Tuesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* More discouraging economic news: “From soaring gas prices to weaker job prospects, Americans are gloomier about the economy than just before the U.S. invasion of Iraq. They’re so anxious that fewer people say they are planning to take a vacation than in 30 years. And those are worrying signs for the already deteriorating economy, since eroding consumer confidence foreshadows weaker spending.”
* On a related note: “Housing prices dropped in February at the fastest rate ever, a widely watched index showed on Tuesday, reflecting that the housing slump is gaining momentum and showing no signs of letting up. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 cities fell by 12.7 percent in February versus last year, the largest decline since its inception in 2001. ‘There is no sign of a bottom in the numbers,’ David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P, noting that all 20 metro areas have declined for six straight months.” (thanks to R.K. for the tip)
* Not a huge surprise: “Earlier this month, [House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers] scheduled a hearing for next week on the administration’s authorization of torture, and along with John Yoo, has invited former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former CIA Director George Tenet, former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, Chief of Staff to the Vice President David Addington, and former Assistant Attorney General Daniel Levin. Yesterday Conyers released some of the correspondence he’s been having with lawyers for Addington, Yoo, and Ashcroft. As expected, none of them want to testify, and they’re not short on reasons.”
* Bloggers aren’t the only one to notice that the AP screwed up royally on its story about the DNC’s “100 years” ad.
* Fascinating McClatchy report on one of the most powerful men in Iraq — an Iranian general who’s more influential than “an Iraqi government official, a militia leader, a senior cleric or a top U.S. military commander or diplomat.”
* Hillary Clinton is going to appear, of all places, on O’Reilly’s Fox News show tomorrow.
* The Clinton campaign justified accepting O’Reilly’s invitation because he “has a large audience of politically engaged people.”
* If you wanted to watch Obama’s big press conference in DC this afternoon, it’s online.
* John Ashcroft has decided he’s better off keeping his mouth shut on waterboarding from now on. Probably a smart move.
* On a related note, congressional Dems aren’t done trying to impose the Army Field Manual’s interrogation techniques on the CIA.
* I’m a little surprised that a Fox News personality doesn’t realize that the Golden Rule is “rooted in Scripture.” I mean, really. Not everyone’s a theologian, but if you’re going to talk about this on the air….
* “Clueless” isn’t the first adjective that comes to mind, but it’ll do: “In February 2003, just before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Army Gen. Eric Shinseki told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the U.S. would need ’several hundred thousand soldiers’ to secure Iraq. Two days later, then-deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz dismissed Shinseki’s prediction saying it was ‘wildly off the mark.’ Yesterday, during a discussion of fellow war architect Douglas Feith’s new book ‘War and Decision,’ Wolfowitz acknowledged he was ‘clueless on counterinsurgency’ regarding troops levels after the fall of Baghdad.”
* I can’t begin to describe how offensive I find this: “Here’s another for the annals of vote suppression. Calls have gone out to an untold number of North Carolina voters telling them that they need to fill out a registration form before they vote. Democracy North Carolina, a government watchdog that has posted audio of the call, says that the calls went out to ‘black neighborhoods.’”
* I’m starting to get the impression that Hugh Hewitt is kind of a partisan hack. Shocking, I know.
* Why won’t Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) support the troops?
* If you haven’t seen it, be sure to check out Fox News’ prime-time schedule last night. The network is truly beyond parody.
* And finally, be sure to check out David Corn’s item on the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner: “[I]t’s decades from now, and historians and others are trying to understand what happened in the first years of the 21st century. That was when the United States government initiated a foolhardy war on the basis of fear and hyped-up threats. It was also a period when the people in charge did not take one of their last chances to deal with the real danger of global warming. And, of course, it was during those years that American leaders hocked the nation to China and the nation’s global financial standing diminished. And these historians are asking, ‘What the hell went on.’ Well, look at this old tape, one says, it just might explain.”
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.
Obama Falsely Claims he Doesn’t Believe Government Created AIDS Virus
I can’t begin to describe how offensive I find this: “Here’s another for the annals of vote suppression. Calls have gone out to an untold number of North Carolina voters telling them that they need to fill out a registration form before they vote. Democracy North Carolina, a government watchdog that has posted audio of the call, says that the calls went out to ‘black neighborhoods.’”
Republican dirty tricks in a democratic primary.
Say anything. Do anything. To win.
The Corporatocracy really is amazing isn’t it?
Well… the good news is at least they are promising the wee folk some chump change on their gasoline bills. Queue on up there folks.. with you hats in your hands. Don’t be ashamed… it’s not a hand out. Just a tax cut you earned that your big bad tax-crazy govt. stole from you…
ROTFLMLiberalAO!
I can’t begin to describe how offensive I find this: “Here’s another for the annals of vote suppression. Calls have gone out to an untold number of North Carolina voters telling them that they need to fill out a registration form before they vote. Democracy North Carolina, a government watchdog that has posted audio of the call, says that the calls went out to ‘black neighborhoods.’”
Hmm, who could possibly benefit by suppressing the black vote in North Carolina (and, as the ad notes, in Ohio)? McCain? Nope, we’re not in the general election yet. Clearly not Obama, and I doubt Ron Paul is behind it…
This is important for all of us. Please take a gander and pass it along.
http://www.freespeech.org/ourweb/
This is a great little video and a fantastic source of information about restricting the web and the lack of privacy and the extent of spying in our country (and other countries).
Here’s another thing about McCain’s misunderstanding of the issue of keeping troops in a foreign country (whether ally or vanquished foe) for many years after the end of a conflict.
The troops we left in South Korea and Japan after WWII, and in the aftermath of the Korean War, were meant as trip wires to ensure that if either Russia, China or North Korea tried to harm either South Korea or Japan, it would ensure they would also be at war with the U.S.
The rationale for leaving troops in Germany after WWII was the same: to guarantee to the Russians that any invasion of West Germany would put them in conflict with American troops and hence with the United States as a whole.
This doesn’t seem to be what McCain is talking about. Rather, he seems to think that the internal animosity between the various factions is so serious that only the presence of a strong power with a big army can keep the country together. Of course, Sadam knew this all along.
Nevada posted the country’s worst foreclosure rate in the first quarter, RealtyTrac Inc. said Tuesday, with one in every 54 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice.
I wonder how many Nevadans will be voting goop this year?
Why on earth is HIllary going on O’Lielly?
It’s one thing to talk to Chris Wallace or even Brit Hume– but Bill O?
I don’t get it.
Zoe at 7 - anything Obama can do she can do better, she can do Fox shows better than he.
MsJoanne at 6 - of course they may not blame the goopers, they may instead wonder exactly what it got them having the Democratic Senate Majority Leader as one of their very own. Disappointment closer to (no pun intended) home.
O’Reilly has politically engaged viewers? More like divorced from reality.
Obama may have gone on Fox to speak to a constituency that he’s weak with — the high school-only educated whites — and Hillary is going on Fox to speak to this same demographic, only for her its much closer to being her base.
Mark @ 8, Reid is THE biggest disappointment. Pelosi has her issues but she has more balls than Reid (which means he seriously needs a shot of testosterone because he SUCKS).
At least Pelosi is (for now) standing up to the whole FISA/PAA thing.
Of course, I fully expect her newfound backbone to not just bend but break into a zillion pieces.
I was watching a show on FSTV today about how the MIC owns not just NASA (for space military operations) but Congress as well. There is too much money in death. We are all about death these days. The man on the documentary (which included my hero, Noam Chomsky) said that this government has shown that the direction we are going is that government is solely responsible for defense and nothing else; no education, no healthcare, nothing.
I don’t know how old this documentary was, but it is definitely proving right on target (hmmm, unintended pun there) for that is just what the neocon’s are doing.
Exactly everything he was saying is happening now from the deepening chism between those who have and have not (around the world) and the military’s ability to pinpoint us to within a Google Earth inch of our life - by satellites with weaponry…something they need when the masses want to rise up against, well:
- lack of access to food
- lack of access to water
- lack of medical care
- lack of eduction
- lack of ability to earn a living to the most basic of sustenance
And while I keep wondering why Congress is allowing Bush et al to get away with all the lawlessness, well, there you have it.
There is no Us in th UsA. Not any longer.
Huh. I would have thought Clinton would have gone on Rush since he’s been bringing in all those GOP voters for her.
I’m not bothered by Clinton going on O’Reilly. He often has not been as bad when doing such interviews than when he is on his own. He actually did some decent interviews with Kerry.
Sure, none of us like him but right now Clinton and Obama’s main concern is attracting votes, not battling Fox. As long as they have a major audience it is not surprising that both would go on. I am happy that the Democrats took a stand and refused to debate there, but I never had any illusions that they would all stay away permanently.
BTW, if anyone wants to watch the show I was referring to in #10, it’s called Arsenal of Hypocrisy and this is part 1 of 7: http://youtube.com/watch?v=MaT5BlBd-Bg
How about the difference between Clinton and Obama on Child Care?
A good read.
Obama Falsely Claims he Doesn’t Believe Government Created AIDS Virus
Oh wait, I can do this too!
Commenter AP Wire Falsely Claims he Doesn’t Eat Babies
I posted this in another thread but thought it bared repeating.
Shell and BP reported $13 BILLION in first quarter profits (combined)..
That would be Billion with a B.
That would be ONE quarter.
That would be us getting bent over and screwed royally and repeatedly for how many years now?
I can’t wait to see how badly ExxonMobil’s bottom line was in the first quarter. I am certain that will make me truly want to vomit.
Think about that next time someone talks about giving us an 18 cent per gallon break through summer. Companies get all the benefits, we get nothing in the pocket or in roads.
Just freaking priceless.
Why won’t Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) support the troops?
Begich has set the right tone here. I want to see more of this.
Obama Fails to Distance Himself from Maori Activist Angela Davis.
Looks like Obama picked up an endorsement in NC that’s overshadowing the governor’s.
http://www.thedemocraticstrategist.org/strategist/2008/04/dueling_endorsements_in_the_ta.php
The Clinton campaign justified accepting O’Reilly’s invitation because he “has a large audience of politically engaged people.”
And she’s delusional enough to think that any of them would vote for her? These are the people most likely to join Limpdick’s “Operation Chaos.” But I guess a vote’s a vote when your a conscienceless piece of dreck like Mrs. Billy-J.
Shell and BP reported $13 BILLION in first quarter profits (combined)..
I was wondering where they got the money to buy the floor of the Chukchi Sea for $3.8 billion and thereby ensure the extinction of the polar bear.
Obama Yet to Denounce Views of Indonesian.
TR, I can’t wait to hear Tweety Matthews dissect Obama shooting hoops. Should make for a fun-time racist filled hour comparing his Bball prowess to his inability to bowl. What an elitist sport that whole basketball thing is anyway.
Speaking of polar bears, did you see this?
Judge rules against Bush Administration in polar bear protection case.
Yep, Ms. Joanne, I’m sure he’ll find a way to mock him.
“He couldn’t score a basket against Tyler Hansbrough, the National Player of the Year! What a wuss!”
How about a musical parody about foreclosures? Glad you asked.
Of course shillary will appear with bill o’LIE-ly on faux news - her “base” is rush limpballs and the neocons that want to see a continuation of the bush-clinton-bush-clinton cabal.
In her typical dishonest fashion - on MONDAY she proclaims that her campaign won’t use the Wright issue against Obama. On TUESDAY we find out:
Hillary supporter organized Wright event
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Paper_Hillary_supporter_organized_Wright_event_0429.html
So typical of kkkarl rove and the campaign she has run. So dishonest, but she gets away with it because she is who the corpocracy and MSM they control have chosen - these are the same neocon/repug elites that brought us dur chimpfurher.
While all eyes are on Iran:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042108O.shtml
Latin America is now dominated by “leftist” leaders such as Correa and Chavez. Only Colombia remains as an ally of the neo-cons, so…what do you think happens next?
http://www.bloomberg.com/ apps/ news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a094×7Qa8Qeo
Bush and the Neo-cons bring forth WW3.
h/t 2MillionLightYearsToAndromea and Toasterhead on TP
My neighbor watches FOX exclusively. She is politically ignorant and propagandized. I don’t think Fox viewers are politically astute at all. They are drinking at the well of innuendo, infotainment, corporate rule, racism and lies. In the latter respect it is then fitting that Hillary appear with OReilly.
McCain? McCain is grossly incompetent.
Hillary? Hillary lies.
The conspiracy of corruption by the US and corporations - including assassination of elected officials that wouldn’t play ball in the corporate takeover of the world as explained by a man who was, as he called himself, an Economic Hit Man.
Watch Amy Goodman interview him on his book Confessions from an Economic Hit Man. GREAT segments.
http://www.democracynow.org/2007/6/5/john_perkins_on_the_secret_history
http://www.democracynow.org/2006/2/15/self_described_economic_hit_man_john
http://www.democracynow.org/2006/1/3/former_economic_hit_man_john_perkins (this one goes to what was said about Latin America above)
http://www.democracynow.org/2005/5/17/confessions_of_an_economic_hit_man
Many good points here, but so many drink the kool-aid:
http://thumbsnap.com/v/RmqqIXeI.gif
Must-see, important video that explains much of the ignorance we see.
little bear, you are such an embarrassing moron.
There is NO way you can vote…you are not old enough.
Take your childish shit elsewhere.
God, what a fuckwit.
So Clinton is on the air in Indiana calling Barack out for not supporting her chump-change gas holliday for chumps. How cute.
Say anything to win.
Do anything to win.
Promise anything to win.
Please give me a 527 to fund that will shove Mark Kleiman’s high octane facts down her throat:
http://www.samefacts.com/archives/campaign_2008_/2008/04/the_gas_tax_holiday.php
By the way… Kleiman sure rips Krugman a new one in that post. Nicely shorn Mark.
Agreed: Until Krugman speaks up.. he is nothing more than a goat(se).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goatse.cx
Speaking of Fox News (i.e. ABC News), Newt was on ABC’s “The View” today, repeating Hillary’s talking points:
1. She has the most popular votes (she doesn’t).
2. The Michigan/Florida results should count (she cheated).
3. Hillary likely to be the nominee (she’s not).
In short, Hillary has joined forces with the right (including the corporate media) to defeat Obama. Undoubtedly, the Bill O’Reilly interview will come off quite well…Fox will make sure of that. They’re setting her up to knock her down, and she’s happy to cooperate.
MsJoanne - you’re a project yourself, but keep pretending to be above it all. Those that read know better.
God, what a fuckwit.
What a model in maturity….
Clearly a role-model, fit to judge…
ROTFLMAO
You’re a parody troll like Insane Female Professor, right?
Kleiman rocks! Thanks for that post! I don’t go to his site as often as I should.
And Barb, I don’t expect the likes of The View women to have a clue. I lost faith in Babawawa long ago.
I am sure O’Reily will be stunningly fantastic with Hilary. After all, she and Murdoch are buds.
Has Obama Done Enough to Disavow Australian Youth Proester?
ROTFLMLiberalAO
Don’t forget TUBGIRL
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tubgirl
From the laugh a minute file…
Snoop Dog says that Obama is funded by the KKK.
Original reference.
Snoop Dog’s KKK Charge Suggests He is Not Supporter, Excessive Bling Suggests Otherwise.
mercenaryscookbook makes me laugh. Every time.
Media Misses Opportunity to Tie This Man to Obama Campaign.
#43, that guy is missing a clock and gold choppers. Oh, wait…diamond teeth are in now, scratch the gold choppers.
That, btw, was awesome!
#43 must be a big shillary fan - certainly represents the “base” that rush limpballs is trying to “get out to vote”. Represents the core constituency she is reaching out to with her negative campaign too.
I guess I can’t expect critical thinking from those advocate turning America into a monarchy that is ruled by a bush-clinton-bush-clinton junta that represents the same economic/military-industrial complex elite.
little bear, no matter how many times blatant satire and sarcasm are patiently pointed out to you, you continue to fall for them. Will you never learn?
little
bearbrain, i’ve had scratched vinyl records that don’t repeat themselves as much as you do.