60 minutes you'll never get back

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Migratory birds shifting north

Anyone who spends time in the garden or outdoors knows that the weather patterns are changing. The deniers prefer ignoring reality, though maybe they just ignore the outdoors and instead, cherry pick with individual days rather than seasonal and annual patterns.

When it comes to global warming, the canary in the coal mine isn't a canary at all. It's a purple finch. As the temperature across the U.S. has gotten warmer, the purple finch has been spending its winters more than 400 miles farther north than it used to.

And it's not alone.

An Audubon Society study to be released Tuesday found that more than half of 305 birds species in North America, a hodgepodge that includes robins, gulls, chickadees and owls, are spending the winter about 35 miles farther north than they did 40 years ago.

The purple finch was the biggest northward mover. Its wintering grounds are now more along the latitude of Milwaukee, Wis., instead of Springfield, Mo.

Bird ranges can expand and shift for many reasons, among them urban sprawl, deforestation and the supplemental diet provided by backyard feeders. But researchers say the only explanation for why so many birds over such a broad area are wintering in more northern locales is global warming.

Over the 40 years covered by the study, the average January temperature in the United States climbed by about 5 degrees Fahrenheit. That warming was most pronounced in northern states, which have already recorded an influx of more southern species and could see some northern species retreat into Canada as ranges shift.

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The Onion, on consumerism

Via Atrios:

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A pro-labor Secretary of Labor. Now, that's audacity.

Steve Rosenthal has a post over at Huffington on Obama's nominee to be Secretary of Labor: Hilda Solis. He also exposes the growing outrage among the business groups because Barack Obama nominated a pro-labor Secretary of Labor. What an outrage, huh? But, the corporate folks (you know, the ones who teamed up with Bush to destroy the American economy) are furious and have launched a campaign to stop Solis:

Earlier this week "Americans for Job Security" announced that they are launching a grassroots effort to bring down Secretary of Labor nominee Congresswoman Hilda Solis. You'd think with a name like "Americans for Job Security" they would be interested in helping American workers instead of greedy corporate interests.

Idiots. Of course, they're getting help from the GOP Senators who want to block Solis from even working on the most important piece of pro-worker legislation to be considered in a long time: The Employee Free Choice Act. Yes, Republican Senators want to prevent Solis from supporting workers, but the last Labor Secretary (who was married to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell) could aggressively screw workers over. No hypocrisy there, huh?

Imagine a Labor Secretary who actually cares about workers. Rosenthal says that's Solis:

Hilda Solis is exactly the right type of person to do this work. As the daughter of two immigrant workers and proud union members, Hilda Solis is the embodiment of the American Dream. Solis is an experienced leader who has been an advocate for the middle class and working families throughout her entire career. She has consistently supported efforts to increase the minimum wage and to increase unemployment benefits. Lastly, Solis authored the "Green Collar Jobs Act of 2007" which gives her a unique perspective on how to make the new jobs created in the Economic Recovery Plan the most effective.

Last night, John and I wrote several questions in the off chance the President called on me at the press conference (you never know). This was one of the questions:

Republican Senators have suggested your nominee for Secretary of Labor, Representative Hilda Solis, should recuse herself from the debate on one of the most important pieces of labor-related legislation: The Employee Free Choice Act, which your administration supports. What are your thoughts on that Republican suggestion for your Labor Secretary and what is the time frame for consideration of the Employee Free Choice Act?

Now, I'd probably include a line asking what he would say to corporate leaders who oppose having a Labor Secretary who actually cares about workers. Read the rest of this post...

It's time to help the Koalas

After Chris and I posted a number of items about koalas in Australia desperately approaching humans for water during the Australian heat wave, a number of you asked where you could donate to help the koalas. One such organization is the Australian Koala Foundation. I did a little digging, and the good folks at Sea World/Busch Gardens highly recommend them, calling them "largest organization in the world devoted to preserving this species’ habitat and food source." So they're a good, reputable organization.

To donate to the Australian Koala Foundation, simply click this link and follow the instructions on the landing page (basically, pick your home country and click, then fill out the form). All donations over two US dollars are tax deductible in the USA.

More on the Australian Koala Foundation here. Read the rest of this post...

"Everybody needs to grab a hose, and that's what Charlie Crist is doing here today." - President Obama

Well that was rather unfortunate. Read the rest of this post...

Busted: Fox News caught lifting anti-stimulus package rant straight from GOP Senate -- even the typo

Okay, not that we didn't know that FOX was just an arm of the GOP, but you'd think they wouldn't be so blatant about it. Today, in a rant against the stimulus, FOX's Jon Scott just regurgitated a press release sent earlier today by the Senate Republican Communications Center. Media Matters busted them:

During the February 10 edition of Fox News' Happening Now, co-host Jon Scott claimed that "the Senate is expected to pass the $838 billion stimulus plan -- its version of it, anyway. We thought we'd take a look back at the bill, how it was born, and how it grew, and grew, and grew." In tracking how and when the bill purportedly "grew," Scott referenced seven dates, as on-screen graphics cited various news sources from those time periods. However, all of the sources and cost figures Scott cited, as well as the accompanying on-screen text, were also contained in a February 10 press release issued by the Senate Republican Communications Center. One on-screen graphic during the segment even repeated a typo from the GOP document, further confirming that Scott was simply reading from a Republican press release. The Fox News graphic and the GOP press release both claimed that a Wall Street Journal report that the stimulus package could reach "$775 billion over two years" was published on December 19, 2009 [emphasis added].

Pathetic. If anyone from FOX ever read a real paper or watched another network, they might become aware of the dire economic predicament our country is in. But, they'd never report it, because FOX, as an arm of the GOP, is part of the reason we're in this mess. Read the rest of this post...

Meet Sam Stein, who, according to the NY Times, "created a buzz" at the press conference last night

Last night's press conference generated enormous press attention -- of course. But, the fact that Sam Stein from the Huffington Post got to ask one of the coveted questions also captured the attention of the traditional media. The Washington Post and the New York Times both reported on it. The Times noted:

It was not the answer but the very fact that he took a question from Mr. Stein that created a buzz and signaled yet another shift in the ever-evolving news media landscape.

The White House decided in advance which reporters would be selected. And on Monday night, correspondents for The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, Time and Newsweek were not on the list.

Lots of big egos in that East Room last night. And, I'm not talking about the Obama staff. Apparently, some of those big egos were bruised. Anna Marie Cox twittered:

LOTS of grumbling post-press conf about HuffPo getting a q; but accusing O of "filibustering" seems to ignore HuffPo q was smart and tough.

Sam's question was smart and tough. Via an emailed transcript from the White House, here's Sam's question and the President's response:

THE PRESIDENT: Sam Stein, Huffington Post -- where's Sam? Here.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Today Senator Patrick Leahy announced that he wants to set up a truth and reconciliation committee to investigate the misdeeds of the Bush administration. He said that before you turn the page, you have to read the page first. Do you agree with such a proposal, and are you willing to rule out right here and now any prosecution of Bush administration officials?

THE PRESIDENT: I haven't seen the proposal, so I don't want to express an opinion on something that I haven't seen.

What I have said is that my administration is going to operate in a way that leaves no doubt that we do not torture, and that we abide by the Geneva Conventions, and that we observe our traditions of rule of law and due process, as we are vigorously going after terrorists that can do us harm. And I don't think those are contradictory; I think they are potentially complementary.

My view is also that nobody is above the law, and if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen; but that generally speaking, I'm more interested in looking forward than I am in looking backwards. I want to pull everybody together, including, by the way, the -- all the members of the intelligence community who have done things the right way and have been working hard to protect America, and I think sometimes are painted with a broad brush without adequate information.

So I will take a look at Senator Leahy's proposal, but my general orientation is to say, let's get it right moving forward.

I was sitting in the East Room last night and thought it was a big moment when Obama treated a new media journalist the same way he treated the old guys. So, after the press conference ended, I asked him if we could do an interview about the press conference. Besides being a smart and tough reporter, Sam is also a great guy so he agreed. We talked today:
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Porn star considering run against David "I pay hookers for sex even though I'm a married Bible-thumper" Vitter

ThinkProgress reports that a porn star, Ms. Stormy Daniels, is considering a run against incumbent GOP Senator David Vitter. You might recall that Vitter is a married, family values conservative who likes to pay prostitutes for sex acts while publicly railing against the "dangers" gay marriage poses to the family. It's not clear why the hooker-loving Senator is even in office any more. Then again, the thumpers in the religious right never did actually care about little things like God, Jesus, the Bible, or the Ten Commandments. Every day they remain in office, hooker-loving Republicans like Vitter will stand (lay) as a reminder of just how corrupt and hypocritical the religious right, and the Republicans, have become. Read the rest of this post...

Obama has to say no to Bredesen at HHS.

The Governor of Tennessee, Phil Bredesen, wants to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. That should never happen.

On Sunday, I posted a quote from our good friend Jacki Schechner about Gov. Phil Bredesen:

"A lot of elected officials are in bed with the insurance industry, but Phil Bredesen doesn't stop there. He let them pay to redecorate his mansion. We can't think of anyone more wrong for health care reform or more wrong for America," said Jacki Schechner, spokeswoman for Health Care for America Now. "This is a guy whose single greatest health care achievement is stripping 200,000 people of health care coverage in Tennessee - a move that was not only bad policy but an unconscionable act."

Bredesen pretty much confirmed his love for the industry and disdain for health care consumers (all of us) in an interview with the Wall Street Journal:

"Anybody who's got some real scars and experience is going to have their detractors," the governor said Monday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "People at the White House are smart enough to be able to assess that." And he took a swipe at his opponents, saying that "advocacy groups don't matter nearly as much as the pharmaceutical groups, the hospitals, the doctors' groups. There's a lot of very powerful interest groups that will play in this thing."

With that love of the health care industry (the very people who have created the health care debacle), Bredesen would have been the perfect pick for Secretary of HHS for George Bush, not Barack Obama. Bredesen made his fortune in the health insurance industry. He's an industry guy. I don't know anyone who has had a positive experience with anyone from a health insurance company.

People at the White House should be smart enough to not appoint Bredesen to HHS, but he's being vetted anyway. According to the WSJ, it sounds like Rahm Emanuel is being lobbied by health care lobbyists to appoint Bredesen. That alone should end the discussion.

If Obama is serious about health care reform -- and he says he is -- Obama has to say NO to Bredesen. And, importantly, Obama should make that clear to Rahm Emanuel. Read the rest of this post...

Rove: "We didn't leak" (except to expose an undercover CIA agent for politcal payback)

Christy Hardin Smith caught this nugget from Karl Rove in the LA Times:

"Secrecy and confidentiality are necessary for every government, especially when you're at war."...

"I love how the last eight years, this White House, the Bush White House, was criticized for being tight-lipped. We didn't leak."

Ms. Hardin Smith takes exception and I couldn't agree with her more:

I beg to differ.

And I'm guessing Valerie Plame Wilson and her family, the CIA and a whole host of assets around the world would as well. Jackass.

Rove's speech was an assault on journalists, in which, as the Times noted, Rove "reiterated his belief that government leaks in the media can cause serious harm." Huh?

Let's review: Rove the jackass takes a whack at journalists for leaking, but it was the jackasses in the White House press corps who not only printed what Rove leaked to them, they all stayed silent when Bush repeatedly said no one on his staff leaked. Bush lied to the faces of the press corps, they knew he was lying, but they regurgitated his lies anyway.

Now, that same reporters and talking heads are obsessed with the subject of bipartisanship. It's so much easier for them. Read the rest of this post...

Geithner blocks tougher conditions on Wall Street

Who ever would have guessed or could have seen this one coming? Well, besides me and Atrios, that is. It's not like Geithner hasn't been chummy with Wall Street for a while, ignoring the disaster around him during his years at the Fed. This isn't change we can believe in. It isn't even change.

In the end, Mr. Geithner largely prevailed in opposing tougher conditions on financial institutions that were sought by presidential aides, including David Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president, according to administration and Congressional officials.

Mr. Geithner, who will announce the broad outlines of the plan on Tuesday, successfully fought against more severe limits on executive pay for companies receiving government aid.

He resisted those who wanted to dictate how banks would spend their rescue money. And he prevailed over top administration aides who wanted to replace bank executives and wipe out shareholders at institutions receiving aid.

Because of the internal debate, some of the most contentious issues remain unresolved.

Call the White House.

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"God wants me to serve" - Norm Coleman

I talk to God regularly, and she thinks you're kind of creepy. Read the rest of this post...

Fred Barnes says global warming is a myth because it was cold this winter

It's Sarah Palin logic. George Bush logic. The logic of the uneducated masses who the Republicans love to claim to represent and serve (when they really represent and serve corporate America). It's a pathological love affair with stupid. And the GOP needs to get over it, fast.

TPM Muckraker:

Check out this passage from Barnes' latest column for the Weekly Standard:

Democrats couldn't hide their self-consciousness about the excesses of their own bill. Supporters made few TV appearances to defend it and rarely talked about specific spending items. Obama sounded like Al Gore on global warming. The more the case for man-made warming falls apart, the more hysterical Gore gets about an imminent catastrophe. The more public support his bill loses, the more Obama embraces fear-mongering. (our itals.)

We hadn't heard anything lately about the case for man-made global warming falling apart. In fact, just the opposite. So we called Barnes and asked him what he was referring to.

At first, he cited the fact that it's been cold lately.

Perhaps sensing this was less than convincing, Barnes then asserted that there had been a "cooling spell" in recent years. "Haven't you noticed?" he asked.

Asked for firmer evidence of such cooling, Barnes demurred, telling TPMmuckraker he was too busy to track it down.

We pressed Barnes again: surely he could tell us where he had found this vital new information, which could upend the current debate over how to address global warming.

In response, Barnes said only that he knew where he had found it, but would not tell us, apparently as a matter of principle. "I'm not going to do your research for you," he eventually said, before hurriedly ending the call.

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Final vote today on the Stimulus package, then it goes to the House-Senate conference. All the Republicans (except three "wussy" Senators), having rejected Obama's attempt at bipartisanship, are patting themselves on the back for voting NO. They're so proud of that. It's really kind of stunning given the state of our economy. Even losing 600,000 jobs in January didn't move them. Seriously, it's stunning. But, the pundits love it. Love it. Because they all have their cushy jobs and their big houses in the suburbs of D.C. It's not real to them either.

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

Recession to have impact for up to 15 years

Others have made similar comments recently but the fact that someone so close to Prime Minister Gordon Brown is saying this is important. Moving out of this recession will take time and it's difficult to see how the lasting impact could not last well beyond even 15 years. The regulation and oversight that existed since the Great Depression was wiped out during the GOP Congress-Clinton years so it may be another 50 or 60 years until one party wants to forget about the lessons of this recession and turn back the clock again to learn these problems all over again.

Britain is facing its worst financial crisis for more than a century, surpassing even the Great Depression of the 1930s, one of Gordon Brown's most senior ministers and confidants has admitted.

In an extraordinary admission about the severity of the economic downturn, Ed Balls even predicted that its effects would still be felt 15 years from now. The Schools Secretary's comments carry added weight because he is a former chief economic adviser to the Treasury and regarded as one of the Prime Ministers's closest allies.

Mr Balls said yesterday: "The reality is that this is becoming the most serious global recession for, I'm sure, over 100 years, as it will turn out."

He warned that events worldwide were moving at a "speed, pace and ferocity which none of us have seen before" and banks were losing cash on a "scale that nobody believed possible".

The minister stunned his audience at a Labour conference in Yorkshire by forecasting that times could be tougher than in the depression of the 1930s, when male unemployment in some cities reached 70 per cent. He also appeared to hint that the recession could play into the hands of the far right.

"The economy is going to define our politics in this region and in Britain in the next year, the next five years, the next 10 and even the next 15 years," Mr Balls said. "These are seismic events that are going to change the political landscape. I think this is a financial crisis more extreme and more serious than that of the 1930s, and we all remember how the politics of that era were shaped by the economy."

Philip Hammond, the shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said Mr Balls's predictions were "a staggering and very worrying admission from a cabinet minister and Gordon Brown's closest ally in the Treasury over the past 10 years". He added: "We are being told that not only are we facing the worst recession in 100 years, but that it will last for over a decade – far longer than Treasury forecasts predict."

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Australian fires claim at least 173 people, police closing in on arsonists

Many are now calling for the arsonists to face murder charges based on the 173 people already found dead. Surely more will be found as the fires are contained.

Australian towns devastated in the country's worst bushfires were declared crime scenes tonight as forensic investigators began combing the charred landscape for evidence of how the infernos started, and who may have ignited them.

Police indicated that they were closing in on arsonists believed to be responsible for lighting some of the 400 blazes that have killed at least 170 people, left 5,000 homeless and destroyed a 350,000 hectare area north of Melbourne in the past three days.

As firefighters continued to battle raging fires that threaten a further six towns north of Melbourne, the attorney general, Robert McClelland, told parliament that those responsible for lighting them could be charged with murder. Senior police confirmed they are preparing photofits of suspected firebugs.

"We'll soon be in a position to provide face images of people we believe responsible,"Detective Sergeant Brett Kahan told the Melbourne Age. Announcing a special taskforce to investigate the fires, the Victorian police commissioner, Christine Nixon, said she was "optimistic" that arrests would be made.

The prime minister, Kevin Rudd, echoed the anger of a nation yesterday when he described such actions as "mass murder". Fighting back tears, he said: "This is of a level of horror that few of us anticipated."

Last night, a 60 mile (96km) wall of fire was continuing its advance on towns north of Melbourne. Authorities said the bushfires could take many days to control.

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UK to launch Obama-like bankster bonus cap

During this crisis, it's to the benefit of everyone to have the US and UK (and Europe) coordinating their efforts. We've all seen the corporate routine of playing one city/state/country against another and the results are predictable. The banksters have played this game well and have established a comfortable lifestyle without delivering much benefit. The more countries can work together and establish base ground rules for what is acceptable, the better. If the Wall Street types want to move out to an unstable part of the world, go for it. Their families will love living in such conditions and something tells me the government support may be a bit different in times of crisis. Real capitalism might turn out to be more challenging than these over-paid fraudsters ever imagined.

Bankers would face a £25,000 cap on cash bonuses under plans being examined by the Treasury last night in a bid to silence the public outcry over the City's culture of huge rewards and dangerous risk-taking.

But the move to stifle growing anger over bonuses at the Royal Bank of Scotland was in danger of being overshadowed as Gordon Brown's righthand man in the cabinet, Ed Balls, said the world was facing the most serious recession for 100 years.

His remarks, the most alarming to be made by a senior government minister, interpret the crisis as worse than the great depression of the 1930s.

The Treasury wants RBS - now 68% owned by the government - to rein in large bonuses in a year when it is scheduled to post losses running to billions of pounds. Ministers are trying to negotiate a £25,000 cap on cash bonuses, with the remainder being taken in share options.

The government's effort to show that it is responding to public anger over the bonus culture was undermined yesterday however when it emerged that the man appointed by the government to conduct a review of City pay was himself given multi-million pound bonuses while serving as European chairman of US bank Morgan Stanley.

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