Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Fear and negativity are contagious, but so is courage!

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

This is dead girl, live boy, a goat, two wetsuits and a dildo territory.  oh, and pink furry handcuffs.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

All hail the time of the bunny!

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

I don’t recall signing up for living in a dystopian sci-fi novel.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

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Archives for 2009

Also, I Hear Tax Cuts Cure AIDS

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It just never stops. James Pethokoukis, who spent the fall telling us that the market was falling due to the impending Obama election (AKA the Goldberg Theorem), writes about the next stimulus package (since the current bill, which has not even been signed yet, is going to fail). Not surprising, he has some ideas as to what should be in it. You won’t be surprised by his prescription for economic recovery:

Bad economy, and elections looming at the end of 2010. Kind of sounds like the sort of environment where, if you were a Washington politico, you might push hard for Son of Stimulus. Any such package might look a lot like a paint-by-numbers sequel to the 2009 version. And the White House itself keeps saying that the $800 billion stimulus is merely a “down payment” for future spending on things like green energy and healthcare.

But another option would be a growthier package that would improve the long-term productivity of the economy and help families in the near term. Here are a few ideas: 1) eliminate capital-gains taxes so that the income tax would be transformed into a de facto consumption tax that encourages investment; 2) dramatically cut or eliminate business taxes so that U.S. companies could better compete globally; 3) index Social Security benefits to inflation and extend the retirement age, allowing a big cut in payroll taxes for the middle class; 4) create government-funded “innovation prizes” for key technology challenges; and 5) give universities financial incentives to create more science geeks and offer grad students free-floating fellowships to choose the field with the best prospects.

Tax cuts and John McCain’s technology prize.

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Another Vaccine/Autism Update

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This time in the form of a court ruling:

A special federal court ruled yesterday that vaccines do not cause autism and that thousands of families with autistic children are not entitled to compensation, delivering a major blow to an international movement that has tried for years to link childhood immunizations with the devastating disorder.

The ruling closes one chapter in a long feud that has pitted families with autistic children against the bulk of the scientific establishment. Those who believe passionately that routine childhood shots are to blame for the rising toll of autism feel they are locked in a David-and-Goliath struggle against vaccine manufacturers, corrupt scientists, federal agencies and the mainstream media. It remains to be seen whether yesterday’s ruling will end the controversy — or be seen as just more evidence of what some call a conspiracy.

The vast majority of credible scientific studies have shown — and all federal health agencies have strenuously argued — that there is no connection between vaccines and autism. And public health officials have repeatedly warned that fewer immunizations will endanger children’s lives.

Nevertheless, concerns about vaccines such as the “MMR” shot, which protects children against measles, mumps and rubella, have grown so widespread that some parents are choosing to forgo vaccinations. About one in 12 children does not receive the MMR vaccine in the United States, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

On top of the information that the author of the study that started this may have faked his data, this has not been a good couple of weeks for those who believe in an autism/vaccine link. Again, hopefully Tim F. will have some time to talk about this, but he has been swamped lately.

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It’s The Politics, Stupid

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Paul Krugman’s piece today is an example of why he still has the ability to drive me insane:

By any normal political standards, this week’s Congressional agreement on an economic stimulus package was a great victory for President Obama. He got more or less what he asked for: almost $800 billion to rescue the economy, with most of the money allocated to spending rather than tax cuts. Break out the Champagne!

Or maybe not. These aren’t normal times, so normal political standards don’t apply: Mr. Obama’s victory feels more than a bit like defeat. The stimulus bill looks helpful but inadequate, especially when combined with a disappointing plan for rescuing the banks. And the politics of the stimulus fight have made nonsense of Mr. Obama’s postpartisan dreams.

Krugman has basically spent the past few weeks arguing for a much, much larger stimulus bill, something on the order of double what we got now, and without as many tax cuts and with far more direct spending. The very first thing I remember him saying about the bill was that it was a disappointment, and this was before he even knew what was in it. And for all I know, he may be right- that may be what the economy needs, the current bill may be inadequate, and so on.

But the point remains that a larger bill was not political feasible. At all. The current bill just barely is getting the support from the three Republicans it needs, and this is after hundreds of hours of bickering, of paring down spending, and so forth. A larger bill was not politically feasible, and right now, it still has not been turned into law, and anything, as we all know, could still happen. With Gregg out at Commerce and back in the Senate, and Kennedy unable to fly back to vote for the bill, there is some doubt (for me, at least) that the current bill will even pass. A bigger bill simply could not happen in this climate.

Again, Krugman may be right on the contents of the bill, it might not be enough. However, to listen to him discuss the political outcome of the bill’s passage, after he showed a several month inability to recognize the political realities of the crafting of the bill, just makes me want to kick puppies.

Or stop reading Krugman.

*** Update #1***

On the other hand, while Krugman seems content to ignore or pay insignificant attention to the current political realities, that is still better than this David Brooks piece, in which he dedicates his entire column to making up political realities in the future.

*** Update #2***

Please, folks, enough with the ‘make them filibuster’ nonsense. I don’t know how many bullets this zombie nonsense needs before it goes down, but the filibuster is not in play here. The bill needs sixty votes:

The bill will be subject to a point of order due to its deficit spending, but the point of order can be waived by a 3/5 vote of the Senate. So that means passage would ultimately have required 60 votes whether Republicans filibustered or not.

Senate rules.

*** Update #3***

Greenwald essentially argues that what needs to be done is to change the political realities.

*** Update #4***

A different take:

Krugman’s point is that the political realities are the problem. It should be noted that GOP governors have no problem with a larger stimulus bill. The national GOP structure wants the stimulus to have less impact, keeping unemployment high, which in turn could scuttle the Obama Administration and lead to a GOP resurgence in the 2010 mid-terms.

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Crash

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A catastrophic crash in Buffalo last night, killing all on board, including a 9/11 widow:

According to CNN affiliate WGRZ-TV in Buffalo, one of the crash victims, Beverly Eckert, was the widow of 9/11 terror attack victim Sean Rooney, a Buffalo native. Eckert was traveling to Buffalo for a weekend celebration of what would have been her husband’s 58th birthday.

She also had planned to take part in presentation of a scholarship award at Canisius High School that she established in honor of her late husband, the Buffalo News newspaper reported.

Such a shame. I know several people who went to Canisius College, and I had a roommate from Buffalo. The place, while technically a city, really has a small-town feel, so this will really hit the area hard.

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Census interruptus

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Marc Ambinder and Sully have a pretty good discussion about the Gregg withdrawl here. They both agree the census story is bullshit. Now, Ambinder is incredibly credulous but has good sources (these two facts are not unrelated — why not talk to him, when he believes everything you say, no matter how dumb). He says the Gregg people told him they knew this wouldn’t work out and were just waiting for the other shoe to drop and that the other shoe was the stimulus package, or maybe the census thing, or maybe something else. They say Gregg’s never lost an election so he’s a delicate Washington virgin who woke up before Obama’s roofie kicked in. That’s bullshit. This thing is a career-killer for Gregg, he’s got a decent staff I’m sure (all Senators do), and I’m sure his staff told him if he dipped his toes in and then withdrew that he was fucked. Which he is.

So obviously something happened between when he essentially accepted and now.

So what happened? Gregg probably got threatened, possibly in some not-that-ominous way, by someone in the Republican party. They told him if he took this he couldn’t be a lobbyist afterward or that his kid of one of his cousins would lose their patronage job or that their juvy record would get unsealed or that he’d lose his low-numbered license plate. Or maybe it was something a little worse. That 800K lottery story has always sounded a little strange to me (though who knows, of course).

But it has to involve some kind of a threat. What else could it be? (Even Ambinder suggests this may be the case.)

Update: Fred Hiatt in tomorrow’s WaPo:

There was something appealingly human in Mr. Gregg’s explanation of his change of heart. He said that he had been seduced by the euphoria of a new job in a new administration but came to realize that after 30 years of working independently and making decisions himself, he couldn’t be a part of a team….Mr. Gregg’s concern about potential changes at the Census Bureau, particularly news that the census director would report to the White House instead of the commerce secretary, are understandable: Either this administration trusts me or it does not, he might fairly have felt.

Fifty-three years old and never been kissed.

But Gregg can make all well by…wait for it…gutting Social Security:

On one such goal — entitlement reform — Mr. Gregg may be a better ally in the Senate than in the Cabinet. There could be redemption all around if the New Hampshire Republican, in what he says will probably be his last two years in the Senate, helps the president he says he admires put the nation on a sounder fiscal course.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the Villagers will be the death of us all.

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Republican Math

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This is pretty rich. Ben Smith finds some minor discrepancies in job creation estimates from the stimulus package, and Rep. Cantor, um, pounces:

A White House estimate of the number of jobs stimulus legislation will create includes some sharp discrepancies between state and local jobs claims.

Those differences — which the document suggests are large rounding errors — was spotted by the office of House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, which assembled the chart above. It comes as the White House is seeking to define the stimulus package as a jobs bill, and to focus locally on the jobs it will create.

The White House document (.doc) projects job creation both by state and by congressional district.

“State totals may not sum due to rounding,” the chart says at the bottom, though in some cases — most dramatically, understandably, in small states — the rounding error represents a large share of the projected jobs. In small states with just one congressional district, which represents the whole state, the difference is particularly striking, presumably a result of different methods of calculating the job figures for the same set of residents.

***

A spokesman for Cantor, Brad Dayspring, emails, “I don’t think that the 4600 people in Nevada or 1900 people in Wyoming – not to mention thousands of other Americans – will understand not getting a job due to a ’rounding error.'”

You are probably right, but considering your boss wants to vote against the package, any job creation is greater than the number you intend to create. Unless, of course, there is a Republican alternate math that goes along with their alternate reality, in which zero is greater than 4600. Coming from the party that argued that the Iraq war will pay for itself, this is very possible.

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About the Census

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Since Judd Gregg is listing it as one of the issues that he is stepping aside (if he is not running again in 2010, I would bet there are some other reasons he is stepping aside), can anyone explain why the census would be moved to control of the White House, and would not remain under control of Commerce where it normally is? I honestly don’t know, as there is just too much going on to pay attention to all of this stuff.

There may be good reasons for this move, but I know what the reaction would be if the Bush White House moved control of the census to anywhere near Karl Rove (and I am aware the comparison between Rove and Emmanuel is not perfect)- a not insignificant portion of the commentariat here (translation- 99% or higher) would be, as I noted in the comments to another thread, “shitting a pink twinkie.” As I often asked Republicans the last few years when they expanded Bush/Cheney’s authority to the point that it meant doing whatever the frack they want (DWTFTW), “How would you feel about President Hillary Clinton with this authority?”

So, Juicers- why move the census to White House control? And how would you feel if the Bush administration had done this?

*** Update ***

Sully calls it a canard. I am inclined to agree.

About the CensusPost + Comments (176)