Video: Greek guy and son got talent

Read the rest of this post...

Obama proposing limits on emissions from new power plants

The new rules will only impact new plants and not existing plants, though that's not likely to make a difference for extremist Republicans who hate any regulation that protects consumers. Obama, ever the moderate, has not often reached out to environmentalists and even now, this probably won't do much to win them over since it is limited to new power plants.

Limiting carbon emissions is a great idea and necessary, but the problem is too serious for yet another middle of the road response. The time for timid responses is long gone.

The Obama administration will propose as soon as Tuesday the first ever standards to cut carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants, sources involved in talks on the matter said—a move that is likely to be hotly contested by Republicans and industry in an election year.

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose the long-delayed rules, known as New Source Performance Standards, that would effectively limit emissions of all new U.S. power plants to those of efficient natural gas plants.

Read the rest of this post...

Housing prices tumble, again

More proof that we're far from being out of the woods with this economy. While there have been plenty of encouraging signs (such the employment numbers) the housing numbers are awful. There have been a few exceptions (Washington, DC being one - which may explain why Congress fails to appreciate the severity of the crisis) most of the country continues to drop. We can't expect growth until there is at least some stability to the falling numbers. CNNMoney:

The housing market started off the new year with a thud. Home prices dropped for the fifth consecutive month in January, reaching their lowest point since the end of 2002.

The average home sold in that month lost 0.8% of its value, compared with a month earlier, and prices were down 3.8% from 12 months earlier, according to the S&P;/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major markets.

Home prices have fallen a whopping 34.4% from the peak set in July, 2006.

A scary thought for consideration is that Robert Shiller is discussing the possibility "that we will never in our lifetime see a rebound in these prices in the suburbs." Wow. Read the rest of this post...

Video: Dog rescued (just try to watch this video and not get choked up)

I realized I didn't make clear that the dog doesn't die, it's saved.  So you can watch the video - it has a happy ending, but is a tear-jerker.

Here's the link for a donation page for the group that rescued the dog, Hope for Paws. They spent a lot of money saving this animal, and other animals. Help them out if you can.

Read the rest of this post...

"Train wreck" of a day for health care reform... or not?

If this thing is declared unconstitutional, the first thing that needs to happen is a campaign to revoke Congress' socialist health care plan. It is absurd that members of Congress get special rights for health care while denying it to the rest of us. If they're so worried about socialism, then let's start with the socialists in their own backyard.

From Slate:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday wrapped up its second day of oral arguments on the new health care reform law, and the early returns suggest that things don't look so good for President Obama's landmark initiative.

CNN legal correspondent Jeffrey Toobin put it like so: "This was a train wreck for the Obama administration. The law looks like it's going to be struck down. All of the predictions including mine that the justices would not have a problem with this law were wrong."

Over at the SCOTUSblog, meanwhile, they were singing the praises of the attorney arguing against the law: "Paul Clement gave the best argument I’ve ever heard. No real hard questions from the right. Mandate is in trouble."

Of course, then there's this quote from Justice Kennedy that TPM picked up:

JUSTICE KENNEDY: But they [the uninsured] are in the market in the sense that they are creating a risk that the market must account for.

Kennedy's point seems to be that even though the uninsured aren't in the insurance market per se, we all still pay for their health care because they go to the emergency room and are required by law to be treated. And guess who pays for their ER visit? All of us. So the GOP has its own individual mandate in this debate - they're mandating that the rest of us pay for the health care of people who can't afford, or simply don't bother, getting insurance.

There's a reason the Republicans feel so comfy trying to take down health care reform, because their health care is subsidized for life, even after they leave the job even if they've only been there a few years. Put them and their familiar on the individual market, let them pay for a few pregnancies and appendicitises, and then let's see how gung-ho they are for John McCain's voucher plan. Read the rest of this post...

TSA uninvites TSA critic from Congressional panel on security

At least the TSA will get to avoid having to respond to public criticisms that might help to save lives. Why would Congress even go along with such a request? CNET:

Bruce Schneier, a vocal critic of security measures used by the Transportation Security Administration, was asked to testify before Congress about TSA's security screening initiatives but then was "formally uninvited" after the agency complained.

"On Friday, at the request of the TSA, I was removed from the witness list," Schneier wrote on his blog. "The excuse was that I am involved in a lawsuit against the TSA, trying to get them to suspend their full-body scanner program. But it's pretty clear that the TSA is afraid of public testimony on the topic, and especially of being challenged in front of Congress. They want to control the story, and it's easier for them to do that if I'm not sitting next to them pointing out all the holes in their position. Unfortunately, the committee went along with them."

A TSA spokeswoman told CNET she would look into the matter but did not immediately have comment this afternoon.

Read the rest of this post...

A list of ALEC corporations, and what you can do

Via a column by Paul Krugman, we are led by clicks to a number of great ALEC resources. (ALEC background here and here.)

If you're brand new to ALEC, here's a taste from SourceWatch.org (my emphasis and paragraphing):

ALEC is not a lobby; it is not a front group. It is much more powerful than that.

Through ALEC, behind closed doors, corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line. Along with legislators, corporations have membership in ALEC. Corporations sit on all nine ALEC task forces and vote with legislators to approve “model” bills.

They have their own corporate governing board which meets jointly with the legislative board. (ALEC says that corporations do not vote on the board.)

[Corporations] fund almost all of ALEC's operations. Participating legislators, overwhelmingly conservative Republicans, then bring those proposals home and introduce them in statehouses across the land as their own brilliant ideas and important public policy innovations—without disclosing that corporations crafted and voted on the bills.

ALEC boasts that it has over 1,000 of these bills introduced by legislative members every year, with one in every five of them enacted into law. ALEC describes itself as a “unique,” “unparalleled” and “unmatched” organization. It might be right. It is as if a state legislature had been reconstituted, yet corporations had pushed the people out the door.

Learn more at ALECexposed.org.

This is how the Movement Conservative project has gained control of many state legislatures. Think of it — over 1000 ALEC-authored bills introduced in the states each year. Who else has that kind of power?

So let's look at a few lists.

■ The following names the 23 corporations on ALEC's corporate board. These are the Daddy Dinos, the Bigs; the other corporations (below) are just associate predators.

Listed with the names are the company's total lobbying expenditures, not just via ALEC, but its entire reach. (Note that the 2011 totals are through June only — just a half-year's worth of politician-purchases).

Organization	2009	2010	2011
Altria Group	12,770,000	$10,360,000	$5,480,000
American Bail Coalition	$0	$80,000	$35,000
AT&T Inc.	$14,729,673	$15,395,078	$11,690,000
Bayer AG	$8,478,512	$4,903,640	$3,380,000
Coca-Cola Co.	$9,390,000	$7,352,795	$3,450,000
Diageo PLC	$2,250,000	$2,620,000	$1,100,000
Energy Future Holdings Corp.	$3,974,014	$4,731,228	$2,770,000
Exxon Mobil	$27,430,000	$12,450,000	$6,820,000
GlaxoSmithKline	$8,760,000	$6,070,000	$2,650,000
Intuit Inc.	$2,142,000	$2,249,000	$1,589,000
Johnson & Johnson	$6,560,000	$6,700,000	$3,106,000
Koch Industries	$12,450,000	$8,070,000	$4,060,000
Kraft Foods	$3,390,000	$3,000,000	$1,450,000
Peabody Energy	$5,835,000	$6,591,000	$3,727,000
Pfizer Inc.	$25,819,268	$13,380,000	$7,440,000
PhRMA	$26,150,520	$21,740,000	$9,290,000
Reed Elsevier Inc.	$2,130,000	$1,670,000	$810,000
Reynolds American	$4,556,215	$4,323,293	$1,728,305
Salt River Project	$1,170,000	$870,000	$370,000
State Farm Insurance	$3,420,000	$3,620,000	$1,540,000
United Parcel Service	$8,430,526	$5,587,349	$2,642,399
Wal-Mart Stores	$7,390,000	$6,160,000	$4,070,000

Most of these names should be familiar to you. Koch Industries is obviously the Koch Bros. Wal-Mart is the Walton family. The Kochs and Waltons are two of the eighteen families behind all the "death tax" propaganda.

■ ALEC also has many for-profit corporations, law firms, governmental groups, and non-profits as members or supporters. Click to see.

The for-profit corp list is huge; your consumer dollars at work. Note the CATO Institute, that "insufficiently hackish" lover of democracy, on the non-profit supporter list.

I offer this list and these links as reference — if the heat on ALEC turns higher, you may be glad to keep it handy, or bookmarked.

What you can do — There are campaigns starting, thanks to the Trayvon killing connection. This is one; I'm sure there are or will be others. Feel free to lend a hand; it's not dark yet....

GP

(To follow on Twitter or to send links: @Gaius_Publius)
  Read the rest of this post...

Orlando Sentinel offers conflicting account of Trayvon Martin shooting

It's important to consider all the facts, all the witness, regardless of whether the new facts might be at odds with what we think happened.  This is something we routinely beat up the GOP for, ignoring facts that disagree with their preferred narrative.  We should always be vigilant about not doing the same, no matter how disturbing the crime.

From Slate:

One detail at the center of the event is who called for help during the physical skirmish between the two men. Zimmerman claims it was him, while others have suggested it was Martin. The Sentinel explains:

Several witnesses heard those cries, and there's been a dispute about from whom they came: Zimmerman or Trayvon. Lawyers for Trayvon's family say it was Trayvon, but police say their evidence indicates it was Zimmerman.
One witnesses, who has since talked to local television news reporters, told police he saw Zimmerman on the ground with Trayvon on top, pounding him and was unequivocal that it was Zimmerman who was crying for help.

You can read the full Sentinel story here.

Meanwhile, Slate's Emily Bazelon offers her take on the new info and what it means here.
A snippet:

[It is] very hard to know what to make of this new information. It’s entirely at odds with the account of Martin’s girlfriend, who says Martin was talking to her on his cell phone just before his death. The girlfriend says she heard Martin ask a man, “What are you following me for,” and that the man answered, “What are you doing here?” Then she heard Martin pushed to the ground. To point out the obvious, the police in Sanford, Fla., where the shooting took place, are the definition of embattled. Their chief resigned last week and the decision not to arrest Zimmerman—based on the belief that he reasonably feared bodily harm or for his life when he shot Martin—is a flashpoint for national outcry. No wonder someone in the department got fed up and leaked facts that support the cops’ decision-making.

For all we know, this new account may be true. We also know Zimmerman had a bloody nose, a swollen lip, and cuts to the back of his head, though he didn’t go to the hospital. But there’s no way to know what to make of his story yet. That’s why we have judges and juries—to sort out disputed facts. And it’s why “Stand Your Ground” laws like Florida’s, which the police have read as discouraging them from bringing charges when there’s a claim of self-defense, are such a terrible idea.

One point: I'm not sure I understand how this new account is "entirely at odds" with what Trayvon Martin's girlfriend has alleged. Trayvon's girlfriend says she was talking to him on the phone before the altercation, then she heard a verbal back and forth between Travyon and Zimmerman, then heard someone (or both) hit the ground (it's not clear how Trayvon's girlfriend "heard Martin pushed to the ground" - how would that sound differently than Martin pushing Zimmerman to the ground?) The two stories seem to be somewhat consistent, to a point - a verbal back and forth, and then a physical fight. What's in conflict is who confronted whom, who threw the first punch, and what happened next.

As Emily Bazelon at Slate says, that's up to a jury.  And sadly, the local police weren't honest enough to admit that there are some disputed facts in this case that need to be cleared up before anyone can be exonerated. Read the rest of this post...

Romney's new home has elevators for his cars, and its own lobbyist

This is getting a bit of attention online this morning.  It seems Mitt Romney's new home is quite the palace.  His cars even get their own elevator. From Politico:

At Mitt Romney’s proposed California beach house, the cars will have their own separate elevator.

There’s also a planned outdoor shower and a 3,600-square foot basement — a room with more floor space than the existing home’s entire living quarters.

Those are just some of the amenities planned for the massive renovation of the Romneys’ home in the tony La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, according to plans on file with the city.

A project this ambitious comes with another feature you don’t always find with the typical fixer-upper: its own lobbyist, hired by Romney to push the plan through the approval process.

A house with its own lobbyist might sound extravagant until you realize that homes are people too.

And why does any home need a 3,600 square foot basement?  Personal landing strip?  Private shopping mall?  Or just to store Mitt Romney's ego?  Feel free to post your answers in the comments. Read the rest of this post...

Plain speaking about ALEC from Paul Krugman

This is a "state of the Krugman" post.

We've noticed recently that the Professor has been calling out his fellow economists for "playing for Team Republican" — a bold rejection of the collegial conventions that bind this profession (to each other, and also to hold their tongues).

Now he takes on ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council — command-and-control for the Movement Conservative war in the states.

And yes, he says "movement-conservative" in the same sense you and I mean it. This is an excellent read (my emphasis and some reparagraphing):

Lobbyists, Guns and Money

Florida’s now-infamous Stand Your Ground law, which lets you shoot someone you consider threatening without facing arrest, let alone prosecution, sounds crazy — and it is. ... But similar laws have been pushed across the nation, not by ignorant yahoos but by big corporations.

Specifically, language virtually identical to Florida’s law is featured in a template supplied to legislators in other states by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate-backed organization that has managed to keep a low profile even as it exerts vast influence[.] ...

What is ALEC? Despite claims that it’s nonpartisan, it’s very much a movement-conservative organization, funded by the usual suspects: the Kochs, Exxon Mobil, and so on.

Unlike other such groups, however, it doesn’t just influence laws, it literally writes them, supplying fully drafted bills to state legislators. In Virginia, for example, more than 50 ALEC-written bills have been introduced, many almost word for word. And these bills often become law.

No words were minced. He makes the case that:

ALEC isn’t so much about promoting free markets as it is about expanding crony capitalism. ... ALEC, even more than other movement-conservative organizations, is clearly playing a long game ... they’re about creating a political climate that will favor even more corporation-friendly legislation in the future.

The "long game" — ALEC isn't just about the wins, they're about the wins that create more wins.

Meanwhile, progressive are struggling with the "short game" — that first first-down at the 20 yard line. Take notes, kids; command-and-control beats haphazard and statement-making every time.

The state of the Krugman is "frosty and clear." Thank you, sir, for using your precious Times inches to shine light on this secret monster.

By the way, if you're curious about ALEC's corporate funding, OpenSecrets.org has the goods. For example:

Twenty-three corporations -- including AT&T;, Exxon Mobil, Kraft, Coca-Cola and Koch Industries -- compose the consortium's "private enterprise board."

Click through; their report is fascinating.

GP

(To follow on Twitter or to send links: @Gaius_Publius)
  Read the rest of this post...

New polls show people don't want health care reform repealed, but don't understand it either

I don't think people know what they want, because people have no idea what's in the law.

First from ThinkProgress:

Consider first the results of a new Bloomberg poll. Respondents were asked whether we should either repeal health care reform, see how it works and then perhaps make small modifications, or leave it alone. A solid majority (57 percent) said we should either see how it works (46 percent) or leave it alone (11 percent). Only 37 percent favored repeal.

Similar results from a Harris poll, which confirms that opposition is in the 37% to 41% range, i.e., Republicans:

On the second anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, a new Harris Poll finds that the public is still more or less equally split between those who support it (36%) and oppose it (41%), with many people (23%) still not sure.

Here's my favorite part - a conclusion from the Harris poll people:

Most of the opposition to the ACA is not based on what is actually in the bill.

Rather it reflects a general hostility to President Obama and the fears of many Conservatives and Republicans that he and the Democrats are intent on expanding the role of government.

So basically, conservatives hate Obama, so they want to repeal a law they don't even understand, hurting millions as a consequence. Isn't that nice.

As an aside, I also got a kick out of this Kaiser Family poll, showing that a majority of Americans think health care reform is unconstitutional. Like any of them would have a clue what constitutes a constitutional law. The correct answer to the poll question, for 99% of Americans, is "I have no idea" (which was the answer of only 21%).

Of course, 4 in 10, in the same poll, think the law has already been overturned, or aren't sure.

Also fascinating - 59% don't have enough information to know how the health care reform law will affect them personally.  What's also fascinating is that, over time, people are forgetting the meager information they did know about the new law. (That's because the administration refused to sell it to people, before or after its passage, while the GOP has continued to lie about it incessantly.)

And 35% of Democrats - DEMOCRATS - think the law includes death panels. The number rises only slightly to 41% among Republicans.  Just to illustrate what a bad job folks have done educating people about this. Read the rest of this post...

Report: Murdoch's News Corp hired hackers to fight competition

Just another happy day at News Corp. While this latest report is once again related to the UK operations, who honestly believes these alleged practices were strictly limited to the UK? The Guardian:

Part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation empire employed computer hacking to undermine the business of its chief TV rival in Britain, according to evidence due to be broadcast by BBC1's Panorama programme on Monday .

The allegations stem from apparently incriminating emails the programme-makers have obtained, and on-screen descriptions for the first time from two of the people said to be involved, a German hacker and the operator of a pirate website secretly controlled by a Murdoch company.

The witnesses allege a software company NDS, owned by News Corp, cracked the smart card codes of rival company ONdigital. ONdigital, owned by the ITV companies Granada and Carlton, eventually went under amid a welter of counterfeiting by pirates, leaving the immensely lucrative pay-TV field clear for Sky.

Read the rest of this post...