A black woman in the Capitol

My friend Chris writes:

I don’t know if you saw the news tonight, but a statue of Sojourner Truth was unveiled today at the U.S. Capitol. She’s the first African American woman to be honored with a statue in Statuary Hall.

She was born into slavery and then became a crusader for the abolition of slavery and for women’s rights. At the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851, she listened to most of the speakers and then stood up to speak. People were horrified – a black woman, and former slave daring to speak? Here’s what she said:

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the Negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne five children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?

Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or Negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?

Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.

If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it. The men better let them.

Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say.

--Sojourner Truth

The statue of her was unveiled today by Nancy D’allesandro Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States, and Hillary Clinton, former United States Senator and current United States Secretary of State.

God, I love this country. We do screw up, but good lord, when we get it right we really get it right.

Amen. Read the rest of this post...

It took the light below 13 billion years to reach us

When the universe was only 630 million years old (for you kids out there, that's before even John McCain was born). That's just freaking cool. Read the rest of this post...

If Swine Flu goes pandemic, could make recession two to three times worse

Good thing the Republicans weren't in power. I'm sure those tax cuts would help a lot of people in the unemployment line. Washington Post:

The impact in the United States would be far greater in the case of a larger-scale pandemic, with the worst-case scenario akin to what happened during the Spanish flu of 1918, which killed tens of millions of people worldwide. A 2006 report from the Congressional Budget Office estimated a pandemic, depending on its severity, could cost the United States between 1 percent to 4.1 percent of annual economic output. Given that the U.S. economy is expected to shrink by 2.8 percent this year, a pandemic could lead to a contraction of 3.9 percent to 6.9 percent as consumer demand and worker productivity suffer further.

All snark aside, the business of politics is deadly serious. It's not just a game. And it's not just about winning. We lead this life for a reason. To try to help people, to try to make our country and our world a better place. It is already very scary, the world we live in. I shudder to think what would have happened, how bad things would be permitted to get, if the Republicans in their current form - extreme and ultra-political - would have been in power in the White House and Congress as all this was going down. Read the rest of this post...

Scalia rules against FOX in censorship case

This is when conservative worlds collide.

Today, in an opinion by ultra-right wing Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court ruled against Rupert Murdoch's FOX network in an case about swearing. Okay, it's a stupid case based on a stupid rule from George Bush's FCC -- and the Court didn't even make a determination on the First Amendment implications. But, I do love that FOX lost because of a dumb Bush policy supported by the right-wingers on the Supreme Court:

The Supreme Court ruled narrowly Tuesday in favor of a government policy that threatens broadcasters with fines over the use of even a single curse word on live television, yet stopped short of deciding whether the policy violates the Constitution.

In six separate opinions totalling 68 pages, the justices signaled serious concerns about the constitutionality of the Federal Communications Commission's "fleeting expletives" policy, but called on a federal appeals court to weigh whether it violates First Amendment guarantees of free speech.

By a 5-4 vote, however, the court did throw out a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. That court had found in favor of a Fox Television-led challenge to the FCC policy and had returned the case to the agency for a "reasoned analysis" of its tougher line on indecency.

The commission appealed to the Supreme Court instead.

Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the court, said the FCC policy, adopted in 2004, is "neither arbitrary nor capricious."

The FCC changed its long-standing policy after it concluded that a one-free-expletive rule did not make sense in the context of keeping the air waves free of indecency when children are likely to be watching television.

This must mean a fine for FOX News because of Shepard Smith, too. (Even though it was one of the few times anyone on FOX News made sense.)

In George Bush's warped world, it was one expletive that would destroy the well-being of children, not the economic collapse or the war built on lies or global warming or not protecting the food supply or failing to provide health care.... Read the rest of this post...

Sebelius confirmed as HHS secretary

Another failure for the party of no. Read the rest of this post...

Why does Rick Sanchez hate freedom?

Fabulous comeback by CNN's Rick Sanchez to GOP Senator Jim Demint (R-SC):

CNN'S RICK SANCHEZ: [Specter] seems to be saying that Republicans are making it very difficult for other Republicans to win because, and he said this on several times, you tell me what you think of it: You're shrinking the electorate to an extreme to a point where a regular Republican can't win. What do you make of that argument?

SENATOR JIM DEMINT (R-SC): That's quite the opposite. We're seeing across the country right now that the biggest tent of all is the tent of freedom. And what we need to do as Republicans is convince Americans that freedom can work in all areas of their life for every American, whether it's education or health care, or creating jobs...

SANCHEZ: What, what the hell does that mean, freedom? The biggest tent is freedom? Freedom?! I mean you gotta do better than that.

Yes they do. Read the rest of this post...

Should we be happy that Specter is now a Democrat? The question has two answers.

One of my friends just sent me this message:

Is it just me, or are you also wondering why in the world all of your democratic friends are also so excited about Specter?

John and I were just talking this subject. We don't like Arlen Specter and don't trust him. Never have. This was a calculated move by a calculating politician. Specter has no scruples and was worried about losing in the GOP primary next April.

Today, we're not celebrating Specter. But, if we look at his move solely through a political prism, this decision is seismic. And, it's just so fun to watch Republicans squirm.

The political optics just couldn't be better. The DC pundits and talking heads love Arlen Specter (kinda the way they love Lieberman.) That crowd believes the hype that Specter is a moderate -- and compared to the rest of the GOP, Specter is definitely more moderate. So, we'll hear endless chatter about how the GOP has become a shrinking party. That means the talking heads will finally get something right.

Democrats have to play hard ball with Specter. He needs Democratic support now. He has to earn it. He may not vote for every issue on final passage, but he better stick with the Democratic caucus on busting GOP filibusters.

When it comes to Specter the person, it's no great catch. But, politically, it's pretty damn good. Read the rest of this post...

Get ready for the GOP to go all out on Franken

Joe has been keeping you up to date about the Al Franken vs. Norm Coleman race in Minnesota - a race that Al Franken won five months ago. The Republicans have been basically filibustering the election, using legal maneuvers, like a convict on death row, to stop the state from certifying Franken's victory. The GOP goal isn't to win the election - they know they've already lost - it's to hope that nobody cares if they just keep appealing and appealing legal loss after loss, stopping Minnesota from getting its second senator, ever, but more importantly, stopping the Democrats from getting their 60th Senate seat.

That means that whatever pressure national Republicans were putting on Coleman before, it's going to be far worse now. Perhaps now the Democrats in Washington will care about the Franken race, because they sure rolled over and played dead up until now. Had the Dems only challenged Coleman earlier, forced him to concede the way that they'd have forced us were the situation reversed, perhaps we'd have sixty seats today. Oh well, another profile in Democratic courage that ends up biting us in the behind.

David Waldman at DKos has a delicious idea:

Seat Al Franken and give him his committee assignments now, or we'll block a new organizing resolution that would let you reassign Specter's previously Republican committee seats to one of your own.

In other words, the GOP just lost a seat on every committee that Specter sat on. They can't reassign Specter's seat to another GOP Senator without a new organizing resolution, something we can block. Read the rest of this post...

Specter is on TV live

The gist:

Republican partying is moving farther and farther to the right.

Voted for the stimulus to avoid a 1929 style depression.

Specter dissing the GOP primary electorate in Pennsylvania.

Painful decision.

Disappointed my colleagues. I've been disappointed by them too.

I can keep helping Pennsylvania.

Specter won't be an automatic 60th vote (gee you think). His position on EFCA proves this, he says. (Of course, it doesn't. It proves that Specter is still trying to split the baby in half - he supported EFCA before, he only opposed it to suck up to the GOP after they decided to oppose him in his primary. So why stick with his opposition to EFCA now, when his opposition was mean to woo the far right?)

Here we go. The real Arlen Specter comes out. He thinks both parties are equally in trouble. That's why, he says, Joe Lieberman lost his Democratic primary (no, he lost it because he was embracing George Bush and his agenda). But for Specter to suggest that the Democrats are having the same problem as the GOP, that people are deserting our party in droves, that our party is beholden to people like me - please. I wish.

Specter says the Republican party was pretty far to the right in 2004.

Oh dear God, he's wrapping himself in the Joe Lieberman flag again. Read the rest of this post...

GOP party chair Michael Steele just accused Democrats of pushing "socialism"

This is why the Republicans are at 21%. This is why moderate Republicans have either been defeated, retired, or have become Democrats. This is why people like me, and Markos, and Arianna once were Republicans, and now no more (I can't really speak for Markos and Arianna, but you get the idea). The Republican party is dying. It began at least a decade ago. The party moved so far to the right, embraced such extremists and extremism - calling Obama a socialist? - that a super-majority of Americans now no longer identify with the GOP.

And speaking of Michael Steele, let's not forget that it was Steele who said the GOP would seek retribution for voting for the stimulus package. So let's all give Michael "pro-choice (sometimes) and pro-gay-marriage (kind of)" Steele a hearty thanks for the great work he's doing leading the GOP. Today couldn't have happened without him.

PS Steele, in his live phone interview on CNN, also keeps using the word "Democrat" incorrectly - it's something far-right Republicans do, in some kind of weird effort to diminish Democrats. For example, he just referred to the "Democrat primary" and the "Democrat base." It's Democratic. You'd think the head of the Republican party would know how to speak proper English. But putting that aside, it's one more sign of just how bad the Republican party has become - resorting to cute little far-right mind games like mispronouncing the name of the party rather than proposing ways to get us out of the economic crisis and avoid a worldwide flu pandemic. Read the rest of this post...

The number for today, brought to you by the right wing Republicans

When Al Franken is finally seated -- and he will be, the Democrats will have 60 members of their caucus (including Lieberman and Sanders). That is, or should be, a filibuster-proof caucus.

Not every time, of course. Specter claims he will stick to his newfound opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act:

My change in party affiliation does not mean that I will be a party-line voter any more for the Democrats that I have been for the Republicans. Unlike Senator Jeffords’ switch which changed party control, I will not be an automatic 60th vote for cloture. For example, my position on Employees Free Choice (Card Check) will not change.

Specter was for the Employee Free Choice Act before he was against it. So, it's not perfect, but still...

Today offers a prime example of GOP extremism. The Republicans have been filibustering the confirmation of Kathleen Sebelius, despite the swine flu emergency. The Sebelius filibuster shows just how crazy the GOP Senate caucus has become. Read the rest of this post...

Republican leaders "shocked" over Specter switch

Love it:

The news shocked Senate Republicans, who had been hanging on to their ability to block legislation by a thread. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, called an emergency meeting of party leaders who had no forewarning of Mr. Specter’s plans.

The Republican party has become a party that caters to right wing extremists. They force away moderates and even occasional moderates like Arlen Specter. Remember how RNC Chair Michael Steele threatened retribution against Specter, Snowe and Collins? GOP strategist Alex Castellanos mocked those three on CNN, too.

The Republicans forced Specter out.

UPDATE: CNN's Dana Bash said Republicans are "shell-shocked."

NOTE FROM JOHN: Funny, Joe mentioned Specter switching parties four days ago. Read the rest of this post...

GOP Senator Specter switches parties, becomes Democrat

Wow. Just wow:

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning.

Specter's decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Senate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next senator from Minnesota. (Former senator Norm Coleman is appealing Franken's victory in the state Supreme Court.)

"I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary," said Specter in a statement. "I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and have my candidacy for re-election determined in a general election."

More soon... Read the rest of this post...

Roubini: economic growth still a year away

And he's now suggesting a new name to replace the "Dr. Doom" name given a few years ago when the Wall Street cheerleaders thought he was a loony crackpot. The new name is "Dr. Realist" which sounds reasonable enough to me. It's a good interview with his take on China buying US debt, US bank debt and even some praise of the Obama administration. He also is consistently in favor of temporarily nationalizing the banks to clean them up. Read on at Newsweek:

The rate of economic contraction you have seen in the last two quarters—6 percent annualized—is going to slow down. The optimists are already talking about the "green shoots" of spring, about economic activity becoming positive. [They say] we will have positive growth in the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter we will grow 2 percent over the previous quarter. They expect that next year, growth will go back to above 2 percent.

Compared with this optimistic consensus, I believe that the rate of economic contraction is going to slow from minus 6 percent in the last two quarters to minus 2 percent by the fourth quarter. Next year, I believe that the growth rate is going to be 0.5 percent for the U.S. average. Even if we are technically out of a recession, we are going to feel like we are in a recession. The bottom of the economy is not going to be in three months, but rather toward the beginning or middle of next year.

Read the rest of this post...

Swine flu cases expanding globally, declining in Mexico

Obama was right when he said there is no reason to panic with this situation. It makes sense to be aware and cautious but most of this is simply taking normal precautions and washing your hands. Global travel is so easy that something such as this flu can spread around the world quickly. Yesterday the first report of a non-US/Mexico case emerged in Spain and today there are reports from other countries. In Mexico, the trend is moving in the right direction. More from the AP:

Fifty cases — none fatal and most of them mild — were confirmed in the United States. Including the New Zealand, Israeli and new Spanish reports, there were 92 confirmed cases worldwide on Tuesday. That included six in Canada, one in Spain and two in Scotland.

Symptoms include a fever of more than 100, coughing, joint aches, severe headache and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea.

Amid the alarm, there was a spot of good news. The number of new cases reported by Mexico's largest government hospitals has been declining the past three days, Cordova said, from 141 on Saturday to 119 on Sunday and 110 Monday.

Read the rest of this post...

Percent of Americans calling themselves "Republican" plummets

21%.

Down from 25% a month ago.

And 32% of voters called themselves Republican last November.

We've been saying for a while that the polls showing how "divided" the nation are, that the polls showing how "popular" George Bush was with Republicans, were skewed by the fact that so many normal Republicans had left their own party. With only the far-right conservative fringe remaining - let's call them Limbaugh Voters - it wasn't a surprise that self-declared Republicans would be so staunchly opposed to Obama and supportive of Bush.

As Chris Cillizza points out, this spells big trouble for moose and squirrel (or elephant).

The Post poll numbers show the challenge for Republicans in stark terms.

The number of people who see themselves as GOPers is on the decline even as those who remain within the party grow more and more conservative.

That means that the loyal base of the party has an even larger voice in terms of the direction it heads even as more and more empirical evidence piles up that the elevation of voices like former vice president Dick Cheney does little to win over wavering Republicans or recruit Independents back to the GOP cause.

The irony is that while some pundits, and Republicans themselves, love to talk about how "extreme" the Democrats are, about how beholden Democrats are to their base (we wish), the fact is that Republicans are the party of extreme, the party of base politics, as it were. Read the rest of this post...

House and Senate Democrats have a budget consensus -- and it includes reconciliation option

So far, so good. Both chambers will vote within days on the budget resolution:

The House and Senate's versions of the budget closely resembles the spending blueprint offered by the White House.

The key feature that emerged from negotiations was the inclusion of fast-track reconciliation rules for healthcare and education reform.

Democrats can now use those rules to pass legislation in those areas with just a simple Senate majority instead of the 60 votes needed to push ahead most contentious items.

Centrist Democrats, including Conrad and Boyd, have warned against the use of the reconciliation process, saying that doing so would make it harder for them to win GOP support in the future. Rep. Paul Ryan (R- Wis.) said that a reconciliation bill to overhaul the healthcare system would be "an unprecedented power grab" by Democrats. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said that using reconciliation rules for a major policy shift would be like using the tactics of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Centrist Democrats haven't been winning much GOP support so far. Those centrist Democrats would rather have GOP friends than pass effective legislation, (which the Democrats promised to pass, p.s.) Keep an eye on them. Because, those are the Democrats who will try to screw up health care reform.

And, the hysterics from the GOP are really great theater. Sen. Gregg is taking on some of Lindsey Graham's drama queen persona. The Republicans used reconciliation. Check out this post at Think Progress featuring a blast from the past -- Rick Santorum. And, keeping up his old ways, Santorum got his facts wrong by claiming reconciliation was never used on a major piece of legislation. Wrong:

Of course, reconciliation has been used nearly 20 times since 1980, when it was first created. The New Republic notes that using reconciliation to pass health care reform fits into the historical pattern. "Whether reducing or increasing deficits, many of the reconciliation bills made major changes in policy. Health insurance portability (COBRA), nursing home standards, expanded Medicaid eligibility, increases in the earned income tax credit, welfare reform, the state Children's Health Insurance Program, major tax cuts and student aid reform were all enacted under reconciliation procedures."

Indeed, Santorum himself was the Senate Republicans' point man in trying to push welfare reform through budget reconciliation in 1995, including it in a budget then-President Clinton opposed, as the Washington Post reported on Nov. 11, 1995:

But the welfare measures will be part of the overall reconciliation bill that Clinton has said he will veto.

Welfare reform may become a free-standing bill to be passed separately from the reconciliation measure. "This is a bill the president has absolutely no reason not to sign," said Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who acted as an intermediary in negotiations between the House and Senate on welfare.

With Cheney, Gingrich and Rove all vying to lead the GOP, Santorum saw an opening, too. Another GOP rock star re-emerges. Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

While the world is focused on the swine flu, Republicans in the U.S. Senate are busy filibustering Obama's choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services. Kathleen Sebelius will be confirmed today, probably. But, Republican Senators have to really drag out the process -- and make inane speeches on the floor of the Senate to appease their right-wing, anti-choice base. It is truly mind-boggling -- even for Republicans. And, it shows the GOP's disdain for the overwhelming majority of Americans who aren't part of their ever-shrinking party.

Today is Obama's 99th day on the job. The traditional media has worked themselves into a frenzy over the 100th marker. But, now, they're also in a lather over swine flu. It's almost too much. I think Wolf's head is literally going to start spinning completely around.

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

Why is Treasury promoting auto financing consolidation?

Let me guess...that's what Wall Street wants? More consolidation is not a trend that bodes well for anyone, especially in the financial markets. Anyway, it's unclear why the federal government should do anything to save this group. Let them make as much money as they want on their own, without any help. If they're so convinced of their self worth let them prove it in the infamous free market.

Geithner's Treasury is always there for the big players so work on your tennis and prepare to be part of the Wall Street elite if you want anything. This is one case where elections did not make a damned difference at all but that's OK because the economy isn't very important anyway.

The Treasury Department is racing to engineer the sale of Chrysler's financing arm in a move the administration deems vital to saving the troubled automaker, but other federal agencies have not given their support, sources familiar with the matter said.

The Obama administration wants the nation's largest auto-financing company, GMAC, to buy Chrysler Financial, which is the primary source of lending for Chrysler dealerships and car buyers, industry officials said. But GMAC needs a new round of backing to buy its longtime rival, sources said.

Read the rest of this post...

Portfolio magazine to close

Somehow it's just not fun to read about Wall Street glory when your job and retirement have been crushed by a bunch of greedy slime balls and freeloaders. The Wall Street cheerleading crowd will surely have more biting the dust following their complete failure to provide anything more than People magazine for Wall Street. CNBC:

Conde Nast said Monday they will cease publication of its Portfolio business magazine and Web site.

The closure of Portfolio will be effective with its May issue, while Portfolio.com will close in the second quarter of the year.

"The pressures and realities of the continuous deep economic slump have lowered Portfolio's revenue projections below what is needed to continue publication," Conde Nast Chief Executive Charles Townsend said in a statement Monday.

Read the rest of this post...

Beer sales in Britain drop

So much for the British Treasury counting on beer taxes to help fund the recovery. The Independent:

Sales of beer in supermarkets and off-licences in the first quarter fell at their fastest rate since the recession of the early 1990s and were nearly double the rate of decline in pubs, as consumers cut back on supping their favourite tipple in their living-rooms.

The British Beer & Pub Association said that off-trade beer sales tumbled by 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2009. A BBPA spokesman said: "It is the biggest quarterly decline [in off-trade] sales since the last recession." It was also the first time since 2005 that the first-quarter sales in supermarkets and off-licences have been lower than the previous year, and the third consecutive quarter of falling sales.

The off-trade slump contributed to an 8.2 per cent decline in total beer sales – the highest decline in overall beer sales since 1997. On-trade sales in bars, restaurants and clubs also fell by 6.3 per cent – equal to 753,000 fewer pints every day – over the first three months of 2009. Overall, British consumers drank 1.7 million fewer pints every day than in the same period in 2008, the BBPA said.

Read the rest of this post...