Unemployed need not apply

Not that Congress or the White House really care, but this is the real world. This is the very real problem that people are facing. The pampered bunch in DC have no idea how tough it is out there but they are likely to find out when voters go to the polls next year. The level of disgust with Washington is very high.

Hundreds of job opening listings posted on Monster.com and other jobs sites explicitly state that people who are unemployed would be less attractive applicants, with some telling the long-term unemployed to not even bother with applying.

The New York Times' Catherine Rampell said she found preferences for the already employed or only recently laid off in listings for "hotel concierges, restaurant managers, teachers, I.T. specialists, business analysts, sales directors, account executives, orthopedics device salesmen, auditors and air-conditioning technicians." Even the massive University of Phoenix stated that preference, but removed the listings when the Times started asking questions.

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Cosmetics adverts in UK stopped because of airbrushing

The airbrushing in advertising has become so ridiculous that pancake makeup looks natural compared to them. There's nothing wrong with seeing people age or seeing real people. False advertising is false advertising.

L'Oréal has been forced to pull ad campaigns featuring Pretty Woman star Julia Roberts and supermodel Christy Turlington, after the advertising watchdog upheld complaints by Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson that the images were overly airbrushed.

Swinson, who has waged a long-running campaign against "overly perfected and unrealistic images" of women in adverts, lodged complaints with the Advertising Standards Authority about the magazine campaigns for L'Oréal-owned brands Lancôme and Maybelline. The ASA ruled that both ads breached the advertising standards code for exaggeration and being misleading and banned them from future publication.

L'Oréal's two-page ad featuring Roberts, who is the face of Lancôme, promoted a foundation called Teint Miracle, which it claims creates a "natural light" that emanates from beautiful skin. It was shot by renowned fashion photographer Mario Testino. The ad for Maybelline featured Turlington promoting a foundation called The Eraser, which is claimed to be an "anti-ageing" product. In the ad, parts of Turlington's face are shown covered by the foundation while other parts are not, in order to show the effects of the product.

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John Boehner informs House GOPers that there’ll be no butter in hell

#inspiringGOPMovieScenes

This is apropos of this. Read the rest of this post...

MSNBC's Pat Buchanan says Norwegian terrorist had a point

Pat Buchanan on the Norwegian guy\ who car-bombed the Prime Minister's office and murdered 80 people at a kid's camp:

As for a climactic conflict between a once-Christian West and an Islamic world that is growing in numbers and advancing inexorably into Europe for the third time in 14 centuries, on this one, Breivik may be right.

Then again, Buchanan even had good things to say about Hitler.

I think a good rule of thumb is if you can't find anything bad to say about Hitler, then it's probably best not to open your mouth at all. Read the rest of this post...

House Dems say invoke 14th Amendment. Boehner says "Obama hates it" to get GOP votes

John Boehner has been rallying his caucus to support his debt plan by saying that Obama hates it:

Boehner said he couldn't understand why any Republicans would position themselves with Democrats opposing his plan.

"Barack Obama hates it, [Sen.] Harry Reid hates it, [Rep.] Nancy Pelosi hates it," he said, naming off the Democratic leadership.

That kinda sums it up.

Some House Democratic leaders are saying enough already with the legislative games. It's time to invoke the 14th amendment:

A trio of House Democratic leaders is calling on President Obama to move unilaterally to raise the country’s debt ceiling next week if Congress passes anything less than a long-term extension of the federal borrowing limit.

House Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (S.C.), Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson (Conn.) and Caucus Vice-Chairman Xavier Becerra (Calif.) said after a closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday that they are calling on Obama both to veto a short-term deal and sign an executive order invoking the Constitution’s 14th Amendment to avert default on Aug. 2.

The White House has repeatedly ruled out that option. But, for two years, the White House also repeatedly said the President absolutely had to defend DOMA -- until he didn't have to defend DOMA.

Here's how Section 4 of the 14th amendment reads:

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

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Right-wing money pours into Wisconsin recalls

Expected. It's going to be a tough fight. Greg Sargent (my emphasis):

If you want to get a good sense of what’s really happening in the Wisconsin recall wars, keep an eye on the right wing money that’s now flooding into the races, in a last ditch effort to keep the state senate in Republican hands.

Club for Growth Wisconsin has dumped at least $1.5 million into the recall races, according to the progressive group One Wisconsin Now, which tells me it got the information from its ad tracker.

Even more tellingly, the Club has poured a surprising $400,000 into the battle to recall state senator Alberta Darling, who was once viewed as safe, One Wisconsin Now’s executive director Scot Ross tells me. Ross adds that his media tracker found that the Club sank the money into the race right after a Dem poll found that Darling is getting edged by her Dem recall challenger, Rep. Sandy Pasch.

Darling would be an important win, in that she is "co-chair of the legislative committee that passed Scott Walker’s union-busting proposals" and has the longest run in office of all the recalled senators.

Sargent notes that union money (he doesn't say how much) is also funding the races, but adds that the outside right-wing money is new.

About those recall races, Chris Bowers at Daily Kos has the latest polls. Click to see the table and sources, but the bottom line in the six races is:

Kapanke, Hopper & Olsen are losing to Dems
    (by 14 pts, 3 pts & 2 pts respectively)
Darling, Cowles & Harnsdorf are leading Dems
    (by 2 pts, 4 pts & 5 pts respectively)

That looks like one strong lead, three tight but winnable races, and two longer shots.

These elections will be held August 9. If you can, vote. If you can't, please help.

GP Read the rest of this post...

9/11 Health and Compensation Act won't cover cancer

These are people who risked their lives to help save others during a critical moment. Shouldn't we do more? If the choice is between giveaways for the wealthy (corporate and individuals) or covering all health care for those who sacrificed themselves on 9/11, there should be no debate. CNN:

Some of the New York lawmakers who originally hailed the legislation are now speaking out against the exclusion of cancer.

"As the sponsors of the Zadroga Act, we are disappointed that Dr. Howard has not yet found sufficient evidence to support covering cancers," Democratic Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler and Republican Rep. Peter King, who wrote the act, said in a joint statement.

"This is disappointing news for 9/11 responders and survivors who tragically have been diagnosed with cancer since the attacks and are suffering day to day and awaiting help," they said.

"So many people have gotten such rare cancers -- and at such young ages -- that it seems obvious there must be a link," Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer said in a statement.

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Murdoch given secret defense briefings by Tory government

The Murdoch propaganda machine needs to be fully exposed, so learning more about their meetings with the GOP needs to happen soon. Is News Corp the mouthpiece of the right or are they much more? The Independent:

On two occasions, James Murdoch and former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks were given confidential defence briefings on Afghanistan and Britain's strategic defence review by the Defence Secretary, Liam Fox. A further briefing was held with Ms Brooks, Rupert Murdoch and the Sunday Times editor John Witherow.

The Chancellor, George Osborne, has had 16 separate meetings since May 2010 with News International editors and executives, including two with the Murdochs within just a month of taking office. He also invited Elisabeth Murdoch as a guest to his 40th birthday party last month.

The Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, dined with Rupert Murdoch within days of the Government coming to power and, after being given quasi-judicial oversight for the Murdochs' £8bn attempted takeover of BSkyB, had two meetings with James Murdoch in which they discussed the takeover. Mr Hunt said last night that these were legitimate as part of the bid process.

But the minister who sees Rupert Murdoch the most frequently is the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, a former News International employee. Mr Gove has seen the mogul for breakfast, lunch or dinner on six occasions since last May. Overall, Mr Gove has had 12 meetings with Murdoch executives since becoming a minister.

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Bachmann got GSE loan days before calling for end to GSEs

Note that in the video below Bachmann uses the word "Democrat" when she should have said "Democratic." Either she's a blithering idiot, a la Palin, or she's using the same slur other Republicans use about Democrats - they refuse to use the "ic" when using the word as an adjective because they believe that saying "Democrat" instead of "Democratic" sounds more pejorative. Yes, this is the level of emotional maturity we're dealing with.

From AMERICAblog Elections: The Right's Field:
The Washington Post reports today that in 2008 Michele Bachmann and her husband took out a $417,000 loan from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac only days before she called for the end of Fannie and Freddie.

Just a few weeks before Bachmann called for dismantling the programs during a House Financial Services Committee hearing, she and her husband signed for a $417,000 home loan to help finance their move to a 5,200-square-foot golf-course home, public records show. Experts who examined the loan documents for The Washington Post say that they are confident the loan was backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

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House Republicans shown weird movie clip to inspire them to vote for Boehner plan

The very definition of "doing the right thing" -- voting for a bill not because you believe in it, but because you got inspired by Ben Afleck in an 18 second movie clip.



Of course, the best part of the clip is that Afleck wants his friend's support but tells him he can't give him any details, just trust him.  As I recall, didn't the Teabaggers get screwed the last time they signed on to one of these "just trust us" budget deals without fully vetting all the details?

Maybe this is the movie Boehner should have shown his caucus:



#inspiringGOPMovieScenes Read the rest of this post...

Club for Growth opposes the Boehner debt ceiling plan

So, it will be dueling Republicans after all. A three-handed game.

Just a day or so ago, Eric Cantor "reportedly" told the Teabag House members to quit whining and vote for the deal on the table — in essence announcing that they've bled Obama dry, time to feast on the spoils.

Now we have prominent Teabag instigators pushing the other buttons, the ones that say hold out for everything.

Bottom line — game not over, and the Teabags are a player, thank you very much. CNN (my emphasis):

House GOP leaders are working the conservative members of their caucus to try and get enough support to reach the 217 votes needed to pass the Speaker's plan in a vote scheduled for Thursday. That proposal would couple $1.2 trillion in savings over a decade with a hike of just under $1 trillion in the debt limit that would extend it through the end of the year. It also calls for the formation of a congressional committee to find $1.8 trillion in deficit savings, and if that is enacted the debt limit would increase by $1.6 trillion. ...

Club for Growth, a national network of activists who promote economic growth and low taxes, announced Tuesday it was opposing the Speaker's plan. The group strongly backed the bill passed last week by the House that would have cut and then capped federal spending and pushed a balanced budget amendment.

"The Club for Growth strongly opposes the Boehner Debt Limit plan," Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said in a statement. "It cuts almost nothing immediately, it caps only discretionary spending, and it does not require passage of a balanced budget amendment. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, it simply doesn't fix the country's fiscal problems. We strongly oppose it, and we urge a no vote."

So that's where we are as of last night. Not sure how long Boehner will hold onto that gavel, but Cantor can't seem to go counter to Club for Growth and play Dauphin. Interesting sub-drama going on.

About Club for Growth: The article states they are a "national network of activists." They are also heavily involved in funding conservative candidates, so they're daddy-with-a-wallet, not just daddy-with-advice. (They've already dumped $1.5 million into the Wisconsin recall elections, for example.) Teabag types love their daddies, especially rich and funding ones. I think this Club for Growth statement will have an effect.

About "reportedly" above: The report of Cantor's comment was Politico talking, not some Moe on the street, so there's sourcing. But we're in heavy "reportedly" territory these days, anonymous sourcing, with everyone hungry for "news." Did Cantor actually say that? Dunno. Did someone friendly to Cantor tell Politico that Cantor said that? That's one option. Did someone unfriendly to Cantor tell Politico that Cantor said that? That's the other option.

All of these breathless stories come from reporters either (1) chasing the next scoop, or (2) acting as pass-through voices for one or another of the actors in the drama. So take all of these reports with a grain of salt unless the person quoted says publicly what they reportedly said.

As an instance of the latter, CFG President Chris Chocola (god, it's tempting to munge that name) made that statement in a release; thus, he really did say it.

So August 2nd is the new drop-dead date? Miles to go.

GP Read the rest of this post...

It’s now the Chamber vs. The Tea Party -- and the Tea Party is winning

Okay, I realized we're heading for a debacle if the debt limit isn't increased. But, I did take some satisfaction reading this NYT article about how the Chamber funded a lot of teabagger candidates last year. Now, those teabaggers on a path of economic destruction -- and they're ignoring their old friends at the Chamber:

The chamber and other business groups have pressed with increasing urgency for Congress to raise the maximum amount that the government can borrow. They have cataloged the consequences of default at meetings, parties and dinners and over drinks.

On Tuesday, the chamber threw its weight behind the proposal of the House speaker, John A. Boehner, telling recalcitrant Republicans that a pending vote on the plan was a with-us-or-against-us moment that would be remembered during the next election campaign.

But as the government runs out of money, those efforts have not produced the desired result. The freshman class of House Republicans, along with longer-serving members, is balking at Mr. Boehner’s plan, let alone anything that Senate Democrats and the White House might be willing to accept.

Oh well. The Chamber got what it wanted: A GOP-led House. Seems like they made some bad investments:

Among the beneficiaries was Daniel Webster, a Florida Republican. The chamber spent $250,000 on ads blasting the Democratic incumbent, Representative Alan Grayson. Mr. Webster won.

In July, Mr. Webster introduced legislation instructing the Treasury to prioritize interest payments, then military spending, then Social Security checks, then Medicare payments, “in the event the debt ceiling is reached.” Experts regard the idea as unworkable.

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US likely to receive credit rating downgrade regardless of deal

As worthless and wrong as the ratings agencies have been, they still can have an enormous impact on financing debt. The US is about to experience this in the very near future. If spending needs to come down any more, it has to include ending the military involvement around the world. It's destroying the budget. Taxes are also going to have to increase. Nobody likes to pay more but it's going to be necessary.

What remains a mystery is why Obama and the Democrats are not asking about the jobs and increased tax revenue that tax cuts were supposed to deliver. We've had the GOP plan for nearly a decade and it's obvious that it is not working. What's so hard about asking for results? If the pampered political class wants to keep asking for shared sacrifice, let's see some shared sacrifice.

In the mean time brace yourself for more economic pain. Credit downgrade ahead?

Market analysts and investors increasingly say yes. The outcome won't be quite as scary as a default, but financial markets would still take a blow. Mortgage rates could rise. States and cities, already strapped, could find it more difficult to borrow. Stocks could lose their gains for the year.

"At this point, we're more concerned about the risk of a downgrade than a default," said Terry Belton, global head of fixed income strategy at JPMorgan Chase. In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Belton said the loss of the country's AAA rating may rattle markets, but it's "better than missing an interest payment."

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Deeper links revealed between British PM's office and Murdoch's News Corp

GOP hero Chris Christie revealed his meetings with Fox News in the US (rather than being forced by a judge) but there are certainly many more secret meetings both in the US and UK between News Corp execs and politicians. It's all been much too cozy and has to stop. The Guardian:

Ed Llewellyn, David Cameron's chief of staff, last night found himself in the spotlight over phone hacking for the second time in a week after No 10 announced that he attended a Scotland Yard dinner attended by Neil Wallis, the former deputy editor of the News of the World.

Llewellyn and Andy Coulson, then communications director at No 10, attended a dinner hosted by Sir Paul Stephenson when he was Metropolitan police commissioner on 17 June last year.

Wallis, once Coulson's deputy at the News of the World, had been hired as a media adviser by the Met and was present at the dinner. Earlier this month Wallis was arrested by the Met as part of Operation Weeting, the main investigation into allegations of phone hacking.

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Mubarak refusing solid food as trial nears

Mubarak's health has been questioned in the past though some are suggesting this is more about putting on a show for his trial. BBC News:

Egypt's ex-President Hosni Mubarak is weak and refusing solid food, according to the country's official news agency.

He is due to stand trial in a week, accused of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters.

The head of the hospital where Mr Mubarak is detained in Sharm al-Sheikh said he was depressed, has lost weight, and was not eating enough to keep him alive, MENA agency reports.

But critics see Mr Mubarak's illness as a ploy to avoid going on trial.

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Environmental activist jail sentence raises questions about US justice

Are you kidding me? If we ever saw an even playing field in the American justice system, perhaps, but it rarely works out that way. If you are part of the privileged corporate elite you can get away with anything, but not as an individual. Halliburton defrauding the US government of millions in Iraq? Slap on the wrist. Wall Street defrauding customers and driving the country and world into recession? No dessert tonight and do better next time. Environmental activist protests Bush land giveaway to Big Oil? Go to jail for two years.

As Bidder No 70, DeChristopher disrupted what was seen as a last giveaway to the oil and gas industry by the Bush administration by bidding $1.8m (£1.1m) he did not have for the right to drill in remote areas of Utah. He was convicted of defrauding the government last March.

In a phone conversation with The Guardian, a day ahead of sentencing, he said he was expecting jail time: "I do think I will serve some time in prison. That is what I think will be the next chapter in my life."

DeChristopher's lawyers had argued that his actions in December 2008 were a one-off, and that the judge should show leniency. They argued DeChristopher had not intended to cause harm.

However, Judge Dee Benson said DeChristopher's political beliefs did not excuse his actions.

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400 richest Americans pay only 18% tax rate

The feeding frenzy at the top has to stop. It's not possible to ask the middle class to fund wars and fund bailouts for bankers so they can continue to squeeze the system. The disappointment is that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are showing any serious signs of reform. If we're supposed to be all in this together, then it's time to start acting as though we're all in this together.

Watching yet another money grab from the richest Americans, non-stop wars and funding for the military industrial complex along with business as usual for Congress hardly sounds like shared sacrifice. Before asking the middle class to sacrifice, have some decency and ask the privileged class to put their money where their mouth is. Until that time, go away. Read the rest of this post...