sneak preview of the George W. Bush book

The Republicans are in a panic because George Bush is planning to release a book right after the November 2010 election.  They are concerned because one normally promotes a book in anticipation of the release by appearing on television before the book goes on sale. Therefore Bush would be appearing in public just as voters were making their final decisions.  This would draw attention to the Bush policies they are running on and also highlight his "record of accomplishment" or as less euphemistic writers might label, outcomes.

Not to worry. I believe it's just going to be a "How to" book.  And the Republicans have demonstrated they are already following Bush's advice.

The MBA president

Any Democrats out there getting a little sick of being lectured about fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction by the Republicans?

You'd think our first MBA president would have left the country in a little bit better order. After all don't MBA's have to know a little bit about accounting.

Looks like those WMDs weren't the only thing Bush couldn't keep track of.  The recent revelation of $8.7 billion in lost Iraqi oil revenue brings to mind a few other issues the previous administration has had with bookkeeping. These funds were supposed to have paid for reconstruction.

Who'd expect them to keep track of a few billion when  they shrink wrapped $12 billion into stacks of 100 dollar bills at the beginning of the Iraq invasion and just off loaded them without accounting.  But that's chump change compared to fighting the two wars without raising taxes or cutting spending to pay for them.

Further reading:
http://www.newser.com/story/96537/pentagon-lost-track-of-87b-in-iraqi-oil-money.html
http://www.stripes.com/news/bush-s-plan-to-rebuild-iraq-using-oil-revenues-met-with-skepticism-1.3600
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/09/60minutes/main1302378.shtml
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/feb/08/usa.iraq1
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9292.html

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jan/29/barack-obama/obama-inherited-deficits-bush-http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100727/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100727/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

Contract on America

Which gang has lower ethical standards?

http://my.democrats.org/page/content/tpgop

Two New Games from BP

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov estimated  the final cost to BP of the Deep Water Horizon oil spill at $63 billion.  Although the company plans to recover nearly $10 billion  in US tax credit for losses incurred as a result of the spill, they will still need to raise another $53 billion. Incoming BP CEO Robert Dudley will be charged with selling $30 billion in company assets.

Perhaps BP should follow its company slogan, BEYOND PETROLEUM and diversify.   In April 2010, it boasted investments in over a billion dollars of alternative energy projects.  But they are going to need a lot more cash to offset their heavy losses in oil for this year.  Their clean-up efforts demonstrated a deep connection to the culture and technology of the 1980's. Therefore, I propose selling some retro themed games based on the adventures of their outgoing and incoming CEOs.

http://www.bpoilspilllawblog.com/2010/06/pavel-molchanov-an-analyst-at.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BpOilSpillLawBlogCom+(BP+Oil+Spill+Law+Blog)
http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2010/04/15/bp-to-invest-8-billion-in-alternative-energy-through-2015/
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100728/NEWS02/707289822

More things from the last century for Bill O'Reilly to be afraid of ...

Bill O'Reilly and Fox News got a lot of fear-mongering mileage out of a very old group, the Black Panthers. So I'd like to remind them of a few other 1960's and 1970's trends they could gin up as threats to their gullible viewers.

Minority Mafia

to obama: don't be that guy

"If we allow Vietnam to fall, tomorrow we’ll be fighting in Hawaii, and next week in San Francisco."

Mall of Amercia: Big Clearance Sale of Politicians in Washington

"Citizens United v Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 50 (2010), was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment.

The Court struck down a provision of the McCain–Feingold Act that prohibited all corporations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, and unions from broadcasting “electioneering communications.” "




Charlie Rangel "Beginning in 2008, Rangel has faced a series of allegations of ethics violations and failures to follow tax laws. In February 2010, the House Ethics Committee concluded that Rangel had violated House gift rules by accepting payment from corporations for reimbursement for travel to conferences in the Caribbean, and required him to repay those expenses. The Ethics Committee has also worked on three more serious investigations, which involve allegations of improperly living in multiple rent-stabilized apartments in New York City while claiming his Washington, D.C. home as his primary residence for tax purposes, of improperly using his office in raising money for a public policy institute in his name at the City College of New York, and of failing to disclose rental income from an apartment in the Dominican Republic. In March 2010, Rangel stepped aside as Ways and Means chair. In July 2010, Rangel was charged with multiple ethics violations by the House Ethics Committee and will face a formal hearing to determine his fate."

Ben Nelson "Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson is not afraid to buck his party when it comes to fiscal issues.
The Nebraskan did it again this week, voting against a bill extending unemployment insurance benefits to millions of Americans.
New state figures for June found that the state's unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent in May, compared to the national average of 9.5 percent."

Joe Barton  "During a Congressional hearing, Barton apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward for the White House's investigation of the Gulf oil spill, calling it a "shakedown", which promptly raised controversy.
During his political career, the industries that have been Barton's largest contributors were oil and gas ($1.4 million donated), electric utilities ($1.3 million) and health professionals ($1.1 million)[30] He is ranked first among members of the United States House of Representatives for the most contributions received from the oil and gas industry, and number five among all members of Congress.[31] His largest corporate contributor, Anadarko Petroleum, owns a 25 percent share in the Macondo Prospect, the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[32]"


John Kerry  "Times are tough for everyone. Including gazillionaire John Kerry. The Massachusetts senator is under fire for docking his brand new $7-million yacht in Rhode Island. It's not illegal to moor your boat there or anything. It's just that Rhode Island doesn’t have a boat sales and use tax anymore. If the luxurious yacht, which apparently boasts an "Edwardian-style, glossy varnished teak interior, two VIP main cabins and a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage" were berthed in his home state (commonly known as "Taxachusetts") then he’d be on the hook for almost $500,000."

All of the above direct quotes from these sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._Federal_Election_Commission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_B._Rangel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Barton
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/07/john-kerry-saves-500000-by-docking-ultraluxury-yacht-in-other-state.html
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/22/ben.nelson.vote/index.html

Red-faced with ????

Most of us are feeling red-faced with shame over the miscarriage of justice toward Shirley Sherrod.  But one stalwart of the right continues to support Andrew Breitbart's video lie of omission.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/23/rush-limbaugh-fox-news-ca_n_657546.html

Cap and Trade

No "up or down" vote on one of the most important pieces of legislation to effect the planet.

according to Reid

It's easy to count to 60. I could do it by the time I was in eighth grade. My point is this, we know where we are. We know we don't have the votes [for a bill capping emissions]. This is a step forward.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/07/shellenberger_this_is_the_end.html

Read more: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2010/07/22/cap-and-trade-is-dead-really-truly-im-not-kidding-whos-to-blame/?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0uc4dR6hm

Drain the Swamp

A Modest Proposal

What should the Obama administration do about Shirley Sherrod?  She has clearly shown herself to be the class of the field through her lifetime of service.  She has moved America with her honesty, a rare commodity in our troubled times.

Obama has already asked for divine assistance with the oil spill. So with the White House seriously far off course from its initial promises and foundering on the rocks of the 24 hour attack machine news cycle,  wouldn't we all feel a lot better if this saintly woman was whispering advice in his ear every day?

Butthead and Butthead

McCain Pretzels: Think the Voters Will Bite?

Demoiselle duh Foxnews

"You force us to eat rope and drink gasoline."  George Braque

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/563353753/

Receptacle

re·cep·ta·cle (rĭ-sĕpˈtə-kəl)

noun

1. A container that holds items or matter

Rachet up that rhetoric, Tea Party Caucus.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/21/tea-party-caucus-holds-fi_n_654285.html

Dude, There's an App for That.

Lynching Civil Rights Workers: Then and Now

To anyone who has ever stood up in church and given her testimony, be afraid, be very afraid. Your story of redemption could be misconstrued to lead to your forced resignation. Because anybody who's ever sat in a pew and sung "Love lifted me" could have recognized the format and eventual conclusion of Shirley Sherrod's statement, even from the maliciously distorted Andrew Breitbart video.

White House, you looked silly and naive when Michaele and Tareq Salahi crashed the party. We questioned your ability to be objective when you quickly defended Henry Louis Gates Jr. Now we question your fitness to respond appropriately to large threats to the nation. We mourn for the death of discretion, of journalistic integrity, and of just plain old momma style common sense.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/us/21sherrod.html?src=mv

Race to the Bottom

The manufacturing sector needs a boost. What can a president do? One old trick is devaluing the national currency.  When the  Chinese kept their exported goods inexpensive, we stocked up at the Dollar Store (aka the " 87cents store"  in Europe) and Walmart.  But that dollar isn't buying you as much even in those bargain shops.  We are playing the devaluation game too. Not that we have much choice, with our money being rated "junk" by some and more being printed all the time.

But Europe and Japan are playing the same game.  So it's a race to the bottom, but can anyone win?
And if we all pile on to the economic luge at the same time, is a wipe out a forgone conclusion?

On the positive side,  it will be easier to pay off our enormous debt if our money isn't worth anything.

On the negative side, remember those 1923 photographs of Germans pushing wheelbarrows full of money to buy bread?
"we're number 2"

Sure we threw the unemployed under the bus, but look who's driving....

Oz (singing about the economy)

L to R Paul Volker as the Cowardly Lion, Jacob "Jack" Lew as the Straw Man, Elizabeth Warren as Dorothy, and Tim Geithner as the Tin Man.

Glenn Beck at Fashion Week

Isn't it bad enough that Glenn Beck presumes to lecture us on a myriad of topics about which he has only the most superficial knowledge: religion, evolution, the military, the US Constitution.
But now he is venturing into MY domain: hot fashion.  Newsflash Glenn: Michelle is a beautiful woman with great fashion instincts and a skilled team of advisors.
Sure, Marie Antoinette used fashion as a means of political expression.  But it takes quite a stretch of the imagination even for you, Glenn, to see the oil spill in a the black and white print that was popular before Deep Water Horizon became an actual outrage.

Seven things you can't say on television 2010 version

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/13/fcc-swear-word-censorship_n_644837.html

The Invisible Party

Republicans refuse to weigh in on racism. Yet racism seems to be behind many attacks on President Obama. Click to read the entire article in the Huffington  Post. This is only an excerpt. 

MCCONNELL: Oh my goodness, in the whole country, is there racism?

CROWLEY: Well, as you know, this weekend, NAACP said that the tea -- there are racist elements in the tea party.

MCCONNELL: I am not interested in getting into that debate. What we are interested in is trying to have an election this fall that will respond to what the American people are asking us to do, which is to have some checks and balances here.

They have seen big government on full display for a year-and-a- half. They are appalled. They would like for it to stop. And the best way for it to stop is to have a mid-course correction, which is not unusual in American politics, and I am hoping that is what is coming this fall.

CROWLEY: Nothing that you have seen on TV, including some of the signs that we've seen, albeit the minority at some of these tea party rallies, some of the posters that have been put up in the name of some factions of the tea party make you the least bit uncomfortable?

MCCONNELL: Look, there are all kinds of things going on in America that make me uncomfortable, both on the right and on the left. I have got better things to do than to wade in to all of these disputes and discussions that are going on out in the country. What we are trying to do is to make the president a born again moderate.

Looks like you're not in Kansas anymore.

The Obama Economic Team in the Land of Oz

Paul Volcker’s proposal to break up big banks is absent from the financial reform bill, leaving open the possibility of regulators capitulating to big banks. Jacob Lew's claim to fame is cutting deficits during booming economy of the Clinton years. Wonder how he'll respond to pressure to stimulate the near depression economy through spending. Elizabeth Warren is a heroine to the American people, pushing for the realization of the Federal Consumer Protection Agency. But her honesty and outspokenness have brought her into conflict with Secretary of the Treasury, Tim Geithner.  We'd all like to have some emerald slippers to take us home.

Economic Quicksand

Mitch McConnell says he is getting his groove back, probably because the polls are swinging back in favor of the Republicans.  Because he belongs to the party that courageously opposes extending unemployment benefits for the unemployed while supporting the extension of tax cuts for the very rich.
Never mind that the Bush years proved that these tax cuts don't stimulate the economy because the wealthy don't spend the money. The Republicans have again succeeded in convincing us that it's all a zero sum game, that if somebody else gets a little help in their time of greatest need, that the help won't be there for us when we need help.  They have convinced us that with five job applicants for each open position, that it is the unemployed, seeking work, that are causing unemployment.  Not business' justifiable queasiness about investing in the economy that has been rocketing downward since the worst of the Bush economic theories were tested.

Small wonder that the polls are up for Republicans. Remember what George Bush said in 2002:

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." 

And he still got reelected.

Party of No to US Economy: We Will Bury You

John Boehner (above in the guise of another contrarian, Nikita Khrushchev) and rest of the Republican leadership faces a difficult problem.  Their philosophy of government, which held sway during the 8 years of the Bush 43, sent the greatest economy in the world into a deep recession.  It obliterated  the Clinton budget surplus creating  a staggering deficit.  It cost America jobs as it granted tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.  Bush fought two expensive wars off the books,  leaving the costs to the current administration. Their hands-off approach to  regulation lead to the 2008 financial meltdown.

As we struggle to recover from the toxic effects of the Bush administration, how have the Republicans responded?  They have focused on a 2010 election strategy of opposing any and all attempts by Obama and the Democratic Congress to reset the troubled US economy.  Through threatened filibuster, secret holds and insincere committee negotiations, they weakened  stimulus and social safety net measures like healthcare and unemployment compensation.  Their hope is to defeat the recovery, making Obama look ineffective.  Their opposition is not helpful or loyal. It is entirely selfish, especially in light of their earlier failures.

Additional reading:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-l-borosage/who-gets-us-out-of-the-ho_b_646476.html
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Blogs/2010/07/14/Bartletts-Notations-Do-Tax-Cuts-Starve-the-Beast.aspx
http://www.salon.com/news/economics/?story=/opinion/feature/2010/07/14/reich_foreign_consumers

Breaking news: George Steinbrenner had a heart.

BP Pals Around with Terrorists

Sarah Palin appears to be organizing another run at national office.  If she were to pull together a campaign team with long term memory and conscience,  one could imagine her revisiting her popular catch phrase with a twist.

July 15, 2010 UPDATE: turns out the Bush administration knew and did not oppose negotiations between BP, Britain, and Libya to release the Lockerbie terrorist. Nice.

"BP begins drilling in Libyan waters this month as part of a $900 million deal secured in 2007. Observers of the 2007 deal note that it came as convicted Pan Am Flight 103 bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was added to a prisoner-transfer agreement between London and Tripoli."http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2010/07/14/BP-Lockerbie-bomber-probe-ordered/UPI-58491279110525/

"The exploration deal for oil and gas, potentially worth up to £15 billion, was announced in May 2007. Six months later the agreement was still waiting to be ratified." 

"Within six weeks of the government climbdown, Libya had ratified the BP deal. The prisoner transfer agreement was finalised in May this year, leading to Libya formally applying for Megrahi to be transferred to its custody."http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6814939.ece

Glenn Beck's New Universe

Why should we question Glenn Beck's credentials for starting his own university when he already lives in his own universe?

Sharron Angle: The Choice Candidate

John Kyl sees Nothing, Nothing

When is a deficit hawk, not a deficit hawk?  When he thinks his political interests are in conflict with his professed economic philosophy. Case in point, John Kyl.  He has opposed the bill extending unemployment insurance on the grounds that it would increase the deficit.  But Republicans are on a roll with wealthy campaign contributors and what politician in his right mind would want to stop the cash from flowing in?  Even for the good of his country.

Never mind that paying people the meager amount they need to keep food on the table and a roof overhead for their families while they look for work acts as a stimulant to the economy.  Because unlike the rich who have more than they need, the unemployed spend their checks immediately.  The wealthy aren't putting their surplus money into circulation, so it doesn't help our economy's recovery.  It makes no sense to extend the very tax cuts were one of the factors that lead to our current budget shortfall.

King and Queen

The Best Little Whorehouse in Louisiana

The Best Little Whorehouse  in Louisiana Featuring David Vitter, BP, the DC Madam, and the Conservative Right

The Audacity of Nope

The Chairman's New Clothes, A Fairy Tale of American Exceptionalism

http://www.economist.com/node/16591267

"This was a war of Obama's choosing. This is not something the United States has actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in."
—Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, at a  Connecticut fundraiser about the war in Afghanistan, which President Bush launched following the 9/11 terrorist attacks (July 2, 2010)

Following a firestorm of Republican criticism, Steele said,  "On the other matter, in terms of Afghanistan and all of that, let me be very clear: Absolutely, without equivocation, or doubt or hesitation, I'm foursquare, a thousand percent with our troops on the ground. My goodness, do not leave these young men and women without the resources they need. And that should have been very, very clear -- that I think it's important for us to recognize that this war on terrorism was brought to our shores and we must fight it. We must fight it. And we will fight it and we will win it, because that's what the resolve of the American people is on this. That's part of that exceptionalism again that we bring to this."

Michael Steele's recent comments concerning American exceptionalism demand a nuanced discussion. The term, like our national flag, has become an object of emotional projection, evoking a plethora of feelings and meanings. Ironically, he was forced to call upon the power of these words to recover from the earlier gaff about our role in Afghanistan. (inadvertent telling of the truth by a public figure) Defending his continued tenure as nominal head of the Republican Party, Michael Steele wrapped himself in the mantle of its ambiguous implications. American exceptionalism brings to mind liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism and laissez-faire. We love to think of ourselves as the best in all things because we are true to these great American values.

Although incorrect in referring to Afghanistan as Obama's War, Steele did raise an important question in doubting Obama's ability to succeed there. As Americans, we believe in our mid-20th century potency to "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." (John F. Kennedy inaugural address January 20, 1961). Yet, at what cost to the needs of our citizenry do we fight in Afghanistan? In light of the corruption of the government in Afganistan, will our involvement actually assure the liberty of people here or abroad? Does the region's history doom our mission to be a fool's errand?

In what other ways has our belief in American exceptionalism blinded us to the reality of our situation? We have neglected our infrastructure. For example according to Thomas Friedman, “The difference is starting to show. Just compare arriving at La Guardia’s dumpy terminal in New York City and driving through the crumbling infrastructure into Manhattan with arriving at Shanghai’s sleek airport and taking the 220-mile-per-hour magnetic levitation train….Then ask yourself: Who is living in the third world?”

Individualism and laissez-faire implies that each of us is free to achieve to our highest potential. Yet our national health hampers the realization of our dreams. We are no longer the best nourished, healthiest people on the planet. Our healthcare system is ranked 37 by the World Health Organization. One marker of our declining overall health is a decline in height in the US population while Europeans are increasing. John Komlos, Professor of Economic History at the University of Munich, and Benjamin Lauderdale of Princeton University's Department of Politics points to poorer diets in the US. Other factors might include Europe's superior health care and welfare systems, better health care in western and northern Europe and more comprehensive welfare systems.  At the same time,  we are overfed and under-exercised. We lead the planet in obesity, an epidemic 30% of  our population.

Despite our professed value of populism, championing the people in their  struggle for power with the elite, we are falling behind in educating the masses. We offer some of the world's greatest universities, yet student achievement among the vast majority of students is in decline. UNICEF ranked the US school system as 17th globally in student achievement.  The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranked US student scores as 33rd in the world, although they fare better in math scores at 27th.

And what about our beloved egalitarianism? CBS news reports that "Women in the United States who are 30 to 44 and who hold a university degree — meaning a bachelor's degree, master's degree, doctorate or medical degree — make only 62 percent of what similarly qualified men do."

And so I show Michael Steele in the embarrassing position of the legendary emperor parading in his new raiments.  The clothes that he and everybody else believed to be the most costly and fabulous.  The clothes that were woven from the fiber of fiction.

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html
http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity
http://atlanticreview.org/archives/661-Europeans-are-taller-than-Americans.html
http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/worlds-best-universities/2010/02/25/worlds-best-universities-top-400.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/13/national/main838207.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/26/world/main530872.shtml
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity
http://www.geographic.org/country_ranks/educational_score_performance_country_ranks_2009_oecd.html

Joe Manchin's Sweet Dream

Guest blogger De Walker is an activist who is deeply involved in moving the national discussion about unemployment compensation issues. I would like to thank her for preparing  this informative discussion of recent events. Here Facebook page on this topic is entitled "Middle Class Americans."

July 9, 2010
The unemployed are left in holding pattern yet again due to political games. The house has passed a watered down bill by Senator Stabenow which excludes 99ers , tier 5 and Cobra Subsidy. They in addition passed a 30 day bill from the Republicans that included a $25 addition to benefits, Cobra subsidy and tier 5, but was only a temporary solution for 30 days. Both bills were passed to the Senate on June 30th and both parties refused each other offers. This development happened after the millions of the unemployed that had been paying for unemployment insurance benefits their entire working lives had been waiting for several versions of the bill to pass for over 8 weeks.
The watered down bill by Stabenow that excludes millions was due to finally break the Republican filibuster on the 12th of July with the help of 2 Republican votes and the vote from recently passed Democratic Byrd’s seat replacement in the Senate. That hopeful yet inadequate bill is yet again under jeopardy due to West Virgina’s Governor Joe Manchin political aspirations. He was given the duty by the Senate and the Secretary of State to quickly appoint a replacement for BYRD’s Seat in order to pass unemployment Insurance among other important legislation before the Senate.
Governor Manchin announced on MSNBC that he instead of appointing the seat he has decided to have the West Virginia Attorney General decide on whether they should hold an early election for Byrd’s seat in November 2010. Thus depending on whether they decide on a temporary replacement for Byrd’s seat or leaving the seat empty until November it will delay the legislation on the floor from a week to several months. Manchin does this action because although he said he would not appoint himself to the empty seat, he has announced several times that he would like to run for the empty seat in November 2010. West Virginia is using a rarely used local law to try and accomplish this political move at the expense of Millions of Americans.
The latest released info links from West Virginia Attorney General and Governor Manchin are at the end of this article.
De Walker
M.C.A.
Middle Class Americans-Facebook
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38138942#38138942
http://www.wvgov.org/sec.aspx?id=32&articleid=2064
http://www.wvgov.org/uploads/WVAGopinion.pdf
http://www.facebook.com/?page=1&sk=messages&tid=1150745905141#!/group.php?gid=135166673173979

msnbc.com Video Player

www.msnbc.msn.com

She may be an Angle, but she's not right.

Sharron Angle sues to suppress her primary campaign website

 Republicans face an inconvenient truth.  The winner of the Nevada  primary, who will oppose  hated Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid in November,  holds some way outside the mainstream political views.   Hard to believe that the woman who would represent Nevada, land of legalized prostitution and 24/7 bars with no "last-call" seeks a return to Prohibition (of alcohol). Nevada seniors will be heartened to know she would privatize Social Security and Medicare, since investing in the stock market has been such a fruitful way to secure their retirement dollars.  She has linked increase ammunition sales to a coming revolt against our duly elected "tyrannical government" through "second amendment remedies."  Not surprising that she received a perfect score from the NRA.  She will foster savings on government spending by eliminating wasteful and unnecessary institutions like the Departments of Energy and Education.

To the rescue, handlers from the Republican National Committee.  They took down her primary website and replaced it with a sanitized, rational sounding general election site.  When Harry Reid supporters attempted to keep the earlier site online, her lawyers tried to force its removal from the internet on the grounds of copyright infringement.  To keep her unguarded views available, the Reid supporters launched sharronsundergroundbunker.    The official Sharron Angle site paints quite a different portrait.

Players (Financial Regulatory All-Star Game)

The Urban Dictionary defines a player as "A man or woman that hooks up with many diffent persons but commits to none and in that process ends up hurting some of those invovled. " sic

Two rookie players on the Financial Regulatory All-Star Teams are Barack Obama and Scott Brown. Each has displayed a remarkable trajectory from populist champion to big money booster. Brown, number 41, won a senate seat in a special election last January promising “no more closed-door meetings or back-room deals by an out-of-touch party leadership.” He learned the fine points of the game among the pros in Washington, quickly evolving into a real power player. Ever the consumate athlete, he negotiated recently for 20 hours, holding on throughout the grueling financial regulatory reform reconciliation committee meeting. In the end, he won an exception to the Volcker rule for banks including hometown State Street Corp. and Mass Mutual. They will now be free to invest as much as three percent of their capital in hedge funds and private equity firms yet still continue to manage those funds. These risky investments necessitated the bank bailout that Tea Party candidates like Scott Brown have campaigned so vigorously against. In a further show of his rapid maturation as a player, Brown then threatened to vote against the bill if the banks were taxed to cover the cost of the law's implementation. He is shown here in a green Celtics jersey contrasting nicely with his trademark pink leather shorts, but his fundraising motto is "What can Brown do for you?"

The coaching staff at the White House is deservedly proud of their rookie, Barack Obama. In a January photo-op with Paul Volker, Obama called for reforms to "ensure that the failure of any large firm does not take the entire economy down with it." Elite coaches Lawrence H. Summers, head of the National Economic Council for the Obama administration and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner have brought about Barack's new attitude. Summers earned nearly $5.2 million in just the last of his two years at one of the world’s largest funds in a position he describes as merely a part time job. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is a former president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In the late 1990s they worked to block the efforts of top regulators to regulate the same financial derivatives market that resulted in the current global financial crisis. No surprise then that Wall Street banks and the derivatives industry are considered to be big winners in the new financial reform legislation. Distracted by the Gulf Oil spill, Republican obstruction, Iran, Stanley McChrystal, and the Gaza flotilla, number 44 failed to make a critical slam-dunk with the big money donors from the banking industry.

Scott and Barry both live by the cardinal rule of all great players when it come to money or principles, "love em and leave em."

John, Take the Shot (The Republican War on the Middle Class)

How a Bill Doesn't Become a Law

Reading the Fortune Cookies at the Nihilist Restaurant on K Street

Fifth Highest Standard of Living in the World

Just in time for Independence Day holiday, the Republicans stuck it to the 1.3 million people with yet another threat of filibuster on extension of jobless benefits. While the senators are at home in their districts cooling off with beer at poolside fundraisers, the unemployed will sweat out another week of worry about foreclosure and feeding their children. With an average of six job seekers for each opening, the odds of securing employment are slim. Legions of job seekers are visible through the limo's windows.


Ben Nelson, Democratic senator from Nebraska, joined the Republicans in blocking the much needed relief. In my homage to Margaret Bourke-White, I depict him seated beside one of the architects of the the Republican senatorial strategy. By preventing government from performing its critical functions, Mitch McConnell hopes to return his party to power in the 2010 elections. Republicans rationalize this cynical approach to reclaiming ascendancy by claiming to be deficit hawks. Yet our fiscal decline began when they approved fighting two wars off the books while passing a tax cut for the rich.


Generous donations from industries that should be regulated keep senators living in luxury and out of touch with ordinary Americans. In 1937 when Bourke-White photographed the Bread Line, America boasted having the highest standard of living in the world. However, we have fallen to fifth place overall, with 37th place ranking among health care systems.

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