Sperm whale goes fishing

Whether it's the recent video of the rook using tools to get food or this story of a sperm whale "fishing" the long lines, there is always a big surprise about what various animals are doing, as if they're not very smart. The only surprise is that it's finally on video. Why should it be surprising that animals are clever? There is a video inside the link that's fun to watch of the sperm whale shaking a long line, knocking it's snack off the hook while not getting tangled in the line.

The video, described in the current Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, shows the sperm whale plucking a short fishing line at one end to jar a black cod at the other end free.

"It's comparable to someone shaking apples from an apple tree," said Thode, who added that the whale then "cleverly figured out how to remove its jaw away from the line, avoiding entanglement."

During the theft, the whale emitted rapid-fire clicks -- "louder than a firecracker" -- that got faster as it approached the cod. The scientists now believe sperm whales may produce the animal kingdom's loudest and most intense sounds.

The footage also permitted the first-ever direct comparison between sperm whale clicking and physical features of the noise producer's head.

Read the rest of this post...

Manufacturing shows signs of life

Maybe the trend lasts or maybe it slows or even turns negative again but the news today is positive. Beating forecasts is always good.

The government says demand for big-ticket manufactured goods soared by the largest amount in 16 months in April, the second increase in the past three months.

The Commerce Department says orders for durable goods rose by 1.9 percent in April, more than four times the 0.4 percent increase that had been expected.

Read the rest of this post...

The rewriting of history has begun

Krugman quotes Peggy Noonan, and then responds:

I was asked this week why the president seems so attractive to the heartland, to what used to be called Middle America. A big question. I found my mind going to this word: normal.

Mr. Bush is the triumph of the seemingly average American man. He’s normal. He thinks in a sort of common-sense way. He speaks the language of business and sports and politics. You know him. He’s not exotic. But if there’s a fire on the block, he’ll run out and help. He’ll help direct the rig to the right house and count the kids coming out and say, “Where’s Sally?” He’s responsible. He’s not an intellectual.

Of course, a year and a half later there really was a fire on the block — actually a flood in New Orleans, but basically the same thing — and what he actually said was, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” But I digress.

Read the rest of this post...

Advocate: White House Not Moving on DADT

Like Cassandra of old, all I can do is let folks know what's coming. The rest is up to them. But man it's going to be ugly out there, very soon. Kerry Eleveld from the Advocate gives us the latest from the White House's increasingly disastrous daily briefing, during which Robert Gibbs was questioned again about Don't Ask Don't Tell. Read the rest of this post...

Roy Blunt (R-MO): Congressman, GOP leader, Senate Candidate and Tax Cheat

Typical Republican. Rails against taxes, then tries to cheat the District of Columbia on his property taxes. But, Blunt and his lobbyist wife got busted. Roll Call (sub. req.) broke the story:

The District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue will charge Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and his spouse $5,600 in back property taxes for their Georgetown home, following a nearly two-month review of the property’s tax status.

The Missouri lawmaker and his wife, Abigail Perlman Blunt, own a three-bedroom Georgetown home, valued at $1.62 million in tax assessment records.

According to public tax records, the Blunts’ home had received the homestead tax deduction as recently as April, a benefit intended for full-time city residents that can shave hundreds of dollars off annual tax bills — and significantly more in the long term by limiting assessment increases.

Public records show that the city has recalculated taxes dating to 2005. The city does not list interest or penalties on the unpaid taxes.

Blunt is running for the seat vacated by Republican Kit Bond. So far, he's the only declared Republican candidate, although a couple others are making noises about jumping in.

The Democratic nominee will be the current Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan. Early polls look good for Robin. But, Missouri is always a tough state.

If you want to help pick up this seat for the Democrats, we've set up an ActBlue page for Robin. She's a good friend and a solid progressive. And, she's also the proud parent of a new foal, which you can help name. Robin's family has a farm in Rolla, Missouri. Over the years, I've learned way more about farming, particularly about cattle, from Robin than I ever imagined I'd know. That's why I always loved one of her first t.v. ads:

She does know bull when she sees it. And, horses, too. Read the rest of this post...

Senator Ben Nelson doesn't want to be held accountable on health care

Oh, it must be good to be Senator Ben Nelson. Everyone doing business on Capitol Hill has to kiss his ass. The Democrats need his vote on cloture, yet, he's always issuing pronouncements that conflict with the Democratic agenda.

Today, Nelson got challenged by Adam Green and Change Congress for his opposition to the public-health option in the upcoming health care reform legislation:

Sen. Ben Nelson is being targeted in a mailing and Internet ad campaign asking people to withhold their political contributions to him and other members of Congress.

The campaign takes issue with the Nebraska Democrat’s opposition to President Barack Obama’s proposed public health-insurance option. That option would create a government insurance plan to compete with private plans.

The campaign begun Thursday is run by Change Congress, an organization started last year that advocates publicly funding campaigns for federal elections. The idea is to lessen the influence of special-interest money in campaigns.

Nelson is like a bully. He isn't used to being called out for his bad behavior. His office completely -- and inaccurately -- overreacted:

Senator Nelson’s spokesman Jake Thompson issued this statement:

“There’s no doubt Senator Nelson understands the insurance industry’s important role providing health care for millions of Americans. After all, he’s been an insurance executive, an insurance industry regulator, a governor who created a children’s health insurance program, and today he represents Nebraska, arguably the insurance capital of the world.

“But let’s look at this group closely. They claim, ‘Ben Nelson said he may not support Obama’s plan.’ Can they send us a copy of the plan? No, because President Obama hasn’t offered a specific plan yet. Next, they ask if people are ready to change Congress and ‘take on special interests’ and ‘only donate to politicians who prove they are willing to do that.’ Then, they promote an election law proposal they’re lobbying for.

“So, let’s get this straight: These people are endorsing something they haven’t seen, criticizing Senator Nelson for something he hasn’t done and using health care as a fundraising gimmick—to lobby for unrelated special interest legislation. These people have a political agenda that has nothing remotely to do with helping Nebraskans get and keep affordable, high quality health care. Their effort is silly, sad and sophomoric.

Yes, so silly, sad and sophomoric that the office of Senator Nelson felt they had to respond with this screed.

And, here's what Adam Green said back:

Ben Nelson's spokesperson is flagrantly lying -- saying Nelson never opposed a public option that he clearly opposed, calling public financing of congressional campaigns 'special interest legislation' when it's sole function is to curtail special-interest influence, and calling a 'donor strike' which asks people NOT to give to Nelson unless he fights special interests a 'fundraising gimmick.' Nelson should apologize for his staff lying to Nebraskans.

And, while Nelson did oppose the public plan, he may now be changing his tune. Maybe. Although, it's Nelson's constituents who are reporting this development, not Nelson's office, we learn via Ryan Grim at Huffington Post:

Nelson, according to three people in the room, told the group that he was open to a public option, the primary Democratic goal of reform and anathema to conservatives.

"The good news for all sides involved is that he's open minded," said Barry Rubin, the former Executive Director for the Nebraska Democratic Party, who was in the meeting. "He's not closed minded about a public option."

Jane Kleeb, a top Democratic powerbroker in Nebraska, said Nelson's openness to a public option was the biggest takeaway from the meeting.

"He made it clear that he is open to the public option. That's not a line in the sand where he says it must be off the table for him to move forward on health care reform," she said....

...A spokesman for Nelson confirmed the meeting but would only say that he is listening to health care concerns from constituents all this week in Nebraska.

Nelson had previously told CQ that a public option was a "deal breaker." Nelson said that he planned to organization a coalition of Democratic senators to oppose a public option. The coalition never materialized.

Nelson softened that opposition in a subsequent interview with the Huffington Post. He said he would "continue to talk" to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) who'd offered a compromise public option that was unsubsidized and had to follow the same rules private plans do.

But he stopped short of saying he was open to it.

Nelson doesn't like to show his hand. Then, he won't get his ass kissed. Read the rest of this post...

Obama joked about gay protesters asking him to keep promises: 'I don’t know which promise he was talking about.'

UPDATE @ 4:03 PM: Thanks to GarySF for posting the video in the comments. This actually makes it worse. Here it is:
____________
Okay. Where to begin with this? First question is: Who in the West Wing is advising Obama on gay issues? Because, they're not doing a very good job at all. This is becoming a real problem.

Yesterday, as John noted, there was a protest outside of the Obama event in Los Angeles. The local CBS affiliate observed who the protesters were:

While many Obama supporters waved and cheered as his motorcade approached the hotel in Beverly Hills, some protesters were gathering to decry Tuesday's California Supreme Court ruling that upheld the voter-approved gay marriage ban. Some of them also urged Obama to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays.

Don't think for a minute that the crack Obama advance team didn't know who was out there.

Apparently, your president thought it was kinda funny. He made a joke about the protest during the event, according to the New York Times:

“One of them said, “Obama keep your promise,’ ” the president said. “I thought that’s fair. I don’t know which promise he was talking about.”

The people in the audience – who paid $30,400 per couple to attend – laughed as they ate a dinner of roasted tenderloin, grilled organic chicken and sun choke rosemary mashed potatoes.

The audience laughed?

So, Mr. Obama doesn't know which promise the protester was talking about? Did he even know what was going on in California? About the Prop. 8 decision? Does he know who Lt. Choi is? Who briefs Obama on LGBT issues? Anyone? Because, it was well known that the LGBT community would be protesting. And, as for promises, there were several. To remind him, we could say check the White House website for a list of the promises Obama made to the LGBT community during the campaign. But, that wouldn't probably wouldn't do any good. The White House staff changed the website a couple weeks ago -- and, then changed it back with some edits.

Maybe the president could do a google search and find the videos or transcripts from the HRC/Logo forum in August of 2007. That might refresh his memory. Or maybe he could re-read this letter he wrote:

Equality is a moral imperative. That’s why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBT Americans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation. In the U.S. Senate, I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples — whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage. Unlike Senator Clinton, I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I have also called for us to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system.

Those promises. Those are the ones we want you to keep.

Seriously, what is going on in the White House? Is Obama deliberately trying to piss off the entire gay community? Or is he tone deaf on this issue? Whatever is going on, it's not good. Not good at all.

Someone needs to intervene.

And, thanks to reader LS for pointing us to this story. God, it's annoying. Read the rest of this post...

No more Marches on Washington, please

I don't know a single effective political organizer or advocate who thinks that marching on Washington accomplishes anything other than wasting millions of dollars, creating a big donor list for ineffective groups to milk later on, and making the marchers feel like they've done something when they haven't.

There's talk about having yet another gay March on Washington. Stop it now, please.

These marches do nothing. They cost millions of dollars. There was the 1993 March on Washington. It didn't change Bill Clinton's or Congress' mind on anything. The Million Man March? Zip. The Stand for Children, that I was involved in. $7m spent, I heard. Great turnout. What did it really accomplish? The Million Mom March? The women's march a few years back that had incredible turnout. What did it do?

These marches don't work.

I'm as frustrated as the rest of you with the administration's waffling on so many issues we care about. But adopting a high-profile, ineffective strategy is not a solution, no matter how good it feels. Yes, we need alternatives. But that doesn't stop us from pointing out those ideas that won't work. And this is one of them.

NOTE from Joe: I couldn't agree more. A march would be a colossal waste of time and money. I worked in gun control. I saw firsthand how the Million Mom March really helped destroy the issue. It sucked up enormous resources and never, ever delivered. It was a monument to egos. This fall, there will be probably be a referendum to repeal Maine's new marriage law. That effort needs resources. The California repeal will need vast resources -- and our side doesn't have the deep pockets of the Mormon church. Also, members of Congress are non-plussed by weekend events in D.C. -- even big marches. Most aren't even here. Hit them where it matters. Organize marches in the districts of members and challenge Senators back home. It's not as glamorous, but it works better. A march on the mall doesn't do the trick anymore -- and hasn't since 1963. Read the rest of this post...

The youth of today are so obsessed with themselves

Isn't that the story that's been pitched the last few years? You know, the story from aging boomers that says all of the kids today are narcissistic and obsessed with material goods or the complaint that was made about boomers by previous generations. Maybe, just maybe that story was false from the beginning.

When school starts next fall, Teach for America will send an unprecedented number of college graduates to teach in poor communities across the country — but not as many as the group would like.

Teach for America this year chose 4,100 recruits from more than 35,000 applications. While the group has never accepted every applicant, this was the first time it had to turn down people who met all its rigorous criteria.

"For the last nine years, really the only constraint on our growth has been recruits, just finding enough people who we really believe are ready for this," said Wendy Kopp, the group's founder and chief executive.

"This is the first year when we've had to turn away people who would have met our admission bar in any previous year," Kopp said.

Regardless of why they are there - and sure, the economy is probably a contributing factor - they are there in big numbers. Good for them. Read the rest of this post...

General orders soldiers to stop committing suicide

I sincerely hope the Obama people can turn things around. The GOP truly broke our military. They're very good at waving the flag, Republicans are. Less good about actually following through. From CNN:

The 101st Airborne's senior commander in effect ordered his soldiers Wednesday not to commit suicide, a plea that came after 11 suicides since January 1, two of them in the past week.

An Army honor guard stands ready to fire a salute at Fort Campbell.

"If you don't remember anything else I say in the next five or 10 minutes, remember this -- suicidal behavior in the 101st on Fort Campbell is bad," Brig. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend told his forces. "It's bad for soldiers, it's bad for families, bad for your units, bad for this division and our army and our country and it's got to stop now. Suicides on Fort Campbell have to stop now."

Fort Campbell's suicide rate, the highest in the Army, "is not a good statistic," he said in remarks to one of four divisions he addressed during the day.

Read the rest of this post...

Obama's banned Iraq photos allegedly show US soldier raping a female prisoner

Reuters:

The images are among photographs included in a 2004 report into prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison conducted by U.S. Major General Antonio Taguba.

Taguba included allegations of rape and sexual abuse in his report, and on Wednesday he confirmed to the Daily Telegraph that images supporting those allegations were also in the file....

The newspaper said at least one picture showed an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee.

Others are said to depict sexual assaults with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube.

Obama:

"The publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals," the president said at a White House briefing.

Well, I for one am feeling a bit had. You'll recall that the GOP line of attack on the abuse photos previously was that they were indicative of nothing more than the equivalent of fraternity pranks. Well, I don't know what fraternity these boys went to, but US soldiers raping female prisoners goes far beyond a frat prank. Yes, we knew that they scared the prisoners with dogs and humiliated them by making them stand nude in front of women. (There was also that photo of the dead prisoner on ice...) I do not believe that we had any clue that prisoners were being raped as part of their interrogation. This most certainly adds something new, if only to silence those critics who claimed that this was just another day at the office.

I'd also add that this was not just the errant acts of a few soldiers. Torture was official US policy. And the Obama administration has already made clear that there is no benefit in holding accountable those who came up with this policy. So these photos shed quite a light on Obama's decision not to hold the intellectual fathers of these acts accountable. Read the rest of this post...

LA Gay & Lesbian Center blasts Obama in open letter

Sent yesterday to the president:

Dear President Obama:

Welcome to California, Mr. President. I welcome you with a heavy heart because of the California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Prop. 8, relegating same-sex couples to second class status and denying us that most noble promise of America, “liberty and justice for all.”

You are arriving in Los Angeles on the heels of emotional demonstrations throughout California and our nation and your silence at such a time speaks volumes. LGBT people and our allies have the ‘audacity to hope” for a country that treats us fairly and equally and for a President with the will to stand up for those ideals. From you we expect nothing less.

We know the country faces many serious challenges and we have strived to be patient. We’ve waited for the slightest sign you would live up to your promise to be a “fierce advocate” for our equal rights while watching gay and lesbian members of the armed forces, who have never been more needed, get discharged from the military. And so far you have done nothing. No stop loss order. No call to cease such foolish and discriminatory actions that make our nation less safe.

You pledged to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, Mr. President. You promised to support a “complete repeal” of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and pledged to advocate for legislation that would give same-sex couples the 1,100+ federal rights and benefits we are denied, including the same rights to social security benefits. You said “Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples.”

What of those promises, Mr. President?

Your commitment to repeal DOMA has been removed from the White House website. Your promise to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was removed and then replaced with a watered-down version. And in the aftermath of yesterday’s California Supreme Court ruling, you have remained silent while your press secretary summarily dismisses questions about the issue.

We not only need to hear from our President, we need his action. And we need it now.

We need your words, Mr. President. But we also need your deeds. We expect you to fulfill the promises you made to us. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us, “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.” Do not delay, Mr. President. The time for action is now.

Sincerely,

Lorri L. Jean
Chief Executive Officer
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

Read the rest of this post...

NBC's David Gregory thinks Sotomayor's personal story will evoke scrutiny. But, it was a positive for the last nominee, Samuel Alito.

This morning, on the TODAY Show, NBC's David Gregory said "President Obama did open up a pretty big area of scrutiny, though, when it comes to identity politics and personal experience, talking about the need for empathy, stressing the importance of her own personal story." Gregory authoritatively said there will be questions about whether her personal story is brought into her decision-making. This little episode showed why Gregory is flailing as the host of "Meet the Press." Clearly, he didn't do enough research to know that the last Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito, cited his personal story as a factor when making decisions -- during Alito's Senate confirmation hearings. How would David Gregory be expected to know that?

Fortunately, Glenn Greenwald does his research. With an assist from one of his readers, Glenn produced the transcript of Alito's hearing. As Glenn documented, a Senate Republican, Tom Coburn, told Alito he wanted "to see a little bit of your heart." Alito showed what was in his heart and in his experience -- and how it affected his decision-making:

Because when a case comes before me involving, let's say, someone who is an immigrant -- and we get an awful lot of immigration cases and naturalization cases -- I can't help but think of my own ancestors, because it wasn't that long ago when they were in that position.

And so it's my job to apply the law. It's not my job to change the law or to bend the law to achieve any result.

But when I look at those cases, I have to say to myself, and I do say to myself, "You know, this could be your grandfather, this could be your grandmother. They were not citizens at one time, and they were people who came to this country."

When I have cases involving children, I can't help but think of my own children and think about my children being treated in the way that children may be treated in the case that's before me.

And that goes down the line. When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account.

For Republicans, the personal story mattered and was apparently an asset. But, NBC's David Gregory said it will be a problem for Sotomayor. Hmmm. Jed got the video:

Read the rest of this post...

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The president is coming back to D.C. from his campaign- like trip to Nevada and California. Shifting gears, he'll be meeting with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

The Republicans are torn over how to fight the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. The hard-core leaders of the party (Rush, Newt, et. al.) want a nasty battle. But, there are some Republicans who fear the political consequences of challenging her so harshly. I love these intra-GOP battles. And, you know, the extremists will set the strategy. They run the GOP.

Let's get started... Read the rest of this post...

Report: Unisured cost insured

Whether you like it or not, you're still paying for the uninsured. Always there to demonize the poor and uninsured, the Republicans like to ask why they should ever pay for anyone else other than themselves. (Less so when it's to fund their wars of convenience or other pet projects.) Just because the Republicans want to ignore the issue, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist or will just go away.

The average family with health insurance shells out an extra $1,000 a year in premiums to pay for health care for the uninsured, a new report finds.

And the average individual with private coverage pays an extra $370 a year because of the cost-shifting, which happens when someone without medical insurance gets care at an emergency room or elsewhere and then doesn't pay.

The report was being released Thursday by advocacy group Families USA, which said the findings — which it calls a "hidden tax" — support its goal of extending coverage to all the 50 million Americans who are now uninsured. Congress and the Obama administration are working on a plan to do that.

As John has said on a number of occasions, the Democrats would be making a mistake though to limit changes to only the 50 million uninsured. The US system for the bulk of Americans is a disaster. It's expensive and it's complicated. If money is no object, sure, the US health care system is great but not everyone is in that position. The argument against national health care plans that let faceless bureaucrats decide on coverage and your doctor is nonsense. Besides that already being the case with private health insurance in the US, that is definitely not the way it works everywhere, certainly not in France.

Whether Obama and the Democrats have the stomach for a fight - and it will be a big one against big money - that remains to be seen. I've yet to see any sign of a willingness to take on such a battle but maybe they're saving themselves for this one. Doubtful, but maybe. Read the rest of this post...

China to implement even more aggressive gas mileage

Remember to thank John Dingell for letting Detroit fall so far behind. Dingell and Congress did a bang up job of letting the industry leadership do whatever they wanted including driving GM off a cliff. Hats off to China for moving in this direction in a serious way. NY Times:

Worried about heavy reliance on imported oil, Chinese officials have drafted automotive fuel economy standards that are even more stringent than those outlined by President Obama last week, Chinese experts with a detailed knowledge of the plans said on Wednesday.

The new plan would require automakers in China to improve fuel economy by an additional 18 percent by 2015, said An Feng, a leading architect of China’s existing fuel economy regulations who is now the president of the Innovation Center for Energy and Transportation, a nonprofit group in Beijing.

The plan is going through the interagency approval process, with comments sought from automakers, and is scheduled for release early next year, he said.

The Chinese government tends to make few changes in automotive regulations once the interagency review process has started.

Read the rest of this post...

FDA wakes up, issues warning

Hasn't this news been out for at least 10 year, maybe even 20 or more? The FDA has been so deep in the pocket of the pharmaceutical industry it's a wonder they ever manage to say anything. It's small and overdue but it's progress.

A Food and Drug Administration report released Wednesday recommends stronger warnings and dose limits on drugs containing the painkiller acetaminophen, citing an increased risk of liver injury.

The recommendation covers both prescription doses and over-the-counter medication, of which Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol is the most well-known. Acetaminophen is also widely available as a generic over-the-counter drug.

"There is extensive evidence that hepatotoxicity (liver toxicity) caused by acetaminophen use may result from lack of consumer awareness that acetaminophen can cause severe liver injury," the working group report said.

Read the rest of this post...

Geek Heaven

A 1964 modem put to work. Very cool. NSFNG (not safe for non-geeks). H/t Slog.

Read the rest of this post...