On Talking Points Memo today, I found the following:
I'd never even considered monkey rank.
I keep waiting for Paulson to pull out a little vial of shredded sub-prime mortgage and wave it wave around as evidence of how dangerous this all is.
Don't be part of the problem.
In covering the proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street don't repeat the failed lapdog practices that so damaged our reputations in the rush to war in Iraq and the adoption of the Patriot Act. Don't assume that Congress must act instantly, as so many news stories state as if it was an immutable fact. Don't assume there is a case just because officials say there is.
. . . .
As of now we are, as a group, behaving just as we did the last two times the administration sought to rush through a hastily thought out, ill-conceived plan. Why in the world are we being so gullible and naive? whatever happened to the core value of journalism -- check it out?
Service at Sons of Italy is really horrible today.
On Firedoglake today, I found the following:
Obama has stepped up and stated what he needs a bailout plan to include in order to support it, and the Paulson plan simply can't meet his requirements. Obama has just announced his opposition to the basic principles of the Paulson Plan.
What is more intrinsically corrupt than allowing people to engage in high-reward/no-risk capitalism -- where they reap tens of millions of dollars and more every year while their reckless gambles are paying off only to then have the Government shift their losses to the citizenry at large once their schemes collapse? We've retroactively created a win-only system where the wealthiest corporations and their shareholders are free to gamble for as long as they win and then force others who have no upside to pay for their losses. Watching Wall St. erupt with an orgy of celebration on Friday after it became clear the Government (i.e., you) would pay for their disaster was literally nauseating, as the very people who wreaked this havoc are now being rewarded.
More amazingly, they're free to walk away without having to disgorge their gains; at worst, they're just "forced" to walk away without any further stake in the gamble. How can these bailouts not at least be categorically conditioned on the disgorgement of ill-gotten gains from those who are responsible? The mere fact that shareholders might lose their stake going forward doesn't resolve that concern; why should those who so fantastically profited from these schemes they couldn't support walk away with their gains? This is "redistribution of wealth" and "government takeover of industry" on the grandest scale imaginable -- the buzzphrases that have been thrown around for decades to represent all that is evil and bad in the world. That's all this is; it's not an "investment" by the Government in any real sense but just a magical transfer of losses away from those who are responsible for these losses to those who aren't.
And the kicker (emphasis added)...
Here is the current draft for the latest plan. It's elegantly simple. The three key provisions: (1) The Treasury Secretary is authorized to buy up to $700 billion of any mortgage-related assets (so he can just transfer that amount to any corporations in exchange for their worthless or severely crippled "assets") [Sec. 6]; (2) The ceiling on the national debt is raised to $11.3 trillion to accommodate this scheme [Sec. 10]; and (3) best of all: "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency" [Sec. 8].
Put succinctly:
Any member of Congress who looks at the plan to give Hank unchecked power to transfer $700 billion from the Treasury to his friends' companies and has any reaction other than "You've got to be fucking kidding me" does not deserve to hold office.
Forgetting Zapetero's name is almost forgivable, though hard to explain for a candidate who claims to be an expert in foreign policy. But the interviewer kept using the word "Spain." She even gave him a big hint with the word "Europe."
Let's also not lose sight of the broader pattern. McCain thinks the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia was "the first probably serious crisis internationally since the end of the Cold War." He thinks Iraq and Pakistan share a border. He believes Czechoslovakia is still a country. He's been confused about the difference between Sudan and Somalia. He's been confused about whether he wants more U.S. troops in Afghanistan, more NATO troops in Afghanistan, or both. He's been confused about how many U.S. troops are in Iraq. He's been confused about whether the U.S. can maintain a long-term presence in Iraq. He's been confused about Iran's relationship with al Qaeda. He's been confused about the difference between Sunni and Shi'ia. McCain, following a recent trip to Germany, even referred to "President Putin of Germany." All of this incoherence on his signature issue.
More scary financial news. I can't say that I'm thrilled with the idea of financial institutions being able to grab my money to pump into what Atrios so eloquently calls "big shitpile."
Sounds like Biden gave a good speech. Be sure to watch the video for what I think is a choice moment.
Firedoglake has the following today on the Lehman Brothers collapse:
I'm no economist, but to paraphrase the immortal (not even in the Schuylar Colfax sense) Sarah Palin, I've had money so that makes me a freakin' economics expert. Therefore, as a newly ordained economist let me say this sure seems like it's going to be bad:
This is followed by several scary excerpts. Aside from making sure you have a place in your mattress for money, all you need to know?
This uncomfortably high-chance of financial collapse is brought to you by the folks who are John McCain's economic advisers, truly.
Maybe by "change" McCain means that's all we'll have left in the bank.
Compare and contrast. McCain claims that Obama will raise your taxes. Note that only if you make more than $600,000 per year will your taxes go up. However, if you make less than $111,000 per year, Obama plans to reduce your taxes by significantly more than McCain will.
If you rearrange the letters in "Barack Obama Joe Biden," you get "I am a beacon barked job."
Shifting the letters in "John McCain Sarah Palin," we get "Champ liars can join, Han!"
I sense deep meaning in this, though I know not what it is. Oh, wait...
While horrifying enough without hyperbole, I can't imagine that Republicans wouldn't headline this with something like "McCain-Palin: Pro-Rapist."
Before you follow the link to the following story, see what assumptions you make. Then click on the link and see if your attitude changes.
Cindy McCain's addiction to prescription painkillers emerged into public view 14 years ago with a well-orchestrated PR campaign designed to preserve her husband's political future.
Aside from a lengthy contemporary investigation from Phoenix's alternative weekly and occasional mentions since then, the addiction back-story -- including ample questions about what John McCain knew, when he knew it and questions over whether he was complicit in the cover-up -- has gone largely untold. Until now.
Palin appears to be the gift that keeps on giving:
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.
I can't even imagine the sense of entitlement that leads to this kind of behavior. What's more, if you read the article you'll find it doesn't stop there.
Apparently despite attending a pentecostal church for two decades, Sarah Palin claims not to be a pentecostal. Isn't that like having Yankees season tickets since 1988 and then claiming not to be a baseball fan? Clearly, Sarah will lie about anything.
Questions Charlie Gibson will and will not ask Gov. Palin. I fully expect this interview to be the mother of all puff pieces.
I will admit to a feeling of mild panic on the way in to work today when I heard the latest poll numbers. Fortunately, I was too zombified from lack of sleep to get too upset. I find that this also helped.
God bless America, and bring a gas mask:
Police officers used tear gas on a peaceful crowd that was following instructions in St. Paul on Tuesday evening. In an overwhelming show of force, well over a hundred riot police locked down 7th Street between Wabasha and St. Peter, surrounded protesters in the Poor People's March, media, and bystanders and then proceeded to launch several cannisters of tear gas after the crowd was hemmed in.
This seems to be getting lost among other news of Gustav and (OMG!) the Palin Pregnancy-- your "law enforcement" at work:
