Please go away

When Obama got elected I really thought there would be less Cheney, but, no, we've got more. Obama should prosecute this criminal, if only to get him away from the microphones.

No prayer day ceremony at new White House

Now, if only we could get god out of every other aspect of our public lives maybe this country could progress as our founders intended.

Quote of the Day

"I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage." -- Gov. John Baldacci, making sense and making Maine the fifth state to allow same-sex marriage. Well done.

More Specter

The Dems have unanimously voted to send Specter to the end of the seniority line in the Senate. Maybe that grass isn't so green on the (D) side of the aisle after all. Good.

Specter rooting for Coleman over Franken

Someone needs to explain to Arlen Specter what that little (D) after his name means. I didn't think it was possible, but I now despise him more than Joe Lieberman.

Update: Specter says he "conclusively misspoke." In that case, all is forgiven...

Stress tests

So much angst and obfuscation all to avoid admitting insolvency. All to avoid private loss (at the public's expense). Long live capitalism.

Quote of the Day

"The ARM recast implosion, the second major foreclosure wave, is on its way. I don't want to hear any of this 'nobody could have predicted' crap from Larry and Timmeh." -- Atrios, sending out warning flares, yet again, that the mortgage crisis is far from over.

President Obama missed a chance at stemming the crisis by not strongly backing the mortgage cramdown provision. Like it, or not, he now owns the next wave of defaults and the mess it leaves behind.

Re-branding

As the GOP launches one re-branding effort after another, let's remember that the election of Michael Steele to the top of the RNC perch was one of the first of these efforts (and we all know how successful that has been). Epic flail.

Specter

I don't want to be an ideological purist. I appreciate that not all Democrats come from liberal states. And, after watching the GOP eat themselves from the inside out based on purity, I don't want the Democratic party to devolve in the same way. However, after watching Arlen Specter's first week as a Democrat it's hard not to want some sort of purity. Or, if not purity, some sort of sign that he will actually support a Democratic plan. Is that too much to ask?

Truth in Comics

If it's Sunday, it's Truth in Comics.

Bad Democrats

Sorry, Senator Nelson, the only deal breaker on health care is if there is not a public option included. If the insurance companies can't handle the competition, then maybe they'll have to step up their game. Why does Ben Nelson hate America?

Quote of the Day

“We have to be careful not to f—- up and overreach. So it’s a balancing act.” -- an anonymous GOP congressional aide regarding the upcoming fight over Obama's Supreme Court nominee. A conservative not overreaching? I'll believe it when I see it.

The wilderness beckons.

First in line

In December I argued--maybe not on the blog, but definitely with my office-mate--that the auto industry must not fail while George Bush was still in power. Whether they were viable or not, at least let's get them through Bush's reign and into Obama's. I think this is a good example of why:

DETROIT — Labor unions usually dread bankruptcy, and for good reason. Their pay, benefits and pensions typically suffer significant cuts, as airline and steel workers can attest.

But for the United Automobile Workers union, Chrysler’s Chapter 11 case, which began in New York on Friday, could turn out to be — if the company survives and thrives — the Cadillac of bankruptcies.

The U.A.W., for example, has received upfront protection from the Treasury Department for its pension plan and the fund that will take over responsibility for retiree medical benefits.

Moreover, that fund, called the voluntary employee beneficiary association, or VEBA, will control 55 percent of the equity in the new Chrysler once it emerges from bankruptcy, and hold a seat on the Chrysler board.

Under George Bush the American worker would have been at the back of the line getting mugged by the banks all the while, at least under Obama they were at the front and protected.

Friday Cat

Senate nixes giving bankruptcy judges power to renegotiating mortgages

And these senators (D and R) will go home and tell the people they represent that they care, that they are on their side, that they are looking out for their interests. They will be lying, of course, unless the people they are talking to are bankers.

Justice David Souter to step down

Fundies start your engines. This should be fun.