NBC’s Williams Hits Bowles and Simpson from the Left, Deficit Cutting an ‘Assault’ on Middle Class and Poor
December 2, 2010 No Comment
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams on Wednesday evening hit presidential deficit commission co-chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles from the left, the New York Times left. Without ever raising conservative criticism of proposals to raise taxes, Williams charged: It seems to me there's two arguments. There's what you're trying to accomplish and then there's how you're trying to accomplish, and there are, as you know, critics of what you're trying to do.
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Apparently New Yorkers just don’t want to hear a banjo-playing comedian talk art. After an hour-long Q and A with brainy comedian Steve Martin, who was reportedly too high brow , the 92nd St. YMCA in New York felt compelled to offer its audience a refund. Related Entries November 25, 2010 The Thanksgiving Wars? No Thanks November 25, 2010 America the Material
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Today on the list: The GOP vs. Sarah Palin, what Google charges for government surveillance and WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange’s political philosophy explained. On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies. The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top. Google Poised To Launch E-Books Project Google Inc. is in the final stages of launching its long-awaited e-book retailing venture, Google Editions, a move that could shake up the way digital books are sold. “Google charges feds $25 a head for user surveillance” The implications of the below story boggle the mind. If you had any sense that your email was private, let this article dissuade you of that. The primitive social network: bullying required Here, we present estimates of heritability and selection on network traits in a single population, allowing us to address the evolutionary potential of social behavior and the poorly understood link between sociality and fitness. GOP vs Palin Joe Scarborough tells GOP to man up and confront Sarah Palin. Julian Asange’s political philosophy Most of the news media seems to be losing their minds over Wikileaks without actually reading these essays, even though he describes the function and aims of an organization like Wikileaks in pretty straightforward terms. Polish King in Exile Was Christopher Columbus’ True Father New book proves Christopher Columbus was a Royal Prince, son of King Vladislav III and his Portuguese noble wife. Late Thanksgiving message [but still fresh] Experiments in Field Philosophy Back in September, Joshua Knobe of Yale University, writing here at The Stone, outlined a new experimental approach to doing philosophy in his post, “Experiments in Philosophy.” Information overload, the early years Five centuries years ago, a new technology swamped the world with data. What we can learn from the aftermath. WikiLeaks: Demystifying “Diplomacy” Compared to the kind of secret cables that WikiLeaks has just shared with the world, everyday public statements from government officials are exercises in make-believe. Related Entries November 25, 2010 The Thanksgiving Wars? No Thanks November 25, 2010 America the Material
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By Mr. Fish Related Entries November 25, 2010 The Thanksgiving Wars? No Thanks November 25, 2010 America the Material
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By Mike Luckovich Related Entries November 25, 2010 The Thanksgiving Wars? No Thanks November 25, 2010 America the Material
Continue reading …By E.J. Dionne, Jr. Is President Obama’s strategy of offering pre-emptive concessions destined to make enemies of his potential friends in the electorate without winning over any of his adversaries? Related Entries November 25, 2010 The Thanksgiving Wars? No Thanks November 25, 2010 America the Material
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Thanks to Bernie Sanders and the new financial regulation passed by Congress, we’re learning more about the Federal Reserve’s $3.3 trillion bailout of Wall Street in 2008. It turns out the Fed lent money not just to the likes of Goldman Sachs (which desperately needed it) but also to companies such as Verizon and Toyota, as well as to foreign financial institutions. Essentially the Fed lent money at almost zero interest to, well, just about everybody. Bernie Sanders, take it away… —PZS The Washington Post: But the extent of the lending to major banks—and the generous terms of some of those deals—heighten the political peril for a central bank that is already under the gun for a wide range of actions, including a recent decision to try to stimulate the economy by buying $600 billion of U.S. bonds. “The American people are finally learning the incredible and jaw-dropping details of the Fed’s multitrillion-dollar bailout of Wall Street and corporate America,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a longtime Fed critic whose provision in the Wall Street regulatory overhaul required the new disclosures. “Perhaps most surprising is the huge sum that went to bail out foreign private banks and corporations. As a result of this disclosure, other members of Congress and I will be taking a very extensive look at all aspects of how the Federal Reserve functions.” Read more Related Entries November 30, 2010 Unemployment Benefits Run Out November 29, 2010 Obama Wants to Put Federal Workers’ Wages on Ice
Continue reading …Some interesting tidbits appearing in my Twitter and RSS feeds today, not necessarily enough for a whole blog post, but still funny, interesting and worth sharing. Kicking off with the political-gone-insane, we have Republicans blocking repeal of the 1099 filing requirement in the health care law after whining about it so long and hard, while Kentucky citizens raised hell at the unemployment office . What would Rand do? Narcissism loses its place in the DSM . Being ignored drives narcissists crazy. Just ask Sarah Palin. Here’s a good overview of how Comcast’s evil blossomed, . Twitter i s being courted by several suitors including Facebook, or so the rumor goes. Google is readying a leap into e-books , adding value to eReaders worldwide. This last one is near and dear to me, after two tussles with my bike that left me on the side of the road hurt and bewildered. Falling off, and deciding whether to get back on — the battle rages on. As for me, I got back on and have managed not to fall off again for the last couple of months. But give me time. I’m sure I will. Getting back up and on the bike is the hardest part but like politics, I can’t give it up.
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Click here to view this media Rep. Aaron Schock (IL-18) took his turn at spouting Republican talking points on Morning Joe , with the need to extend all the Bush Tax Cuts. When asked by Pat Buchanan on where Republicans could compromise to ensure that they reach a deal with Democrats before the Bush Tax Cuts expire at the end of the year, Schock’s answer — full extension for all of them — leaves both Buchanan and Eugene Robinson laughing out loud at the young congressman. And Schock does look a bit red-faced, of course, but he has no idea how foolish his response sounds to non-Republicans, because in Republican Land tax cuts always create prosperity and jobs (except for the dismal, almost no job creation during the Bush years). And that extending all the Bush tax cuts won’t add to the deficit because the tax cuts will magically spur the economy, in some fairytale Republicans tell themselves. And never mind that the national debt nearly doubled under George Bush with unfunded and misguided tax cuts, Medicaid Part D, two wars, etc. That’s yesterday’s news. Today it’s the Democrats who are the fiscally irresponsible ones, left trying to clean up after the Bush disaster. And this comes from supposedly one of the best and brightest of that crowd who’ll run the House in the new year. It boggles the mind. Whenever someone asks a straight-forward question from them they get a load of hogwash which should be greeted with scorn and ridicule, because their answers are ridiculous, but for whatever reasons they’re treated as serious people when all the evidence is to the contrary.
Continue reading …For the third time, a federal judge has upheld the provisions of the Affordable Care Act relating to the individual mandate. This time, the lawsuit was brought in Virginia by Liberty University. US District Judge Norman Moon dismissed the lawsuit and held that Congress has the authority to impose a penalty on anyone who does not maintain the minimum standard of coverage beginning January 1, 2014. Ruling text here (PDF) . For the reasons provided below, I hold that Congress acted in accordance with its constitutionally delegated powers under the Commerce Clause when it passed the employer and individual coverage provisions of the Act, and I will dismiss Count One. Because I find that the employer and individual coverage provisions are within Congress’ authority under the Commerce Clause, it is unnecessary to consider whether the provisions would be constitutional exercises of power pursuant to the General Welfare Clause or the Necessary and Proper Clause. After affirming Congressional authority to regulate the business of insurance, the court further found that there was “a rational basis for Congress to conclude that individuals’ decisions about how and when to pay for health care are activities that in the aggregate substantially affect the interstate health care market.” Further, Judge Moon concluded that “failure to regulate the uninsured would undercut the Act’s larger regulatory scheme for the interstate health care market.” Michigan and Virginia down, several more to go, including Florida.
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