Original Signal - Transmitting Web 2.0

The Raw Story

eHarmony to match same-sex couples: Online US dating service eHarmony.com has agreed to set up a website for gays and lesbians seeking partners after being accused of discrimination by a gay man in New Jersey state...

Dead Marine again denied medal of honor: Nomination was tainted by reports he was hit in the head by friendly fire.

Report criticizes Homeland Security: WASHINGTON The Homeland Security Department has done a poor job overseeing the purchase of billions of dollars of equipment and technology since the agency was created five years ago, according to a federal report scheduled for release today.Senior department

McCartney, G N' R albums on MySpace: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and Guns N Roses released their biggest hits on vinyl records and compact discs, but on Thursday, their new albums will debut online on MySpace.Users of MySpace, the worlds largest social network on

Dems push for jobless benefits today: The United States Senate will vote this week -- and very likely today -- on a bill that will extend unemployment insurance benefits by seven weeks for the jobless whose benefits have run out and a total of 13 weeks

Colombia warns on US trade deal: Colombias ties with the US could be severely damaged if Congress does not approve a planned free trade deal, the countrys vice-president has warned.Francisco Santos Calderon told the BBC that a US failure to sign the pact would be a

Economy 'sickening' US hospitals: Data shows decline in admissions and increase in patients who cant pay.

Isuzu, Mazda slash 2,700 jobs: Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Isuzu Motors Ltd. and Mazda Motor Corp. will slash at least 2,700 temporary jobs in Japan as the companies reduce vehicle output because of falling demand. The stocks slumped.Isuzu will terminate 1,400 temporary and part-time workers

Bill Clinton sends donor list to Obama: Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Bill Clinton has sent President- elect Barack Obamas transition team a list of more than 200,000 donors to his foundation, according to a Democrat familiar with the process, the latest sign both sides are trying to

Rolls Royce cuts 2,000 jobs worldwide: Rolls-Royce plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs worldwide, including 140 in the UK, after reviewing the impact of the current economic uncertainties, the aerospace giant announced today.The firm said it had started consulting unions about the proposed job losses

Stevens concedes re-election bid: WASHINGTON (AP) Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has conceded defeat in his re-election bid against Democrat Mark Begich.The longest serving Republican in Senate history says in a statement that there are not enough ballots left to be counted for him

Beau Biden heads to Iraq: ABC News Matthew Jaffe reports: Beau Biden, son of Vice President-elect Joe Biden, departed the United States Wednesday morning en route to Iraq, Delaware National Guard spokesman Nathan Bright told ABC News...

Dems to decide Dingell fate today: WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan suffered a setback on Wednesday when a House Democratic leadership committee nominated his rival, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman of California, as the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.Following the

Bush seeks to ease wildlife law: (AP) Animals and plants in danger of becoming extinct could lose the protection of government experts who make sure that dams, highways and other projects dont pose a threat, under regulations the Bush administration is set to put in place

Iraqi leaders divided on US security pact: Hearing on American troop presence ends in lawmakers shouting match.

Gay marriage ban goes to court: Prior to Prop.8 ruling, gay weddings wont be allowed to take place.

Report: Iran able to make nuke weapon: Iran standoff with IAEA unfortunate and disappointing: US

Jobless claims at 16-year high: Indicators suggest deep recession; Japan stocks tumble nearly 7 percent.

Moore: 'It's the end of capitalism as we know it': Moore: Its the end of capitalism as we know it

Fearing illegality, Justice Dept. blocked NYPD wiretaps: Fearing illegality, Justice Dept. blocked NYPD wiretaps

Daily Kos

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same: Last year: During a White House meeting last week, a group of governors asked President Bush and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about their backup plan for Iraq. What would the administration do if

Daily Kos Election Prediction Contest finalists: I was convinced yesterday to run numbers for finalists depending on the most likely outcomes. These arent the only possible outcomes, since crazy stuff might happen in OH-15 or VA-05 to deprive us of expected victories in those two districts,

MN-Sen: Getting closer still: Theyre counting away. The latest: By the end of the day Wednesday, the mandatory statewide recount -- triggered when the Election Day results gave Coleman a lead of less than 0.5 percent -- slashed Frankens deficit from 215 votes to

Congress Should Extend Unemployment Benefits Again: Back in June, Barry Ritholtz over at The Big Picture complained that U3, the Bureau of Labor Statistics official rate of unemployment, the one that gets reported by 99% of the megamedia and the blogmedia, is just not accurate. It

GA-Sen: not much change: Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 11/17-19. Likely voters. MoE 4% (11/10-12 results) Chambliss (R) 51 (49) Martin (D) 45 (46) The Election NIght results of this race were 49-46 Chambliss. The poll last week, when asking respondents who they voted

Midday Open Thread: Would Sarah Palin like to have you visit Alaska? You betcha! Gov. Sarah Palin is personally inviting Americans from all over the country to visit her home state. Well, sort of. Letters bearing her picture, on letterhead that reads “Office

Utah, redux: Yesterday I wrote about the great gains in Salt Lake County in Utah, but couldnt do a side-by-side comparison since AP hadnt updated its numbers. Well, theyre updated, so Im posting the comparison maps so we can marvel at what

Bachmann Pathology Overdrive: Shes at it again, denying that she said what she said: Politico: A month after calling for an investigation of fellow members of Congress to find out if they are pro-America or anti-America, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is now claiming

Napolitano to head Homeland Security: Via the Washington Post: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), a border-state governor whose handling of immigration and homeland security issues brought her accolades from fellow governors, is President-elect Barack Obamas choice to serve as secretary of homeland security, Democratic sources

What Passes For Good News In Today's GOP: Hilariously pathetic: The Republicans’ only glimmer of good news: When Stevens — the longest-serving Republican in Senate history — conceded his Alaska race to Democrat Mark Begich on Wednesday, he spared them the unpleasant task of having to expel him

On again, off again auto bailout back on?: Diarist Johnny Venom is following this minute-by-minute, but the basics are that the auto bailout that looked to have been abandoned earlier today may be back on. But is it back on only to be shot down all over again?

Midnight Rules: In the waning days of the reign of The Worst President EverTM, the Bush administration has been in a mad dash to inflict as much damage as possible before handing over the keys to President-elect Barack Obama. The latest: Animals

Oklahoma didn't want change: Commenter frozeneggplant noted this in an earlier thread, but its funny enough to amplify: Oklahoma presidential results, 2008: Oklahoma presidential results, 2008: Aside from the fact that not a single county in the state has turned Blue since 2000, look

Tom Cole abdicates as NRCC chair: Bringing to its conclusion one of the leading Epic Fails of modern politics: Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole has withdrawn from the race to remain chairman of the Republicans campaign arm in the House, according to numerous GOP aides, allowing Texas

Today in Congress/Open Thread: In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader: FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2008 House meets at 10:00 a.m. for Legislative Business No votes are expected Members are advised that following the Pledge of Allegiance, the

Waxman wins.: Roll Call (subscription) reports that Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) will be taking over the gavel of the House Energy & Commerce Committee from longtime Chairman John Dingell (D-MI), after a vote of 137-122 in the full House Democratic Caucus. Yesterdays

Zach Wamp Explains GOP Economic Values: GOP Congressman Zach Wamp (a likely candidate for governor in Tennessee) explains the Republican economic philosophy to Chris Matthews: Low wages are a good thing The less health care the better Its time to let people learn their lessons the

Will She Or Won't She?: The speculation on whether or not, and why or why not, Hillary Clinton may or may not become Secretary of State continues: She is definitely unsure of what to do, said one Clinton adviser... The source added that if Clinton

Cheers and Jeers: Thursday: From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE... Im Gay and Ill Kick Yer Ass (right after brunch) Some positive odds and ends while were waiting for the Prop. 8 challenges---which the California Supreme Court will hear in March---to sort themselves out:

Abbreviated Pundit Round-Up: Your one stop pundit shop. Nicholas Kristof warns Barack Obama that he: ...needs a new approach to Russia if we want to avoid a new cold war, and we also need to get over our crush on Misha. Chris Suellentropp

Think Progress

Fox News chief Roger Ailes signs up for five more years.: Rupert Murdoch’announced today that Fox News’s top executive, Roger Ailes, has signed a five year contract extension with News Corp. “Roger has done a remarkable job building FOX News into a force in journalism and built a great asset for

Conservatives Blame CAFE Standards For Auto Industry’s Troubles: As the CEOs of Detroit’s Big Three automakers pleaded for a $25 billion bailout from Congress this week, conservatives have been looking for an easy culprit to blame for the auto industry’s seeming collapse. First it was the unions. Now

Boehner: ‘I think the Congress is still a center-right Congress.’: Since the GOP’s dismal electoral performance on Nov. 4, many conservatives have been engaged in a massive game of cover-up, arguing that despite the results, America is still a “center-right” country. (But it’s not). During a recent interview with Time

Judge orders Bush administration to release five Gitmo detainees.: A federal judge ordered today that five Algerian nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay should be released. The court found that the government had “provided insufficient evidence to continue their detentions.” The Washington Post reports: The decision came in the case

Perino: The Endangered Species Act ‘Doesn’t Help Support Any Species, Including Our Own’: The Associated Press reports today that, as part of its long-fought campaign to gut the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Bush administration is pushing a last-minute regulatory change that would significantly weaken the ESA:The rules would eliminate the input of

Democratic leaders: No deal reached on auto bailout.: In a press conference this afternoon, Democratic congressional leaders announced that they were not able to reach a deal on a rescue package for the struggling auto industry, reportedly rejecting “compromise legislation worked out by key senators from auto states.”

WSJ columnist blames financial crisis on the War on Christmas.: In his Wall Street Journal column today, Daniel Henninger argues that the “unprecedented economic ruin” that many Americans are facing is a casualty of the War on Christmas because “a nation whose people can’t say ‘Merry Christmas’ is a nation

Bush Legacy Watch: Iran Acquires Enough Uranium For Single Nuclear Bomb: Our guest blogger is Andy Grotto, a Senior National Security Analyst at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.According to data in a new IAEA report, Iran appears to have acquired enough enriched uranium for a single crude nuclear bomb

‘Joe the Plumber’ looks to cash in on his 15 minutes of fame.: Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber,” has signed a deal to write a new book entitled “Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream.” To capitalize on his recent fame, Wurzelbacher is planning to release it on Dec. 1

Senate Throws Good-Bye Party For Ted Stevens, Gives Convicted Felon A Standing Ovation: Today, Ted Stevens — Alaska’s defeated Republican senator and a convicted felon — was granted time on the Senate floor to deliver his farewell speech. Stevens said that he still can’t believe that he’s “privileged to speak on the floor

Waxman beats out Dingell to chair House Energy and Commerce Committee.: Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) will replace Rep. John Dingell (D-MA) as the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over global warming legislation. Waxman beat Dingell, currently the longest-serving member of the House, in a secret

World leaders refuse to shake Bush’s hand during G20 photo-op.: CNN’s Rick Sanchez highlighted yesterday that during last weekend’s G20 Economic Summit, leaders from around the world refused to acknowledge or shake hands with President Bush as they walked on stage for a photo-op. As Sanchez explained, everyone was “greeting

Iraqi version of SOFA called a ‘withdrawal accord.’: Late last month during the heated negotiations over the U.S.-Iraq security agreement, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took issue with the pact’s terminology. “We don’t call it a security pact but an agreement to withdraw the troops and organize their activities

Jobless claims jump to 16-year high.: New claims for unemployment jumped unexpectedly to a 16-year high last week, the Labor Department reported, with 542,000 new claims for jobless benefits being filed. “Claims above 400,000 are generally considered a sign of recession, and claims have been above

ThinkFast: November 20, 2008: Politico reports that President-elect Obama has chosen Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Napolitano is a border governor who “brings law-and-order experience from her stint as the Grand Canyon State’s first female

McConnell bids farewell to outgoing GOP senators…except Ted Stevens.: This evening, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took to the Senate floor and paid tribute to Republican senators who lost their re-election bids. While McConnell had plenty of nice words for Norm Coleman, Elizabeth Dole, John Sununu, he never

Kagan: Status Of Forces Agreement Was ‘A Great Accomplishment For Us’ Because It’s ‘Opp(...): On Sunday, after nearly a year of intense negotiations, Iraq’s cabinet overwhelmingly approved a security agreement that requires coalition forces to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011. The next day, surge architect and American Enterprise Institute scholar Frederick

‘Kristol Ball’ Breaks: Stevens Will ‘Hang On In Alaska,’ McCain Will Conquer The ‘Pat(...): Yesterday, Anchorage mayor Mark Begich was declared the winner in Alaska’s tight U.S. Senate race, defeating Ted Stevens’s hopes of coming back for a seventh term. As the AP notes, “Tuesday’s tally of just over 24,000 absentee and other ballots

Huckabee: Prop. 8 Did Not ‘Prohibit’ Same-Sex Marriage: Conservative talker Bill Bennett interviewed Mike Huckabee on his radio show this morning. In the course of their interview, Huckabee falsely claimed that in approving Prop. 8, California did not “ban” or “prohibit” marriage equality, but rather simply affirmed the

Perino: SOFA Means U.S. Can ‘Celebrate The Victory’ In Iraq: Ever since Iraq’s cabinet “overwhelmingly approved” a proposed security agreement that mandates the full withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011, the White House has been engaged in a rhetorical dance — in large part

Little Green Footballs

Financial Crisis Watch: Another 440 point drop for the Dow index today, and the American automobile industry is headed for oblivion, as the bad financial craziness shows no sign of bottoming out.

German Federal Court Prohibits Infamous Neo-Nazi Symbol: When we first started writing about the symbolism of the international fascist underground, people came out of the woodwork to argue that one symbol in particular (the symbol that’s visible on Vlaams Belang leader Filip DeWinter’s bookshelf in the video

LGF: Now with Instant Karma Checking: If you’re registered and logged in to your account, you can click the icon next to the username in comments to show that commenter’s profile. Now included in the profile information is the “karma,” the sum total of all the

Fatah 2.0: The Palestinian Fatah group takes a page from the Barack Obama campaign’s Web 2.0 book, and lets anyone start a WordPress blog in the fateh.net domain: You can have your own Fatah blog!

IAEA Springs Into Action, Announces Iran Has Enough Nuclear Fuel for a Bomb: But don’t worry, because they’re “not sure” Iran actually knows how to build a weapon: Iran Said to Have Nuclear Fuel for One Weapon.Iran has now produced roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification, a single atom bomb,

And Now for Some Todd Rundgren: One of Todd Rundgren’s coolest (I won’t say “best”) bands at its tightest, with a song titled Unloved Children.Must be a factory somewhereKeeps on cranking them outSeems like they travel in pairsNot worth the trouble but too full of cloutSomebody

And Now, the Petaflop Computer: More than one quadrillion floating-point calculations per second: Supercomputers Break Petaflop Barrier, Transforming Science.A new crop of supercomputers is breaking down the petaflop speed barrier, pushing high-performance computing into a new realm that could change science more profoundly than at

Center-Right Nation: Exit Stage Left: Tod Lindberg, Hoover Institution fellow and Policy Review editor (and informal foreign policy adviser to the McCain campaign), weighs in on the swirling socialcon controversy: The Center-Right Nation Exits Stage Left.Here’s the stark reality: It is now harder for the

Onion: China's Andy Rooney, Poyuan Wei

Update: Dennis Ross Says No Arab Peace Initiative: Barack Obama’s Middle East adviser Dennis Ross says the Times of London’s report that Obama will support the Arab peace plan concocted by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah is false.Former American peace envoy Dennis Ross, who is a senior advisor to

IAEA Springs Into Action: More than a year after an Israeli air strike took care of it, the United Nations’ blind, toothless nuclear watchdog thinks there might have been an illicit nuclear reactor in Syria.VIENNA (Reuters) – A Syrian complex bombed by Israel bore

The Seamy Story of the ISB Mosque Project: The Boston Phoenix has a huge new piece on the Islamic Society of Boston’s mosque project, a story of government corruption, Islamic extremism, and piles of cash from oil-rich Arab states: Menino’s mosque.Most locals concede that getting anything of substance

Wednesday Afternoon Papaya

Vlaams Belang Chairman Stripped of EU Immunity: Frank Vanhecke, chairman of the extreme right Belgian Vlaams Belang party and member of the European Parliament, has been stripped of his EU immunity, leaving him open to prosecution for “incitement” under Belgian law.BRUSSELS (JTA) — The European Parliament waived the

Bill Ayers and Sirhan Sirhan: In this video clip, Bill Ayers first says he regrets dedicating his Weather Underground manifesto, Prairie Fire, to Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan, then tries to deny it, saying “Show me.”OK.The dedication is on Page 5 of Prairie Fire,

Egyptian Physician Insults Barack Obama: This is the kind of stuff that might actually turn the far left against Al Qaeda, as Ayman al-Zawahri unleashes a racist tirade against Barack Obama: Al-Qaeda No. 2 Calls Obama Dishonorable ‘House Negro’.The No. 2 leader in Al-Qaeda, Ayman

And Now for Some Don Ross: Acoustic guitar virtuoso Don Ross with a right-hand tour de force titled Robot Monster.

Video: Obama's Transition Team: This is the same group that did the MSNBC “tigers” spoof, and OK, they take a couple of shots at President Bush, but who cares, it’s teh funny. I’m pretty sure Bush would laugh at it.

Tech Note: The New Web Server's Here: Well, not quite here, but it’s set up and ready to migrate everything over from the current one, the one that’s serving the page you’re reading right now.The old one is a dual core Xeon 3.0, the new one is

Whitman and Bostock: Free the GOP: Several readers emailed about this Washington Post column by By Christine Todd Whitman and Robert M. Bostock on a subject that’s been responsible for several highly contentious threads at LGF: Free the GOP. Subtitled: “The Party Won’t Win Back the

Crooks and Liars

Al Franken closing in on Norm Coleman: Yesterday kicked off the first day of the Minnesota recount and while a whole host of ballots still need to be tabulated, things are looking good for Al Franken. There is still substantial ground

World leaders refuse to shake Bush's hand: Not only do the worlds most powerful leaders refuse to shake the POTUS hand, they also seem to refuse to even make eye contact. Heckuva job, Bush. Heckuva job.CNN Anchor Rick Sanchez: Bush looks like the most unpopular kid in

Harry Reid: Auto bailout is for the workers, not the corporate fatcats: Download | Play Download | PlayCongressional Democrats just announced that they want auto-industry leaders to present them with a plan before they

Proposition 8 Forces Focus On The Family Into Massive Layoffs: Those darn gays and their desire to treated like any other American couple...theyve forced James Dobsons Focus on the Family to announce layoffs of approximately 20% of their work force, or 202 employees, due in no small part to the

Waxman's in, Dingell's out: Its official:California Rep. Henry A. Waxman on Thursday officially dethroned longtime Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell, upending a seniority system that has governed Democratic politics in the House for decades.In a secret ballot vote in the Cannon Caucus Room,

Napolitano Nominated To Homeland Security Department: RawStory: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to serve as secretary of the vast and troubled Department of Homeland Security for President-elect Obama, Politicos Mike Allen reported late Wednesday night. Napolitano

Republicans to Detroit: Drop Dead: Download | Play Download | Play I guess Lou Dobbs and Co. are giving up their populist were for the working class pose,

Mike's Blog Roundup: Booman Tribune: Whats emerging from Chicago is a clear preference for toughness and people that are forceful and smart enough to ram home Obamas priorities. Southern Beale: Remember the Treaty of Detroit The Vanity Press: The Stupid Party A Tiny

How the mighty do fall: Ann Coulter pitching right-wing stock-tip scams: Im sure a lot of you were wondering what happened to Ann Coulter this election season. The right has trotted her out to wage culture wars reliably ever since 1998. But she hardly was visible at all this year.Well, if

Huh? Hirsh seems confused about who has the Clinton obsession: What is Michael Hirsh drinking?Eric Boehlert:Newsweek blames the bloggers Writes Michael Hirsh: For the last few days, the blogosphere has been ablaze with speculation about the kind of damage Hillary Clinton could do to the Obama presidency if she becomes

C&L's Late Nite Music Club with Duffy: From the album RockferryI heard this song on my radio and I thought it was a great modern update to the female R&B singers stylings of the 60s. Imagine my surprise to find this Welsh woman in her early 20s

Open Thread: Open thread below...And dont forget to call Cangress and tell them to vote for Henry Waxman for E&C. Hes someone we need at this point in time.1 (800) 828 - 04981 (866) 338 - 10151 (877) 851 - 64371 (800)

C&L's Late Night Music Club with Patrick Dwyer: Because I used to work at a record company I still get tons of demos from aspiring artists. It makes no sense because used to means now Im a blogger and I dont do music biz anymore. Most of the

D.L. Hughley asks: If it's a center-right country, what about the election?: Bay Buchanan tried spouting the right-wing meme that this is still a center-right country when she was on D.L. Hughleys CNN show this weekend, and he had a simple question:Hughley: Bay, do you think all the evidence -- even the

The House Negro: Al-Qaida has released a new and sophisticated piece of propaganda, this time introducing race into their attack on America. Stylistically, this is advanced but whether or not theyve miscalculated how the American public will react remains to be seen. Malcolm

When Conservatives are down, all they have to say is "Card Check": As the country begins to turn away from Conservatism and Bush and depression runs deep in their veins, there does seem to be a phrase that lifts up their spirits. Everybody stand up and say Card Check.Its also known as

The Colbert Report: The Vetting Process: With Hillary Clintons nomination to Secretary of State pending the vetting process looking at Bills international dealings, Stephen sits down with Cliff Sloan, former Clinton administration official, to get vetted for his inevitable appointment to the Obama Cabinet.The thing you

Specter says telecom immunity is 'festering wound': Download | Play Download | PlayMSNBCs Andrea Mitchell asked Sen. Arlen Specter about Barack Obamas choice of Eric Holder as Attorney General.

Rush Limbaugh attacks pensions and the American Dream: You should work till you die: The anti-union movement is on, and it all is centered around the automotive industrys quest for a rescue package/loan from the government. Limbaugh leads the charge in his Monday, Nov. 17 broadcast. As the clip unfolds it appears that his

Ned Lamont gives his take on the Lieberman saga: Download | Play Download | PlayA voice of reason explains what went down yesterday and why regarding the continuing saga of Joe Lieberman. A bit of background first for those who

Common Dreams

National Security Experts Grim on Terror War: National Security Experts Grim on Terror War

Study: Prison Population on the Rise: Study: Prison Population on the Rise

Lebanon Slides Towards Civil War as Anniversary of Hariri's Murder Looms: Lebanon Slides Towards Civil War as Anniversary of Hariris Murder Looms

Britain and US: Worst of Wealthy Nations for Children: Britain and US: Worst of Wealthy Nations for Children

US Briefing on Iran Discredits the Official Line: US Briefing on Iran Discredits the Official Line

Doubts Raised on Linking of Iran to US Deaths in Iraq: Doubts Raised on Linking of Iran to US Deaths in Iraq

Korea Deal Marks Big Victory for Realists: Korea Deal Marks Big Victory for Realists

Michelle Malkin

At the movies: Robert Davi’s “The Dukes”: Read this post »

Terrific: Pennsylvania bails out Boscov’s!; Update: NJ, too: Mall rats.

Inspector general: Joe The Plumber’s records improperly plundered: Duh.

Bailout alert: Senate hatches auto aid plan. Ugh.: Bipartisan wealth redistribution.

The miracle of Haleigh Poutre: Angel.

Duh of the day: McCain adviser admits bailout stance was a “blunder”: Key strategic error.

We are all “bank holding companies” now: Read this post »

The Washington Monthly

Thursday's Mini-Report: THURSDAYS MINI-REPORT.... Todays edition of quick hits: * Its hard to overstate how scary this is: Wall Street slumped Thursday afternoon and the S&P 500 closed at an 11-1/2 year low as fears of a prolonged recession sparked a massive...

Rahm's Republican outreach: RAHMS REPUBLICAN OUTREACH.... No one seriously expects congressional Republicans to roll up their sleeves and start working with Democrats on policy solutions. Thats just not how this game is played. The question is how open GOP lawmakers are to outreach....

From religion to recession: FROM RELIGION TO RECESSION.... Two weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed castigating Americans for not supporting George W. Bush. The presidents low approval rating, the piece insisted, is a reflection of our failure, our disloyal tendencies, and...

Rove's odd advice: ROVES ODD ADVICE.... Im trying to pick my favorite part of Karl Roves latest column in the Wall Street Journal. There are so many gems to choose from. There are ... plans to use the Obama campaigns email list to...

We're hiring: WERE HIRING.... In case you missed the ad on the right, you may be interested to know that the Washington Monthly is looking for a full-time business associate to work at our Chevy Chase, Maryland, office. To learn more about...

That's one unpopular party: THATS ONE UNPOPULAR PARTY.... It seemed at least possible that in a post-election environment, the parties would get a honeymoon of sorts, at least until January. Unfortunately for Republicans, thats not the case. A new Gallup poll shows support for...

A world-class snub: A WORLD-CLASS SNUB.... CNNs Rick Sanchez did a brief segment yesterday, highlighting a video taken at the recent G20 summit. Unless theres some kind of backstory here that Ive missed, it seems pretty humiliating. As the Huffington Post reported, It...

Stevens' senatorial support: STEVENS SENATORIAL SUPPORT.... The U.S. Senate operates on institutional cordiality. Every member tends to describe his or her colleagues as friends and the distinguished senator from their given state. But theres something unseemly about pretending Ted Stevens is ending his...

Thursday's campaign round-up: THURSDAYS CAMPAIGN ROUND-UP....Todays installment of campaign-related news items that wouldnt generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers. * The statewide recount in Minnesota is off to a good start for Al Franken. With...

Waxman edges Dingell for gavel: WAXMAN EDGES DINGELL FOR GAVEL.... This comes as something of a surprise. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) will become the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee after House Democrats voted to replace current Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.). The...

Change: CHANGE.... Were still quite a ways from knowing what Obamas entire team is going to look like, but this debate seems to be increasingly common. I think several individuals are very frustrated to think that President-elect Obama may just cut...

The deteriorating job market: THE DETERIORATING JOB MARKET.... I dont want to alarm anyone, but the job market appears to be in pretty horrendous shape. New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to a 16-year high, the Labor Department said Thursday, providing more...

Dems hurt McConnell's feelings?: DEMS HURT MCCONNELLS FEELINGS?.... I can appreciate the fact that the Senate operates with a certain degree of cordiality, but surely members realize that when the election season comes, party leaders on both sides want to increase the size of...

The fairness doctrine, paranoia, and right-wing self-pity: THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, PARANOIA, AND RIGHT-WING SELF-PITY.... Ive been fascinated of late with the far-right hysteria about the reemergence of the fairness doctrine, because conservative activists are gearing up for a knock-down brawl against an enemy that doesnt exist. Everyone...

Bringing all the healthcare pieces together: BRINGING ALL THE HEALTHCARE PIECES TOGETHER.... Following up on Hilzoys overnight item, momentum for major healthcare reform in the next Congress got a little stronger yesterday, when the health insurance industry said it would support extending coverage to everyone, in...

Napolitano to DHS: NAPOLITANO TO DHS.... There were widespread hopes that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) would find a role in the Obama administration, so the overnight news was encouraging. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to serve as secretary of...

Too Small to Fail: TOO SMALL TO FAIL.... The impact of the financial crisis on the banking industry has been pretty obvious, with most of the financial services industry in turmoil. But theres part of this story thats been largely overlooked: humble local banks...

Don't Throw Me In That Briar Patch!: Dont Throw Me In That Briar Patch! Well, this is interesting: The health insurance industry said Wednesday that it would support a health care overhaul requiring insurers to accept all customers, regardless of illness or disability. But in return, the...

Wednesday's Mini-Report: WEDNESDAYS MINI-REPORT.... Todays edition of quick hits: * Another painful day on Wall Street, with the Dow falling 427 points. It closed just below the 8,000 mark, a five-year low. * On a related note, in October, the Consumer Price...

McCain wins Missouri: MCCAIN WINS MISSOURI.... It took a little longer than expected, but we now know the results of the presidential race from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Missouri, the lone holdout, was called today for McCain. With all...

Wonkette

JIM GIBBONS DIVORCE INSANITY: America's worst ...: JIM GIBBONS DIVORCE INSANITY: Americas worst governor and alcoholic adulterous sex-assaulter crook Jim Gibbons and his power-crazed wife Dawn are finally getting the divorce everybody always knew...

Scott McClellan Can't Ruin George Bush Junior's Day: The great George W. Bush delivered the commencement address at Colorados Air Force Academy today, the same day that his former hobbit slave was publicizing mean books about him. Here he is this...

John McCain's Biggest Fan: 'Your Name': Ooh looky its another Kustomized Kampaign Trinket for you, the reader! For just $250, you can show the world that YOUR NAME totally supports JOHN MCCAIN. But are there any names or phrases that...

Even Little-Girl Hillary Was A Conniving Monster: We usually dont like to encourage the comedy YouTube jokes because none of them are funny, or its something you can watch on the TeeVee, later, on your sofa or whatever, eating your carry out....

Scott McClellan's A Big Hit!: SEE WHAT EVERYONES SAYING ABOUT SCOTT MCCLELLANS NEW #1 BOOK, GEORGE BUSH JR. MADE VAGUE ERRORS!I would think if he harbored such deep feelings about things he wouldnt have and shouldnt have...

Your Wonkette Is Moving, Tonight!: Hello Peoples! Remember that whole thing about your Wonkette getting a new home, and all that? Well, it is still true — and tonight, Wonkette will suffer the miracle of transmigration. What...

BARRY OBAMA'S RACIST POETRY: "Under water ...: BARRY OBAMAS RACIST POETRY: Under water grottos, caverns/ Filled with apes/ That eat figs./ Stepping on the figs/ That the apes/ Eat, they crunch./ The apes howl, bare/ Their fangs, dance,/ Tumble...

McCain Fundraiser Tour Fails Its Way Through Mormon World Capital: Ever since John McCain pissed all over Mitt Romney in a debate, and even before then, Mormons havent taken kindly to the foul-mouthed, unhandsome, twice-married atheist grumpus. So its no surprise...

Karl Rove Calls Scott McClellan Gay Woodsman: Wonkette comical typos operative Ron sends us this screen shot of a CNN.com article in which Karl Rove lets slip a revelation of his own about terrible snitch Scott McClellan. McClellans syntax in...

Clinton-Press Relationship Is More Dysfunctional Than Your Tragic Marriage: Hillary Clinton continued the Enfranchisement Tour 2k8 today in South Dakota, which is fully franchised and will likely go for Obama on June 3 but doesnt matter. While there she visited the only...

Dunkin' Donuts Nixes Terrorist Rachael Ray Ad: Remember when those nuts on the right, Michelle Malkin and Charles Johnson, condemned beloved fast food bakery Dunkin Donuts for letting teevee chef Rachael Ray wear a Palestinian scarf in this ad?...

Dana Perino Confused By Most Things, But Specifically McClellan's Criticism: The White House has issued a Papal Bull in response to former press secretary Scott McClellans new book, in which he makes bland accusations about the Bush administration like they may not have...

'MY FIRZT VOTE IN MY WHOLE EFFEN LIFE ..AND ITZ FOR HILLARY': Way back in the early 1990s, America learned the hard way that strange e-mails from people with AOL e-mail addresses like krazi hott lucey are not hott even if they are krazi. In other words,...

John McCain Gets No Love From Hollywood: John McCain is doing his best to romance The Hollywoods, but he has found few wealthy gay liberals willing to listen to his uplifting message of war without end. As a result, he has only been able to...

Barack Obama To Puerto Rico: I'm Mexican, Too!: Heres Barry Obamas latest pitch to the Puerto Ricans, which he delivers in their native language. He seems to be mentioning, once again, that he was born on an island too. And then he says that...

Kwame Kilpatrick Vetoes His Own Removal: Things havent gotten much better since we last checked in on Kwame Kilpatrick, the comical mayor of Detroit and a leading contender for Barack Obamas black vice presidency. You may recall that his...

Somebody Got An Obama Tattoo On His/Her Leg!: Hey people, if you are in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area, you might stop by Studio 13 Creative Skin Design and ask Ryan Hadley for one of these sweet Barack Obama tattoos. Now GO GO GO, FIND US PHOTOS...

Brave Anti-O'Reilly Crusader Fired: Remember Barry Nolan, the cable news guy who courageously took a stand against some backwater TV organization giving Bill OReilly a prize for working once in the greater Boston metropolitan area?...

Poisoning The Well: New regulations make it harder than ever to go bankrupt these days — but that hasnt stopped many hard-working Americans from rising to the challenge. A U.S. businessman says...

Bush Propagandist Complains Of Bush Propaganda: Scott McClellan, one of approximately 200 Bush Administration spokesmen since 2001, left the White House a few years ago. During his tenure, he lied about Iraq, Katrina, Terror, and whatever else was...

Talking Points Memo

Waiting Game: The Clinton camp believes it has turned over all the information about Bills post-Presidency activities that the Obama transition team has asked for, and Hillary is awaiting the offer, a source tells TPM Election Central.

Only Surprised If You Don't Read TPM ...: Just out from CNN ...CNN has learned that President-elect Barack Obama is getting foreign policy advice from an unlikely source: Republican Brent Scowcroft, who was national security adviser in the first Bush administration.Two sources familiar with the conversations confirm to

TPMtv: The Day in 100 Seconds

Bond, Kit Bond ...: Former Bond staffer Trevor L. Blackann bites the dust in the Abramoff scandal.

Question of the Day: And its not just a rhetorical point. Its a question worth considering in very real terms. How much would things be different if Barack Obama had been sworn in on November 5th? The question, to some degree, gets at the

Deep Thought: 7000 is the new 8000.

Vote Early and Often!: From the AP ...More Floridians voted for John McCain than Barack Obama on Election Day, but the Democrat sealed his victory in the state by winning more early and absentee votes.An Associated Press study of 94 percent of the states

Survey Time!: Just a reminder, BlogAds is doing its fifth annual reader survey and we could really use your help. The more we know about you, the easier it is to sell ads and keep paying the bills. Help us out!

Taxpayers Get Golden Shower: Were focusing today on Mack MackDaddy Whittle, longtime CEO of South Financial Group, who pushed up his retirement last month so he could cash out with a $18 million Golden Parachute just before sending his

TPMtv: Senator Stevens' Farewell: Indicted, convicted and now defeated, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) made his farewell in the Senate today. We bring you the latest in todays episode of TPMtv ... Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

Yar!!!: I dont want to draw over-broad interpretations. But historically, the rising incidence of piracy has frequently, if not always, been a sign of the receding reach of whatever great power has taken on responsibility for policing the sea lanes. The

Holy Crap: Rep. Henry Waxman (D) has ousted John Dingell (D) as Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Thats a hugely big deal on any number of levels -- not least of which is the two mens very different positions on

Election Central Morning Roundup: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is reportedly Obamas pick for Homeland Security secretary. That and the days other transition news in the TPM Election Central Morning Roundup.

Need a Catchphrase: In our new economic era, I think we need a new catchphrase for CEOs like Mack Whittle of the South Financial Group, who pushed up his retirement ahead of schedule so he could bag his mega-Golden parachute a few weeks

Parody Lapping Reality: Last night I was mulling a deep thought post suggesting that GM should just reorganize as a bank holding company and get TARP funds that way. Looks like I snarked too soon.

Not Reassuring ...: From Reuters ...Citigroup Inc faced a crisis of confidence on Wednesday as investors questioned the survival prospects of the U.S. banking giant, and its shares tumbled 23 percent to a 13-year low.The second-largest U.S. bank by assets has been reeling

Latest out of Minnesota: Today was the first day recounting in Minnesota. And Al Franken made up some decent ground against Norm Coleman. The day started with Coleman ahead by 215 votes. And after recounting 18% of the precincts, Franken had picked up 41

Annals of Bad PR: Detroit CEOs fly private jets to DC to seek taxpayer bailout.

TPMtv: The Day in 100 Seconds

Ted Stevens Concedes: The old rascal finally admits defeat in Alaskas protracted election process.

Power Line

But of course: Yesterday, I wrote: I dont see why a president hoping to sustain a larger than life persona would want a larger than life Secretary of State who has been his bitter rival. A reader explains:The answer is that Mr. Obama

An exceedingly strange new respect, part 2: Yesterday in An exceedingly strange new respect I noted Noemie Emerys column on Hillary Clinton. Emery traced the evolution of the respect at least some conservatives accorded Hillary Clinton as she found her footing opposing Barack Obama in the course

Time To Get Away From It All?: The stock market is tanking, taxes are rising, the news headlines are all bad. So if youre ready to flee, consider a tree house. Popular Mechanics profiles ten of the worlds greatest tree houses. Here is just one:

Eric Holder -- perfect for Obama, bad for the county: Im not seeing anything to like about Eric Holder as our next Attorney General. What I see is one-third standard-issue leftist -- on hate crimes, on racial preferences, on criminal rights, on terrorist rights (see this NRO editorial) -- and

Why not the worst? part 2: In the video below, Eric Holder testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the pardons extended by President Clinton to the 16 FALN terrorists in August 1999. Then Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch grills Holder concerning the lack of screening

Minnesota Recount Update: The recount in Minnesotas Coleman-Franken Senate race is underway; today, Franken gained a net 28 votes in Democratic St. Louis County. The gain was attributed to older voting machines that failed to read faint pencil marks. A Republican spokesman said

Now They've Gone Too Far!: Al Qaedas number two crackpot, Ayman Zawahiri, called Barack Obama a house Negro in an audio tape released tomorrow. That was beyond the pale, as State Department spokesman Sean McCormack explained:Its just, you know, more despicable comments from a terrorist,

Pirates of Washington: Michael Ramirez unites two stories in the news today; click to enlarge:

Across the great divide, Part Three: At TPMCafe, I have explained what is probably my main criticism of Angler, Barton Gellmans book about the Cheney vice presidency. Theres plenty to like about the book, but here I focus on what I see as a flaw:One of

Cleaning Up After the New Deal: In the Wall Street Journal, Holman Jenkins contemplates the idea that Barack Obama may launch a second New Deal:His friends advise Barack Obama to launch a New New Deal. Maybe thats because the old New Deal is sinking fast.Mr. Obamas

Check Out the Power Line Report: Weve been doing a weekly show for Pajamas TV called the Power Line Report. PJTV is a fledgling news network that has attracted a lot of talent in a short time. (No, I dont mean us!) The shows have been

Let Detroit Go Bankrupt: Thats the title of Mitt Romneys op-ed in todays New York Times. Romneys reasoning closely parallels what weve laid out here:I have several prescriptions for Detroits automakers.First, their huge disadvantage in costs relative to foreign brands must be eliminated. That

An old and limited respect: My respect for Hillary Clinton is neither new nor, I hope exceedingly strange. I have always considered her smart, but not as smart as advertised, resilient, and ruthless. Her campaign against Barack Obama largely reinforced this assessment. During the campaign,

Pirates of Somalia: Yesterdays Wall Street Journal reported the story of the seizure of the Saudi oil supertanker MV Sirius Star by Somali pirates. John wrote about it last night here. Mark Steyn comments here. Reader Charles Barker is a former Coast Guard

Why not the worst?: National Review makes the case that in ordinary times Eric Holder would simply be an uninspired choice for Attorney General. For these times, however, NR argues that it is difficult to imagine a worse choice for AG than Eric Holder.

An exceedingly strange new respect: We are all familiar with the strange new respect accorded nominal Republicans or former conservatives who betray their supporters. As Wlady Pleszczynski recalls, Bethell began bestowing the Strange New Respect Award on once-reliable conservatives who won the praise of the

Creative destruction at risk: Niall Ferguson is a bestselling author, a professor of history at Harvard, a senior research fellow at Oxford, and a senior fellow at Stanfords Hoover Institution. Ferguson is also as engaging a speaker as one could wish to hear. Last

African Piracy Resurgent: I dont have any special insight into the hijacking of a Saudi oil tanker by a gang of Somali pirates, other than to note that it is a remarkable story, and hardly a fluke. Pirates in the Indian Ocean have

Across the great divide, Part Two: The discussion of Angler, Bart Gellmans book about the Cheney vice presidency, continues at TPMCafe Book Club. Today, I responded to posts by Spencer Ackerman and Jacob Heilbrunn. Ackerman proposed a grand unified theory of Cheneyism under which the driving

Eric Holder, AG?: News reports indicate that Barack Obama has offered the post of Attorney General to Eric Holder. No surprise there, except perhaps on the part of internet liberals who thought the Obama administration would be different in some significant respect from

Eschaton

Evening Thread: Gotta do some cooking.

Deep Thought: Buy and hold.

Still Going On: About a year go I met a mortgage broker who told me that all the action had just moved to the FHA.As if they havent done enough damage. Thousands of subprime mortgage lenders and brokers—many of them the very sorts

And CRE: Not pretty there, either.Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Mortgages on offices, shopping malls and hotels that were based on projections of soaring income during the real estate boom are roiling the bond market. ...``These kinds of loans written during the height

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE: Dog tracks just a little bit too exciting these days.

Changed His Mind: Nice to see thats possible.WASHINGTON (AP) -- With weekly jobless claims benefits at a 16-year high, the White House said Thursday that President George W. Bush would quickly sign legislation pending in Congress to provide further unemployment benefits.Even nicer that

Afternoon Thread: Im running errands...

Congestion Pricing: I admit Im somewhat less than enthusiastic about London-style congestion pricing as I think much of what such a system would accomplish can be achieved by simply jacking up the price of parking everywhere and increasing automobile registration fees. Those

Do Not Want: This is rather ominous:LONG BEACH, Calif. — Gleaming new Mercedes cars roll one by one out of a huge container ship here and onto a pier. Ordinarily the cars would be loaded on trucks within hours, destined for dealerships around

Everybody Hates Republicans: As they should.PRINCETON, NJ -- The Republican Partys image has gone from bad to worse over the past month, as only 34% of Americans in a Nov. 13-16 Gallup Poll say they have a favorable view of the party, down

Free Parking: I agree with Matt that conservative (and libertarian) thinkers, to the extent they exist, should spend some time dealing with local zoning, regulation, and transportation issues. But as one of his commenters points out, conservative voters arent likely to embrace

Senatorial Courtesy: What I saw of this was quite gross. I appreciate you dont just abandon people youve known for decades, but you dont have to throw a public party on national teevee for them either.

Riding The Bus: Amandas right that theres a degree of social stigma attached to bus riders, but its also the case that short distance buses arent... awesome. Theyre slow. They stop and start a lot. It isnt a comfortable ride. You have to

Waxman Beats Dingell: Takes gavel of Energy and Commerce Committee.

Thursday Is New Jobless Day: Holy crap.The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits surged last week to their highest level in 16 years, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, as a harsh economic environment forces employers to cut back on hiring.Initial

Morning Thread: This usually wakes dad up. His Spidey-senses start tingling when we lowly ones post a thread.--Molly I.

Overnight: enjoy

Suck On This, Tommy Friedman: His wifes family biz might go BK.

Late Night: enjoy

Facts Are Stupid Things: And the ones Bill OReilly makes up are even stupider.

THREE HEADED MONSTER

Gerald Ford 1913-2006: Former President Gerald Ford passed away on December 26, 2006. We would like to take the time to reflect on this man who had

The First 100 Hours: Democratic leaders in the House have promised to pass several items on their legislative agenda in their first 100 hours in power. Potential items

Will Frederick Kagan's December 14, 2006, "Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq" be the(...): Will Frederick Kagans December 14, 2006, Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq be the option that President Bush pursues? If so, should

Are the Holocaust deniers something we should be concerned with?: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has convened approximately 70 researchers such as ex-Klansman David Duke to discuss their doubts about the extent of the Holocaust,

Where do we stand now with regard to Iraq?: There has been a flurry of diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to end the violence in Iraq. With the naming of a new defense

Dear Mahmoud,: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to the American people. Here is your chance to respond.MRB:Dear President Ahmadinejad and Noble Iranians,Thank you for

Are Republicans happy or disappointed that Rep. Pelosi decided Rep. Hastings would not be Chair(...): Even before the election results were final, Republicans began voicing their outrage at the possibility that Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., might become Chairman of

What role should Iran and Syria play in a post war Iraq ?: With the Bush administration being pushed toward a regional resolution to the war in Iraq, the question becomes what role, if any, should Iran

What should US economic policy be toward Asia?: With President Bush wrapping up his latest Asian tour, should any changes be made to US economic policy in regard to Asia, or are

What do we do about Iran's impending nuclear capability ?: President Bush has mainly been talking about economic and diplomatic isolation, however, the administration is also leaving open the option of military action. The

Can Lady Liberty's message be the same in an age of Islamic extremists ?: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless,

Is Europe lost already?: With a history of lax immigration policies and emphasis on tolerance, has Europe already been lost to radical Islam? Is the United States headed

Which Presidential hopefuls are in the best position for 2008? Which ones are not ?: With the midterm elections behind us now, which candidates are best positioned for a Presidential run in 2008, and whose Presidential aspirations may have

2006 Election Post Mortem: The real question today is not just who won which race, but what the election results mean for each one of us and the

Exercise your right to vote !: Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a

Time to predict the outcome of the November 2006 election: Each of us will now set forth our respective predictions of the final overall outcome of tomorrows election. We will also predict the specific

Is going Negative a Positive ?: In the last few days before the election it seems like there are no political campaigns left that have not gone negative. The research

Can Barack Obama be elected President ?: In his victory speech, Senator Barack Obama said regarding his long shot candidacy... (When I announced my campaign) at the time, as many of

Should Iraq be Partitioned ?: President Bushs position is that partition as a solution in Iraq is a non-starter. Nevertheless, the idea of partition being part of the solution

Kerry gaffe: November gift ?: You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be

AMERICAblog

Dems delay the auto bailout: Yeah the markets didnt like it, but the markets need to grow up and stop freaking out at the drop of a hat. No one in Washington, serious Washington, is saying that were just going to let the auto industry

Please take our reader survey: By taking our survey, you help us get an overall idea as to who are readers are, and this helps us sell advertising, which helps us

Dow drops over 400 for the second day in a row: Waiting for the final number, but the Dow is down over 444 right now, which means it will close below 7600. On CNN, Ali Velshi just reminded us that just over a year ago, the Dow was over 14,000. It

Just ignore any so-called "conventional wisdom" when it comes to Obama and the Georgia Senate race: Of course the conventional wisdom-mongers think its bad for Obama to go to Georgia to campaign for Jim Martin. Of course, they do. But, it doesnt matter what they think because Obama is constantly redefining the conventional wisdom. And, Obama

Retire Admiral Mullen: Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, thinks hes the president of the United States. Hes thought this for a while. Unless Obama wants the US military freelancing at running its own government from the Pentagon, Obama

Bipartisan group of Dems and Repubs reportedly wants to gut fuel-efficiency program to help bai(...): Gee, the bipartisan proposal to cut the fuel efficiency program came from a group of auto-state senators - anybody surprised?Why dont we just cut AIDS research, LIHEAP, and incubators for premies while were at it? Are you people insane?Aides to

Michael Moore on the auto bailout: I dont always agree with him but think that he makes some valid points. The ripple effect of a collapse would just add to the current problems so Congress needs to get creative about this. Do we push Detroit to

Dinosaur Dingell goes down!: Hallelujah.Congressman John Dingell of Michigan just lost his chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to California congressman Henry Waxman. Ding dong.Dingell was horrible. A suck up for the auto industry, he stymied efforts to increase the fuel efficiency

Hollywood gossip mogul Perez Hilton not going to Sundance because of Prop 8: This is a big deal. Perez Hilton runs probably the largest Hollywood gossip site on the Net. His traffic is several times DailyKos (Ive heard a good 7 or 8 times their traffic). Hes huge, and hugely influential. On an

Even more bad economic news: Jobless benefit claims hit 16 year high: This economic hole just keeps getting deeper and affecting more people:The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose by a larger than expected 27,000 last week to their highest level in 16 years, Labor Department data

After one day of recount, Al Franken closed the gap by 43 votes: Okay, weve been warned by the Minnesota Secretary of States office not to read too much into the early recount. It will take some time to see if there is a trend or if the gap is truly closing. That

Thusday Morning Open Thread: Good morning.Its another cold day in DC. Way too early to be this cold.Congress is in session this week. Looks like no bailout for the automakers. Theyve been protected for years by Rep. John Dingell (D-MI). Yep, Dingell has protected

A North versus South fight with auto bailout?: Really? Is it a North versus South fight when every year hurricanes blow through the South and destroy the region? I seem to remember people from across America pitching in to help. Its disgusting to listen to politicians from the

Fed cuts growth rates again, hints at more rate cuts: The US is going to be fortunate to see positive growth in 2011 but even that may be optimistic. I cant say what the Fed is seeing out there that suggests the bad news will be gone by the end

Briton's "national pastime" is over: Shopping, of course. The US used to be the world leader in personal debt but today its the UK, where its even greater than the GDP. (The US is slightly lower.) As the economy melts down the endless shopping days

Yet another reason why Big Auto is failing: Clueless. Absolutely clueless. Anyone who is serious about keeping their company afloat - let alone snag billions - needs to re-think the way they do business. Management always loves to criticize the unions for costing too much but this royal

Housing starts fall to lowest levels since 1959: A nation of whiners or is the unrepentant Phil Gramm just an arrogant buffoon? From CNN:Housing starts and permits, both of them key measurements of home construction, hit record lows in October, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.Housing starts reached an

BREAKING: Obama picks AZ Gov. Janet Napolitano to head Homeland Security: Shes no Sarah Palin, but I guess shell do:Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to serve as secretary of the vast and troubled Department of Homeland Security for President-elect Obama, Democratic officials said. Napolitano is a border governor

Today eHarmony, tomorrow the world: About time.Online dating service eHarmony is adding another personality trait to its 29 dimensions of computability.The California-based company will begin providing same-sex matches under as part of a settlement with New Jerseys Civil Rights Division.Garden State resident Eric McKinley filed

MoDo likes Hillary for State: Maureen Dowd:One person who famously opposed Hillary’s presidential bid thinks she’d make a great secretary of state.“She’s smart and tough, a lot better than any of the old hacks like Holbrooke, Albright, etc.,” says David Geffen. “Barack Obama is going

TPMCafe

The Stock Market, the Government Just Needs to Spend Money: The Great Depression was a horrible and extremely painful experience. But we did learn something extremely valuable from this experience: how to get out of a depression. The answer came in the form of the massive government stimulus associated with

Don't Mess: Id like to tag onto Pauls most recent observations. Bart, what struck me about your book perhaps most forcefully was the opening. You depict Cheney in the darkest light possible, as edging out any possible competitors for the

Not A Mixed View: Let me respond to the first of Barts posts from yesterday.First: I agree with the vice president that Bart has done his homework. In fact, he has done a remarkable job of research.Second: Bart asks, is there any

Profit From Failure: Spencer Ackerman raises the question of whether Cheney is, in fact, a victim of success, on the order of LBJ. I think it should be reversed. Cheney profited from failure. The Bush administration was obsessed with missile defense

A Different Way of Viewing Cheney's Historical Context: Let me try and break the apparent logjam between Jake, Paul and Bart. Leave aside for a moment the question of whether Cheney is a singular figure or whether other people in the administration resisted his whims. Maybe

Unpacking Liberalism: Flying from Jerusalem, I hankered to hear Hebrew poetry. Back in Jerusalem, unpacking, I longed to hear liberal principles. This place is beautiful; that has always been its problem. It is the kind of place that engenders enigmatic words like

Will Henry Paulson Sink Detroit?: Henry Paulsons main claim to fame is getting just about everything wrong in his tenure as Treasury secretary. However, he now stands to gain lasting notoriety as the person who destroyed the domestic U.S. auto industry, and the economies of

A Rorschach Test: I replied to Pauls first post before reading the most recent. So a few more words on the Potemkin Washington that Paul sees in my book.Paul says that in Angler-world the only pairs of sharp elbows appear to

What Really Happened: Uh oh. I waited too long to weigh back in, and now theres way too much to talk about. Ill address two points now and post again as soon as I can.Jake asks whats so new about a

Potemkin Washington: My opinion of Angler has become more favorable during the course of this discussion as I see some of the paths Bart didnt take. Before I fall into the tank completely, I should post some of my promised

Anti-Choicers Switching up Strategy?: The Washington Post has a piece up about the anti-choice movements next moves now that Obama has been elected. Some movement leaders are abandoning their strategy to overturn Roe, instead focusing on ways to reduce the number of abortions. (Well,

Remembering Our Friends- Supporting the Autoworkers: Ill hopefully have time to post on why allowing the U.S. auto industry to die without help would be a catastrophic mistake, but let me note a more basic political issue for progressives, of helping the UAW save their members

Not an Academic Question: David has with unerring professorial precision raised a question that I think is at the heart of the Bush presidency: to what extent was Cheney reflecting Bushs wishes? The opening scene of Angler, where Cheney colludes with Bush

Some Questions: I think at this point my admiration for Angler, and that of my colleagues, is amply clear. So I wanted in this next post to raise what I see as some unanswered questions about Cheneys White House operations.

Fight Club: My goodness, it looks like a little crockery is starting to get flung around the genteel confines of the cafe. Its about time that this book club turned into a fight club. Bart defends himself from Paul Mirengoffs contention that

Dick Cheney, neocon?: Paul Mirengoff takes me to task for likening Dick Cheney to Artur Sammler. He has a point. Its a bit of stretch to compare them because I made it sound like Sammler was a product, like Cheney, of

Very Much On This Planet: It seems to me that Angler undercuts Jacob Heilbrunns attempt to cast Vice President Cheney as a Dr. Sammler figure on a mission to combat the counter-culture of the 1960s and 1970s. For example, Bart shows that Cheney

U.S Power not Executive Power: Before I expand on my critique of Angler, I want to respond to Spencer Ackermans post in which he attempts to distill Cheneyism into the view that power for its own sake is an uncomplicated good, and letting

Mr. Cheney's Planet: Newsflash: Word is that Bart Gellmann will soon be emerging from a hidden location to respond to these posts. But before he does, Im going to offer a few thoughts on Dick Cheneys mental world. If youll recall,

Corporate Welfare: A stockbroker named Fred Schwed wrote a book in 1955 called Where Are The Customers Yachts?, which leads me to the tale this morning of the Big Three auto execs flying into Washington on their private jets to plead their

All credits go to the authors of these sites. Without their hard work Original Signal would not exist. Last updated on November 21st 2008 01:09 | Contact