French police break through blockade, open oil refinery

It's always painful to watch such violence in the name of oil. As the strikes continue, tensions continue to escalate in a very bad way. BBC:

Clashes have broken out outside a major oil refinery in France after riot police moved in to clear strikers who blockaded the terminal for 10 days.

Two people were hurt outside the Grandpuits refinery east of Paris, one of 12 facilities affected by strikes.

President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered the authorities to lift the blockade earlier this week after thousands of petrol stations across France ran dry.

The Senate will vote later on the pension reform that sparked the action.

Ministers said the bill would clear its last major hurdle in a matter of hours, after the Senate was asked to halt debate on hundreds of opposition amendments and hold a single vote on all of them.

Read the rest of this post...

Taibbi on the infrastructure that supports the Billionaires' Coup

Investigative reporter Matt Taibbi has a new book, Griftopia, that covers the Koch brothers and others who are involved in the "Billionaires' Coup" (Frank Rich's phrase). The Coup is not exactly new; it's been talked about for weeks. But knowledge of the supporting infrastructure — the Big Money retreats and planning conferences — is a revelation. Olbermann calls it a "high finance cabal." Literally true.

Olbermann illustrates Taibbi's findings in his introduction to "the tentacles of the Kochtapus." Then Taibbi comes on to offer comments based on his research.



That Koch-sponsored Palm Springs "retreat" really is a Big Boy strategy session. With Citizens United now operational, and literally billions to allocate, coordinated planning and resource allocation is the obvious next step.

Note Home Depot on the list of eager beavers at these conferences. Do you shop there?

And note, once again, Movement Conservative Clarence Thomas's involvement (along with Scalia's). Can you see why I call him undeniably an operative? This is not hyperbole.

What you can do. I mentioned some time ago, that while we're in the third quarter and behind in the score (metaphorically speaking), it is only the third quarter, and their hubris is our ally. These guys are celebrating touchdowns when they cross the 40-yard line. Not good for them.

So do everything you can to publicize this stuff, to spread the word, to inform and encourage. Most readers of sites like this one are activists at heart. Now is the time your Do Something spirit is most needed.

And frankly, when you act, act with an optimistic heart. Create as much forward energy in others as you can. This doesn't mean spread lies, or blow smoke. But the game really isn't over, and unless we plan to go home now (I sure don't), keep in mind that the last whistle won't be blown for a good while yet.

(Oh, and keep Home Depot in mind as well.)

Mes petits sous,

GP Read the rest of this post...

Unemployment rates down in most states last month

We need to see a lot more new jobs but still, lower unemployment is still lower unemployment.

Unemployment rates dropped in September in most states, the Labor Department said on Friday ahead of early November elections where jobs are expected to be a key focus for voters selecting governors, state legislators and federal lawmakers.

The unemployment rate dropped from the prior month in 23 states and the District of Columbia, and was lower than a year earlier in 29 states and the nation's capital.

Still, the number of workers dropped in a significant number of states. Nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 34 states, with the largest decline -- 63,500 jobs -- in California. New York followed, shedding 37,600 jobs last month.

In contrast, only 16 states gained jobs. The District of Columbia, a city without a state, had the largest increase at 16,500 positions.

Read the rest of this post...

Toxic securities provide 36% return for US Treasury

It's still early days and they're not called "toxic" for nothing, but these are impressive returns. Bloomberg:

A U.S. government program aimed at reviving the mortgage-backed securities market returned more than triple what stocks or bonds gained in the past year.

The eight funds created under the Public-Private Investment Program, or PPIP, reported net internal rates of return averaging 36 percent through Sept. 30, the Treasury Department said in a report this week. That compares with the 10 percent return for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 8.2 percent for the BarCap U.S. Aggregate Total Return Index of bonds.

Read the rest of this post...

Unemployment benefits to run out for 1.2 million over Christmas season

Who wants to guess which party will play the Grinch? If these were corporate executives like the ones throwing cash into the election, the GOP would be tripping over themselves to give them yet another bailout. Sadly these are just hard working Americans who need some help getting by because of the financial crisis so they don't count for Republicans.

If Congress fails to reauthorize extended unemployment benefits by the end of November, it will spoil the holidays for 1.2 million people, according to the National Employment Law Project.

"The program deadline falls in the midst of the holiday season, when unemployed families do their best to put food on the table and hold on to their family traditions," said NELP in a release. "It's also a time when the economy, especially the retail sector, is counting on consumer spending -- supported in part by unemployment benefits -- to maintain the recovery."

Read the rest of this post...

Lessons Obama could learn from 'The Godfather'

From Roger Stone (the good one):

Remember that the don has done you this favor.

As a powerful man, the don does many people many favors. But they know that something will be expected of them in return. When that moment comes, they had better be willing to return the favor. This favor bank is a great source of the don’s power.

Obama has been all quid, with no pro quo. With Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) down on his luck — no job in the McCain administration and the Democratic Caucus skeptical of his liberal credentials — Obama intervened. Because of that, Lieberman got the committee chairmanship he so desperately wanted. But, somehow, attached to that favor were no strings — for example, no condition that he could vote as he wanted on bills but would support the caucus on breaking filibusters.

Sometimes you need to leave a horse head in the bed.

Read the rest of this post...

RNC millions in debt as election nears

And people expect them to be fiscally responsible because of what? CBS News:

The Republican National Committee reports more debt than cash on hand for the period ending Sept. 30, a weak financial foundation for a party entering the homestretch of the midterm election campaign.

In documents filed with the Federal Election Commission, the party said it had $3.4 million in the bank but $4.6 million in debts. The RNC reported raising $9.6 million during September and took out a $2.5 million dollar loan.

Read the rest of this post...

GOP House candidate says violent overthrow of current US govt is 'on the table'

This is what America is on the verge of voting for.

Watson asked if violence would be an option in 2010, under the current government.

"The option is on the table. I don't think that we should remove anything from the table as it relates to our liberties and our freedoms," Broden said, without elaborating. "However, it is not the first option."

Read the rest of this post...

An adorable puppy with a huge head licks its chops

Because sometimes you need a break from being angry all the time.

Read the rest of this post...

Anchorage Daily News: '[GOP Senate candidate Joe] Miller bodyguard has links to Alaska militia group'

This is a good season for excellent local journalism, isn't it? First Las Vegas, then Arizona. Now it's the Anchorage Daily News, doing the investigative thing. Their latest is well captured in the headline. A piece of this brief story (h/t cc423):

William Fulton, the chief Joe Miller bodyguard involved in the handcuffing of a journalist Sunday at a campaign event in an Anchorage school, denies he's a member of the Kenai Peninsula-based Alaska Citizens Militia but maintains regular communication with the group on its Web forum and has been called "supply sergeant" by the group's founder.

Our earlier story discussed this event, in which Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger was handcuffed and held by Joe Miller's personal police. That team included two active-duty military, and the on-site team was commanded by William Fulton himself, the owner of Drop Zone Security. From the ADN's earlier reporting:

Miller's chief guard at the Middle School event, Drop Zone owner William Fulton, said it wasn't his job to ensure soldiers complied with the regulations, though he said he informs them of their duty.

"They're adults -- they are responsible for themselves," Fulton said.

He said the two soldiers called him Monday and said they may be in trouble.

Some background on the Alaska Citizens' Militia from Talking Points Memo:

The Alaska Citizens' Militia describes its mission statement as: "To set forth the historical and Constitutional basis for the establishment of the Alaska Citizens Militia; to explain its mission and goals; its uniqueness as the final defense against tyrannical government at all levels; and to suggest an organizational structure."

Among the problems its website lists are "firearms restrictions or other disarmament," "mandatory medical anything," and "involuntary involvement in anything," among other things, in its "ACTS OF WAR" section.

The ACM was started by Norm Olsen, who the Southern Poverty Law Center reports also started the Michigan Militia, though he was kicked out after touting this theory about the Oklahoma City bombing: "The Japanese government had bombed the federal building there as a return favor for the sarin gas subway attack that he said the U.S. government carried out in Tokyo."

The original ADN story describes Drop Zone as "a Spenard surplus store and protection service." Is that a reference to Spenard Builders Supply, the building supply store that sponsored Todd Palin's snowboarding team, and figures in several Palin-era Wasilla scandals, as well as VECO? Hard to tell from the ADN story, but Spenard may just be a neighborhood both occupy. (Thanks to commenter colleen2 for the Village Voice link.)

If you're curious, here's a fast Drop Zone profile; they list themselves as an Army & Navy supply store as well as a security outfit. Here's another profile. Bonsai66 at DailyKos has done some preliminary digging, and turned up this picture of the Drop Zone mother ship.

I'd start checking to see if Joe Miller has further ties to Alaska Citizens Militia (beyond Fulton and Drop Zone), and to the Alaska Independence Party, of Todd Palin fame, as well. He sweats authoritarianism and the attitude toward freedom that hurts people.

For the right Jimmy Olsen, this could be a target-rich environment. But hurry; the election is just around the corner.

(Here's Rachel on Scott McAdams, Miller's Democratic opponent. You can contribute to the McAdams campaign here.)

GP Read the rest of this post...

Former girlfriend on Clarence Thomas: 'He was obsessed with porn'

Well, that phone call to Anita Hill from Mrs. Clarence Thomas sure has pushed her husband back into the spotlight. It spurred one of his former girlfriends, Lillian McEwen, to speak out. I suspect this isn't exactly the story Ginni Thomas was looking for:

"He was obsessed with porn," she said of Thomas, who is now 63. "He would talk about what he had seen in magazines and films, if there was something worth noting."

McEwen added that she had no problem with Thomas's interests, although she found pornography to be "boring."

According to McEwen, Thomas would also tell her about women he encountered at work. He was partial to women with large breasts, she said. In an instance at work, Thomas was so impressed that he asked one woman her bra size, McEwen recalled him telling her.

Presented with some of McEwen's assertions, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Thomas was unavailable for comment.

However bizarre they may seem, McEwen's recollections resemble accounts shared by other women that swirled around the Thomas confirmation.

Keep working those phones, Mrs. Thomas. Read the rest of this post...

GOP to hack Social Security benefits

In other words, thanks for sacrificing to help save the financial industry but heavens no, they can't help return the favor. Do less with less. Oh how exciting.

A Republican plan to rein in the rising cost of Social Security would dramatically reduce retirement benefits for middle- and upper-income Americans, especially those now younger than 25, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the program's chief actuary.

The plan, by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), would reduce benefits by gradually raising the retirement age and gradually trimming benefits for the top 70 percent of earners.

Together, the two provisions would slice initial benefits by about a quarter for middle-income Americans who turn 65 in 2050, according to the analysis. Wealthier retirees would see even deeper cuts, losing about a third of scheduled benefits in 2050 and more than half of scheduled benefits if they turn 65 in 2080.

Update from Joe: Looks like we really will need the Social Security Protectors. Read the rest of this post...

Friday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The President is starting his day in California. He spent the night in San Francisco. In between the politicking, he did meet with Steve Jobs yesterday. Today, he's heading to Los Angeles. He'll be doing events at the University of Southern California -- one for Barbara Boxer and another DNC really. (Yes, it's USC. Calm down, Bruins.) As part of Latino GOTV efforts, Obama is doing the Piolin Show this afternoon. Then, he's heading to Nevada to campaign for Harry Reid. He's got a rally and a fundraiser in Las Vegas, where he'll spend the night.

Biden isn't doing any campaigning today.

Yesterday, several LGBT blogs co-hosted a live chat for Rep. Patrick Murphy. Reelecting Murphy, the House sponsor of DADT repeal, is one thing LGBT leaders agree on. See for yourself.

We're also fundraising for Murphy who is in a tight battle for reelection. Donate here. We need Murphy back.

11 days left. Read the rest of this post...

British Conservative government to axe 500,000 jobs

That should really help an already bad economic environment. And the Tories actually think this is a good thing.

Britain will cut 490,000 public sector jobs over four years under austerity measures designed to reduce the country's record deficit.

George Osborne, the finance minister, told parliament on Wednesday that the job losses were "unavoidable when the country has run out of money".

"Today is the day that Britain steps back from the brink. It is a hard road but it leads to a better future," he said.

Read the rest of this post...

Economists: British austerity hits the poor

On paper they always make it sound better than reality. Coming to a conservative majority near you.

Osborne had said Wednesday in an address to Parliament that "those with the broadest shoulders should bear the greatest burden," saying Britain's highest earners would be worst affected by the cuts.

But economists and the public disagree, believing the measures will cause most hardship for lower-paid government workers and Britons reliant on welfare checks.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies, an economic think tank, said that — aside from the richest 2 percent of people — most of the pain would be inflicted on working families, the sick and the poor.

"You're really picking on the weakest people in society and it's completely unfair how you're applying these budget cuts," Margaret Lynch, 52, told Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, as they defended the plan at a public meeting in Nottingham, in central England.

Read the rest of this post...

The moon may have a lot more water than previously thought

Not that we need to be colonizing anywhere else, but it's still fascinating to see that scientists are still discovering something new on the moon.

Scientists have discovered significant amounts of water on the moon—about twice the quantity seen in the Sahara Desert—a finding that may bolster the case for establishing a manned base on the lunar surface.

In an audacious experiment last year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration slammed a spent-fuel rocket into a lunar crater at 5,600 miles an hour, and then used a pair of orbiting satellites to analyze the debris thrown off by the impact. They discovered that the crater contained water in the form of ice, plus a host of other resources, including hydrogen, ammonia, methane, mercury, sodium and silver.

Read the rest of this post...