Open Thread

So, what's new? Read the rest of this post...

What is Bush's plan to deal with oil at nearly $100/barrel?

From the Wash Post:

In the past 10 weeks, the price of crude oil has shot up $25 a barrel, closing at $95.93 in New York on Friday, near an all-time inflation-adjusted peak.

And more importantly, why have Americans been so willing to accept a doubling of gas prices since Bush has come to office? I suspect Americans have taken the gas price rise in stride, attributing it to yet another post-Sept-11 sacrifice. The only problem is that gas prices actually dropped after September 11. So, just like the budget deficit, that is in large part due to Bush's tax cuts and NOT September 11 and the war, the public has again been snookered. At some point, it all just becomes so depressing. Are we really this ignorant as a people? Read the rest of this post...

House to vote on ENDA later this week, Tammy Baldwin given right to offer her T amendment

I look forward to the vote so we can finally settle whether adding transgender to ENDA is a cakewalk or not. More from the House Rules Committee:

FOR MEMBERS’ IMMEDIATE ATTENTION
November 5, 2007

Dear Colleague:

The House Rules Committee met today and reported a structured rule providing for consideration of H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007. It is anticipated that the rule and the bill will be on the House floor later this week. The rule will be managed by Representative Castor.

The rule provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor.
The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill except clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI. The rule makes in order the following amendments which are printed in the Rules Committee report.

1. Miller, George (CA): The amendment 1) provides explicitly that any religious corporation, school, association or society that is exempt under either Section 702(a) or 703(e)(2) of Title VII’s religious exemptions is exempt under ENDA. It clarifies that the scope of Title VII’s exemption is exactly the scope of ENDA’s exemption (if a school is exempt from Title VII’s religious discrimination prohibitions, it will also be exempt from ENDA); and 2) it clarifies that ENDA does not alter the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in any way. It strikes language referencing “a same-sex couple who are not married” in the Employee Benefits section of ENDA. It also inserts language clarifying that the term “married” has the meaning given such term in DOMA, directly incorporating DOMA’s definition of marriage. (20 minutes)

2. Souder (IN): The amendment would strike paragraph (3) of section 8(a), which prohibits employers from conditioning employment on a person being married or being eligible to be married. (10 minutes)

3. Baldwin (WI): The amendment would expand ENDA's protections to persons discriminated against based on gender identity, defined as the gender-related identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of an individual, with or without regard to the individual's designated sex at birth. The amendment includes language concerning shared facilities, dress, and grooming standards, as well as a paragraph stating that the construction of additional facilities are not required. (10 minutes)

The rule also provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

If you have any questions regarding this rule, please contact Liz Pardue or Sophie Hayford of my staff at xxxxx.

Sincerely,

/s
Louise M. Slaughter
Chairwoman
Committee on Rules

Read the rest of this post...

Penny for the Guy?

I was in London, 24 years ago today, on Guy Fawkes Night. The cutest little kid, with the cutest little accent, was asking for pennies outside one of the Tube stations. I was 19. Fawkes will always remind me, now, of the movie "V for Vendetta," which increasingly creeps me out, and moves me, every time I watch it, as it has an awful lot to do with the world and country(ies) we live in today.

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up King and Parliament.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

More from our other favorite Froomkin.

Read the rest of this post...

Homeowners who actually pay their mortgage on time are getting ticked of at talk about bail-outs

From CNNMoney:

Not everyone is happy about mortgage lenders' latest efforts to help troubled borrowers.

Take Teresa Nelson. Instead of going for an adjustable rate mortgage with its lure of low initial rates, she opted for the security of a 30-year fixed at 7.10 percent for a house she bought in Pinellas Park, Fla. in December, 2005.

"I was well aware of what an ARM meant, and was staying far away from those snake-oil pipe-dream promises," Nelson said. "I also wasn't shopping for a short-term, big payoff investment - I was looking for my home, until I retire."

But many delinquent subprime borrowers who went for low teaser rates that shot up to unaffordable levels are now paying lower rates than Nelson as part of a new round of foreclosure prevention packages. And she doesn't like it.

For example, one subprime borrower had a riskier hybrid adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) with a rate of just under 7 percent that was going to reset in December to 10.5 percent. But last month, as part of a new bailout plan from Countrywide Financial, the lender gave him a rate reduction to 5 percent on his loan, saving him hundreds of dollars a month.

Nelson feels cheated and has little sympathy for people who she believes weren't as careful as she was. "Everybody was seeing dollar signs," she said, "and let their greed get the better of them. So, no. No bail-out, no assistance with my tax dollars. Not one red cent."

Then there's this:

Steve Bailey, Countrywide's CEO of loan administration.... said he understands their anger but said, "That's a situation where the greater sin is letting their homes go into foreclosure. You have a vacant home in the community and drive down the property values of neighbors."

Right, because in a free market, capitalist economy it would be wrong for home prices to drop and for me to have to spend less on the condo I'm looking to buy. Since when was it anybody's job to artificially drive up the prices of homes in my or any other neighborhood? Since when is it wrong for someone else to have their home value decrease because of a market adjustment, but it's right for me to have my future home cost increase because of an artificial intervention? They lose money, it's wrong - I lose money, it's right. Uh huh. I am just increasingly sick and tired of every bail out of the rich and the poor, from the right and the left, coming at the expense of those of us in the middle who never seem to get anything, except an increasingly large bill for helping everyone else at our own expense. I'm not opposed to helping others. I am opposed to never being on the receiving end of such help. The Republicans help one side, the Dems the other, and no one thinks of the middle. Read the rest of this post...

Americans and Iraq

From Rasmussen:

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Kentucky voters want the U.S. troops out of Iraq within a year. That figure is close to the national average and includes 22% who want the troops withdrawn immediately. Thirty-seven percent (37%) want the troops to remain until the mission in Iraq has been accomplished.

I was asked a lot in Spain about Iraq and why Americans continued to support Bush. I told them that Bush was at 25% in the polls, that Americans thought Iraq was pretty much lost, but that they feared withdrawing troops immediately. But, there was one other point I made, and it's a point not shown in this poll. Americans want us to start withdrawing troops "next year." The problem is that every time Americans are polled they don't want to start withdrawing until "next year." And by the time next year rolls around, Americans still put off the withdrawal until the NEXT year.

There's almost a cognitive dissonance going on in the American mind. And that kind of dissonance is no longer acceptable. Any American who insists that we not begin a withdrawal until "next year" is taking ownership of this war this year. Then again, it's easy to put off a decision on Iraq until next year when the only "war" sacrifice most Americans (other than the troops and their families) are making is not being able to bring lipstick in their carry-on. Read the rest of this post...

What do Dick and Lynne Cheney, proud parents of lesbian daughter and gay-parent Mary, think of Kentucky GOP's gay-baiting?

For that matter, what does GOP Senator Larry "Wide Stance" Craig think? (I actually had to explain, and translate, "wide stance" for the Spanish - that was fun :-)

From TPM Election Central:

The state GOP is now sending a robo-call throughout the state featuring none other than Pat Boone, warning that as a Christian he is concerned that Democratic nominee Steve Beshear, who has been way ahead in the polls, will work for "every homosexual cause."

"Now do you want a governor who'd like Kentucky to be another San Francisco?" Boone asks. "Please re-elect Ernie Fletcher."

And at a campaign stop last night, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports, the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor made a direct attack upon the Democratic ticket: "Do you want a couple of San Francisco treats or do you want a governor?"

TPM Election Central also has the tape recording of the anti-gay robo-call.

I'm sorry, but the fact that the vice president's daughter, Mary, is a lesbian, and a lesbian parent to boot, makes this issue relevant for the White House and the national GOP. Does the White House, or does it not, endorse gay-baiting, Mary-Cheney baiting

PS For that matter, what does GOP Senator Lindsey DADT Graham think?



For the record, I'm not saying that Lindsey Graham IS gay. I'm just saying that I can't recall ever hearing a straight guy open his mouth and come off as quite as big a fag. (Nor can I recall many gay guys.) Read the rest of this post...

The iPhone in Spain, and a question about podcasting

If you're not into geekdom, move right along to the next post...

Apple's iPhone has not yet officially hit Spain, but one of the Spanish bloggers at the conference had one anyway - he used a popular hack to unlock the phone, which permitted him to use his Spanish cell phone account on the iPhone. According to the blogger, it was a bit of a pain to dial, but still, it was worth having the phone. They're due to hit the market in France, the UK and Germany some time soon, and at least in France the phone will be unlocked (per French law). It still remains to be seen whether Apple (forced by spy-agency-front A&T;) will somehow jigger the phones so that Americans and others won't want to buy them (i.e., make the language only French, or some other such thing).

One of the Spanish geeks I introduced you to yesterday, David, was quite literally giggling while playing with the iPhone for the first time. Every time he'd discover a new function on the phone, he'd squeak. I grabbed a quick video of David's first iPhone experience, but unfortunately didn't catch any giggles.



In other geek news, attended a podcasting workshop (taller) at the conference, and it got me thinking. I've been trying, for a while, to figure out whether and how I could/should use videoblogging and or audioblogging/podcasting on this site. And it's been difficult, because I feel like doing a video or audio "show" would simply be reiterating what we're already written on the blog. I.e., what's the value added of doing video (and I don't mean posting videos of different things, like the above - I mean doing a regular actual AMERICAblog video show or podcast show. Curious what you guys think. One thing that caught my eye during the workshop, a NYT article from two years ago about some creative podcasts people created of their own tours of the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. What a fascinating idea, create your own irreverent tour of something local and just post it. It helped expand my horizons a bit as to the potential of this medium, though I'm still a bit stymied as to its applications for us. Again, I welcome your thoughts. Read the rest of this post...

Cheney in 2002: We'll be out of Iraq in 1 to 2 months

NYT

Vice President Dick Cheney is trying to persuade Dick Armey, the Republican House majority leader, who was skeptical about a war on Iraq, in a private meeting in September 2002: “We have great information. They’re going to welcome us. It’ll be like the American Army going through the streets of Paris. They’re sitting there ready to form a new government. The people will be so happy with their freedoms that we’ll probably back ourselves out of there within a month or two.”

Obviously spending too much time with Fred Thompson's lead fundraiser. Read the rest of this post...

Fred Thompson to keep convicted cocaine dealer as top campaign aide

Now that takes some chutzpah. Even for a Democrat, keeping a convicted drug dealer - a cocaine dealer in fact - as a top campaign aide, would be death. But for a Republican? What is Thompson snorting? Seriously, what an incredibly stupid, amateur decision for Thompson to decide keep this guy as a top fundraiser. Perhaps my favorite line from the article: "The campaign has no reason to suspect there is any problem with the money Martin has raised, she said." Um, how about BECAUSE HE'S A FREAKING CONVICTED DRUG DEALER? And I thought Obama wasn't ready for prime time. Geez, Thompson makes Obama look like Machiavelli. Read the rest of this post...

EU may collect info on Jewish, gay air travelers - even though they say they won't

Oh, they say that's not what they're doing, but let's take a look at the facts.

In its never-ending quest to one-up the Americans on who can violate their citizens' rights quickest, the EU is going to be collecting all sorts of arcane, and troubling, information on American air travelers, just like the US is collecting on Europeans (with the EU's consent).

The info they're going to collect may include:

The data, including names, telephone numbers, credit card information and travel itinerary, would be sent to E.U. member states so they could assess passenger risk for counterterrorism purposes, according to a draft copy obtained by The Washington Post. The European Commission proposal would allow the data to be kept for 13 years or longer if used in criminal investigations and intelligence operations. It would cover all passengers flying into and out of Europe, not just Americans....

Under the proposal by Franco Frattini, European commissioner for freedom, security and justice, airlines or computerized reservation systems would send at least 19 pieces of data on each passenger to data-analysis units set up by each state. The data fields also would include e-mail addresses, names of accompanying passengers and open ones for such special requests as meals or medical service.

Under the proposal, no personal data that could reveal race, ethnicity, political opinions, religion, trade union membership or health or sex-life information could be transmitted. Any such data that was shared would have to be deleted immediately by the data-analyzing units, the proposal says.

Yeah, no data about your ethnicity, religion, health or sex-life will be transmitted. But they will collect and retain data about any "medical service" you need, and somehow that won't tell them anything about your "health." Are they high? That kind of bald-faced lie is usually the kind of thing you expect from the Bush administration, rather than Europeans.

But let's examine this further.

They'll collect no information on your religion, they say, but they will collect info on your special meal requests like, oh, I don't know, the fact that you want a kosher meal. No, doesn't suggest that you're Jewish at all. And in any case, European governments keeping databases of who's a Jew - I mean, what kind of damage can that do anyway, right?

As for your sex-life information, the fact that you always travel with your same-sex friend who has a different last name but the same home phone, and you charge the tickets on one card when you fly to Ibiza, doesn't suggest anything either. Read the rest of this post...

Monday Morning Open Thread

Ugh. Just saw the first Christmas-themed t.v. ad of the season.

Elections tomorrow in Virginia and Kentucky could make this an interesting week...so let's get it started. Read the rest of this post...

Bush to drag down another political friend?

Poor John Howard. Not only is he trailing in the race for PM in Australia, but he's even trailing in his own parliamentary seat. Australia has enjoyed some good economic times but it sounds like they've had enough of Howard and want change. Being close to Bush has not worked out very well for politicians over time.

Considering his similar approach to free speech, it will be a welcome change when both Bush and Howard are out of the picture.

Report author Irene Moss, the former NSW ombudsman, says there are grounds for concern about the state of free speech in Australia.

Her audit, commissioned by a coalition of major media groups, says there are 500 pieces of legislation and at least 1000 court suppression orders still in force that restrict media reporting in Australia.

"The audit would broadly conclude that free speech and media freedom are being whittled away by gradual and sometimes almost imperceptible degrees," she said.

"As a result, I believe there are indeed grounds for concern."

Ms Moss, also a former chair of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, said: "What the audit can observe is that many of the mechanisms that are vital to a well-functioning democracy are beginning to wear thin.

"Their functioning in many areas is flawed and not well maintained."

Read the rest of this post...

Wall Street woes continue

Citigroup to write-down $11 billion and the CEO is stepping down.

"I am responsible for the conduct of our businesses," Prince said in a memo to employees. "The size of these charges makes stepping down the only honorable course for me to take as chief executive officer. This is what I advised the board."

Putting aside the cushy golden parachutes that most would love to have, at least a few CEOs have stepped down after their failures. Compare and contract to the Bush administration, who grew in power after their own disastrous failure on 9/11. Have we ever been so far away from honor as we are today under this administration? Read the rest of this post...