More great volcano photos

Spectacular. Read the rest of this post...

Increased talk of boycotting Arizona over draconian anti-immigrant law

This is good, and necessary. From John Amato at Crooks and Liars:

Outrage is pouring out all across America over SB 1070. There's a ton of facebook groups popping up to help organize. The push is on to put pressure on MLB to stop supporting Arizona, their MLB franchise and now their Cactus League. Arizona has become host to 15 Major League teams that use the state for their spring training games before the start of the regular season. Cincinnati was the latest team to move their facilities over to the "police state." You may remember the departed Marge Schott, who owned the Reds was suspended from baseball for her racist epithets back in 1993.

The Cincinnati owner, the only female baseball owner, allegedly called two of her former players "million-dollar niggers" and also allegedly made disparaging remarks about Jews and Japanese.

Since almost 30% of MLB players are Latino, I'm trying to find out how many of those players are using work visas. I'm not attacking the players here, but if you were in America on a work visa to play baseball or any sport from another country and had to play in Arizona, wouldn't you be a bit unnerved?

Read the rest of this post...

Following Arizona, seven states considering anti-immigrant legislation

It's not entirely clear that Congress and the administration are going to have a choice but to deal with immigration this year. Some issues you just can't avoid. Read the rest of this post...

GOP member of Congress accuses Latino member of working for Mexico

From Media Matters Action:

Last week, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) called for a boycott of Arizona over the state's draconian, possibly unconstitutional immigration law. "Do not do business with a state that is propagating the idea separate but equal treatment under the law can be codified," he said.

Unlike Grijalva, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is a big fan of Arizona's crackdown. After praising the effort in a statement earlier this week, King blasted Grijalva's position last night. During an interview on Fox News, King absurdly suggested that Grijalva's district has been "ceded" and accused the Arizona lawmaker of "advocating for Mexico" and against the United States.

Read the rest of this post...

Climate change is making allergies worse

Lovely.

Researchers found that not only is spring coming earlier, making for a longer allergy season, but warmer weather allows hickory and oak, two of the most allergenic tree species, to thrive almost everywhere in the US. Another factor: Some plants, such as ragweed, are actually making more pollen as the environment changes. "As trees that use the wind to pollinate undergo stress from heat or lack of water, they begin to produce more pollen to compensate," explained NWF climate scientist Amanda Staudt. Scientists have already observed this phenomenon in cities, where C02 levels are an average of 30 percent higher than in suburbs and rural areas. "Cities are where we’re seeing increased pollen production," explains Demain.

Hayfever's not the only allergic reaction that could worsen with climate change. Sometimes, pollen from certain plants can exacerbate food allergies to related plants, says Jeffrey Demain, director of the Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Center of Alaska. People who are genetically presdisposed to fruit and nut allergies, for example, may find that increased exposure to birch pollen makes their food reactions worse. Similarly, more ragweed pollen could aggravate symptoms in people allergic to melon. Also on the horizon: more aggressive poison ivy. A Duke university study found that poison ivy plants exposed to CO2 produced more potent urushiol, the allergen that causes the famous rash.

So is there any chance we'll adapt by becoming less allergic to all that pollen? Probably not, says Demain.

Read the rest of this post...

GOP caving on financial reform

That's what happens when you stand up to a bully. Good for the Dems.

Wednesday that a GOP filibuster of Wall Street reform legislation will end.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, released a statement saying closed-door negotiations with Democrats on the financial regulations reform bill had ended with agreement on some issues but others left unresolved.

Of course, they can still filibuster the bill again later on. But at least they were forced to cave on this one. Read the rest of this post...

Sometimes I think the ADL undercuts its mission

I get annoyed, sometimes, with the Anti-Defamation League's missives against references to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. I get it when they're ticked that someone has compared health care reform to the concentration camps (the Teabaggers did just that). But is every comparison really invalid?

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

We are seeing these offensive and inappropriate Nazi and Holocaust comparisons come to the fore in the public debate once again. We saw it in the health care debate, and now we are seeing it with Arizona. It is disturbing that in speaking out against the bill a number of individuals have taken to using Nazi comparisons, in describing the legislation as being reminiscent of Nazi policies that required Jews and others to carry identity cards, or in comparing the governor and other Arizona officials as being like Hitler.

No matter how odious, bigoted, biased and unconstitutional Arizona’s new law may be, let’s be clear that there is no comparison between the situation facing immigrants, legal or illegal, in Arizona and what happened in the Holocaust....

Here's the problem for the ADL. If no comparison to the Holocaust is ever valid because the Holocaust was unique in human history (that seems to be their logic), then why keep talking about it, other than to honor the dead? History, it seems to me, is taught so that we can learn lessons from it, and so that the worst of it doesn't repeat itself. If the Holocaust was such an aberration, and could never ever happen again - two things I vehemently disagree with - then it's not terribly clear what lessons can be learned from studying it.

I remember reading Hannah Arendt years back. And for me, what made her book so horrifying was how normal men got wrapped up in the Nazi cause and obeyed their orders, no matter how horrific. How evil became normal, and normal people embraced it. The second thing that astounds me about the rise of the Nazis is the gradualism of it. How they didn't just take over and institute every hideous new law in one fell swoop. They did it slowly, incrementally, each one worse than the previous.

Not everything evil brings back memories of Nazi Germany. Agreed. And by using Nazi examples too often, you cheapen them. Absolutely. But there are moves that government, at the state and federal law, at home and abroad, can make that most certainly should trouble any student of history. The "we're number 1" crowd is loathe to admit it, but that doesn't make it any less true.

I worry that by constantly insisting that nothing compares to the Holocaust, it is the ADL that risks cheapening the memory. Because if nothing compares, then we don't ever have to worry about it happening again. And that surely can't be the lesson of the Holocaust. Read the rest of this post...

GOP congressional candidate wants to microchip Mexicans like dogs

I can think of no other rumor to better destroy the Republicans' chances at the polls than for America's 30 million Latinos to fear that Republicans want to implant them with microchips, like dogs. And in this case, the rumor is true. From the Des Moines Register:

An Iowa Republican congressional candidate says he supports inserting microchips into illegal immigrants to track their movements, noting that's how he keeps track of his dog.

Read the rest of this post...

Reid to keep Senate in all night to force GOPers to defend filibuster of Wall Street reform

This is what we like to see. If the Republicans are going to keep filibustering Wall Street reform on behalf of their Wall Street benefactors, then they really have to filibuster this time. Harry Reid is playing hardball:

Senate Democratic leaders are planning for an all-night session to put more pressure on Republicans to allow a debate on Wall Street reform.

Republican senators voted for the third time in three days on Wednesday to block an effort to bring a reform bill to the floor.

Democratic aides said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to keep the Senate in session overnight to force Republicans to reconsider their opposition to the Democratic legislation.

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) said leaders had decided to hold a nighttime session to highlight GOP opposition to the Wall Street reform bill.

Republicans won't even let the debate begin. They just use their tired old talking point about wanting bipartisanship, which is really GOP code for obstruction.

Not this time. Here's what we're hearing -- some of it's in Senate procedure-speak, but it's actually pretty clear. Later today, they'll be rolling out the cots in the Capitol. This afternoon, Majority Leader Reid will start asking for live quorum calls, which means Senators will have to show up to vote. Later tonight, Democratic Senators will start asking consent to move to the reform bill. It's assumed the GOP will object, in order to continue their filibuster. As we saw during the recent unemployment filibuster, it only takes one Senator to object. But, GOPers are going to have to object all through the night because Democrats are going to keep asking. Tomorrow morning, Reid will move for a vote to reconsider the motion to proceed. The GOP again voted as a bloc against the motion to proceed today, in order to continue their filibuster. If you check out the roll call vote here, you'll see that Reid voted with the GOP. He did so he can move to reconsider (only someone on the No side can make that move.) So, tomorrow morning, Reid will force Republicans to take another vote on behalf of their Wall Street masters.

Game on. Read the rest of this post...

McCain's numbers are plummeting, with Dems and Indies too

From PPP:

John McCain has had a Charlie Crist like drop in his approval numbers over the last six months, seeing double digit declines in his popularity with Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike. As a result a majority of Arizona voters now disapprove of his job performance.

55% of voters disapprove of McCain to just 34% who give him good marks. When PPP polled Arizona in September he was at a positive 48/42 approval spread, so he's dropped 27 points on the margin since that time. McCain's biggest fall in popularity has come with Republicans as he's been more aggressively challenged from the right by J.D. Hayworth. Where 65% gave him good marks last fall now just 48% do, a 17 point decline. He's also gone down 13 points with independents (from 41% to 28%) and 11 points with Democrats (from 32% to 21%.)

McCain has tried to shed his 'maverick' image in order to survive the Republican primary and the numbers indicate that's working, but at the cost of diminished support from Democrats and independents. Just 28% of voters feel that McCain is an 'independent voice for Arizona' while 55% are more inclined to describe him as a 'partisan voice for national Republicans.'

Read the rest of this post...

Specter questions whether he should have become a Demcorat

Not a terribly helpful thing to say when you're running for re-election as a Democrat. From Political Wire:

"Well, I probably shouldn't say this. But I have thought from time to time that I might have helped the country more if I'd stayed a Republican."

-- Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), in an interview with the Allentown Morning Call, questioning his party switch last year.

Read the rest of this post...

Lieberman to hold fundraiser for Reid

Hell has frozen over. Read the rest of this post...

The press is ticked with the Obama White House, but the problem goes far beyond the media

I received this story from a friend who is a journalist, and who I trust. He told me the story was spot on. In the story, you'll see blogger Steve Clemons, another friend, quoted. Steve is also someone you can trust. He agrees that there's a problem. This isn't just a story about whiny prima donna reporters, it's about a larger problem, one that Joe and I have written about before.

The press loved Obama during the campaign. We all denied it on our side, but it was true. And all that adulation got the media nothing in return. It's a common story with the Obama campaign and the Obama administration. Being their friend doesn't really get you anything, other than contempt the first time you do something they don't approve of. I've called it "political autarky," the notion that you can and should do everything yourself. The administration doesn't really seem to believe that it needs friends and allies.

Joe, Chris and I, for example, busted our butts helping to get this President elected. A lot of folks who don't enjoy our current criticism of the administration may not realize how much work we did to put Barack Obama in office. We came out swinging against Hillary in the primaries, before Obama was "cool." I went on national TV, repeatedly, and sided with Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton - all the while risking our relationship with the half of our readers who supported Mrs. Clinton. By the end of the campaign, we received a single text message thanking us for our work. That, after raising $43,000 for Barack Obama, being quite possibly their best friend in the blogosphere during the primaries, and doing more than our share of dirty work during the general election.

It's not about expecting something in return. It's about helping people and being spat on in return. I've heard the same story over and over from a number of top Obama supporters, famous names that you'd know, who felt abandoned by the administration after working so hard to elect them. And now you hear the same complaint from gays, Latinos, women, blacks, environmentalists, civil libertarians, progressives, and more. There not only isn't much of a recognition that these people got the President elected, there actually seems to be official disdain for them.

This is not a smart way to do business, or politics.

From Josh Gerstein:

Day-to-day interaction with Obama is almost non-existent, and he talks to the press corps far less often than Bill Clinton or even George W. Bush did. Clinton took questions nearly every weekday, on average. Obama barely does it once a week.

The correspondents association recently met with Gibbs to discuss, in the words of Bloomberg's Ed Chen, "a level of anger, which is wide and deep, among members over White House practices and attitude toward the press.”

A few days later, Gibbs said at one of his briefings, “This is the most transparent administration in the history of our country.”

Peals of laughter broke out in the briefing room.

The numbers speak for themselves: during his first year in office, President Bill Clinton did 252 such Q&A; sessions—an average of one every weekday. Bush did 147. Obama did 46, according to Towson University Professor Martha Kumar.

Some reporters say the pushback is so aggressive that it undermines the credibility of Obama’s aides. “The willingness to argue that credible information is untrue is at its core dishonest and unfortunately calls into question everything else the press office says,” one White House reporter said.

Last year, colleagues noticed that David Corn of Mother Jones went through a noticeable dry spell at White House briefings, with Gibbs seeming to overlook his raised hand for a period of several weeks or more.

“I remember tangling with David, but I would just say I think David has probably gotten more questions at the briefing in the last few months than he got in the entire last eight years,” Gibbs said. Corn declined to comment.

Edward Luce of the Financial Times drew the ire of Obama aides for a couple of articles arguing that decision making in the Obama administration is extremely centralized. Neither piece was a devastating indictment of the White House, but they prompted a furious reaction.

“I was just in awe of the pummeling Ed took from top White House people,” said policy blogger and New America Foundation senior fellow Steve Clemons. He began talking to White House reporters and came away convinced that what he calls an “extremely unhealthy” relationship has developed in which the White House generally cooperates only with reporters who are willing to write source-greasers or other fawning articles.

Gibbs referred questions about the Luce stories to McDonough. “Who’s Ed Luce?” McDonough said. “I’m not familiar with that.”

Read the rest of this post...

Senate Repubs. are really mad at Harry Reid for making them vote on Wall Street reform

Senate GOPers are mad at Harry Reid because Reid is making them vote to end the filibuster of the Wall Street reform bill. Here's the thing: Republicans wouldn't have to keep take these cloture votes if they'd just end the filibiuster. It's their choice.

I do love that Harry Reid is playing hardball. Clearly, the GOPers didn't expect it. Now, they're stuck siding with Wall Street every day. Via The Hill:

On Tuesday, Republicans voted to defeat a motion to begin debate on Wall Street reform legislation.

It was the second time in two days that Reid scheduled a vote on the matter, and he plans a third vote on Wednesday and a fourth on Thursday, according to a Democratic aide.

Reid also scheduled a vote Monday evening, during the dinner hour, to force senators to show up on the chamber floor, a move that was seen as punishment for Republicans voting to block the Wall Street bill earlier in the day.

Reid could bring lawmakers back to the chamber again after regular hours to discuss Wall Street reform, disrupting their evening schedules.

Senators hate to have their evenings disrupted. That's prime fundraising time.

Some Senate GOPers think Reid is being really mean:

Some of these tactics have vexed centrist Republicans, whose votes are necessary to pass a reform measure.

Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), who earlier this year bucked his party to advance Democratic jobs legislation and an extension of unemployment benefits, said the repeated votes are “absolutely” counterproductive.

“I don’t think it helps,” he said.

However, according to reports, Voinovich said late Tuesday that even though he’s not likely to vote to begin debate on Wednesday, he will eventually vote for the motion if the talks continue not to be productive.

So, Reid's strategy isn't backfiring at all. It's working. Chuck Grassley had the audacity to complain, too. That's rich after the delaying game he played on health care.

Republican Senators have been mostly united in their strategy of obstruction. This time, finally, Harry Reid is making them pay for it. Read the rest of this post...

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The Senate Republicans keep delivering for their Wall Street benefactors. Yesterday, they again voted as a bloc to prevent a debate on reform. Majority Leader Harry Reid is going to make them vote on reform again today and tomorrow. You have to wonder what kind of promises were made to Republican leaders from Wall Street bankers to secure this level of commitment. As we're seeing from the Goldman Sachs hearing, those Wall Street types are used to selling sh*tty deals. That's what Mitch McConnell got for his caucus. They're looking really, really bad, which is fine by me.

The President starts his day in Iowa, then heads to Missouri. He comes back to DC tonight.

Netroots Nation is holding a fundraiser tonight here in DC. It starts at 5:30 PM. Several members of Congress, including Senator Merkley, Senator Gillibrand, Rep. Grijalva, Rep. Blumenauer and Rep. Brad Miller will be there. Details are here. Come by if you're in the DC area.

What do we need to know (besides the fact that Wall Street owns the GOP)? Read the rest of this post...

Two women beat man who failed to hold elevator door open for them

I had a similar problem in France on entering the FNAC (kind of the French Best Buy) in Montparnasse. I'd open the door to go in, hold it for the person behind me, then every person behind them would keep coming in and not bother using their hand to support the door, so I'd be standing there, ad infinitum, holding the door for everyone. I finally just let it shut on someone. (There was no pasta available.)

Story sounds funny at first, but on reading the entire thing, I'm not so sure anymore.

The women told police “they had to use their fists, their bags and their feet to teach him a lesson,” according to the police report.

In fact, when officers arrived at the Tremont Street building late Saturday night they said they found noodles dripping off the back of Warsame.

And actually, the guy says that you need a pass to enter the elevator - it's a housing complex - and you're not supposed to let people in the elevator who don't have a pass. That makes this a bit more interesting. It's the age old question of whether you let someone slip in behind you when you enter your key-locked building. Would you? Read the rest of this post...

Manuel Noriega finishes US prison sentence, extradited to France

What a blast from the past. If he is convicted and jailed in France he would still have to be sent back to Panama to face even more charges.

Manuel Noriega, the former drug-running dictator of Panama ousted by a US invasion in 1989, was flown out of America last night en route to Paris where he will face trial on fresh money laundering charges.

Noriega's extradition brings to an end his 21-year spell in a Miami jail, where he held a unique status. He was the first head of a foreign country to be convicted of crimes in the US courts, and he became America's only official prisoner of war.

Read the rest of this post...