Science answers age old question about teenagers

It's all about the pruning, of course.

Between ages 11 and 17, children's brain waves reduce significantly while they sleep, a new study found. Scientists think this change reflects a trimming-down process going on inside teenagers' brains during these years, where extraneous mental connections made during childhood are lost.

"When a child is born, their brain is not fully-formed, and over the first few years there's a great proliferation of connections between cells," said physiologist Ian Campbell of the University of California, Davis. "Over adolescence there is a pruning back of these connections. The brain decides which connections are important to keep, and which can be let go."

Read the rest of this post...

Obama EPA dares to bother with environmental protection

These people are crazy radicals. I almost forgot that the EPA used to care about the environment and thankfully, it is taking an interest in the environment and people again. What a difference an election can make.

The Environmental Protection Agency put hundreds of mountaintop coal-mining permits on hold Tuesday, saying it wants to evaluate the projects' impact on streams and wetlands.

The decision by EPA administrator Lisa Jackson targets a controversial practice that allows coal mining companies to dump waste from mountaintop mining into streams and wetlands.

It could delay 150-200 surface coal mines, including mountaintop removal operations, according to the EPA.

On a related note, I recently noticed the Washington Post now has a "Green - Science - Policy - Living" section. In the past it surprised me to see this existing with overseas media outlets yet non-existent in the US. Another nice change. Read the rest of this post...

Karl Rove and Bill Bennett both say the media were tough on Obama tonight

Oh well. Another Republican talking point flies out the window.

Great O'Reilly quote, right now:

"Look, the telling moment for me, and I said it in the Talking Points Memo, was when Jake Tapper, from ABC, a good reporter, says a very simple thing: 'Mr. President, will you veto the bill if it doesn't have your little cap [pause] and [pause] thing [waves hand in air] on the energy deal...' "

Cap and thing? Doesn't sound simple.

Joe just texted me - neither the NYT nor the Washington Post got called on tonight. Very interesting. Read the rest of this post...

Obama press conference open thread

He does instill confidence. What a change.

Last question was for the French. Oh boy, the media is gonna be angry now. ABC got two questions, and the French got one.

That was funny, Ann Compton didn't realize she was going to be called on. Odd that Obama picked two people from ABC, he already chose Jake Tapper.

Joe is at the White House, twittering.

FYI, when I'm not posting in this post, I'm joining some of the readers in the comments: Feel free to join us there.

The media is complaining about the debt. As usual, the GOP runs up huge deficits, and the Dems are expected to clean things up. Ooh, Obama just blamed Bush for the deficit. Bravo. Didn't name Bush, but at least blamed the GOP. I'm not sure why Obama isn't explaining that at a time that we're forced to increase spending with a stimulus bill to get the economy back on its feet, we can't cut the budget at the same time -that would negate the impact, and purpose, of the stimulus package. Duh. The Repblicans' war of convenience in Iraq came with a price. We now don't have the money we need to save the economy. So we have to go into deficit spending. This is why you don't let Republicans launch frivolous wars. Rainy day funds exist for a good reason.

Health care, energy, education and serious effort to reduce our budget deficit - four priorities Obama has for the budget.

First couple of questions about AIG and the bailout. Obama is giving long answers. Detailed answers, not rambling filibusters like Bush used to do, but they're long, and this means that, yet again, probably only 10 or 11 reporters will get to ask questions.

8:10PM Joe's view:



8:08PM Joe reports that Faiz Shakir of ThinkProgress is sitting in the front row. Methinks Faiz might be getting a question tonight...


Joe is there as a credentialed journalist for AMERICAblog. He's twittering the event, and sending me some photos. Starts at 8pm Eastern. (That's Jake Tapper, from ABC, above.) Read the rest of this post...

Bush spokesman on CNBC: quit being mean to Wall Street

You can't even make this crap up. Of course the US needs Wall Street to be functioning properly. We've all said this a million times. The problem, again, is that Wall Street never learns any lessons and now the Geithner continues the Paulson plan few people other than Republicans like Fratto see any change. The public is furious and is expecting to see signs that yes, Wall Street gets it. To date, it hasn't happened. Worse still is that Geithner and by default Obama don't get it either.

And now for Tony Fratto, as only he can deliver on CNBC:

I know they've embarrassed us. I know they've been bad. I know they need to be taught a lesson. The costs have been staggering and will be for some time. But it's time for us to be good parents. It's time to remember that we love our banks and we love our markets.

I'm fearing we're losing sight of the enormous benefit the financial sector has meant to the historic success of the American economy and our resulting high standards of living.

For all of its sins of greed and recurring bouts of recklessness and excess, Wall Street (and I use the reference with affection) has built the largest, most effective and efficient system for allocating capital and risk in the history of mankind. This means that ideas in America find financing — with counterparties sharing the best risk-adjusted rates of return. And this is a virtue.

Sorry to break the news, but Wall Street lost the plot a long time ago. There is no virtue in bankrupting a country and a global economy. That's fraudulent and people need to be prosecuted and sent to jail. Fraud still is a crime with Republicans, isn't it? Read the rest of this post...

Jindal to give GOP response after Obama presser, again

Come on, where's the camera? I know there's a camera here somewhere. This is a joke, right? Ha ha, we're all laughing. Now come on, who is the GOP really having respond to Obama?

This is terribly odd. Jindal was roundly panned last time around when gave the response to Obama's quasi State of the Union. Among Jindal's greatest hits: Criticizing Obama for what the Republicans didn't do in response to Hurricane Katrina. Jindal's delivery was also stilted and sing-songy, and at least one of his tales was pretty tall (the one where he claimed he was standing there with the sheriff during Katrina). Then there's Jindal's criticism of volcano monitoring in Alaska when the volcano he criticized went off two days ago. Great timing guys.

So this should actually be quite a bit of fun. Read the rest of this post...

Joe is off to the White House

AMERICAblog got credentialed again for Obama's press conference tonight in the White House, and Joe, fresh out of surgery, will be there. I told him he didn't have to do this, but he wanted to, and he says that his mother gave him her blessing (or perhaps more accurately, I think his mom told him he'd better go). We worked up a few questions, just in case. And I'll be live-blogging. It starts at 8pm Eastern. Read the rest of this post...

Republicans criticize Obama for having ideas

In all fairness to the GOP, over the past few decades they've gotten mighty used to having presidents (Bush, Reagan), candidates (McCain/Palin), and heroes (Joe the Tax Cheat) who aren't exactly going to be inducted in to Mensa any time soon. Having a president with "ideas" must come across as pretty scary to a party with none. Read the rest of this post...

They got an ARM! What a great deal!

They're back! The articles about the "wonderful deals" you can get with an adjustable rate mortgage. In the latest installment, this young couple put, apparently, 8% down (first warning sign, though I'm told that for FHA loans, that's actually putting down a lot) in order to get an ARM that starts at 3.75%, is fixed for five years, and after that can go up every year to a max of 8.75%. The couple figures that the savings in the first years will make up for the possible increases in later years. Maybe. But it sure sounds an awful lot like what people were doing before.

The Senichs, however, got an initial interest rate on their FHA-insured ARM of just 3.875% for the first five years. After that, it resets once a year and cannot go up by more than one percentage point annually. It has a five point lifetime cap, so the rate can never exceed 8.875%.

The Senichs figured that their initial savings would keep them ahead of the game for at least 12 years. Their monthly mortgage payment will be little more than $1,800 a month, a couple of thousand with taxes, and mortgage and property insurance.

Again, maybe. Though with a mortgage payment of $1800 a month, the grand total you owe, including all the extra bills (taxes, insurance, and let's not forget utilities on an actual house rather than a condo) have got to bring this to more than just "a couple of thousand."

Anyway, we're back to the old articles about the "super deals" you can get with ARMs. And maybe these folks did get a deal. Maybe. Read the rest of this post...

Specter, fearing primary challenge, caves to far right. Will support filibuster of labor bill, when he opposed filibuster 2 years ago

Arlen Specter has never been much of a profile in courage. In fact, he's been a profile in moderate Republicanism. Claim you're a moderate, but then cave when the Rush Limbaugh wing of the party threatens to be mean to you. And he did it again today. Specter opposed filibustering the Employee Free Choice Act two years ago. Now, after being threatened with a primary challenge by the RNC after voting for the stimulus package, Specter has suddenly changed his mind and is supporting the filibuster AND voting against the bill itself.

First off, how is the GOP getting away with filibustering every single piece of legislation, yet no one in the Democratic party is talking about this? The usual mode of operation in the Senate is not to have 60 votes on every piece of legislation. That's only, more or less, when someone is filibustering the bill. Now we have 60 votes on every piece of legislation from the Party of No. Why aren't the Dems making a bigger deal about this?

And second, why doesn't Arlen Specter stop pretending he's a moderate. That trick is getting old. Clearly the man is more interested in keeping his job than keeping his principles. Read the rest of this post...

Obama's world-wide op-ed on the need to reform the global economy

Today, the Los Angeles Times has an op-ed from the President on the need for global economic cooperation:

My message is clear: The United States is ready to lead, and we call on our partners to join us with a sense of urgency and common purpose. Much good work has been done, but much more remains. Our leadership is grounded in a simple premise: We will act boldly to lift the American economy out of crisis and reform our regulatory structure, and these actions will be strengthened by complementary action abroad. Through our example, the United States can promote a global recovery and build confidence around the world; and if the London summit helps galvanize collective action, we can forge a secure recovery, and future crises can be averted.

He outlines three action steps and adds:

All of our financial institutions -- on Wall Street and around the globe -- need strong oversight and common- sense rules. All markets should have standards for stability and a mechanism for disclosure. A strong framework of capital requirements should protect against future crises. We must crack down on offshore tax havens and money laundering. Rigorous transparency and accountability must check abuse, and the days of out-of-control compensation must end. Instead of patchwork efforts that enable a race to the bottom, we must provide the clear incentives for good behavior that foster a race to the top.

I know that America bears its share of responsibility for the mess that we all face. But I also know that we need not choose between a chaotic and unforgiving capitalism and an oppressive government-run economy. That is a false choice that will not serve our people or any people.

What makes this op-ed all the more interesting is that while it's in the LA Times, it is also in 30 papers around the world. I just can't imagine George Bush pulling that off. Here's the full list courtesy of the White House Press Office:

1. Al Watan (Gulf States)

2. Arab Times (Gulf States)

3. Asharq Al Awsat (Arab-wide paper in Arabic)

4. The Australian (Australia)

5. Baltimore Sun (United States)

6. Bangkok Post (Thailand)

7. Chicago Tribune (United States)

8. Clarin (Argentina)

9. Corriere della Sera (Italy)

10. Die Welt (Germany)

11. El Pais (Madrid)

12. El Mercurio (Chile)

13. Eleftyropiea (Greece)

14. Estado de Sao Paulo (Brazil)

15. Gulf News (Gulf States)

16. The Hindustan Times/ The Hindu (India)

17. International Herald Tribune (London)

18. Kristeligt Dagblad (Denmark)

19. Le Monde (Paris)

20. Lidove Noviny (Czech)

21. Los Angeles Times (United States)

22. The News (Pakistan)

23. NRC Handelsblad (Netherlands)

24. Saudi Gazette (Saudi Arabia)

25. South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

26. Straits Times (Singapore)

27. Sunday Times (South Africa)

28. Svenska Dagbladet (Sweden)

29. Syndey Morning Herald (Australia)

30. WProst (Poland)

31. Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan)

Read the rest of this post...

South African peace conference postponed after they ban the Dalai Lama

(NOTE FROM JOHN: Chris wrote about this overnight, and I was going to write a separate post so folks saw it. It's important. And illustrative of the worst of human nature. South Africa, a country of people who were up until recently brutally oppressed by others, is turning its back on Tibet, a country of people who are brutally oppressed by others. Why? Because of money. It's absolutely sickening. It also shows how quickly even the best of us can forget where we came from. The struggle really never ends.)

The gutless wonders in the ANC have botched it yet again. They've chosen cash over human rights. If ever there was a country that should appreciate standing up for human rights it is South Africa.

An international peace conference in Johannesburg has been postponed after South Africa refused the Dalai Lama a visa to attend the event....

South Africa thinks that, if the Dalai Lama attended the conference, the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup — the global soccer championship it will host next year.

“We cannot allow focus to shift to China and Tibet,” said presidential spokesman Thabo Masebe, adding that South Africa has gained much from its trading relationship with China.

Read the rest of this post...

Stiglitz rips the Geithner plan - calls it "robbery"

Ouch.

The U.S. government plan to rid banks of toxic assets will rob American taxpayers by exposing them to too much risk and is unlikely to work as long as the economy remains weak, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said on Tuesday.

"The Geithner plan is very badly flawed," Stiglitz told Reuters in an interview during a Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong....

"Quite frankly, this amounts to robbery of the American people. I don't think it's going to work because I think there'll be a lot of anger about putting the losses so much on the shoulder of the American taxpayer."

Even if the plan clears banks of massive toxic debt, worries about the economic outlook mean banks could still be unwilling to make fresh loans, while the prospect of a higher tax burden to pay for various government stimulus plans could further undermine U.S. consumers, he said.

Read the rest of this post...

Numerous GOP lawmakers tell Cheney to go away

Your 15 minutes is up. Go ruin another country.

Oh that's right, you already did. Twice. Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

I'm slowly getting back into my old routine. I like my routine. Also, I wrote a post about my weekend in the hospital last night. It was a hands-on training for the health care reform debate.

Almost missed the very disturbing story of Think Progress' Amanda Terkel being stalked over the weekend by one of Bill O'Reilly's creeps, Jesse Watters. Amanda's account of what happened is here. There's a real misogynistic streak to this whole thing. I'm just trying to think of what went through the peabrains of the people at FOX to think this was a good idea. And, what was Watters thinking as he followed Amanda for a couple hours, on her vacation, without her knowledge? Creepy. There have been many egregious acts and ridiculous reports by the folks at FOX. But, O'Reilly crossed a line here. I think Amanda should talk to the lawyer who handled the case for Andrea Mackris.

There's lots to catch up on so let's get this show on the road... Read the rest of this post...

Madoff assets now at $1 billion

It's not $65 billion, but it's not $0 either. Who knows where else they will find money hidden around the world, not to mention the assets shifted to his wife before pleading guilty.

A lawyer for the trustee seeking to locate disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's assets for investors says more than $1 billion has been found.

Attorney David Sheehan says $75 million located in an account in Gibraltar raises the amount being pursued past the $1 billion mark.

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AIG bonus money rolling in

At least 9 of the top 10 have returned the bonus though as an overall percentage of the $218 billion, it still has plenty of room to grow.

Nine of the top 10 recipients of ­controversial bonuses at the insurer AIG have pledged to hand back the money ­following a public and political outcry over multimillion-dollar rewards at the crisis-stricken company.

New York state's attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, revealed last night that most of the biggest winners from a ­controversial "retention scheme" at AIG have succumbed to pressure by forsaking their awards.

Of those working at AIG's financial products division, which ran up vast losses on toxic derivatives, 15 of the 20 top bonus winners are giving back the money.

Cuomo said: "A number of them have risen to the occasion and I applaud them."

The money being returned amounts to $30m out of the bonus scheme's total payout of $165m. Cuomo, speaking on a conference call, revealed that about $80m of the total went to Americans. Some of the rest is likely to have gone to British staff at AIG's key financial products office in London.

He expressed a hope that more bonuses would be returned and said he expected his office to recoup about $80m.

CNNMoney says the figure is up to $50 million and 15 of the top 20. Nice progress. Read the rest of this post...

South Africa supports pro-apartheid approach

Business is more important than human rights. Back during the bad years, the apartheid government, and friends like the Republicans in the US, all supported a policy of putting business before human rights. What cowards they are today in the ANC.

South Africa barred the Dalai Lama from a peace conference in Johannesburg this week, saying Monday it did not want to endanger the government's relationship with China. The move prompted sharp criticism from the Nobel Committee, among others.

Thabo Masebe, spokesman for President Kgalema Motlanthe, said now was not the time for such a high-profile visit from the Tibetan spiritual leader and added that South Africa hoped to avoid being "the source of negative publicity about China."....

"We do value our relationship with China," Masebe said Monday.

Too bad the ANC doesn't value peace and human rights. How quickly some forget. Read the rest of this post...

France to limit executive pay

The most amusing part of this new legislation is that executives in France and most of Europe receive much less than US executives. The UK finance sector can get high but otherwise, executives over this way are not close to being in the same league as their pampered counterparts in America.

France plans to introduce a law to limit executive bonuses in the form of stock options or shares as businesses are slow to accept a voluntary agreement, the spokesman for the ruling UMP party said on Monday.

Bosses at French bank Societe Generale have given up their stock options amid mounting social discontent over excessive rewards for executives in times of financial meltdown, but employers have resisted broader limitations.

The chairman of employer organization MEDEF said it was not in the group's power to force members into such an agreement.

But the government, faced with mass protests and strikes over its social and economic policies, is under pressure to act.

"MEDEF does not want to react ... since there is neither the desire nor the means, we will give them the means and we will draw up a law," Frederic Lefebvre, spokesman for the center-right UMP, told French television.

He said bosses should not be able to raise their bonuses unless those of the other employees were also increased. "I think we can define the main points very quickly," he said.

From Europe to the United States, executive bonuses at firms that were bailed out by taxpayers have become a lightning rod for anger over the economic crisis.

Last week, 3 million people took to the streets in France, demanding more help for struggling workers and asking the government to curb executive rewards.

SocGen's decision to award thousands of stock options to four top executives while receiving state aid has sparked particular outrage.

French banks received 10.5 billion euros in aid in 2008 to help survive the credit crunch, with SocGen taking 1.7 billion euros.

Chump change though the real chumps may be on another continent. Either that or the US Treasury. Read the rest of this post...