leave News International open to claims that it broke US federal laws and also pave the way for costly lawsuits.

There have already been reports that News Corp may have hacked into the phones of 9/11 victims. How blind does someone have to be to find nothing worth investigating in the US? Read the rest of this post...

Female traveler gropes TSA agent and is arrested

She was wrong to be so aggressive but isn't it curious how it's groping when it's a passenger but somehow legal when it's the government? This system has to go.

Authorities say a Colorado woman who allegedly groped a female Transportation Security Administration agent at Phoenix's international airport is facing a felony count of sexual abuse.

Phoenix police say 61-year-old Yukari Mihamae is accused of grabbing the left breast of the unidentified TSA agent Thursday at an airport checkpoint.

TSA spokesperson Kawika Riley confirmed the altercation to msnbc.com in a statement: "On July 14 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, local law enforcement arrested a passenger for assaulting a TSA officer during the screening process."

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Rebekah Brooks arrested for role in growing News Corp. phone hacking scandal

Major development in the Murdoch's phone hacking scandal today. One of Murdoch's top confidants has been arrested. From the Guardian:

Rebekah Brooks has been arrested by police investigating allegations of phone hacking by the News of the World and allegations that police officers were bribed to leak sensitive information.

The Metropolitan police said a 43-year-old woman was arrested at noon on Sunday, by appointment at a London police station.

Brooks, 43, resigned on Friday as News International's chief executive. She is a former News of the World editor and was close to Rupert Murdoch and the prime minister, David Cameron.

This keeps getting messier and messier for the Murdochs. The accusations of criminal activity keep getting closer and closer to them. The rot goes right to the top. Read the rest of this post...

Nick Lowe - Breaking Glass

The annual traffic jams on the autoroutes is officially here now. Vacationers from Belgium, Holland, UK, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and of course France are all cramming onto the French highways to head south. Traffic is backed up for miles (errrr, kilometers), as it always does in July and August. We will have the pleasure to dive in ourselves in a few weeks time. There's really nothing more fun than stop and go traffic for ten hours with a sticky clutch and only hot air blowing. Can't wait. Read the rest of this post...

Violence in Northern Ireland scares off new immigrants

The marchers really are pathetic. The government that tolerates these hate filled, violent marches is hardly much better. The Guardian:

Immigrant families from East Timor fled a Catholic area of Northern Ireland on Friday night when loyalist rioters tried to attack nationalist homes, a Sinn Fein councillor said today.

"Around 100 loyalists attacked police who prevented them attacking nationalist homes," said John O'Dowd, who is a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The families from East Timor packed their bags and ran from their homes in Portadown, Co Armagh on Friday night, when the area was engulfed in violence, he said.

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