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The Fraud That Is 'Fix The Debt' by Joan McCarter, dailykos.com | January 11, 2013
The New York Times' Nicholas Confessore commits some excellent journalism with this story about "Fix the Debt," the coalition of extremely well-heeled and well-connected former politicians and current CEOs masquerading as a public interest group. The organization, headed up by our foremost catfood pushers Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, is replete with old white guys who get paid very well by a number of industries to make sure that any budget cuts don't hit them. This story exposes them all. The "Fix the Debt" crowd, like all the deficit peacocks, don't care about the deficit. They care about the rich people staying rich and siphoning up every bit of public money they can get their grubby paws on. Thanks to Confessore at the Times for reminding the nation of that with this story. read more »Washington’s Endless Civil War by Robert Shrum, thedailybeast.com | January 11, 2013
The problem that may blight the next four years is an ideological chasm where the president’s attempts at reasonable compromise are routinely rebuffed, where a polarization to the right among Republicans is reinforced by resentment and a refusal to accept the results of the 2012 election. Or to put it plainly, they can’t believe Obama is still there—and they’re more than ready, or forced by their own extremists, to obstruct him at almost any cost. read more »Wanted: Moderate GOP Activists by Michael Tomasky, thedailybeast.com | January 10, 2013
I see that Brent Bozell, who never runs out of ways to spend rich conservatives’ money, now has an outfit called For America, which is mounting a pressure campaign against Mitch McConnell over his role in the fiscal cliff deal. The online ad buy will be targeted to Kentucky and will ask, “Mitch McConnell, which side are you on?”—that of socialism or that of Kentuckyism? What struck me when I read this was: How come there isn’t a group that is taking out ads against Rand Paul, McConnell’s junior colleague, one of just five GOP senators who voted against the bill, asking him which side he’s on—the side of bare-minimum fiscal sanity or the side of ruining the economy for the sake of making an ideological point? Of course there isn’t. But there must be. In fact there is nothing—nothing—our political system needs more than a strong and well-financed moderate-Republican pressure organization. read more »AIG Investors Break the World Record for Arrogance by William Grieder, The Nation | January 9, 2013
Wall Street’s ingratitude is not exactly a secret. After Washington came to the rescue four years ago with the $800 billion bank bailout and ignored flagrant criminal behavior in high places, the nation’s biggest banks returned the favor with malice—an army of lobbyists to gut reform legislation, a tidal wave of political cash to defeat the Democratic president and elect banker-friendly Republicans. Leading executives like Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase expressed their disdain for the meddlesome government. The shareholders of AIG, the giant insurance company the Federal Reserve bailed out with $180 billion, have now topped that impudence. Believe it or not, these investors are suing the federal government for rescuing their company from collapse. This sets a world record for breath-taking arrogance. read more »76 House And 17 Senate Republicans Have Voted For Clean Debt Ceiling Hikes In The Past by Zaid Jilani, boldprogressives.org | January 9, 2013
Republicans want to hold the debt ceiling hostage to enact painful cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits. Democratic leaders are urging President Obama not to deal over the debt ceiling and to deny Republicans their leverage. Here’s a bit of information that may help that cause. We've tallied the votes on previous clean hikes of the debt ceiling, and found that 76 currently-seated House Republicans have voted for clean debt ceiling hikes in the past. Here are their names. read more »Social Issues Are Economic Issues, Exhibit 1,463: Michigan’s Dual Agenda Slams Low-Income Women by Bryce Covert, The Nation | January 9, 2013
We’re barely more than a week into 2013, but Michigan has been very busy lately. As a pre-holiday gift to workers, Governor Rick Snyder signed a “right-to-work” bill into law after the Republican-controlled state house passed it 58-51, making the payment of union dues voluntary for most unions and thus severely weakening their power. Just over two weeks later, Snyder signed another bill into law restricting abortion access for the state’s women. Two extreme measures, but ones that aren’t directly related, right? One is clearly about “economic issues,” the other about “social issues.” Yet those who are hurt by both are, as is so often the case, low-income women. Michigan has shone a spotlight on the inextricable link between economic and social issues when it comes to the right-wing agenda. And we can only expect more of this news from statehouses as the year progresses. read more »The Platinum Coin Idea Is Idiotic. That Is The Point. by Ezra Klein, The Washington Post | January 9, 2013
This is apparently platinum coin week among the economic punditocracy. It is not a moment that should inspire great pride in America, but here we are. Here are some key things to understand about a debate that started as a strange, amusing sideshow and is increasingly front and center in the economic policy debate. I’ll lay out this econo-pundit’s conclusion upfront: I hate the platinum coin idea. But if there is no resolution of the debt ceiling through the legislative process, I hate some of the alternatives more. read more »The Eternal Folly of the Bipartisan Debt Fetish by Jonathan Chait, nymag.com | January 9, 2013
Gerald Seib has a column in today’s Wall Street Journal about how sad and disappointing it is that the two parties cannot come together and solve problems. That is the same point of a recent column by the Washington Post’s David Ignatius, an editorial in The Economist, and vast swaths of commentary by the most respectable members of the mainstream media. It all runs together, day after day, an endless repetitive drone of elite sentiment. The drone of right-thinking sentiment has certain distinct qualities. One is that it is, in almost the purest sense of the term, a meme — a way of looking at the world that individuals pass one to one another without a great deal of conscious thought, even though thoughtfulness, or the appearance of thoughtfulness, is one of the qualities the opinion imbues upon its proponents. The most striking feature of the centrist deficit drone rests upon a political analysis that is willfully, and probably self-defeatingly, false. read more »Republicans Getting Weak-Kneed About Debt Ceiling Fight by Greg Sargent, The Washington Post | January 8, 2013
House Speaker John Boehner spoke at length with the Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore about the coming confrontation over the debt ceiling, the sequester, and the spending cuts Republicans will try to achieve. Buried in the interview is a highly newsworthy nugget, in which Boehner implicitly admitted that the debt limit does not give Republicans the leverage they’ve suggested it does. Indeed, it’s hard to read this exchange as anything other than a sign that Republicans may be backing off the fight over the debt ceiling. read more »The GOP’s Priorities by Leslie Boyd, lettersfromtheleft.com | January 8, 2013
Congress and there’s a lot of really urgent work to do. So, what do Michele Bachmann and her cronies do first? They try for the 34th time to repeal the Affordable Care Act. No matter that they’ve tried 33 times and haven’t been able to succeed (thank God). No matter that they have fewer votes now than they did before the election. No matter that the American people want Congress to work on more urgent problems like getting aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy or renewing the Violence Against Women Act. Nope, they have to make the statement that they’re just a bunch of spoiled, selfish children. Apparently, 33 attempts at repeal using 80 hours of House time and costing taxpayers $43 million wasn’t enough for Bachmann et al; they have to keep trying to take away health reform. read more »
The Latest
Ousted Federal Prosecutor Renominated By Obama, Associated Press | August 3, 2009
A former U.S. attorney for Nevada who was forced to resign during the Bush administration could soon be getting his old job back. President Barack Obama nominated Daniel G. Bogden on Friday to serve as the United States attorney for Nevada. Bogden was one of nine federal prosecutors told to resign by senior Justice Department officials during the Bush administration. read more »
E-Mails Show Larger White House Role in Prosecutor Firings, The Washington Post | August 3, 2009
Political adviser Karl Rove and other high-ranking figures in the Bush White House played a greater role than previously understood in the firing of federal prosecutors almost three years ago, according to e-mails obtained by The Washington Post, in a scandal that led to mass Justice Department resignations and an ongoing criminal probe. read more »
House Approves New Food-Safety Laws, The New York Times | July 31, 2009
In a major step toward an overhaul of the nation’s food safety system, the House of Representatives passed legislation to require more frequent inspections of processing plants and give the government the authority to order the recall of tainted foods. House passage sets the stage for the Senate to take up the issue, though probably not until the fall. read more »
Food Safety Bill Fails In House, Associated Press | July 30, 2009
The House defeated a far-reaching food safety bill after farm-state lawmakers complained it would be too invasive and others said it was pushed to the floor too quickly. read more »
Report: FEMA Mishandled Toxins In Trailers, USA Today | July 24, 2009
The Federal Emergency Management Agency didn't react quickly enough to reports of toxins in trailers housing victims of Hurricane Katrina, endangering the health of thousands of victims across the Gulf Coast, according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General. read more »
Product Safety Chief: Keep Kids' Products Safe Or Else, USA Today | July 22, 2009
One of the nation's top safety officials is putting manufacturers on notice: Comply with new rules aimed at keeping children's products safe, or face the potential of big fines. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said that her agency will get new enforcement tools next month — and she plans to use them in order to protect consumers, especially children. Come Aug. read more »
Rove Testifies On Prosecutor Firings, Associated Press | July 8, 2009
Former Bush White House official Karl Rove was questioned by House Judiciary Committee lawyers on any role he may have played in politically motivated firings of U.S. attorneys. Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., confirmed Rove's closed-door appearance through a committee spokesman who was not authorized to be quoted by name. read more »
Obama Administration Tightening Food Standards, USA Today | July 7, 2009
New safety standards aimed at reducing salmonella and E. coli outbreaks are part of a government effort to try to make food safer to eat. A food safety panel established by President Obama developed the new rules for eggs, poultry, beef, leafy greens, melons and tomatoes as well as for better coordination and communication among the agencies overseeing the nation's food supply. read more »
Report Faults Performance Bonuses for Contractors, The Washington Post | July 6, 2009
Federal agencies have awarded billions in bonuses to contractors regardless of whether the work was deemed satisfactory, according to a Government Accountability Office report released last week. Government-wide guidance issued in 2007 by the Office of Management and Budget recommended that agencies link award fees to results and prohibit payments for poor performance. read more »
Toy Makers to Report to Consumers In Safety Proposal, Marketwatch | July 2, 2009
A government agency wants to make it easier for parents to report defective children's products, as well as speed up recall notifications to parents from manufacturers. read more »
