PBD - Progressive Blog Digest

Friday, October 15, 2010

Thursday, October 14, 2010

OBAMA 2.0

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/nyt-mag-interview-here-comes-obama-20.php

Chamber of Commerce: if we disclose our corporate donors, the Obama admin might punish them!

http://washingtonindependent.com/100628/josten-defends-chambers-refusal-to-disclose-donors

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/chambers-plutocrats-clutch-their-pearls.html
“We're under no obligation as any organization or association in the United States is, to divulge who its members are, who its contributors are. We are under legal obligations to account and have an accounting method that ensures that in our accounts that funds or any aspect of money that comes from a foreign source is not in any way utilized in any political sense. We ensure that we do that...” [read on]

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/10/corruption-in-washington/the-u-s-chambers-non-us-funders/
[Mark Kleiman] The skilled flacks of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – no doubt the best that foreign money can buy – have largely succeeded in obfuscating the issue about the relationship between the Chamber’s $75 million smear campaign against Democrats and the Chamber’s overseas contributors. . . . [read on]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/10/13/gibbs
[Glenn Greenwald] But even regarding the White House's legitimate arguments about disclosure, there is some major hypocrisy taking place. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has been leading the charge against the Chamber, citing what he called "the spirit of disclosure" . . .

But what makes it so infuriating to watch Gibbs make this argument is that Gibbs himself -- back in 2003 and 2004 -- was heavily involved in exactly the same kind of anonymous-funded negative campaign the Chamber is running now. . . [read on]

New details: http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/13/chamber-foreign-funded-media/
Chamber Receives At Least $885,000 From Over 80 Foreign Companies In Disclosed Donations Alone

Remember back when the Repubs were all FOR donor disclosure?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/13/how-the-gop-went-from-48-_n_760962.html

More about the big foreclosure scandal

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/10/trouble-bankster-land
[Felix Salmon] This is where things get positively evil. . . .

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/10/12/foreclosure-crisis-may-well-be-catastrophic-in-any-case/
“Catastrophic”

More: http://crooksandliars.com/brad-reed/atlas-shrugged-after-he-stole-your-house

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/13/every-state-to-participat_n_761066.html

Immigrants don’t make unemployment worse

http://washingtonindependent.com/100538/do-immigrants-hurt-employment-for-americans

Immigrants don’t increase crime

http://washingtonindependent.com/93243/debunking-border-safety-myths

Immigrants don’t hurt the environment

http://washingtonindependent.com/100597/report-immigrants-do-not-kill-the-environment

We’ve known for years that polling uses landlines and not cell phones, and this might skew the results (pro-GOP). Have we reached the tipping point of cell phone usage, where this is now a serious distortion?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/10/this_could_be_big.php

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/10/13/is_cell_phone_bias_skewing_polls.html

For the GOP, “voter fraud” means “suppressing minority votes”

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/illinois_democrat_mark_kirks_voter_integrity_effor.php

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/groups_want_backers_of_voter_fraud_billboards_disc.php

Well, now we know why he doesn’t want to answer any more “personal” questions

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/10/he_should_fit_right_in.php
[Joe Miller, R-AK] Got busted for using government property as part of his plan to unseat the state GOP party chairman back in 2008 while he was part time city attorney for Fairbanks North Star Borough. There's also something weird in the story about his using multiple staffers' computers for whatever he was trying to do . . .

Christine O’Donnell’s debating style

http://www.salon.com/news/christine_odonnell/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2010/10/13/odonnell_coons_debate_delaware
“He’s a Marxist!”

I’d like to use a Life Line, Regis. Can I “phone a friend”?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/christine-odonnells-confused-debate-night-candidate-asks-for-hint-on-recent-scotus-cases.php
The debate moderator Nancy Karibjanian of Delaware First Media asked O'Donnell to talk about a recent high court opinion she disagreed with. The Republican, who defeated Rep. Mike Castle in a primary last month, paused. . . .

Missing the big story

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/sharron-angle-raised-14-millio.html
Sharron Angle raised $14 million in 3rd quarter

[NB: WRONG! Angle didn’t “raise” $14 million. National groups threw that much money into her campaign to unseat Harry Reid, Senate majority leader because it’s obvious they want his scalp.]

Ah, the question GOPers don’t want to answer: is Sarah Palin qualified to be President? Which cup of poison do you drink?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/do-gopers-think-palin-is-qualified-to-be-president-maybe.php

Big Thinker

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/pat-sajak-should-public-employees-always-be-allowed-to-vote.php
Pat Sajak: Should Public Employees Always Be Allowed To Vote?

Bonus item: Jon Stewart says the things to Eric Cantor you wish you could

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/stewart-schools-cantor-conservatives-only-limit-govt-to-the-sht-they-want-to-do-video.php

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 6:39 AM

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

END OF AN ERA

The foreclosure crisis may be the next big knockout blow for the economy

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/10/12/foreclosure-crisis-may-well-be-catastrophic-in-any-case/
[Emptywheel] John frames this as an issue of stopping bad foreclosures. But that’s not the problem, not by half. The problem is that the problems exposed by foreclosures in judicial states are problems that exist throughout mortgages that were securitized in the last 6-10 years. The reason the servicers are going to such lengths to make up for deficient paperwork–including robo-signing affidavits or counterfeiting notes–is presumably because for at least a significant portion of mortgages that were securitized, the paperwork is not in order. What we’re seeing through the foreclosure process is just what is getting exposed through the random sampling of foreclosure, and any other random sampling of securitized mortgages would presumably have the same level of deficient paperwork.

Perhaps the best description of the stakes comes from that hippie publication, CNBC. It suggests the problems being exposed by the foreclosure process are probably systemic, affecting a good portion of mortgages securitized in the last six to ten years (or more). Which means it’s not entirely clear who owns a good percentage of the housing stock in the United States . . .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-scheer/invasion-of-the-robot-hom_b_760643.html
The Titanic that is the U.S. housing market has just sprung its biggest leak . . .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/the-first-domino-foreclos_b_760215.html
The First Domino: Foreclosure Fraud and the 'Invisible Bailout'

Well done! http://www.twincities.com/business/ci_16323101
In an effort to rush through thousands of home foreclosures since 2007, financial institutions and their mortgage servicing departments hired hair stylists, Walmart floor workers and people who had worked on assembly lines and installed them in "foreclosure expert" jobs with no formal training, a Florida lawyer says.

In depositions released Tuesday, many of those workers testified that they barely knew what a mortgage was. . . . [read and weep]

Alan Grayson explains the human cost: http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/10/01/alan-grayson-explains-the-foreclosure-fraud-crisis/

The GOPers and their apologists say the Dem attack on the Chamber of Commerce, foreign money, and their refusal to disclose donors is a political loser. This makes me think they might actually be worried about it

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/10/pundits_and_republicans_agree.html
The full-scale assault from the White House and Dems on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Karl Rove's groups shows no signs of abating. But is it already a political flop?

Some commentators are rushing to proclaim this offensive a political failure. Mark Halperin, for instance, wondered allowed today: "I'm not sure how this appeals to voters." Halperin then stated this as outright fact: "It's just not relevant to voters." . . .

Karl Rove avoids the question: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#39641935

Is it working?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/10/axelrod_well_keep_pounding_out.html
Axelrod: We'll keep pounding outside spending and foreign money

It seems to be working, so of course some Dems want to drop the issue: http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/10/12/spineless-anonymous-democrats-carp-at-white-house-attacks-on-chamber-of-commerce/

May be the worst political excuse ever

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/10/annals_of_bad_lines_of_defense.php
Rich Iott's (R-OH) latest line on the Waffen SS unit he reenacts: "I don't think we can sit here and judge" them. . . .

More: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/10/12/candidate_explains_nazi_reenactment

The politics of euphemism

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/10/because_thats_what_they_do.php
[Josh Marshall] Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk caught on tape discussing his plan to send "voter integrity" squads to four predominantly African-American Chicago neighborhoods on election day. Kirk calls them "vulnerable precincts ... where the other side might be tempted to jigger the numbers somewhat."

As we and of course many others have been reporting for years, there's little if any evidence of systematic vote fraud in the United States today. Most of the 'voter integrity' agitprop has one real aim: reducing minority voting, especially blacks and hispanics.

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/gop-vote-suppression-2010-cranking-up.html

DADT irony

http://mydd.com/2010/10/12/irony-log-cabin-republicans-achieve-what-congressional-democrats-could-not
[Andre Walker] The big news circulating throughout the blogosphere Tuesday afternoon is a report that a federal judge has halted the enforcement of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy which does not allow GLBT Americans to serve openly and honorably in the military. . . .

This ruling is a pure case of irony.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) was not ended due to a Democratic Congress enacting legislation repealing the military policy. DADT was struck down due to legal action filed by the Log Cabin Republicans.

More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#39641827

Hold on: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/10/12/judge-phillips-dadt-order-is-not-the-victory-being-claimed/
Judge Phillips’ DADT Order Is Not The Victory Being Claimed

Like nails on a chalkboard

http://www.americablog.com/2010/10/learn-to-speak-g-d-damn-english.html
"And –You know- again, we have the media here tonight, and it’s never smart to pick up-I guess- the fight with those who buy ink by the barrelful but what-the-heck. When the Lamestream Media just doesn’t get it and when they don’t believe what-perhaps- your message is, so they want to belittle you and mock you and treat you with much disdain- you know, I think-oh-they can do it to me-that’s fine-because I know truth and I am fine with political shots that they take and what, I have said about this recently at Glenn Beck rally on steps of Lincoln Memorial, I said you know what - You can say whatever you want to about to say about me but I raised a combat vet and you can’t take that away from me."

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 6:35 AM

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Maybe now the GOP will stop blocking his nomination to the Fed

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/10/peter-diamond-wins-nobel-prize/
Peter Diamond Wins Nobel Prize

http://washingtonindependent.com/100258/peter-diamond-held-up-in-senate-for-fed-post-wins-nobel
Here’s Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) on Diamond this summer: “I do not believe he’s ready to be a member of the Federal Reserve Board. I do not believe that the current environment of uncertainty would benefit from monetary policy decisions made by board members who are learning on the job.”

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/11/white-house-calls-out-par_n_758371.html

Grim (thanks to DR for the link)

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/10/11/empire
[Health Affairs] “In 1950, the United States was fifth among the leading industrialized nations with respect to female life expectancy at birth, surpassed only by Sweden, Norway, Australia, and the Netherlands. The last available measure of female life expectancy had the United States ranked at forty-sixth in the world. As of September 23, 2010, the United States ranked forty-ninth for both male and female life expectancy combined.” [read on]

More: http://www.americablog.com/2010/10/us-drops-to-49th-in-world-for-life.html

The Chamber of Commerce/foreign money story may or may not be overblown, but the underlying problem – a complete lack of disclosure in campaign financing – isn’t

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/10/happy_hour_roundup_106.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/11/chamber-argued-that-publi_n_758435.html

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/10/gops-shadow-banking-system

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/10/uncategorized/citizens-united-v-the-citizens/

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/11/909546/-Think-Progress-shows-how-the-Chamber-gets-its-foreign-money

http://washingtonindependent.com/100335/did-citizens-united-make-foreign-spending-on-elections-legal

You’re in the wrong line of work

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/10/12/wall_street_pay_to_set_new_record.html
Wall Street Pay to Set New Record

Ugly hate

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/paladino-i-did-not-say-what-i-said-about-homosexuals-video.php
New York gubernatorial hopeful Carl Paladino (R) made the cable news rounds Monday, defending his weekend remarks that he doesn't want children "to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option. It isn't."

In several appearances, Paladino insisted "I'm not a homophobic. I have no reservations whatsoever about gays, except for marriage." . . .

What he said: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/11/909462/-NY-Gov:-Paladino:-But-some-of-my-best-friends-are-gay

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/10/carl_paladinos_damage_control.html

Nope, you don’t have to scratch very deep . . .

http://www.americablog.com/2010/10/new-face-of-racism-in-america.html
[Keka] I saw it. But I couldn’t believe it.

There I was, in a fast food drive through, behind a man whose back window decal, in small white letters, sent me a message that sent a chill down my spine—just as he’d hoped it would, no doubt. It said:

THIS COUNTRY WAS BUILT BY WHITE MEN WITH GUNS

Don’t make the ladies angry

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/psychopatic-tea-party-misogyny.html
[Digby] I wrote before about creepy Tea Party candidate Ken Buck's harsh views on abortion in case of rape or incest and his bizarre implication that "saving the life of the mother" is open to interpretation . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/11/909470/-CO-Sen:-Bucks-growing-problem-with-women
CO-Sen: Buck's growing problem with women

Joe Miller (R-AK) doesn’t want to answer any more “personal” questions. I see why

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/10/11/miller_refuses_to_talk_about_his_background.html
Said Miller: "We've drawn a line in the sand. You can ask me about background, you can ask me about personal issues. I'm not going to answer."

Miller "has faced scrutiny in recent weeks on a number of fronts involving his personal background, including that his family received low-income medical benefits, low-income hunting and fishing licenses and that his wife drew unemployment benefits. Miller has been critical of such programs at the federal level, saying the nation suffers from an "entitlement mentality" and is on the brink of bankruptcy"

Glenn Beck’s fault?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/08/byron-williams-glenn-beck_n_756400.html
This past summer, as the SF Chronicle reported at the time, a convicted felon named Byron Williams "loaded up his mother's Toyota Tundra with guns, strapped on his body armor and headed to San Francisco...with one thing in mind: to kill workers" at the ACLU and the Tides Foundation, hoping to "start a revolution."

On Monday, the progressive watchdog group Media Matters for America will release an interview it conducted with Williams in which he explains that Glenn Beck's Fox News show "blew his mind." . . . [read on]

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/10/11/glenn_beck_byron_williams

Blame game? http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/would-be-tides-shooter-glenn-beck-in

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/10/paging-glenn-beck

Two days ago we learned that Glenn Beck was taking a leave from his show to have medical tests done, and for a “spiritual and physical journey,” because he was losing sensation in his feet and hands. Now . . .

http://www.infowars.com/warning-to-glenn-beck-dont-drink-diet-coke/
“There is something wrong with my voice, and we’re not sure what it is,” Beck said, according to a transcript on his website. “They’re going to be doing CAT scans and MREs or MRIs and PET scans and they’re going to be doing blood work like crazy.”

In July, the Fox News host admitted that he is suffering from macular dystrophy, an eye disorder that causes vision loss. “Yes, I have a problem with my eyes,” Beck told an audience of 6,000 in Salt Lake City . . . [read on]

Bonus item: Hope for the Democrats!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK9Xj7eY0UU

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 8:07 AM

Monday, October 11, 2010

FULL DISCLOSURE

Whatever happened to being required to reveal your campaign funding sources?

http://mydd.com/2010/10/10/citizens-uniteduscoc-secret-money-could-backfire-on-gop

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/new-dnc-ad-targets-karl-roves-election-spending-video.php

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/david-brooks-tries-gloss-over-effects-citi

Obama’s “enemies list”?

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/rove-says-obama-has-enemies-list

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/10/karl-rove-obama-chamber-of-commerce-enemies-list_n_757253.html

The Tea Party goes international

http://www.americablog.com/2010/10/british-far-right-teams-up-with.html

The kind of people they are

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/10/10/paladino_attacks_gays_in_speech.html
New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino (R) said that children should not be "brainwashed" into thinking that homosexuality was acceptable . . . [read on]

Appalling

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_10/026061.php
Ron Brownstein notes in a terrific new National Journal column just how striking it is to see a major American political party decide, all at once, to reject climate science in its entirety. . . .

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/10/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_21_n_757223.html

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/axelrod-corporate-spending-on-election-a-threat-to-our-democracy.php

Joe Klein leaves the beltway!

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/joe-klein-realizes-life-outside-beltw
“I talked to dozens of politicians running for office and hundreds of voters. The voters were, with few exceptions, more eloquent and unpredictable — and, of course, candid — than the politicians. They tended to be extremely frustrated with the national conversation as presented by the news media. . . .” [read on]

Bonus item: SNL mocks O’Donnell

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/snl-has-bit-fun-odonnell-i-am-not-witch-ad

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 6:41 AM

Sunday, October 10, 2010

TYRANNY

You just can’t use mercenaries without paying a price. Now we are

http://www.americablog.com/2010/10/private-security-contractors-in.html
'Private Security Contractors in Afghanistan Fueling the Taliban, Senate Report Concludes'

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/10/08/sasc-report-shows-contracting-for-security-guards-in-afghanistan-run-amok/
SASC Report Shows Contracting for Security Guards in Afghanistan Run Amok

Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife has a job too

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/us/politics/09thomas.html
Liberty Central, dedicated to opposing what she characterizes as the leftist “tyranny” of President Obama and Democrats in Congress . . .

More: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/new-york-times-finally-takes-notice-ginni-t

Gloom and doom

Gloom: http://washingtonindependent.com/99657/a-decade-of-slow-growth-followed-by-two-decades-of-slow-growth
A Decade of Slow Growth, Followed by Two Decades of Slow Growth

Doom: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/story/print?guid=633B0540-CFE8-11DF-8158-00212804637C
Wall Street banks control the Federal Reserve system , it’s their personal piggy bank. They’ve already done so much damage, yet have more control than ever. . . .They will eventually destroy capitalism, democracy, and the dollar’s global reserve-currency status. They will self-destruct before 2035 … maybe as early as 2012 … most likely by 2020. . . .

I think they’ve decided that breaking the law is okay so long as it’s impossible to prove

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/10/us_chamber_sees_no_need_to_add.html
U.S. Chamber sees no need to address core allegation against it

Susan Collins (R-ME) explains why the GOP’s unprecedented use of the filibuster is the Democrats’ fault

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/10/republicans-and-filibusters

Hmmmm . . .

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/rush-limbaugh-says-there-will-never-be-
[Rush Limbaugh] “Some people are just born to be slaves. Some people are born to put up with somebody else making every decision for them.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=109x38930
Way back, when he started going national, Rush took many more phone calls from listeners. Invariably, every call started this way, "Hi Rush, I agree with everything you say." . . . Eventually he started correcting the listeners and admonishing them to say "Ditto" instead.

Wow. Just read it. Wow

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/glenn-beck-has-been-poisoned-by.html
“Today I want to talk to you about something. I want to talk to you about a portion of my life that I want to share with you because I think it's going to lead me in different places. I don't necessarily mean physical, but mentally I think this is going to be a spiritual journey. It is going to be a physical journey. It is going to be a mental journey. And I would like to, I'd like to be able to share it with you and the things that I have learned, and you'll be able also to see why I'm going the places that I am and what I am doing.

Next week on Monday and Tuesday, I am going to take time off. I'm going out West to have some testing done. I have told you before that I have been losing feeling in my hands and my feet . . .” [read on]

[NB: He's SACRIFICING himself for our salvation. It's just like. . . . just like. . . ]

Theocracy watch: more on C Street

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/interview-jeff-sharlet-about-c-street

Sunday talk show line-ups

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/the-sunday-show-line-ups-66.php
• ABC, This Week: Connecticut Senate candidates Richard Blumenthal (D) and Linda McMahon (R), former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.

• CBS, Face The Nation: White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod, former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie.

• CNN, State Of The Union: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), pollsters Celinda Lake and Whit Ayres, former CIA Director Michael Hayden.

• NBC, Meet The Press: Illinois Senate candidates Alexi Giannoulias (D) and Mark Kirk (R).

Bonus item: “I am not a Nazi. I’m you.”

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/republican-responds-to-revelation-of-his-nazi-reenacting-past.php

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/9/909079/-I-like-horses,-long-walks-on-the-beach,-and-dressing-up-like-a-Nazi-SS-officer

Buh-bye! http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/republicans-scrubs-nazi-impersonating-house-candidate-from-young-guns-websiter.php
Republicans Scrub Nazi-Impersonating House Candidate From Young Guns Website

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 6:47 AM

Saturday, October 09, 2010

MORTGAGING OUR FUTURE

The foreclosure crisis

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/democrats-step-up.html

http://crooksandliars.com/brad-reed/our-scumbag-financial-services-industry-

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/10/08/foreclosure-fraud-destroys-claim-of-tarp-success/

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/10/08/ohio-ag-richard-cordray-what-were-seeing-is-a-systematic-fraud-on-the-courts-of-ohio/

The GOP has a moment of lucidity and responsibility, backing off their absurd promise to shut down the government – which means, of course, that now their teabag supporters are angry with them!

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/tea-party-leader-slams-cantor-for-taking-government-shutdown-off-the-table.php

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/08/joe-miller-mcconnell-is-o_n_755588.html
Mitch McConnell Open To A Government Shutdown, Joe Miller Says

No, I’m not! http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/spokesman-mcconnell-has-not-called-for-shutting-down-the-government.php

Doh!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/08/rnc-accidentally-highligh_n_756173.html
RNC Accidentally Highlights Study That Proves Dems' Tax Cut Plan Is More Generous

James Jones is out of the Obama admin – know who he is?

http://www.slate.com/id/2270510

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/10/president-loses-iron-hand-gains-donilon/64301/

Can you be tracked through GPS by the police or FBI – WITHOUT A WARRANT?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/10/08/fbi.tracks.student.wired/index.html

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/report_arab-american_student_finds_fbi_tracking_de.php

IMAGINE if this were a Democratic appointee

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/us/politics/09thomas.html
Virginia Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, has accepted large contributions for her new political nonprofit group, raising questions for some who study judicial ethics. . . . [read on]

The post-Citizens United world of political fundraising

http://washingtonindependent.com/100121/citizens-united-and-campaign-finance-law-summed-up-in-a-chart

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/10/08/gop_holds_huge_advantage_in_outside_spending.html

http://www.americablog.com/2010/10/roves-republic-billionaires-playground.html
In August, American Crossroads raised $2,639,052. Fully $2.4 million of that -- or 91 percent -- came in the form of gifts from just three billionaires. . .

Ooohh – ouch!

http://mydd.com/users/tarheel74/posts/the-4
Stan Greenberg and James Carville have recently made a memo public, in which they state that the President's message has been weak and not resonating enough with the public to affect voter turn-out for an embattled Democratic Party. . . . [read on]

http://elections.firedoglake.com/2010/10/08/greenberg-poll-democrats-blame-bush-and-go-forward-not-back-message-driving-voters-to-gop/
Greenberg poll: Democrats’ “Blame Bush” and “Go Forward, Not Back” Message Driving Voters to GOP

Good question: how can Harry Reid be losing to SHARRON ANGLE?

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/10/why-they-win

Hmmm . . . what will she say if Mitt Romney becomes the GOP nominee?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/angle-in-flap-as-pastor-calls-reids-mormon-religion-a-murderous-cult.php
Angle In Flap As Pastor Calls Reid's Mormon Religion A Murderous Cult

Another one: Ken Buck (R-CO)

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/8/908787/-CO-Sen:-Ken-I-never-said-that-Buck-flips-again
[Joan McCarter] I've lost count on Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck's ever-shifting positions. Seriously, it's been on taxes, on abortion, on repealing the 17th amendment, on privatizing veterans' health care, on whether teaggers are "dumbasses" and on and on. Today, add Social Security privatization. . . .

Christine O’Donnell, constitutional scholar

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/conservative-on-odonnells-claremont-creds-its-helped-me-tremendously-video.php

Christine O’Donnell, liar

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/christine-odonnell-fibs-says-passion-of-the-christ-was-nonprofit-video.php

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/8/908743/-DE-Sen:-ODonnell-becomes-a-bigger-embarrassment-each-day

You know it’s bad when even Christine O’Donnell isn’t sure Sarah Palin’s qualified to be President

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/et-tu-christine-odonnell-wont-say-whether-sarah-palin-is-ready-for-presidency.php

Good – we’re safe then

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/10/08/palin_says_shell_run_if_american_people_want_her.html
Palin Says She'll Run if American People Want Her

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/10/06/nearly_half_view_palin_unfavorably.html
She is viewed favorably by just 22% . . .

Interesting: what happens if the GOP DOESN’T win Congress?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/8/908152/-Speculation-on-what-happens-if-GOP-comes-up-short

The paradoxes of polling

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/10/do_voters_really_hold_gop_in_s.html
[Greg Sargent] Amid all the grim polling news for Dems, one bright spot that Democrats take solace in is that the GOP notches consistently higher disapproval ratings than Dems do. And polls certainly do show that. But how significant are those numbers, anyway?

Gallup has some new polling out that probes public attitudes towards the parties in a bit more detail than standard approve/disapprove questions do. And the results should be very disconcerting for Dems. In sum, the two parties are basically tied on a range of questions that gauge what the public thinks of the two parties' ability to govern.

* The poll finds that 43 percent think the GOP "can bring about the changes this country needs," versus only 40 percent who think that about Dems.

* It finds that 42 percent think the GOP "is able to manage the government effectively," versus only 39 percent who think that about Dems.

* The poll finds that 42 percent think the GOP "has mostly honest and ethical members of Congress," versus only 39 percent who think that about Dems.

http://scaredmonkeys.com/2010/09/28/obamanomics-cnn-poll-has-republicans-doing-a-better-job-of-fixing-the-economy-than-democrats/
[CNN] Although more people blame the Republicans than the Democrats for the country’s economic problems, a larger number of people think the Republicans are more likely to fix those problems . . .

Stop the presses!

http://washingtonindependent.com/100153/groups-charge-racism-in-gop-candidate-immigration-ads
Groups See Racism in GOP Immigration Ads

A humorous look: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/08/colbert-mocks-agnle-vitte_n_756093.html

“You might be a racist if . . .” http://firedoglake.com/2010/10/08/you-might-be-a-racist-if/

Criticizing people by comparing them with Nazis has gone too far – except, when, you know, they actually LIKE being associated with Nazis

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/ohio-tea-partier-spent-weekends-playing-nazi-games.php

Is the GOP going to pull their “hicky” ad?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/8/908727/-WV-Sen:-Front-page-backlash-after-GOP-pins-hick-label-on-voters

Why?

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/10/08/washington_post_dinesh_dsouza
Washington Post publishes Dinesh D'Souza's garbage

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/08/dinesh-dsouza-docks-in-am_n_755990.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_10/026045.php

Bonus item: “Making a killing out of killing”

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/code-pink-disses-blackwater-in-wackest-rap-video-ever/

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- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:08 AM

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