Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/29/quotes-of-the-day-758/
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The article as luxury or byproduct
A few episodes in news make me think of the article not as the goal of journalism but as a value-added luxury or as a byproduct of the process.
* See the amazing Brian Stelter covering the Joplin tornado and begging his desk at The Times to turn his tweets into a story because he [...]
* See the amazing Brian Stelter covering the Joplin tornado and begging his desk at The Times to turn his tweets into a story because he [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/EAkK6VNnu7E/
Late Late Night FDL: The Aristo-cat
Hubie and Bertie -- The Aristo-cat. This Warner Bros Merrie Melodies cartoon was released on June 19, 1943.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/XiELhg-Mwm8/
Content, dethroned
Jonathan Knee uses Netflix to argue in The Atlantic that content is not king and that aggregators are better at capturing value. That will be raw meat to those who claim that aggregators are content kleptomanics.
Knee’s analysis is good but there’s a critical element that needs to be underscored: Aggregation itself is not sufficient. [...]
Knee’s analysis is good but there’s a critical element that needs to be underscored: Aggregation itself is not sufficient. [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/PhphJfdC9yU/
Suckers
As I called it. John Boehner now has the votes to pass his plan.
Harry Reid just declared that the only compromise that will pass will be his plan. “The only compromise there is — is mine,” he said.
Harry Reid will take John Boehner’s plan, insert all the Democrats’ demands, and send it back to the House daring the GOP to kill “the Boehner Plan.”
The Democrats will line up to vote for it.
It will pass.
I do believe someone predicted this would happen.
Congrats, House Conservatives.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The Age of Reason in Washington?
During his press conference with Mitch McConnell a few minutes ago, John Boehner said, as Andrew has noted: “We are going to be able to come to some agreement with the White House and end this impasse.
He also said that: “We are dealing with reasonable, responsible people who want this crisis to end as quickly as possible and I think we will.”
Keep reading this post . . .
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/273204/age-reason-washington-kathryn-jean-lopez
Can This Facebook Status Get Shared Fast Enough To Make A Difference?
Entitlement?
I PAID cash for my Social Security insurance! Our benefits aren't some kind of charity or handout!
Congressional benefits--premium federal health care, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days--now THAT'S welfare!
And they have the nerve to call my retirement an entitlement!
- added by:
letsliveinpeace - 31 comments
There Will Be No Recovery
One thing that I think is becoming increasingly clear is that there’s not going to be a “recovery” anytime soon. One place you see this is in the problem of the long-term unemployed: Employers have a strong preference against hiring the long-term unemployed who face a number of barriers to employment on top of that. [...]
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/yglesias/2011/07/30/283759/there-will-be-no-recovery/
VIDEO: House GOP Urged Clean Debt Ceiling Hike As A Matter of Responsibility And Good Governance
Under the leadership of House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and House Majority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), the Republicans continue to precipitate a stalemate over the debt ceiling and a possible economic crisis. As ThinkProgress’ Zaid Jilani and Travis Waldron have reported, not only did the Republican leadership vote multiple times for clean debt ceiling hikes [...]
No one owns a hashtag
The beauty of a hashtag is that no one can control it.
A hashtag is not like a marketing, media, or political message, whose creator thinks it can be created and controlled. It is not like the namespace in domains, on Facebook and Google+, or in trademarks, for anyone can use a hashtag without permission [...]
A hashtag is not like a marketing, media, or political message, whose creator thinks it can be created and controlled. It is not like the namespace in domains, on Facebook and Google+, or in trademarks, for anyone can use a hashtag without permission [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/iNGlBhFJjSA/
Friday, July 29, 2011
World Reacts To Debt Ceiling Debacle: ?Irresponsible,? ?Worst Kind Of Absurd Theatrics,? U.S. Politicians A ?Laughing Stock?
Our guest blogger is Ken Sofer, special assistant with the National Security and International Policy team at the Center for American Progress. The rhetoric over raising the debt ceiling has become increasingly harsh as Democratic and Republican congressional leaders trade barbs back and forth. But as the U.S. inches closer to defaulting on its debts [...]
The article as luxury or byproduct
A few episodes in news make me think of the article not as the goal of journalism but as a value-added luxury or as a byproduct of the process.
* See the amazing Brian Stelter covering the Joplin tornado and begging his desk at The Times to turn his tweets into a story because he [...]
* See the amazing Brian Stelter covering the Joplin tornado and begging his desk at The Times to turn his tweets into a story because he [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/EAkK6VNnu7E/
Vote Looms
The House is expected to vote between 6:05 and 6:10 on the redesigned Boehner plan. We’re hearing there will still be between 10-20 Republican “no” votes.
House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) just wrapped up a rare floor speech urging passage of the plan. “I stuck my neck out a mile to try to get an agreement with the president of the United States” to no avail, Boehner said to a smattering of boos from Democrats. His remarks that reached a fiery crescendo when he condemned the White House for refusing to put a plan on paper. “Put something on the table! Tell us where you are!”
Keep reading this post . . .
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/273160/vote-looms-daniel-foster
Tentative Endorsement
With Boehner getting more affirmatives on a new plan that will have a Balanced Budget Amendment component, outside groups start with their tentative early endorsements. Here is the Club for Growth, an early naysayer on the Boehner plan:
“The Club for Growth has long supported a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution as a condition for solving our debt crisis. We strongly believe that a Balanced Budget Amendment is the piece of the puzzle that puts us on a path to fiscal responsibility and fundamentally reforms our broken budget process. If this new bill accomplishes that goal then the Club for Growth will withdraw its opposition to the Boehner plan and will not key vote against it,” said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola.
Keep reading this post . . .
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/273093/tentative-endorsement-kathryn-jean-lopez
Speaking of Reagan
Here’s my column today on Reagan, Lincoln, and statesmanship.
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/273103/speaking-reagan-rich-lowry
ACU Supports Boehner Plan
The vote may be postponed, but the Boehner plan gets a new endorsement, from new American Conservative Union chairman Al Cardenas:
Under the Obama Administration, we have endured an unprecedented growth of government and federal spending. Now, Democrats want to raise the debt ceiling and raise taxes to pay for failed economic policies. That is reckless, irresponsible and unacceptable.
Keep reading this post . . .
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/273025/acu-supports-boehner-plan-kathryn-jean-lopez
The Little Rock Jihadist gets a life sentence
You remember Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, don’t you? In June 2009, he walked into an Arkansas Army recruiting center, murdered 24-year-old Private William Long and gravely wounded 18-year-old Private Quinton Ezeagwula. He had planned on killing many more in the name of Allah. While the White House and media decried the “climate of hate” fostered by [...]
Source: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/07/26/the-little-rock-jihadist-gets-a-life-sentence/
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Mad House
It seems like the entire Capitol Hill press corps is camped outside the speaker’s office. Folks are swarming everything, from the shadow of an aide to the scurry of an on-the-fence member.
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/273034/mad-house-robert-costa
A true threat to privacy
Among the most deliberate and abhorrent mass violations of privacy committed in recent memory did not come as a result of technology, social services, databases, hackers, thieves, leakers, or governments. It was an act of a news organization, News Corp., which hacked into the phones of a reported 4,000 people, including not just celebrities but [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/ExoRamw13kg/
Like we?ll need infrastructure in this country
Stop asking for infrastructure spending, can't you see we're building a bridge into the 18th Century
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/C4AEGez20ws/
Herman Cain Apologizes To Muslim-Americans
After saying he wouldn’t appoint Muslims to his cabinet and saying that communities have the right to ban mosques, presidential candidate Herman Cain apologized to Muslim-Americans today in a statement to TPM, saying he was “truly sorry” for potentially violating the freedom of religion guaranteed in the Constitution: “While I stand by my opposition to [...]
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/07/27/281371/herman-cain-apologizes-to-muslims/
Report: Shoddy State Of Surface Transportation Infrastructure Will Lower U.S. GDP By Trillions
According to a new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the shoddy state of America’s surface transportation infrastructure will cost the U.S. economy more than $3 trillion in lost gross domestic product over the next decade. “If the nation?s infrastructure were free of deficient conditions in pavement, bridges, transit vehicles, and track and [...]
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/07/27/281140/surface-infrastructure-costs-trillion/
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
But How Does Your Hand Improve?
The Kristol fans want to know how our hand improves if we reject the Boehner plan. First, it is worth pointing out what Bill Kristol noted back at the first part of July:
?It sounds as if it?s heading towards a deal,? Kristol said. ?It?s not a deal that I?m going to like I suspect, and think I it?s going to be a bad deal for conservatives and Republicans but I think they?re intimidated,? Kristol said. ?The president has been running around talking about corporate jets and the rich, and how the sky is going to fall unless Republicans cave. And I think they?re getting ready to cave in a pretty big way on Sunday.?
Basing it on what Republicans leaders have said publicly, Kristol forecast that defense spending cuts, tax increases and other cuts would be dressed up to be more than they really are in the end. And that would lead to a conservative revolt against Republicans.
?So great, we have a Republican House, and they are going to agree to the huge defense cuts, tax increases, phony spending cuts and increased debt,? Kristol said. ?I think there will be a huge rebellion among conservatives in the country if Republicans sign on to this deal.?
That’s pretty much what we’re going to get. And it is going to come in the form of a super committee. If nothing else, holding out for scrapping the super committee to avoid massive tax hikes is a better plan.
I dare say that suddenly Boehner could get more support if he scrapped the super committee now.
But more so, good policy is good politics. This Boehner plan is terrible policy ? made more so by the fact that it is the third GOP plan to no Democrat plans and the GOP is continuing to compromise with itself instead of the Democrats.
Lastly, it is not for these outside groups to govern. It’s for them to say what is and is not conservative ? to point to what the right thing is and let the elected guys decide how far away from true north to drift. When the GOP deviates from conservatism to lock in high growth rates of government, conservatism loses. And that is exactly what the Republicans are doing. Boehner’s plan presumes the size and scope of the federal government will not go back to historic norms ? norms that existed until Barack Obama became President.
Yes, I think the deal will improve. I think the deal will improve even if the only improvement is dropping the super committee. But more so, I think the GOP is being driven by fear and until they overcome that fear they will be in no position to negotiate with the Democrats. Their first step, however, is to stop negotiating with themselves. After all, as Kristol and others are so readily willing to point out ? the GOP only controls one house of one branch of the federal government.
Source: http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/07/27/but-how-does-your-hand-improve/
America Outgrew Europe In The Mid-19th Century
David Leonhardt’s last “Economic Scene” column is basically awesome, but as he rides into the sunset of his new Washington Bureauchiefdom, he did offer one offhand remark that I don’t think is quite right: When it comes to economics, we know that a market economy with a significant government role is the only proven model [...]
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/yglesias/2011/07/27/281041/america-outgrew-europe-in-the-mid-19th-century/
Does the Sight of a Cross in a Museum Give You Indigestion?
One of the most remarkable aspects of American Atheists’ lawsuit to remove the World Trade Center Cross from the September 11 Memorial and Museum is their allegation that the Cross has actually made the plaintiffs physically ill:
The plaintiffs, and each of them, have suffered, are suffering, and will continue to suffer damages, both physical and emotional, from the existence of the challenged cross. Named plaintiffs have suffered, inter alia, dyspepsia, symptoms of depression, headaches, anxiety, and mental pain and anguish from the knowledge that they are made to feel officially excluded from the ranks of citizens who were directly injured by the 9/11 attack and the lack of acknowledgement of the more than 1,000 non- Christian individuals who were killed at the World Trade Center.
Keep reading this post . . .
The Creepy Enablers of Wu
Photo credit: Willamette Week My syndicated column today spotlights the scandal behind the David Wu scandal: Nancy Pelosi’s pattern of malign neglect. While Washington looked the other way, it was left to local journalists and activists in Oregon to clean up the mess. Today, Washington County Democrats are expected to hold a no-confidence vote on [...]
Source: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/07/27/the-creepy-enablers-of-wu/
Headed for a Massive Downgrade
Two things stand out about the current battle. First, a key player has admitted that we are in a stalemate. Second, the president has issued an empty threat. That is why the United States is now on the verge of a massive downgrade–of its credible deterrent power, that is. In other words, the United States is now mere inches away from losing a war. Not that Obama actually cares that much about “winning” in Libya.
So President Obama’s leadership has now put America’s security and prestige at substantial risk in more ways than one. This applies, by the way, whether you think the intervention in Libya was a good idea in the first place or not. I know we’ve all got other fish to fry right now. Still, the fact that America is just a short step away from actually losing a war seems like it might be worth a moment’s consideration. All of which puts me in mind of a popular riddle: If American power fell in the desert and no-one was around to hear it, would it really have fallen at all? You bet.
Keep reading this post . . .
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/272811/headed-massive-downgrade-stanley-kurtz
GOP Senator Pat Toomy Prepares to fail!
http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/news/gop-senator-debt-ceiling-deal-may-...
WASHINGTON — A Republican senator says there's a real possibility that Congress will fail to agree on how to raise the federal debt ceiling before the nation's borrowing powers expire next week.
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania says "it's increasingly possible we will not have raised the debt ceiling by Aug. 2."
Toomey is pushing a bill to require the government to first pay interest on its debts, Social Security benefits and military payrolls if that happens. Toomey and other conservatives say there is no need for the nation to default on its debts if the deadline is missed.
Senate Democrats seem unlikely to pass his bill.
Read more: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/news/gop-senator-debt-ceiling-deal-may-...
****************Holy S**t*********************
GOP Sen. Pat Toomey(Penn) just on TV with a plan to pay piece meal bills, If the debt limit is not resolved by Tues.
This may sound reasonable but the message is we’re getting ready to go into default if we don’t get our way. THINK about this a plan to FAIL!
Why is it that this congress is willing to default on debt? Something that hasn’t before I hear everyone talking about WE need to put aside politics ( in an ideal world yes) and find a way to resolve this now but that’s just what the POTUS did less than a week ago. Why did they change (GOP) their minds once the DEMS made concessions? Until yesterday, I wasn’t too worried thinking ” America is not going to default and risk the catastrophe that would follow if we get a credit downgrade.” now I’m not so confident. The GOP has some real radicals in its ranks—they care more about making the POTUS look bad than about you having food on your table.
- added by:
jackhole - 66 comments
Source: http://current.com/community/93360474_gop-senator-pat-toomy-prepares-to-fail.htm?xid=RSSfeed
Great news: Downgrade could come as soon as Friday
Why Obama dropped the "clean debt-ceiling increase" demand.
Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/26/great-news-downgrade-could-come-as-soon-as-friday/
Debt ceiling remix: ?Dance on the ceiling?
Songs to get you through another debt-limit-discussion day.
Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/26/debt-ceiling-remix-dance-on-the-ceiling/
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
In Defense of Holding the Line
I’m getting beat to hell and back by conservatives for insisting the GOP hold the line on Cut, Cap, and Balance. Even here at RedState, I’m getting accused of “ideological intransigence.” Yeah, here at RedState. There’s a first time for everything.
People want a deal. People want John Boehner’s deal. People are upset with me for not liking John Boehner’s deal. People are telling me, “They only have one house, Erick. You can’t expect them to not compromise. They control nothing.”
I’ve said all along I expect a deal and a compromise. Here’s the problem and I need you to understand this from perspective, whether you agree with me or not.
See, I worked to send people to Washington, DC to solve problems, to make things right, to fix the things that were broken, and to send power back to the states. They are not doing that.
We all saw Democrats go to Washington in 2008 and take the whole thing. They controlled everything and they made everything worse. They passed a stimulus bill that killed or ruined hundreds of thousands of jobs in the private sector while growing the government. They increased dependency on the federal government. And then they passed Obamacare and socialized American healthcare. But it doesn’t fully take effect until 2014. We saw Democrats willing to lose their positions to lurch the nation left.
So we sent to Washington an army of conservatives to Washington to defund Obamacare and stop the White House. And now they’ve gotten there and have refused to fight. They promised and put in writing that they’d cut $100 billion from the federal government budget in 2011 and they ultimately cut only $38 billion. The Congressional Budget Office, when it was done scoring it, said they really were only cutting about $500 million and it would cost more money that it was worth it to actually cut those dollars.
So they said, “But we”ll stand firm on the debt ceiling. We’ll hold the line.” Everybody gave them a pass and said, “Okay, hold the line on the debt ceiling.”
Now here we are the week before the deadline. John Boehner laments they should have done it sooner, but he refused to do it sooner. The Speaker has prevented the Republicans from submitting legislation to ensure we would not default so that he would have leverage over his own members to force them to take a deal. And now they are dealing.What is their deal?
Their deal creates another committee to look at spending ? the 18th in the past 30 years. These 18 committees have never done anything except raise taxes. Their spending cuts are put off a decade and future congresses ignore them.
Boehner’s spending caps are easily waived as they’ll be rules, not laws. And they punt.
A lot of you are emailing and getting on twitter saying to take the deal. Take the compromise. Why should we compromise? That’s what we always do. Even when in the majority we compromise. The Democrats didn’t compromise on healthcare. But you people want to compromise. Republicans, whether in the majority or minority, are always compromising in favor of bigger government and imaginary spending cuts.
To make matters worse, why the hell are the Republicans the ones coming up with the plans if they only control one house of one branch of the federal government? Why are they doing it? We’re on the third damn plan. They aren’t even compromising with the Democrats. They are compromising with themselves.
The Democrats are holding their line. The GOP is splitting conservatives. The Democrats are saying “Raise the debt ceiling. Don’t cut anything.” And Boehner is saying okay and putting in cuts that take affect in year eight of ten so none of them will be around to be held accountable. Why?
The GOP came up with Paul Ryan’s plan. They passed it. They took bullets. The GOP put him in a witness protection program and dropped it like a hot potato.
So then the GOP passed Cut, Cap, and Balance and the Democrats beat them up and again accused the GOP of killing grandma. The leadership was lukewarm to it and never fought for it. And immediately after voting for it, the leadership said, “Now, let’s move on to the third plan.”
Are these all just symbolic votes? If so, I’d rather some substance. This symbolism is getting the GOP killed with nothing to show for it.
Why the hell are we on our third plan when the Democrats haven’t even come up with one plan? They haven’t even passed a budget in over 800 days. We’re in this mess because Harry Reid, in December of 2010, refused the raise the debt ceiling so the GOP could own the problem. The GOP fell into the trap with eyes wide open.
And the Republicans are falling for it yet again.
And now I’m being accused of thinking this is all a game even by long time RedState readers. I do not think this is all a game.
I know the credit rating is going to be downgraded and I don’t want it to happen. You people who want the deal are so worked up in emotion that you are ignoring all the facts. Here are the facts:
1. S&P says we need a deal of at least $4 trillion in cuts to avoid a credit rating drop.
2. Neither Boehner nor Reid get us there.
3. The only plan that gets us there is Cut, Cap, and Balance and the GOP is running away from it as fast as they can. The GOP already passed it and it just four votes shy of a majority in the Senate.
No one wants to fight. “No, we’ve already had that vote. It can’t pass the Senate,” they say.
There will be no default on August 2nd. We know it will not happen. How do we know? Because we have more money coming in each month than is needed to pay principle and interest on our national debt. And we have had multiple prior occasions where we have gone passed the deadline and the world did not suddenly end. It is all political rhetoric. Shame on you for succumbing to fear.
Barack Obama does not want to be remembered as the President on whose watch the nation defaulted. His leverage goes away on August 3rd and the GOP holds all the cards. We won’t default. We can improve our negotiating position.
The GOP could hold the line. And because they won’t hold the line, they are tanking our credit behind a bunch of smoke and mirrors. If the Democrats blame the GOP when the credit rating drops, the GOP will damn well deserve the blame if they stick with Boehner’s plan.
They could at least fight to turn the tide. They could at least hold the line.
Source: http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/07/26/in-defense-of-holding-the-line/
McDonald?s Announces 20 Percent Calorie Decrease In Happy Meals
McDonald’s says it initially experimented with eliminating French Fries from Happy Meals but faced a rebellion from children and parents. And so instead, responding to pressure from health groups, the company has pledged to “add a serving of fruit or vegetable to all of the meals” and shrink the portion of fries. The new meals [...]
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2011/07/26/280100/mcdonalds-calorie-decrease-happy-meals/
Again, No Compromise.
Late last year, I posted a memo of sorts to anyone who might have listened. At the time, the issue at stake was the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts. As I thought back on that post, I saw editors from the NY Times offering their insights on Obama offering the “truth” while Boehner “did not.” �I saw the buildup in the mainstream media as the left, hiding behind their bogus claims of objectivity, used words like “reason” to describe Obama, and “attack” to describe Boehner’s reaction. �It is clear that we are at a cross-roads of sorts again, and unfortunately, it is not clear that our own Republican Party is aware of what is expected of them. More than ever, the need to stand firm and reject an inch of movement is what is called for.
I considered writing a new memo espousing the same reasons as before as to why compromise is not always the answer and in fact, is being used as a tool by the progressives to slowly encroach on our lives by chipping away at our liberty, bit by bit.
In the end, I decided I did well enough before and that it bears repeating.
I have grown weary of hearing the calls for bi-partisanship. The calls for ?reaching across the aisle? and ?bucking your party.? And yes, I?m even tired of that sacred word that hushes the most stubborn of partisans: Compromise. Compromise in terms of leadership or lack thereof. Compromise with ulterior motives and double-speak. Compromise that hurts our country, indeed our world.
To some this is counter-intuitive and in stark contrast to the common wisdom put forth by much of the media. But the truth is, moderation & compromise have a dark and sordid past when it comes to governing nations. It gave us ?The Great Society,? which ensured generations of poor on welfare and the end of the need for a father. It gave us the ?New Deal? & Medicare, which are quickly bankrupting our country. It gave us the Munich Pact and the Gaza Strip. It empowered North Korea to acquire nuclear weapons and is on a steady path to do the same with Iran.
Some would say it gave us the Constitution and the Emancipation Proclamation, but that is only partially correct. In order for the founders to compromise with one another they had first to establish that they were immovable in their stance against King George. For him there would be no compromise.
In order for Lincoln to bring the States back into Union, he had to stand his ground firmly and go to war with his own countrymen rather than ?negotiate? or be ?bi-partisan.?
It is not compromise in and of itself that has begun to wear on me. It?s the misuse of it?s purpose. Compromise does not exist for the purpose of mindless moderation. It does not exist to create friends that would otherwise be enemies.
Compromise is a tool for coming to a common understanding, but there must be foundational common interests first. If there is not, then there is nothing to negotiate if your interests are too much in contrast with one another.
Compromise presupposes that there is something you are capable of or willing to give up, which at times needs to not be the case. It assumes that you can get what you want out of the other side without giving up so much that it destroys that which you were trying to protect.
At times, it is best not to compromise at all ? to look at the opposition and determine that, not only do they not have anything to offer, but you don?t have anything you?re willing to give up.
In point of fact, you can?t have compromise if you don?t have some aspects of your position that cannot be compromised. To paraphrase Etienne Gilson, there cannot be tolerance without dogmatism. To put it another way, if I?m offered by a murderer to be killed with either a gun or a knife, I?ll choose to not be murdered.
Take note GOP leadership: This is not time to think about the political ramifications. �This is not the time to balance against what others might say about you in a campaign speech or television commercial. �In short, this is not the time to think about yourselves.
This is the time where you show us why we haven’t given up on you. �The time where you force the Obama administration to own the crisis that they have made. �Any claims to an�inheritance of this problem have completely lost credibility. �It’s time for the rude awakening that the left is trying to delay, to finally and at long last happen.
It is time for you to do the right thing. �It is time for you to stand up for us.
Stand your ground.
Hold the line.
No compromise.
Source: http://www.redstate.com/aglanon/2011/07/25/again-no-compromise/
The Pie is only so big, all people must eat from the same pie! So why are you Pigs taking more than your share?
I don't care how many financial schemes you come up with or how you justify your piece of pie, but ENOUGH is enough!
Time for the rich to wake up, before we start eating YOU!
There is no article to read, the post is the article and your place to post about the topic of your shrinking piece of the pie.
Please leave your thoughts and related articles on this post!
- added by:
kennymotown - 33 comments
What are the biggest design challenges facing urban areas?
With 1 billion cars worldwide and traffic congestion set to double in 20 years innovative, new vehicle designs are important to staying ahead of population growth. Most urban centers today have been designed around cars; however, design group Terreform1 designs concept vehicles specifically to fit within cityscapes.
Which of the vehicle designs in the Terreform segment do you think would best fit into your city and why?
Be sure to check out current.com/urbanmobility for more news, community discussions and upcoming videos about Urban Mobility.
- added by:
DominicBlackwellCooper - 4 comments
A Moron Who Doesn?t Know the Ropes
When I read that Anders Behring Breivik considered himself a modern Knight Templar, I was immediately reminded of Umberto Eco’s great set piece in Foucault’s Pendulum, in which one of his characters describes the four basic types of human being: fools, morons, cretins, and lunatics:
A lunatic is easily recognized. He is a moron who doesn’t know the ropes. The moron proves his thesis; he has a logic, however twisted it may be. The lunatic, on the other hand, doesn’t concern himself at all with logic; he works by short circuits. For him, everything proves everything else. The lunatic is all idée fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars.
Keep reading this post . . .
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/272657/moron-who-doesn-t-know-ropes-kevin-d-williamson
Livestream: President Obama at 9pm on Avoiding Default
In a statement today, the White House announced that the President would speak at 9pm tonight about "the stalemate in Washington over avoiding default and the best approach to cutting deficits."
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/t0LOlDhymUg/
News is a subset of the conversation
Here’s a tale that reveals how journalists tend to think of their role in the conversation that makes up news and society.
I think the conversation is happening all around us, with or without the journalists. I teach now that it’s the role of the journalist to add value to that conversation: verification, debunking, facts, [...]
I think the conversation is happening all around us, with or without the journalists. I teach now that it’s the role of the journalist to add value to that conversation: verification, debunking, facts, [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/LF9eZZ2m2Jo/
Monday, July 25, 2011
7.5 Hours on Radio Today
I’m going to be on the radio for 8 hours today ? 4.5 for Neal Boortz’s show and 3 for mine this evening. It will be a long day of talking and you can listen to it all by clicking right here.
You can also call in at 1-877-310-2100 for Neal’s show and this evening for mine you can call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.
I’ll be on 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET today and again this evening from 7pm to 10pm ET.
Consider this an open thread.
Source: http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/07/25/7-5-hours-on-radio-today/
Arkansas High School Appoints Co-Valedictorian Because Top Student Was African American
A high school student in Arkansas was blocked from receiving sole valedictorian honors this summer, despite earning the highest G.P.A. in her class and receiving only a single B in her four years at McGehee Secondary School. Kymberly Wimberly’s offense? She’s black. School administrators worried that Wimberly’s accomplishment would result in a “big mess” at [...]
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/07/25/278437/arkansas-valedictorian-discrimination/
#fuckyouwashington
So I was angry. Watching TV news over dinner — turning my attention from scandals in the UK to those here and frankly welcoming the distraction from the tragedies in Norway — I listened to the latest from Washington about negotiations over the debt ceiling. It pissed me off. I’d had enough. After dinner, I [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/8tvw-9Lt-QY/
Different to the core
Today on Uncommon Knowledge, Ambassador Charles Hill gets to the heart of the difference between the Islamic and the Western world orders.
Keep reading this post . . .
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/272549/different-core-peter-robinson
Quotes of the day
Who are you people and who is doing my job?
Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/22/quotes-of-the-day-752/
Jay Carney: Economy ?Vastly Improved? Since Obama Took Office
**Written by Doug Powers In next year’s election, Team Obama may have no other choice but to campaign against ghosts, figments of the imagination and alternate universes — reality is an opponent they know they will not defeat. White House Spokesman Jay Carney demonstrated that at today’s press conference. Transcript from Real Clear Politics: “Well, [...]
A true threat to privacy
Among the most deliberate and abhorrent mass violations of privacy committed in recent memory did not come as a result of technology, social services, databases, hackers, thieves, leakers, or governments. It was an act of a news organization, News Corp., which hacked into the phones of a reported 4,000 people, including not just celebrities but [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/ExoRamw13kg/
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Palin documentary bombs during second week in theaters.
The Undefeated, the much-hyped Palin documentary, bombed during its second week in theaters, bringing in just $24,000 in ticket sales across 14 screens. The movie’s per theater average, touted as a relative bright spot by promoters, plummeted from $6,513 to $1,713, according to estimates by the industry website Box Office Mojo.
Debt-ceiling pas de deux, Part Deux
New partners at the dance?
Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/24/debt-ceiling-pas-de-deux-part-deux/
Cornel West Flunks the President
What’s with the black suit, white shirt, black tie outfit you always wear? Do you have anything else in your closet?
I’ve got four black suits that I circulate, and they are my cemetery clothes — my uniform that keeps me ready for battle. It’s ready to die, brother. If I drop dead, I am coffin-ready. I got my tie, my white shirt, everything. Just fix my Afro nice in the coffin.
So let me ask you: in 2007, you introduced Barack Obama as your “brother, companion and comrade.” But in May, you referred to him as “the black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs” and the “head of the American killing machine.” What in the world happened?
It was a cry from the heart. What happened was that greed at the top has squeezed so much of the juices of the body politic. Poor people and working people have not been a fundamental focus of the Obama administration. That for me is not just a disappointment but a kind of betrayal.
But you have also acknowledged that this is more than just political — you’ve said that after campaigning for him at 65 events, you were miffed that he didn’t return your phone calls or say thank you.
I think he had to keep me at a distance. There’s no doubt that he didn’t want to be identified with a black leftist. But we’re talking about one phone call, man. That’s all. One private phone call.
He was running a successful candidacy for president. He might have been busy.
So many of the pundits assume that it’s just egoism: “Who does Cornel West think he is? The president is busy.” But there’s such a thing as decency in human relations.
O.K., but did you also have to say that Obama “feels most comfortable with upper-middle-class white and Jewish men who consider themselves very smart”?
It’s in no way an attempt to devalue white or Jewish brothers. It’s an objective fact. In his administration, he’s got a significant number of very smart white brothers and very smart Jewish brothers. You think that’s unimportant?
When Larry Summers was president of Harvard, he told you your rap album was an “embarrassment” to the university, and you quit soon after. He was one of Obama’s first appointments. Did that strike a particular feeling in your heart?
I couldn’t help it. I’m a human being, indeed. Given the disrespect he showed me? Oh, my God. Again, it’s political much more than it’s personal. Summers was in captivity to Wall Street interests. But it’s personal too.
You have 30 seconds of private time with the president — what do you say to him?
I would say: “Look at that bust of Martin Luther King Jr. in the Oval Office and recognize that tears are flowing when you let Geithner and others shape your economic policy, when you refuse to focus on poor and working people or when you drop the drone bombs that kill innocent civilians. Tim Geithner does not represent the legacy of Martin King.”
How can Obama be the president you want him to be when he’s facing this Republican Congress?
I’ll put it this way, brother: You’ve got to be a thermostat rather than a thermometer. A thermostat shapes the climate of opinion; a thermometer just reflects it. If you’re just going to reflect it and run by the polls, then you’re not going to be a transformative president. Lincoln was a thermostat. Johnson and F.D.R., too.
You lament in your book “Race Matters” that there’s a lack of black leadership. You’re smart, very charismatic — why did you never become what we would consider a black leader in the mold of Martin Luther King or Malcolm X?
Well, one, it’s because we live in an age where there are no movements. But second, and most important, I have to be true to my calling. Martin King’s calling was to be a Christian preacher. Mine is much more linked to the life of the mind and being able to move back and forth. This weekend I was with Bootsy Collins at B.B. King’s. We wrote two songs together on his new album — that’s just one context where I try to play a very important role outside the academy. But my calling is still one of being an intellectual warrior and spiritual soldier.
- added by:
KSirys - 29 comments
Source: http://current.com/community/93357002_cornel-west-flunks-the-president.htm?xid=RSSfeed
Late Late Night FDL: Ready, Woolen and Able
Ready, Woolen and Able featuring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog. This Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. Merrie Melodies cartoon was released on July 30, 1960.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/JFFQiuqMMaw/
Re: Repealing the Individual Mandate Is a Terrible Idea
Avik, you write that repealing the individual mandate in Obamacare, without repealing the rest of the law, would be a terrible idea. Well, not necessarily: As Eisenhower used to say, in order to solve a problem, it is sometimes necessary to enlarge it.
Keep reading this post . . .
Barney Frank: Lack Of Funding Is Hurting Financial Regulators ?Enormously?
As part of their campaign to undermine the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, House Republicans have refused to give the federal financial regulators — particularly the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — the funding necessary to implement it. In an interview with ThinkProgress, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) said this lack of [...]
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/07/23/277020/frank-regulator-budgets/
Steny Hoyer: A Balanced Budget Amendment Would Make it Virtually Impossible to Raise Taxes
**Written by Doug Powers If you’re on the fence as far as an opinion on a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, Steny Hoyer seems to be unwittingly trying to push you in the “pro” direction: (CNSNews.com) – House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D.-Md.) said on the House floor last night that if the balanced [...]
Source: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/07/20/hoyer-but-a-balanced-budget-amendment/
Florida AG?s Politically Motivated Firings Protect the Foreclosure Fraud Industry
Maybe it's because I've done so much reporting on the foreclosure fraud issue, but I have to admit to some surprise that the firing of two Assistant Attorney Generals down in Florida, the hotbed of the housing crisis, hasn't gotten much attention nationally. In my mind, this is the state-based equivalent of the US Attorney scandal. You have a conservative Attorney General who has fired two investigators who were tasked by a previous Republican regime with finding violations of the law. When they proved too effective for the next regime to stomach, they were canned. And now, the new AG, Pam Bondi, is smearing their reputations.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/Qco-Q6R6ltM/
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Terror blast in Oslo ? ?massive vehicle bomb; gunman fires on kids? camp;? Update: Norway had taken action against jihadi cleric who threatened to kill politicians; Update: domestic terrorism suspected?Anders Behring Breivik; a cryptic Twitter message, curious social media trail; At least 80 youths killed, police say
Scroll for updates…FOLLOW MY TWITTER FEED FOR ALL THE LATEST…http://www.twitter.com/michellemalkin… George Gooding (Seixon) passes along this photo of a massive bomb blast at government offices in Oslo: Not much on the wires yet. USA Today has this: The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten quotes witnesses as saying Oslo’s Market Street is “full of chaos” with people “running [...]
Source: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/07/22/terror-blast-in-oslo/
Unions Cheer When Socialist-Style Merit-Pay Scheme Doesn?t Work
Earlier this week, the RAND Corporation released the results of a study that found merit pay had no effect on increasing student achievement or teacher motivation.
Teacher union supporters are gleefully promoting this study as proof that merit pay does not work.
Before the RAND study enters the information bloodstream and is accepted as conventional wisdom, Education [...]
Teacher union supporters are gleefully promoting this study as proof that merit pay does not work.
Before the RAND study enters the information bloodstream and is accepted as conventional wisdom, Education [...]
Barney Frank: Lack Of Funding Is Hurting Financial Regulators ?Enormously?
As part of their campaign to undermine the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, House Republicans have refused to give the federal financial regulators — particularly the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — the funding necessary to implement it. In an interview with ThinkProgress, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) said this lack of [...]
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/07/23/277020/frank-regulator-budgets/
?X-Men: The Animated Series,? Technology, and Character Development
In between my Breaking Bad binges, I’ve been revisiting a bit of X-Men: The Animated Series, of which I saw a few episodes in my largely TV-less childhood. Aside from the fact that the creators clearly don’t trust public-private collaborations very much (I would love to see a Government Accountability Office audit of the Mutant [...]
Friday, July 22, 2011
Citigroup strategist thinks water will be bigger than oil - Predicts private ownership of water to expand.
The folks at Citigroup are a thirsty bunch.
In a 37-page note on Thursday, the bank’s global strategists recommend investors play the urbanisation trend by buying into water companies (these ones to be specific), arguing that the concentration of the world’s population and increasing standards of life will drive up demand for the liquid commodity.
Even Willem Buiter, a man most often seen railing at the vagaries of central banks, gets stuck in, with a 4,000-word essay on the subject. Which means we could now discuss whether the Citigroup economist thinks water is a public good (he says it’s private), whether it’s excludable (i.e. lends itself to property rights — he says it does), whether it’s a merit good as defined by Richard Musgrave back in the 1950s (it’s not) and whether, since it is essential to life, it should be free (to which his answer is a curt ‘no’).
But instead, we’ll just skip to the bit where Buiter says water is the next big thing:
"I expect to see in the near future a massive expansion of investment in the water sector, including the production of fresh, clean water from other sources (desalination, purification), storage, shipping and transportation of water. I expect to see pipeline networks that will exceed the capacity of those for oil and gas today.
I see fleets of water tankers (single-hulled!) and storage facilities that will dwarf those we currently have for oil, natural gas and LNG. I see new canal systems dug for water transportation, similar in ambition and scale to those currently in progress in China, linking the Yangtze River in the South to the Yellow River in the arid north.
I also hope and expect that these new canal ventures will be designed and implemented with a greater awareness of the environmental and social impact of such mega-projects. India will have to engage in investment on a scale comparable to that seen today in China to produce clean water in the best locations and transport it to where the household, industrial and agricultural users are."
*Water as an Asset Class*
"I expect to see a globally integrated market for fresh water within 25 to 30 years. Once the spot markets for water are integrated, futures markets and other derivative water-based financial instruments — puts, calls, swaps — both exchange-traded and OTC will follow. There will be different grades and types of fresh water, just the way we have light sweet and heavy sour crude oil today. Water as an asset class will, in my view, become eventually the single most important physical-commodity based asset class, dwarfing oil, copper, agricultural commodities and precious metals."
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2011/07/21/629881/willem-buiter-thinks-water-wil...
- added by:
Schnookums - 86 comments
Grand Bargain Talks Break Down
A clearly agitated President Obama pronounced that Congress had run out of time to come up with a big solution on deficit reduction tied to the debt limit. The President clearly shifted this to Plan B, saying that the leadership has been summoned to the White House tomorrow morning.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/k-VZI7gC7Pw/
A Proposed Corporate Tax Holiday in the Democratic Debt Ceiling Deal: Where's the Uproar?!?
By Matt Taibbi -
Have been meaning to write about this, but I’m increasingly amazed at the overall lack of an uproar about the possibility of the government approving another corporate tax repatriation holiday.
I’ve been in and out of DC a few times in recent weeks and one thing I keep hearing is that there is a growing, and real, possibility that a second “one-time tax holiday” will be approved for corporations as part of whatever sordid deal emerges from the debt-ceiling negotiations.
I passed it off as a bad joke when I first saw news of this a few weeks ago, when it was reported that Wall Street whipping boy Chuck Schumer was seriously considering the idea. Then I read later on that other Senators were jumping on the bandwagon, including North Carolina’s Kay Hagan.
This is what Hagan’s spokesperson said:
"Senator Hagan is looking closely at any creative, short-term measures that can get bipartisan support and put people back to work. One such potential initiative is a well-crafted and temporary change to the tax code that encourages American companies to bring money home and put it towards capital, investment, and–most importantly–American jobs."
For those who don’t know about it, tax repatriation is one of the all-time long cons and also one of the most supremely evil achievements of the Washington lobbying community, which has perhaps told more shameless lies about this one topic than about any other in modern history – which is saying a lot, considering the many absurd things that are said and done by lobbyists in our nation’s capital.........
Continue Reading at:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/holiday-in-scambodia-2011072...
- added by: Schnookums
- 6 comments
Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?
Millionaires and billionaires learn to live in peace
Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/21/nfl-lockout-locks-in/
Governor Chris Christie to implement New Jersey?s medical marijuana program
By Eric W. Dolan
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 -- 6:32 pm
New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie announced Tuesday that he would lift his suspension on implementing the state’s medical-marijuana program.
"We're moving forward with the program as it was set up," said Christie at a press conference. "I believe that the need to provide compassionate pain relief to these citizens of our state outweighs the risk we are taking in moving forward with the program."
Former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill into law that legalized marijuana in the state for those with certain medical conditions, such as HIV, cancer and multiple sclerosis. But Christie blocked the implementation of the law after taking office in 2010, claiming it needed to be amended.
Christie's announcement came in spite of threats from U.S. Attorneys (PDF) and a June 29th memorandum from Deputy Attorney General James Cole, which stated the Justice Department was "committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in all States."
The growth, sale and possession of marijuana is still illegal under federal law, even for medical use.
"If Governor Christie can implement his state's medical marijuana program in the face of recent attempts by the federal government to intimidate public officials, then states like Arizona, Rhode Island and Washington should be empowered to implement theirs as well," said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a medical marijuana advocacy group.
The governors of Arizona, Rhode Island and Washington have refused to implement medical marijuana laws due to threats of criminal prosecution by U.S. Attorneys.
TAKE ACTIONPetitions by Change.org|Get Widget|Start a Petition »"The State of Arizona has worked to follow the wishes of voters,” Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said in May after filing a lawsuit against the federal government over whether she can implement her state's medical marijuana initiative.
"But I won’t stand aside while state employees and average Arizonans acting in good faith are unwittingly put at risk," Brewer added. "In light of the explicit warnings on this issue offered by Arizona’s U.S. Attorney, as well as many other federal prosecutors, clarity and judicial direction are in order."
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have medical marijuana laws that conflict with federal law.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/19/governor-chris-christie-to-implement-new-j...
"Wow... This Guy looks like he has had the Munchies for Years!!!"
- added by:
KB723 - 102 comments
Obamateurism of the Day
Gaffe (n): The accidental telling of a political truth.
Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/22/obamateurism-of-the-day-553/
Twitter Kills the Most Important State Level Conservative Group in the Country
I have long considered Empower Texans to be the most important and effective state level conservative grassroots organization in the country. These people are not just respected in Texas; they are feared. It is an awesome thing to behold.
Michael Quinn Sullivan and company do excellent work educating Texans on the men who go to Austin claiming to be conservatives only to turn left out of the eyes of their constituents.
And they use Twitter as part of their communication strategy. In fact, twitter is a key component of their outreach. Or at least it was.
Today, Twitter not only shut down the Empower Texans twitter feed, but it also shut down the twitter feeds of every individual who works for Empower Texans.
Twitter is a private organization. It can do what it wants. But I am very troubled that it did so without explanation and without anyone for Empower Texans to contact.
If this was an orchestrated effort on the part of others to flag Empower Texans as a spam account such that Twitter’s computer system would automatically can it, Twitter has a serious security problem.
It was a man made decision, Twitter has even bigger problems.
Either way, it needs to fix this.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)