Author: HL

Chilean Quake Shifted Earth’s Rotational Axis
Chile’s massive earthquake has likely altered the distribution of the Earth’s overall mass, scientists from NASA say. As a result, the length of a day is now a little shorter than it was before Saturday’s magnitude 8.8 earthquake. “The length of the day should have gotten shorter by 1.26 microseconds [millionths of a second],” Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Bloomberg. “The axis about which the Earth’s mass is balanced should have moved by 2.7 milliarcseconds [about 8 centimeters or 3 inches].”

Late Late Night FDL: Little Bit Of Feel Good
Jamie Lidell — Little Bit Of Feel Good.

Jamie Lidell — Little Bit Of Feel Good.

What’s on your mind?

Tags: Jamie Lidell, late late nite firedoglake, Little Bit Of Feel Good, music video, YouTube

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Party of Noh Theatre
The Village of Washington mode of performance art, as timeless as it is pathetic.

The President makes a soggy stop upon the “Broder Ride” (‘ride the Mild Broder!’*) at the Village Amusement Park engaged:

President Obama has sent a letter to congressional leaders outlining four GOP ideas from last week’s health care summit that he’s amenable to including in the reform bill.

The ideas were all rather minor and some were very petty (they were, after all Republican ideas), but there they were, a sop and grist for the mill and something for the mythical bipartisan pony to neigh about.

And how’d it go? — like you needed to ask:

…no Republicans are likely to vote for the Democratic reforms, regardless of which GOP ideas are added to the legislation. The unsurprising GOP reaction to Obama’s letter can be summed up in three words: Scrap the bills.

Ah, the thee-ate-er — a performance piece. About as entertaining as Sarah Palin doing stand up.

*I’m sorry, I know many of you were too grossed out to continue reading beyond this point.

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Early Morning Swim: Kent Conrad Explains How “Extremists” on the Left are Crippling the Senate
This is literally the most nauseating episode of “Punch the Hippies” I’ve ever seen on cable news.

This is literally the most nauseating episode of “Punch the Hippies” I’ve ever seen on cable news. Someone might remind Larry and Kent that it’s the “centrists” who are screwing the pooch.

Conservative Democrats are making it very clear that they’ll switch their vote and kill the bill down the line if the public option doesn’t get stripped out of it.

“Let me be perfectly clear,” Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) said on the floor of the Senate. “I am opposed to a new government administered health care plan as a part of comprehensive health insurance reform, and I will not vote in favor of the proposal that has been introduced by Leader Reid as it is written…. I’ve already alerted the Leader and I’m promising my colleagues that I’m prepared to vote against moving to the next stage of consideration as long as a government-run public option is included.”

“Centrists” like Kent Conrad and Blanche Lincoln have been in total control of the Senate for a year. If Conrad doesn’t think they’re getting enough done, it’s on them. They own it.

Tags: DINOs, Early Morning Swim, Kent Conrad, Media

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How the Other Half Hybrids
Quick, name a supercar that has 500 horsepower and gets 78 mpg. Unfortunately there isn’t one—yet. Until Porsche puts its 918 Spyder up for sale, this environmentally friendly beast, which will take you from a standstill to a suspended license in about three seconds, is confined to auto shows. Porsche via Engadget: The 918 Spyder prototype combines high-tech racing features and electro-mobility to offer a fascinating range of qualities: An emission level of just 70 grams CO2 per kilometre on fuel consumption of three litres/100 kilometres (equal to 94 mpg imp), truly outstanding even for an ultra-compact city car, on the one hand, combined with the performance of a super sports car and acceleration from a standstill to 100 km/h in just under 3.2 seconds, top speed of 320 km/h (198 mph) plus, and a lap time on the Nordschleife of Nürburgring in less than 7:30 minutes, faster than even the Porsche Carrera GT, on the other. Read more

Quick, name a supercar that has 500 horsepower and gets 78 mpg. Unfortunately there isn’t one—yet. Until Porsche puts its 918 Spyder up for sale, this environmentally friendly beast, which will take you from a standstill to a suspended license in about three seconds, is confined to auto shows.

Porsche via Engadget:

The 918 Spyder prototype combines high-tech racing features and electro-mobility to offer a fascinating range of qualities: An emission level of just 70 grams CO2 per kilometre on fuel consumption of three litres/100 kilometres (equal to 94 mpg imp), truly outstanding even for an ultra-compact city car, on the one hand, combined with the performance of a super sports car and acceleration from a standstill to 100 km/h in just under 3.2 seconds, top speed of 320 km/h (198 mph) plus, and a lap time on the Nordschleife of Nürburgring in less than 7:30 minutes, faster than even the Porsche Carrera GT, on the other.

Read more

Related Entries

• March 2, 2010 Ghosts in the Addict
• March 2, 2010 Obama Considers Adding GOP-Generated Ideas to Health Bill

Republicans Question Justice Department Appointees Who Were Former Guantanamo Defense Lawyers
Nine top political appointees at the Justice Department previously worked as lawyers or advocates for “enemy combatants” confined at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prompting new questions…

Poverty Formula Revised: New Method Doubles Number Of Elderly Poor
WASHINGTON — The government took steps Tuesday to highlight the increasing numbers of poor Americans, adopting a revised formula that is expected to double the…

New Study: Increased Food Inspection Will Save Billions
The costs associated with tainted foods are much higher than previously thought, according a new survey by Make Our Food Safe, a coalition of public…

Stimulus Money Shouldn’t Go Overseas, Say Democratic Senators
WASHINGTON — A group of Democratic senators is urging the Obama administration to suspend an economic stimulus program aimed at financing renewable energy, complaining that…

Quick Fact: Fox News’ Johnson claims Senate health bill includes “federal funding of abortion”

On Fox & Friends, Fox News’ Peter Johnson Jr. claimed the Senate’s health care bill allowed “federal funding of abortion,” falsely suggesting the bill exceeded what is currently allowed under the Hyde Amendment, which forbids the use of federal funds for abortions except in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest. Johnson also falsely conflated “reconciliation” and “the nuclear option.”

From the March 2 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends:

JOHNSON: The House is gonna adopt the Senate bill after all of this wrangling, and everything that a lot of people find objectionable in that Senate bill is going to be adopted by the House: Federal funding of abortion, not the Stupak approach.

DOOCY: So it’s out in the House and in in the Senate.

JOHNSON: It’s in in the Senate. The Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, those are part of the Senate proposal going forward. A watered-down public option, that’s part of the Senate proposal. And so what they plan to do is use something called reconciliation, or the nuclear option, that was designed 30 years ago purely for budgetary and deficit purposes in the Congress.

FACT: Senate bill prohibits health insurers from using federal subsidies to pay for abortion services restricted by Hyde.

The Senate health care reform bill as passed requires issuers to “collect from each enrollee” in plans that cover abortions a “separate payment” for “an amount equal to the actuarial value of the coverage of” abortion services. This value must be at least $1 per enrollee, per month. All such funds are deposited into a separate account used by the issuer to pay for abortion services; federal funds and the remaining premium payments are used to pay for all other services.

Current law allows coverage for abortions restricted by Hyde under Medicaid through similar fund segregation. According to a November 1, 2009, study by the Guttmacher Institute, 17 states provide coverage under Medicaid for “all or most medically necessary abortions,” not just abortions in cases of life endangerment, rape, and incest. Those states “us[e] their own funds” — not federal funds — “to pay” for the procedures. Therefore, in 17 states, Medicaid, a federally subsidized health care program, covers abortions in circumstances in which federal money is prohibited from being spent on abortion.

 FACT: “Nuclear option” was coined to describe the process to change Senate filibuster rules, not reconciliation  

Lott described proposal to change filibuster rules as nuclear option. The term “nuclear option” was coined by Sen. Trent Lott, one of the leading advocates of a proposal to change the Senate rule that requires a three-fifths supermajority to invoke cloture and end a filibuster. After Republican strategists deemed the term a political liability, Republican senators began to attribute it to Democrats. As Media Matters for America noted, at the time, many in the news media followed suit, repeating the Republicans’ false attribution of the term to the Democrats.

Reconciliation process is part of Congressional budget process. The budget reconciliation process is defined by the U.S. House Committee on Rules as “part of the congressional budget process … utilized when Congress issues directives to legislate policy changes in mandatory spending (entitlements) or revenue programs (tax laws) to achieve the goals in spending and revenue contemplated by the budget resolution.”

Republicans have repeatedly used reconciliation to pass President Bush’s agenda. Republicans used the budget reconciliation process to pass President Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts as well as the 2005 “Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act.” The Senate also used the reconciliation procedure to pass a bill containing a provision that would permit oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (The final version of that bill signed by President Bush did not contain the provision on drilling.)

Tea Partiers Call Obama A Marxist And A Dictator … Get Promoted On GOPer’s Site
Photos on the website of a mainstream Republican candidate, taken at a recent rally, show activists holding signs declaring that Obama’s advisers are communists and that he runs a dictatorship.

The Rangel Caribbean Junket Docs: Dig In!
Help TPMmuckraker sift through the documents from the House ethics probe on Rep. Charles Rangel’s corporate-funded junkets to the Caribbean.

Race for Pennsylvania Governor Unsettled
A new Quinnipiac poll in Pennsylvania finds Tom Corbett (R) leads Sam Rohrer (R), 43% to 5%, for the Republican nomination for governor “and holds double-digit leads over the top Democratic candidates, all of whom who are virtual unknowns even to their own party members.”

In the Democratic race, “Don’t know” leads the field with 59%.

Said pollster Peter Brown: “The Democratic candidates for Governor are almost invisible men as far as the voters are concerned. One of them will win the nomination, but at this point they are so closely bunched together and such mystery men to the vast majority of primary voters that any result is possible, given that the primary is little more than 10 weeks away. In a four-candidate race, the possibilities are endless.”

Rangel Still Expected to Step Aside
A senior Democratic source tells Roll Call that House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) still plans to give up his gavel Wednesday despite his public protestations to the contrary.

Said the source: “The long and short of it is he has decided to step down temporarily. I think he just wants to do it on his own terms.”

The New York Times notes that “with Republicans preparing to force a vote Wednesday seeking to oust Mr. Rangel from his chairmanship, support among his fellow Democrats appeared to be crumbling.”

The GOP Hates Jobs
With unemployment out of control, the economy is in dire need of serious financial reform and a major jobs package. But not if GOP obstructionists can help it.

With unemployment out of control, the economy is in dire need of serious financial reform and a major jobs package. But not if GOP obstructionists can help it.

‘Manufacturing Depression’: Are Doctors Over-Prescribing Antidepressants to a Tune of $10 Billion a Year for Drug Companies?
A psychotherapist says depression can be debilitating — but that it’s also been largely created by doctors and drug companies as a medical condition.

A psychotherapist says depression can be debilitating — but that it’s also been largely created by doctors and drug companies as a medical condition.

Catholic Charities Screw Over Their Employees Just to Stick It to Gays
Just to spite gay folks, and the fear that one might actually work for them, Catholic Charities is throw its straight employees under the bus.

Just to spite gay folks, and the fear that one might actually work for them, Catholic Charities is throw its straight employees under the bus.

We’re Screwing the Environment the Same Way We Screwed the Economy
The captains of industry and government admittedly blew the economic meltdown; too bad the environmental meltdown is following the same, lame script.

The captains of industry and government admittedly blew the economic meltdown; too bad the environmental meltdown is following the same, lame script.

Not A Game
Too often, the way it’s played and the way it’s reported, Americans might think everything that happens in Washington is a game. But look, this is anything but a game. The business before the Senate is literally life and death…


United States – Senate – United States Senate – Filibuster – Washington

Business-Friendly Supremes
I cannot predict whether the progressive tide that swept the election of 2008 will continue in 2010, although I think the situation is not as bad as many Democrats fear. What I do know is that the conservative court…


Supreme Court – United States – Conservatism – Democratic Party – Politics

Right Wing Employs McCarthyite Tactics To Smear DoJ Lawyers As Terrorist ?Abettors? And ?Coddlers?
For the past several months, much to the delight of the right wing, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been leading an aggressive effort to impugn the motives of Obama appointees in the Department of Justice, whom he alleges are embroiled in a “conflict of interest” because they at one point advocated that Guantanamo detainees be […]

For the past several months, much to the delight of the right wing, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been leading an aggressive effort to impugn the motives of Obama appointees in the Department of Justice, whom he alleges are embroiled in a “conflict of interest” because they at one point advocated that Guantanamo detainees be tried according to the rule of law. Grassley has been on a vengeful witch-hunt to identify the names of DoJ lawyers who have “either represented Guantanamo detainees or worked for groups who advocated for them,” with the likely intention of purging them.

Last month, the Justice Department acknowledged to Grassley that at least nine appointees in the agency had previously advocated for the rule of law with respect to detainee treatment in Guantanamo, but Attorney General Eric Holder refused to disclose the names of these lawyers. Grassley dismissed the DoJ response as “bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo” and demanded to know the identities of those appointees.

Employing “McCarthyite tactics,” the crack investigative squad at the Washington Times has undertaken the task of identifying each of the lawyers. Liz Cheney’s neoconservative outfit Keep America Safe has released an ad today ominously warning of the anonymous “al Qaeda seven” in the Justice Department:

In a coordinated assault, a plethora of other right wing voices are issuing similarly irresponsible charges:

– The American Spectator escalates the number of potential terrorist “abettors” in the Department of Justice from 9 to “as many as 13 to 16.”

– David Davenport, a researcher at the conservative Hoover Institution, wrote in an editorial for the San Francisco Chronicle, “The Department of Justice is supposed to be prosecuting terrorists, not coddling them.”

– The Investor’s Business Daily headlines its editorial: “DOJ: Department of Jihad?” “Just whose side are they on?” IBD asks.

– “It’s like they’re bringing al Qaeda lawyers inside the Department of Justice,” said Debra Burlingame, who lost her brother on 9/11 and a board member of Liz Cheney’s group Keep America Safe.

Many on the right have conveniently neglected to mention that the United States Supreme Court sided with the Obama attorneys. One of the targeted attorneys is Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal, the lawyer who won Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the case that struck down the Bush administration’s military commissions system. Another target, Justice Department lawyer Jennifer Daskal, had signed her name to an amicus brief in the Boumediene v. Bush case arguing that Gitmo detainees be accorded habeas corpus rights to challenge their convictions. The Supreme Court sided with Daskal’s position.

So the bottom line is that, having been on the losing side of these Supreme Court decisions, the right wing has decided to continue its vindictive fight by smearing the lawyers who prevailed in their advocacy for the rule of law.

New report finds that right-wing extremist groups have grown 244 percent in the past year.
A new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center has unearthed shocking data about the rise of militias, antigovernment groups, and other right-wing extremist groups. The report, titled “Rage on the Right,” has found that there has been an increase of 244 percent in the number of these extremist groups in 2009: The number of […]

A new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center has unearthed shocking data about the rise of militias, antigovernment groups, and other right-wing extremist groups. The report, titled “Rage on the Right,” has found that there has been an increase of 244 percent in the number of these extremist groups in 2009:

The number of extremist groups in the United States exploded in 2009 as militias and other groups steeped in wild, antigovernment conspiracy theories exploited populist anger across the country and infiltrated the mainstream, according to a report issued today by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

Antigovernment “Patriot” groups – militias and other extremist organizations that see the federal government as their enemy – came roaring back to life over the past year after more than a decade out of the limelight.

The SPLC documented a 244 percent increase in the number of active Patriot groups in 2009. Their numbers grew from 149 groups in 2008 to 512 groups in 2009, an astonishing addition of 363 new groups in a single year. Militias – the paramilitary arm of the Patriot movement – were a major part of the increase, growing from 42 militias in 2008 to 127 in 2009.

Early last year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned about the rise of “rightwing extremism in the United States,” sparking an uproar among many on the right who derided DHS’s warning as merely “paranoid accusations of liberal bloggers.”

Government may mandate ‘brake-override’ systems; Toyota announces sales drop
The federal government may recommend that automakers include “brake-override” systems in all new vehicles to avert the sort of runaway acceleration that has been reported in several popular Toyota models and linked to a growing number of fatal accidents.

White House declassifies outline of cybersecurity program
SAN FRANCISCO — The Obama administration Tuesday declassified an outline of a major government effort to protect its computer networks.

Days later, as a deal emerges, Bunning backs down
For five days, retiring Sen. Jim Bunning held his fellow Republicans hostage. He stood his ground, angry and alone, a one-man blockade against unemployment benefits, Medicare payments to doctors, satellite TV to rural Americans and paychecks to highway workers.

Obama administration plans to close International Labor Comparisons office
Like a scorekeeper for the world, a tiny unit within the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks globalization’s winners and losers, and the results are not always pretty for the United States. Manufacturing jobs here, for example, have fallen faster since 1979 than in Canada, Germany or Japan. Compensation for those jobs dropped here in 2008 but jumped in South Korea and Australia.

The System Works, Even if These Bozos Don’t
Divided government need not mean gridlock. Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan made it work. Obama can, too.

By Stanley Kutler

Divided government need not mean gridlock. Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan made it work. Obama can, too.

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Hazmat Teams Called to IRS Building in Utah
A “suspicious substance” caused a ruckus at an Internal Revenue Service outpost in Ogden, Utah, on Monday, and hazardous materials crews and the FBI were called in. Later, an official said the substance was found to pose no danger, and federal agents reported that medical emergencies in the building were not related to the material that caused the alarm. Understandably, the IRS has been on edge since a pilot deliberately crashed a small airplane into an office of the revenue service last month. Updated AP via MSNBC: OGDEN, Utah – An official with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service says a suspicious substance found at an IRS building in Ogden, Utah, is not hazardous. The FBI’s Salt Lake City division said Monday that hazardous materials crews were called to the IRS building about 35 miles north of Salt Lake City to respond to a possible hazardous material threat. Parts of the building were evacuated. […] The incident began about 12:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. ET) Monday, 11 days after a Texas man embroiled in a years-long dispute with the IRS crashed his small plane into the agency’s complex in Austin, Texas. Read more

A “suspicious substance” caused a ruckus at an Internal Revenue Service outpost in Ogden, Utah, on Monday, and hazardous materials crews and the FBI were called in. Later, an official said the substance was found to pose no danger, and federal agents reported that medical emergencies in the building were not related to the material that caused the alarm. Understandably, the IRS has been on edge since a pilot deliberately crashed a small airplane into an office of the revenue service last month. Updated

AP via MSNBC:

OGDEN, Utah – An official with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service says a suspicious substance found at an IRS building in Ogden, Utah, is not hazardous.

The FBI’s Salt Lake City division said Monday that hazardous materials crews were called to the IRS building about 35 miles north of Salt Lake City to respond to a possible hazardous material threat.

Parts of the building were evacuated.

[…] The incident began about 12:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. ET) Monday, 11 days after a Texas man embroiled in a years-long dispute with the IRS crashed his small plane into the agency’s complex in Austin, Texas.

Read more

Related Entries

• March 2, 2010 The System Works, Even if These Bozos Don’t
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Andrew Romanoff: The Courage of Our Convictions
Washington has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the industries it’s supposed to be regulating. Too many politicians seem more interested in their own job security than in ours.

Rahm Emanuel The White House Voice Of Reason?
Rahm Emanuel is officially a Washington caricature. He’s the town’s resident leviathan, a bullying, bruising White House chief of staff who is a prime target…

Chris Weigant: Primary Season Begins
For many on the Left, primary season officially got going today, with the announcement that Senator Blanche Lincoln will face a very credible Democratic opponent in the Arkansas primary.

Fox hosts GOP-backed Tea Party Express to deny that tea party is “Astroturf”

Fox & Friends hosted Amy Kremer of the Tea Party Express to rebut charges that some of the tea party movement is orchestrated by the Republican Party. Kremer insisted that “this is a true, genuine, grassroots movement,” but, in fact, the Tea Party Express was launched by Republican consultants and has been criticized by other conservative activists for its partisan ties to Republicans.

Fox & Friends hosts Tea Party Express’ Kremer, who says, “[T]his is a true, genuine, grassroots movement”

From the March 1 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends:

GRETCHEN CARLSON (co-host): We’re joined by the director of the Tea Party Express Grassroots and Coalition, Amy Kremer. Good morning to you, Amy.

KREMER: Good morning, Gretchen.

CARLSON: As someone so involved with the tea party movement and having heard Nancy Pelosi call you Astroturf before, about six months ago, what was your reaction when you heard her say that she may have some things in common with you?

KREMER: I was shocked. I think most people within the movement are shocked. She’s a little delusional. There’s not much that she has in common with us. You know, I just — I can’t believe that she would think that she would. She brings up the special interests, and, you know, their ruling with the Supreme Court. Honest to goodness, that’s not what we’ve been focused on.

STEVE DOOCY (co-host): Sure.

KREMER: We’ve been focused on our core principles and values of fiscal responsibility, limited government, free markets, and most importantly, recently, health care. I don’t recall anybody mentioning anything about the special interests lately.

DOOCY: Right. Amy, do you agree with her that some of the tea party stuff is orchestrated by the GOP headquarters?

KREMER: Absolutely not. I’m sure she would like to think so, but it’s not. I mean, this is a true, genuine, grassroots movement.

DOOCY: Right.

KREMER: We’re not Astroturf. We’re not being orchestrated by anyone or anything, and we’re going to continue to grow.

But Tea Party Express was launched by Republican consultants

Tea Party Express run by Republican PAC. The Associated Press reported in October 2008 that Our Country Deserves Better PAC, which launched the Tea Party Express, “was formed in August [2008] by California political consultant Sal Russo and former California Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian.” As their OCDB biographies note, Russo is a veteran Republican consultant and Kaloogian served as a Republican.

OCDB’s mission is to oppose Obama and “Democratic Congress.” On its “About Us” page, OCDB states that “we must stand up to Barack Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress.” The PAC also solicits contributions by stating, “Help us fight the Democratic Congress!” NPR reported on September 26, 2008, that OCDB’s website then said “it has one objective: to defeat Obama.” During the 2008 campaign, the PAC hosted “patriotic, pro-McCain/Palin rallies” to “Stop Obama.”

OCDB campaigned for Republican Tedisco. OCDB “reported for Talking Points memo that “[t]he political action committee behind the Tea Party Express (TPE) — which already has been slammed as inauthentic and corporate-controlled by rival factions in the Tea Party movement — directed almost two thirds of its spending during a recent reporting period back to the Republican consulting firm that created the PAC in the first place.” Roth further wrote:

Our Country Deserves Better (OCDB) spent around $1.33 million from July through November, according to FEC filings examined by TPMmuckraker. Of that sum, a total of $857,122 went to Sacramento-based GOP political consulting firm Russo, Marsh, and Associates, or people associated with it.

OCDB, which built the Tea Party Express, is essentially a Russo, Marsh creation, as we’ve detailed. The PAC’s site was registered in July 2008 by Sal Russo, the firm’s founder. That site also lists Russo as the PAC’s “chief strategist.” Tea Party Express fundraising emails, sent by OCDB and obtained by TPMmuckraker, come from another Russo, Marsh employee, Joe Wierzbicki.

Other tea party groups reportedly accuse Tea Party Express of being “sham organization” for GOP

Tea Party Express reportedly seen by other conservative activists as “sham organization” pushing “partisan Republican agenda.” On October 9, 2009, David Weigel reported for The Washington Independent that other tea party activists see the Tea Party Express as “a scheme for Republican strategists and candidates to take advantage of a movement that was chugging along fine without them”:

An argument has broken out, perhaps inevitably, between Tea Party activists and one of the groups that has laid claim to the Tea Party mantle. The self-described grassroots activists in Tea Party Patriots and the American Liberty Alliance see the Tea Party Express as a sham organization, using the political heft of the movement to push a bland, partisan Republican agenda. Privately and publicly, they accuse the Tea Party Express of being an “astroturf” outfit, a scheme for Republican strategists and candidates to take advantage of a movement that was chugging along fine without them.

National Precinct Alliance director called Tea Party Express a “Republican National Committee-related group.” On January 25, The New York Times reported that Philip Glass, the director of conservative group National Precinct Alliance, announced that his organization would not participate in the National Tea Party Convention. The article reported: “Mr. Glass said he was also concerned about the role in the convention of groups like Tea Party Express, which has held rallies across the country through two bus tours, and FreedomWorks, a Tea Party umbrella. He called them ‘Republican National Committee-related groups,’ and added, ‘At best, it creates the appearance of an R.N.C. hijacking; at worst, it is one.’ “

Meckler of Tea Party Patriots on Tea Party Express: “[T]hey raise money for Republicans.” Weigel reported on October 2, 2009, that Mark Meckler, a national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, said, “Tea Party Patriots are very dissatisfied with the Republican Party — we have nothing against Our Country Deserves Better PAC, but they raise money for Republicans.”

Fox News aggressively promotes Tea Party Express tour

Fox News has aggressively promoted the Tea Party Express tours. Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Nation, and FoxNews.com have promoted the tours, going so far as to cheerlead for the protests and advertise the tea party schedule so viewers “can be a part” of the events. Indeed, a Fox News producer was even caught coaching a crowd to cheer during a stop of the Tea Party Express.

Fox Nation promoting Tea Party Express III. Fox Nation has promoted the third national tour, which begins March 27 in Searchlight, Nevada, and ends April 15 in Washington, D.C.

In turn, the organizers of Tea Party Express have used Fox’s coverage for fundraising. The OCDB PAC used Fox News’ coverage of its Tea Party Express to fundraise in a July 29, 2009, email.

Former DOJ-ers Doubtful On Missing Yoo Emails Story
An internal Justice Department report on the Torture Memos noted that investigators were told that key emails from John Yoo had been deleted and could not be retrieved. But several former DOJ staffers expressed intense skepticism that the emails could in fact have been rendered unrecoverable — at least without a deliberate effort to destroy them.

Did GOP Rep Resign To Squelch Ethics Probe?
Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA), who is under investigation by the ethics committee for reportedly intervening with Georgia officials to preserve a lucrative business agreement with the state, announced today he is leaving Congress, effective next Monday. Why did he do it?

Report: Lawmakers To Be Cleared In PMA Ethics Probe
There is no evidence that any members of Congress exchanged earmarks for campaign contributions with the PMA Group, the House Ethics committee has found, sources tell Roll Call.

Sen. Jim Bunning — The Ugliest American

Primary Day in Texas
Texas voters head to the polls today and the race most watched is the Republican gubernatorial primary between Gov. Rick Perry (R), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) and Debra Medina (R).

The Dallas Morning News notes the “unprecedented battle between the two-term governor and three-term senator has stretched more than a year and consumed tens of millions of dollars. But for all the TV ads and attacks on each other, the dynamic appears little changed in months. Perry, riding a wave of anti-Washington sentiment, appears to have a comfortable lead, while Hutchison is trying to keep her bid alive for a few more weeks with a runoff.”

At one point Medina “appeared to be battling Hutchison for second place but may have slipped in recent days because of a lack of money for television ads and a failure to quickly disavow a possible government conspiracy in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.”

Austin American Statesman: “If early voting in the state’s big counties was any indication, turnout for today’s election will be high. About 306,000 people voted early in the Republican primary this year in the state’s 15 largest counties, more than doubling early vote turnout in those counties compared with the 2006 Republican primary for governor.”

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Specter Pushes Ahead of Toomey
A new Quinnipiac poll in Pennsylvania finds Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) has retaken the lead over challenger Pat Toomey (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 42%.

In the Democratic primary, Specter is crushing challenger Joe Sestak (D), 53% to 29%.

Said pollster Peter Brown: “Sen. Arlen Specter seems to be having a good winter politically. He is back ahead of Republican Pat Toomey after having been essentially tied with him since last summer, and there remains no evidence that his primary challenger, Congressman Joe Sestak, has made much progress as we get within three months of the May primary.”

Trail of Dreams vs. KKK: Walking on for Immigration Reform
Change.org wraps up coverage of the DREAM Act Week of Action with a look at the Trail of Dreams march from Florida to D.C.

Change.org wraps up coverage of the DREAM Act Week of Action with a look at the Trail of Dreams march from Florida to D.C.

Rethinking the Shopper’s High: New Ways to Get the Rush Without Laying Out the Cash
The serotonin surge from shopping (think runner’s high spiked with chic Milly dresses and swank Boss suits) can be attained from trying and not buying.

The serotonin surge from shopping (think runner's high spiked with chic Milly dresses and swank Boss suits) can be attained from trying and not buying.

The Autobiography of an Execution: One Lawyer’s Fight to Save Death Row Inmates in Texas
David Dow has represented over 100 death row cases. Many of his clients have died. Most were guilty. Some might have been innocent. This is his deeply personal story.

David Dow has represented over 100 death row cases. Many of his clients have died. Most were guilty. Some might have been innocent. This is his deeply personal story.

Palestine’s Economic Pieces
A serious misconception is being propagated by the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah. Media, international organizations, foreign governments and Palestinians-at-large are being coaxed into believing that the flurry of economic activity in the West Bank is economic development towards statehood. The…



West Bank – Israel – Middle East – Ramallah – Palestinian people

A Truth that Barely Speaks Its Name
” [I]t seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide… whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they…



Politics – Tea Partiers – Tea – Conservatism – United States

McCain To Propose Amendment Prohibiting Changes To Medicare Using Reconciliation
President Barack Obama may have cut off Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) at Thursday’s health care summit, but Meet the Press gave McCain the last word this Sunday. During yesterday’s appearance McCain announced that he will introduce legislation preventing the Democrats from using reconciliation to change Medicare spending: MCCAIN: And let me also say that […]

President Barack Obama may have cut off Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) at Thursday’s health care summit, but Meet the Press gave McCain the last word this Sunday. During yesterday’s appearance McCain announced that he will introduce legislation preventing the Democrats from using reconciliation to change Medicare spending:

MCCAIN: And let me also say that Robert Byrd also in the ’70s exempted Social Security. Social Security cannot be considered in reconciliation. We should do the same thing with Medicare. Lindsay Graham and I will be introducing legislation. Entitlements should not be part of a reconciliation process, i.e., 51 votes. It’s too important.

As McCain gears up for the toughest re-election campaign of his career, he has abandoned his support for cutting Medicare and Medicaid by some $1.3 trillion over 10 years and has grown increasingly protective of the government-sponsored program. At the summit, the Senator accused Obama of approving an ‘unsavory’ special deal for Floridians on Medicare Advantage and has spent hours defending the Medicare program during floor debate.

To my ears, the McCain/Graham amendment is another political ploy that’s designed to communicate a message rather than stop the reconciliation process. After all, Congress has already approved the Medicare changes in the Senate health care bill and the reconciliation package of fixes will only include a change to the payroll tax (used to fund the Medicare program). A McCain/Grahm amendment that prohibits reconciliation changes to the Medicare trust fund could complicate the package, but it won’t derail the entire effort.

But on the whole, this is really a cynical move (and highly unlikely, since any rule change would require 67 votes). Republicans have consistantly supported far larger cuts to the Medicare program than what Democrats are currently proposing and are always complaining that the Medicare “entitlement” program will bankrupt the nation. Now they’re preparing to unveil an amendment designed to prohibit Democrats from reducing Medicare spending and extending the life of the program.

Cross-posted on The Wonk Room.

Lamar Alexander Won?t Rule Out Using Reconciliation To Repeal Health Care Reform
Yesterday on ABC’s This Week, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) attacked Democrats for considering using reconciliation to pass health care reform, saying it would be “the end of the Senate.” Yet Alexander himself has voted for bills using reconciliation at least four times in his Senate career. Today on Fox News, Alexander said that if Democrats […]

Yesterday on ABC’s This Week, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) attacked Democrats for considering using reconciliation to pass health care reform, saying it would be “the end of the Senate.” Yet Alexander himself has voted for bills using reconciliation at least four times in his Senate career.

Today on Fox News, Alexander said that if Democrats pass health care, he will lead the GOP charge to repeal it. “We’ll spend the rest of the year in the campaign to try to repeal it,” he said, adding that “the health care bill is going to define every Democratic candidate for every public office in November.”

Later on ABC’s Top Line, Alexander again attacked reconciliation and reiterated his repeal pledge, but the Tennessee senator wouldn’t rule out using reconciliation to repeal health care reform:

Q: If the Democrats succeed in jamming this through on reconciliation, would you be open to using the very same process – reconciliation – to repeal health care reform?

ALEXANDER: I don’t like using the reconciliation for this. I’ve tried to be consistent in my views. […]

Q: Is reconciliation something you would say, “We would never use for something substantive legislation like health care?” Are you prepared to make that kind of statement?

ALEXANDER: No I’m not going to prepare to make any kind of statement. I’m prepared to say it shouldn’t be done now and if it shouldn’t be done now it shouldn’t be done in the future.

Watch it (starting at 4:40):

It doesn’t make sense that using reconciliation to pass health care reform would be “the end of the Senate,” yet using the process to repeal it would be perfectly acceptable.

“The goal of the repeal movement is to intimidate Democrats into inaction and raise money,” notes the Wonk Room’s Igor Volsky, adding that “they’ll be attacked for voting for an unpopular bill and portrayed as weak for abandoning an effort they fervently championed. Then again, if Democrats are willing to take their campaign advice from Republicans, maybe they shouldn’t be in Congress in the first place.”