An Awfully Painful Way to Convince the President Our Economy Is Not Moving
Remember when Robert Gibbs justified his attack on the professional left by suggesting that they didn't understand--but the rest of the country did--that Obama had gotten our economy moving again? Remember Recovery Summer, Obama's effort to…
Ballots and the Bench: The Iowa Judges
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bmazIn a devastating night for Democrats, there was a notable and disturbing loss that did not draw enough attention, that of the so called "Iowa Judges". From NPR:
Iowa voters decided to remove three State Supreme Court justices who'd overturned…
Feingold
The Senate just lost its most principled member, Russ Feingold. Consider it a beacon of our money- and fearmonger- drenched politics. Feingold was the perfect politician for America as our founders envisioned it. But a terrible politician when…
How's Tim Kaine Working for You Dems?
At this point of the evening, let me remind you that Tim Kaine, former Governor of Virginia, is the DNC Chair presiding over this debacle tonight.
Sure, sure, it's a wave election. Presidential parties always lose in the first midterm.
But…
Freddie Repossesses Its Files
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had already suspended all their work with David Stern. But now they've officially severed all relations with him and Freddie has taken their files away.
Freddie Mac took the rare step of removing loan files after…
Republicans Trying to Capitalize on Housing Crisis, Again
You may remember how, in 2008, MI's Republicans planned to conduct voter caging at the polls based on foreclosure lists (Democrats went to court to stop this).
It appears the Republicans--this time in Kansas--are trying similar cynical efforts…
NYT and the Iranian Capture Story
In a curious story yesterday, the NYT quotes freed Iranian captive Sarah Shourd explaining that when she and two other hikers were captured in July 2009, they were inside Iran.
Ms. Shourd, 32, said she wanted to correct the gathering false…
Rattner, Wagoner, and How to Run a Car Company
I'm going to have a few follow-up posts about Steven Rattner's Overhaul generally and Saturday's book salon on it. But for the moment, I wanted to add something to two excellent reviews of it by Malcom Gladwell and Felix Salmon. Together, they…
Let the Drones Begin
Fresh off exempting Yemen from any sanctions for its use of child soldiers and partly in response to this week's attempted package bombings, the government appears to be ready to let the CIA start operating drones in Yemen.
Allowing the U.S.…
Citi's Fear
I wanted to return to a detail I mentioned in yesterday's book salon. As I noted, in his book on the auto bailout, Steven Rattner described Citi as being worried during the Chrysler negotiations that retail customers would retaliate if Citi…
FDL Book Salon Welcomes Steven Rattner, Author of Overhaul
I come to Steven Rattner's Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry from a very particular perspective. As a Michigander whose husband still works in the auto industry and whose town…
Trash Talk: Giants v. Texas
Apparently, football started early this week, with San Francisco's team beating the Texas team one TD, a conversion, and a field goal to a TD on Wednesday, and shutting them out last night with three field goals. I understand the quarterbacks…
Obama and the Constitutionality of DADT and Other LGBT Discrimination
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bmazAll signs point to the fact that President Obama considers DADT and LGBT discrimination to be merely a political problem and not a Constitutional rights issue. But the Constitution and its fundamental equality, due process and first amendment protections is not a political issue football to be tossed around, nor is it properly enforced by degree of popularity in the latest Gallup poll trendline.
The $258 of Intelligence You Bought This Year
Congratulations to Steven Aftergood, whose persistent efforts to get the government to reveal the topline intelligence budget have finally paid off. Yesterday, the government officially announced that it spent $80.1 billion on intelligence in…
The Boys of War
One more boy got dragged into the horror of our country's war on terror today: Tanner Speer, the 8 or 9 year old son of Christopher Speer, whose death Omar Khadr confessed to. Tanner's mother read a note the boy wrote for (I think) Memorial…
Nobody Can Move for a New Job
Well, apparently just 6.9% can and did.
Just 6.9 percent of job seekers who found employment in the third quarter relocated for the new position. That was down from a relocation rate of 13.4 percent in the same quarter a year ago, according…
Some Questions on Principal Reductions
Both Felix Salmon and DDay are arguing that if the banks lower principal on some unspecified set of loans, it'll fix the "mortgage mess." Now, I agree that loan modifications are one of the things we ought to strive for to solve a number of…
Fidelity National Drops Nationwide Indemnity Requirement
This whole title insurance thing is getting confusing.
Fidelity National Financial Inc., the largest U.S. title insurer, canceled a requirement for lenders to guarantee proper foreclosure procedures amid “heightened review” processes…
"Profound Equities with Yemen in Terms of Counter-Terrorism" Justify Child Soldiers?
As the prosecutors in Omar Khadr's sentencing hearing try to undercut the testimony of a defense witness who believes Khadr can be rehabilitated, not least because of his age, an anonymous White House official justifies to Josh Rogin Obama's…
The Logical Outcome of Juan Williams' Legitimization of Irrational Fears
As Adam Serwer noted, a family apparently dressed in Muslim garb was removed from a plane and questioned by the FBI today.
Some cannot help but think their appearance had something to do with a family's removal from a plane Tuesday morning…