No more hathos today. Here’s some opiate for the nerds.
Chat about whatever.
by Tim F| 45 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
No more hathos today. Here’s some opiate for the nerds.
Chat about whatever.
by Tim F| 53 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
As far as I can tell the sugar-ish coating on Tylenol Severe Sinus Congestion & Pain pills tastes pretty good. Better than Advil and miles better than cough syrup’s cloying aftertaste.
How is your week going?
***Update***
Because I want you all to feel the way I do.
This post is in: Politics
I just heard Harry Knox from the Human Rights Campaign on CNN state that Barack Obama has just told gays and lesbians that they are not welcome. This is not only obnoxious and silly, but factually it is not the case:
Barack Obama and Gay Rights in Illinois:
Barack Obama supported gay rights during his Illinois Senate tenure. He sponsored legislation in Illinois that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Barack Obama in the United States Senate:
Every two years the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national gay and lesbian organization, issues a scorecard for members of the Senate based on their sponsorship and voting on key issues of importance to gay and lesbian citizens. Barack Obama scored 89 out of 100% in the 2006 scorecard. Here’s how HRC rated Barack Obama:
Barack Obama on Hate Crimes:
Barack Obama co-sponsored legislation to expand federal hate crimes laws to include crimes perpetrated because of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Employment Non-Discrimination:
Barack Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and believes it should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell – Gays in the Military:
Barack Obama believes we need to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. His campaign literature says, “The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve.”
Gay & Lesbian Adoption:
Barack Obama believes gays and lesbians should have the same rights to adopt children as heterosexuals.
Barack Obama and Gay Marriage/ Civil Unions:
Although Barack Obama has said that he supports civil unions, he is against gay marriage. In an interview with the Chicago Daily Tribune, Obama said, “I’m a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.”
Barack Obama did vote against a Federal Marriage Amendment and opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.
He said he would support civil unions between gay and lesbian couples, as well as letting individual states determine if marriage between gay and lesbian couples should be legalized.
“Giving them a set of basic rights would allow them to experience their relationship and live their lives in a way that doesn’t cause discrimination,” Obama said. “I think it is the right balance to strike in this society.”
Please note- those ratings are from the HRC, Knox’s own organization. Additionally, Obama’s statement today at the press conference is identical to his rhetoric during the campaign:
Blade: You have called for the full repeal of DOMA. If elected president, will you introduce legislation calling for its repeal during your first year in office?
Obama: I have long been on record opposing DOMA, and an Obama-Biden administration will work hard to ensure that we can pass a repeal of that law as soon as possible.
Blade: Do you think repeal of all of DOMA would, in fact, prompt Congress to strongly consider and possibly pass a constitutional ban on gay marriage?
Obama: Again, I think this issue ties in to who controls Congress. And a Democratic Congress that enacts a repeal of DOMA would not be likely to pass a Constitutional ban on gay marriage — partly because our party rejects enshrining discrimination and divisive distinctions among citizens into our founding documents.
Blade: If DOMA is repealed fully or in part, the federal government most likely still could not recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships performed by states. Would you ask Congress to pass federal enabling legislation that would require the federal government to recognize civil unions and/or domestic partnerships performed by states so that same-sex couples joined in civil unions or domestic partnerships could obtain the same federal rights and benefits of marriage that you have called for?
Obama: I support the notion that all people — gay or straight — deserve the same rights and responsibilities to assist their loved ones in times of emergency, deserve equal health insurance and other employment benefits currently extended to heterosexual married couples, and deserve the same property rights as anyone else.
If elected, I would call on Congress to enact legislation that would repeal DOMA and ensure that the over 1,100 federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally recognized unions.
With all due respect to Kos, the outrage the past two days has not woken up Obama- he has not wavered at all, and his record on these issues has been steady and true for over a decade. Additionally, the bigger story to me would also be this:
An Atlanta civil rights icon will play a very visible role in the historic and star-studded inauguration of Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president.
A congressional committee announced late Wednesday that the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, a stalwart of the civil rights movement and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, will deliver the benediction.
Someone who is not supportive of gay marriage or wholly receptive to gay rights is not something new- Billy Graham was no champion of gay rights, and I seriously doubt there has ever been anyone giving the invocation that openly supported gay marriage or gay rights. On the other hand, an open advocate for gay marriage is giving the Benediction, and that has never happened before.
This is not a slap in the face to gays, and despite what that buffoon at the HRC says, this is not Obama telling homosexuals they are unwelcome. This is what progress looks like- the last Democratic President signed DOMA and passed DADT. Again, I completely understand why some may be upset at the selection of Warren to give a one minute speech, but it just looks like this is not a big deal to me. What Obama has done in elected office in the past and what he does after the inauguration are the things we should focus on, not a small nod to the evangelical right in the spirit of inclusiveness.
To close on a humorous note, this made me laugh out loud:
I’m hoping that the Revererend Wright parachutes on stage just as Rick “Pus-Driven Life” Warren is about to give the invocation, and then he says “THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE, BITCHES” and starts spraying machine gun fire. Then he and Hopey make up over Warrens bullet-riddled corpse and they start handing out guns to the crowd from big ass crates marked USSR and “Fidel Forever.” The end.
Heh.
*** Update ***
All it took was two glasses of wine, and I am ready to have hot gay man on man sex with Joe Klein:
I have no problem with Barack Obama asking Reverend Rick to deliver a prayer at the Inauguration. It will have zero–repeat, zero–impact on the policies of the Obama Administration. And it may do some good, especially if it gives pause to all those people who think that I–and the crypto-Muslim Barack Obama–are going to hell…If it causes those folks to give the new President just the slightest credit for appreciating their worldview, if it causes them to give him the benefit of the doubt on controversial stuff like talking to the Iranians or universal health insurance, then it’s worth it. If it causes evangelicals to say, “Well, he’s not demonizing us, maybe we shouldn’t demonize him,” it’s worth it. If it makes Rush Limbaugh’s toxic blather about our next President seem even the slightest bit ridiculous and over-the-top to his idiot legion of ditto heads, it’s worth it.
The thing is, Obama is trying to change the nature of public discourse from the raw blast it has been for the past 20 years to something more civil and tolerable. You sense that every time he opens his mouth. He’s all for opening doors. I don’t know how many of ultra-conservative evangelicals will walk through the door he is opening by having one of their most popular leaders join the inaugural celebration, but I appreciate his inclusive intent. Even if I think there is an insurmountable roadblock to heaven–I’d guess it’s about like the relationship between a camel and the eye of a needle–for those who make blanket judgments about which of us is going to hell.
After Edwards went down, progressives flocked to Obama for many reasons, one of which was his rejection of the 50+1 strategy of the Clinton campaign and failed previous Democratic endeavors. Now, Obama is reaching out, giving a symbolic nod to the right, and people are freaking the fuck out.
More here. Pay attention to the last paragraph.
This Will Be My Last Post On This, So Help Me Flying Spaghetti MonsterPost + Comments (534)
This post is in: Cat Blogging, Dog Blogging
Been a pretty acrimonious day in the comments, so time for a breather:
Let’s all act like the cool cat and calm down, including myself, as I am prone to saying obnoxious things when I think people are over-reacting to things.
This post is in: Domestic Politics
For landlords looking to rent (.pdf):
Much hyped “foreclosure prevention programs” relying on voluntary loan modifications are failing to reach a significant number of troubled homeowners and are often backfiring when they do so, according to newly updated research released today by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA). The across-the-board failure of these much ballyhooed “fixes” for the foreclosure crisis are expected to result in the new President and Congress facing considerable new pressure to clear the way for court-supervised loan modifications that will prove more beneficial for homeowners.
The findings released today by NACBA come on the heels of a dire new projection from Credit Suisse that “over 8 million foreclosures (are now) expected” over the next four years in the U.S. That astounding level accounts for 16 percent of all mortgages –- including 59 percent of all subprime mortgages and more than 11 percent of all other mortgages, including Alt-A, options ARMS and even those in the prime category. This new forecast from Credit Suisse is up sharply from the two to six million foreclosure range cited in previous estimates from industry sources.
No idea how reliable the Hastings Group is, but we have been discussing Alt-A’s and ooptions ARMS in he comments here for a while as the next shoe to drop. 60 Minutes devoted a segment to this last Sunday, but I was still on a Steelers high after the Ravens defeat and forgot to blog about it:
When it comes to bailouts of American business, Barney Frank and the Congress may be just getting started. Nearly two trillion tax dollars have been shoveled into the hole that Wall Street dug and people wonder where the bottom is.
As correspondent Scott Pelley reports, it turns out the abyss is deeper than most people think because there is a second mortgage shock heading for the economy. In the executive suites of Wall Street and Washington, you’re beginning to hear alarm about a new wave of mortgages with strange names that are about to become all too familiar. If you thought sub-primes were insanely reckless wait until you hear what’s coming.
***The trouble now is that the insanity didn’t end with sub-primes. There were two other kinds of exotic mortgages that became popular, called “Alt-A” and “option ARM.” The option ARMs, in particular, lured borrowers in with low initial interest rates – so-called teaser rates – sometimes as low as one percent. But after two, three or five years those rates “reset.” They went up. And so did the monthly payment. A mortgage of $800 dollars a month could easily jump to $1,500.
Now the Alt-A and option ARM loans made back in the heyday are starting to reset, causing the mortgage payments to go up and homeowners to default.
This really is terrifying stuff, especially when you consider the massive job losses and the potential of everything associated with the auto industry going down in flames. It makes Ben Stein’s panic the other day seem pretty damned reasonable.
This post is in: Politics
Obama’s presser:
I am fierce advocate for equality for gay and — well, let me start by talking about my own views. I think it is no secret that I am a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans. It is something I have been consistent on and something I intend to continue to be consistent on during my presidency.
What I’ve also said is that it is important for America to come together even though we may have disagreements on certain social issues.
And I would note that a couple of years ago I was invited to Rick Warren’s church to speak, despite his awareness that I held views entirely contrary to his when it came to gay and lesbian rights, when it came to issues like abortion.
Nevertheless, I had an opportunity to speak, and that dialogue, I think, is a part of what my campaign’s been all about, that we’re never going to agree on every single issue. What we have to do is create an atmosphere where we can disagree without being disagreeable, and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans. So Rick Warren has been invited to speak, Dr. Joseph Lowery — who has deeply contrasting views to Rick Warren about a whole host of issues — is also speaking.
You would think that folks would be ecstatic that they have a President-elect who, for the first time I can remember, is publicly, openly, and repeatedly stating that he supports equal rights for gays and lesbians and that the Christian right is wrong about these issues, but I guess screaming about a slap-in-the-face gets more page views. Let the wanking continue in earnest.
Oh, and btw, since most people will probably miss it in die Sturm und Drang of the Warren speaking role, but during that presser, Obama signaled that some change is coming to the SEC:
Obama named Mary Schapiro, current head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, to serve as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He appointed former Treasury official Gary Gensler to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Georgetown law professor Dan Tarullo to serve as a governor on the Federal Reserve Board.
Obama blamed regulatory agencies and Congressional committees who failed to head off or minimize the current financial crisis, and pointed to the track records of his newest appointees as signs of the crackdown to come.
In response to questions from reporters, he also broadened his message to apply to a range of social institutions – and to individuals across the board.
“I think the American people right now are feeling frustrated. There’s not a lot of adult supervision out there, whether it’s in the political world or the financial world,” Obama said.
He called for “a restoration of a sense of responsibility, that all of us have responsibilities to operate honorably,” and the notions of “advocating not just for ourselves, but what’s good for the country . . . .operating not just out of greed, but operating out of a sense for the common good.”
Any thoughts about his picks today?
by John Cole| 62 Comments
This post is in: Republican Stupidity
No one could have predicted this would happen:
In a bid to beef up House Republicans’ ability to scrutinize an Obama administration, incoming House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is moving to increase the GOP side of the panel’s oversight power.
A day after he was formally selected as ranking member last week, Issa ousted 14 of 39 Republican committee staffers, including many senior aides. Outgoing staffers said they were told the panel’s minority will shift its focus away from legislation toward oversight of federal agencies.
By bringing in aides with investigative backgrounds, committee Republicans believe they can increase their capacity to conduct independent investigations, despite lacking the majority’s subpoena power.
And you know what? This is what they are supposed to do. Still, it is pretty funny given the GOP obstruction of oversight of the past eight years. One of Issa’s shining moments in the sun, using parliamentary tricks and delaying tactics to make sure Doug Feith did not have time to provide testimony to Congress:
It should come as no surprise that the culprit was none other than Rep. Steve King, who, through sheer schoolboy effrontery in a House subcommittee last week, muted the testimony of Douglas Feith, one of the key architects of the Bush administration’s systematized disregard for the Geneva Convention. King’s constituents had a right, as did the nation at large, to hear Feith answer for his part in making a spurious case for war.
***Evoking the memory of that fateful day, King asked the committee’s chairman whether there was adequate time for an opening statement. Issa followed suit by raising a parliamentary inquiry, a failed attempt to “summon” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Issa’s distraction allowed King the time to piece together yet another speech in the guise of a clarification. The pair then insisted upon recognizing an archaic five-minute limit on questioning, which is hardly, if ever, observed. This measure proved to be debilitating. As each representative raised her or his questions, Feith found himself pressed for time with his answers. The back and forth that ensured was confusing at best. Each exchange was highly constrictive and limited in its clarity. The subcommittee chairman, Jerrold Nadler of New York, was continually forced to remind those present that, “the time of the gentleman” had expired.
More on his antics here. Wankers.
Republicans Rediscover the Value of OversightPost + Comments (62)