(Jack Ohman via Gocomics.com)
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Figured the right-brain snarksters deserved a shot, too also.
Anne Laurie has been a Balloon Juice writer since 2009.
Late Night Open Thread: Get Those Rocks!
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Jeff Stein at SpyTalk offers an explanation for the mystery of Newt’s half-million-dollar “revolving credit account” at Tiffanys:
Gingrich wife worked for committee heavily lobbied by Tiffany
At the same time Tiffany & Co. was extending Callista (Bisek) Gingrich a virtual interest-free loan of tens of thousands of dollars, the diamond and silverware firm was spending big bucks to influence mining policy in Congress and in agencies over which the House Agriculture Committee–where she worked–had jurisdiction, official records show.
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Filings by Tiffany’s lobbyist, Cassidy & Co., and other government records show that the firm’s spending on “mining law and mine permitting-related issues” in Congress, as well as the Forest Service, the Interior Department, and Interior’s Bureau of Land Management shot up sharply during the period when Callista Gingrich was chief clerk at the House Agriculture Committee.
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The Forest Service, which comes under the committee’s jurisdiction, oversees mining, including silver mining, in federal forests. Silver, of course, is a big part of Tiffany & Co.’s business…
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According to her filings, Callista Gingrich listed debts to Tiffany of between $250,001 to $500,000 on a “revolving charge account” during 2005-2006. After she left in 2007, she was no longer required to report her finances.
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The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler wrote that he was “puzzled” by Newt Gingrich’s “claim that he had a ‘standard, no-interest account’ at Tiffany & Co.”…
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Tiffany’s standard credit card application, Kessler noted, states that customers pay 21 per cent interest on unpaid bills. If Newt and Calista Gingrich paid no interest on a $250,000 balance, it would amount to an interest-free loan of $50,000.
(H/t to a commentor whose name I’ve misplaced — claim credit in the comments & I’ll edit. I was looking for Emmylou Harris’ heartbreaking, deadpan version of ‘Diamonds’, but my YT-fu failed!)
Late Night Open Thread: Get Those Rocks!Post + Comments (58)
Open Thread (Including Book Chat Proposal)
Still the single greatest political cartoonist in America today…
We’ve finished discussing Nixonland, which was well-written & informative & extremely depressing, but I’m not finding the fire in my belly to read another dense tome just yet, so DougJ gets the rights to the Naomi Klein virtual book group unless one of the other FPers beats him to it. As the BJ Light Summer Reading alternative, I will be reading Gail Collins’ When Everything Changed: the Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. First discussion will be Wednesday evening, 7pm EDT, either June 1 or June 8 (let me know in the comments if you have a preference). And if a total of nobody shows up, well, I’ve made a fool of myself here before and will certainly do so again.
Open Thread (Including Book Chat Proposal)Post + Comments (21)
Team Elizabeth Warren v. Team Kochsucking Blatherskite
Much as I would enjoy voting for Elizabeth Warren against Scott Brown, I really hope that she’ll be too busy running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to consider Massachusetts politics. Today’s fraudulent GOP display of bad faith and worse behavior confirms that an empowered CFPB is the Kochsuckers’ worst nightmare.
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From Ari Berman at the Nation (via), “House GOP Escalates Attack on Elizabeth Warren, Consumer Bureau“:
Congressional Republicans have frequently attacked Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren and the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) she’s setting up, which officially launches on July 21. The House GOP escalated its anti-Warren, anti-CFPB campaign at a hearing of the House Oversight Committee today, chaired by Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC).
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McHenry was once known as Tom DeLay’s “attack-dog-in-training,” a title he more than earned today. Before the hearing had even begun, McHenry went on CNBC and brazenly accused Warren of lying to Congress. He claimed that Warren had misrepresented her role in advising state attorneys general who are seeking a multibillion-dollar settlement with the country’s largest mortgage service providers, who stand accused of massive and widespread foreclosure fraud. As evidence, McHenry pointed to a leaked internal document prepared by the CFPB that laid out different settlement options for the state AGs. McHenry claimed this went beyond the scope of the “advice,” that Warren had already admitted to providing, at the behest of the Treasury Department, in earlier testimony to Congress in March. “We’ve given advice when asked for advice,” she reiterated this afternoon…
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Despite his thin paper trail, McHenry was intent on making Warren look bad. The Western North Carolina Congressman frequently interrupted her answers and accused the CFPB of possessing “virtually unchecked” power. Near the end of the hearing, Representative John Yarmouth (D-KY) apologized to Warren for the “rude and disrespectful behavior of the chair.” Incidentally, McHenry has accepted generous campaign donations this year from big banks and industry trade associations opposed to bureau, including $1,000-plus checks from the American Bankers Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, American Express, American Financial Services Organization, Cash America International, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
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The hearing was titled “Who’s Watching the Watchmen? Oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” but Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) argued that it should be dubbed “Let’s Pretend the Financial Crisis Never Happened.” Indeed, Congressional Republicans spent no time on the lax oversight and corporate deception that led to the financial crisis—and how a consumer agency dedicated to policing the murky financial services sector might have prevented or mitigated a prolonged recession. “Too often consumer protection was the second thought, third thought, or not even thought of at all,” Maloney said. That’s why Congressional Democrats and the Obama administration created the CFPB as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act.
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“I’m begging you to keep the fire,” Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) told Warren. “I’ve had constituents who’ve lost so much they don’t even know why…. We need your passion and concern. Thank you for syncing your conduct and conscience.”
As a sidebar, I’d be glad to donate to any candidate attempting to unseat McHenry — can anyone from North Carolina provide information about that?
Team Elizabeth Warren v. Team Kochsucking BlatherskitePost + Comments (79)
Cantor to Ryan: Let’s You and Him Fight!
I’m not sure whether his literary model was Iago or Grima Wormtongue, but Eric Cantor (R-IwannabeSpeaker) thinks Paul Ryan should challenge President Obama, right now. Per Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly:
As Republican officials continue to wonder who they might be able to recruit to run for president, it appears the House Majority Leader has someone specific in mind.
[…]Count House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) as one top Republican who’d like to see Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) jump into the presidential race. Cantor responded immediately when asked Monday whether Ryan, a rising GOP star and author of the party’s official budget plan, should run for the White House in 2012.
“Sure,” Cantor said. “Paul’s about real leadership. I think that that’s what this public so desperately wants to do right now. They don’t want to see individuals that just dismiss problems that we can just sweep under the rug.”
That would be the Paul Ryan Dave Weigel at Slate described in his post on “The Why the Hell Not?’ Presidential Candidates: A Bluffer’s Guide“:
Rep. Paul Ryan, 41. Elected in 1998, rising to chair the Budget Committee this year, Ryan benefits from a little-read provision of the Affordable Care Act which requires the word “courage” to be used in every sentence about his ideas. THE BOOMLET: Bill Kristol can’t stop talking about a Ryan candidacy, because the GOP needs “a bold and comprehensive critique, and a grasp of sound political economy” in its next candidate. Republican allies of Ryan mention it unbidden; Rep. Trey Gowdy told me he asks Ryan to run just about every day. Yesterday, Eric Cantor confirmed that he thinks Ryan would be a good candidate. THE AGENDA: He doesn’t have one, but when he’s asked, he draws more attention to his work on the Budget Committee. SELLING A BOOK? No. HIS CHANCES: Honestly, this is an example of why the draft campaigns (if “mentioning someone on TV sometimes” counts as a draft”) are so silly — Ryan has defined the GOP’s agenda for 2011. If you want to see what happens to doubters, look for Newt Gingrich.
Wow, a precious endorsement from Bill ‘Crystal Ball’ Kristol, The Man Who Is Always Wrong! No wonder Benen’s post concludes:
Cantor’s description of Ryan is pretty silly. The right-wing Budget Committee chairman’s agenda can be called many things, but an example of “real leadership” it isn’t…
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At this point, Dems are thrilled to have Ryan’s plan as a punching bag, desperately trying to pin down other Republicans on whether they’re on board with a radical scheme to eliminate Medicare, just as GOP lawmakers and candidates are feeling increasingly antsy about it. Imagine how much Dems would enjoy targeting Ryan himself.
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For the record, Ryan was asked about this on “Meet the Press” yesterday, and ruled out a presidential bid, at least in 2012.
File this one under ‘Clown Shoes’. Also, ‘Open Thread’.
Cantor to Ryan: Let’s You and Him Fight!Post + Comments (26)
GOP Failparade Staggers Onwards
There are plenty of clowns and quite a few Koch-funded brass bands, but finding a worthy drum major is not coming easy for the Greedy Old Perverts’ 2012 presidential parade. ‘Fiscally serious‘ Mitch Daniels and ‘compassionately conservative‘ Mike Huckabee have chosen to remove themselves to the sidelines, along with sideshow carny Donald Trump (probably).
The recent coverage of Newt Gingrich’s antics makes Trump look prescient (but still not presidential). Herman Cain is being dismissed by the Serious People as an ‘unelectable ex-pizza magnate’. Willie Nelson has retracted his endorsement of Gary Johnson in hopes of a Kucinich candidacy.
A once-besotted member of Palin’s inner circle (“We looked at her as … that queen on a horse that could come in and save the state,”) has just published a book calling her lazy, vengeful, more interested in making money than in doing the job to which she’d been elected, and possibly a serial violator of ethics regulations.
Tim Pawlenty is already being derided as a less-charismatic version of flip-flopping, equivocating Willard ‘Mitt’ Romney. And Jeb! seems to be indicating that he might actually live up to his reputation as “the smarter Bush brother”.
Which may explain why the National Journal is willing to discuss what the GOP says is a cashflow problem:
After two years of profligate spending and shrinking revenues landed the party deep in debt, Republicans are doing everything in their power to stanch the tide of red ink and return the RNC to a strong financial footing.
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But the GOP also faces a problem only rarely acknowledged among top party strategists: The Republican Party’s turnout operations, which can suck up millions in funds during the critical last days of a campaign, are much weaker than those of their Democratic counterparts. And without a serious investment soon, the turnout gap threatens to undermine Republican efforts to win key contests in the 2012 election cycle….
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Already, Republicans have felt the negative impact of an underfunded turnout operation. In Nevada in 2010, for example, ballots cast during early voting and by absentee made up more than 60 percent of the total votes cast. By identifying those who turned out early, and by turning out more of their own voters, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s campaign was able to take what it projected was a four-point lead into Election Day, campaign manager Brandon Hall said. Republicans pointed to a Senate race in Washington and gubernatorial races in Minnesota and Connecticut as a few more examples in which Democratic turnout operations bested their Republican counterparts and made a difference in the outcomes….
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Still, the money required to invest in advanced turnout operations is not likely to come from the RNC itself, the traditional architects of the party’s turnout apparatus. The RNC remains mired in debt—nearly $20 million as of the end of March, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission last month…
That gosh-darned Michael Steele! The well-meaning Republicans gave him a key to the corner office, and look how he returned the favor. (They could ask this guy for a little help, except they’re still busy pretending he was a RINO or even an undercover Demon-rat, and besides, with Dubya loyalty was always a one-way proposition.)
I predict a swelling meme that only the “outside funding” from beleagured billionaires stands between the collapse of our sacred two-party system and the free-spending party leftists of Soros and ACORN.
Monday Morning Open Thread: Old Dogs & New
From commentor Ron L, mid-December 2010:
I share my home with the Shepherd sisters, Troi and Crusher. They are pushing 14. I also have Pearl, our diabetic, geriatric cat. Our youngest dog is Felony, the pit-bull, who is a spry 10 year old. In June, Felony was diagnosed with lymphoma. She is doing very well but her future is uncertain. She wasn’t able to tolerate chemo and we almost lost her in August. Every day since then has been a blessing and a pleasure. My goal for Felony is that she never has another bad day and I think that I can manage that. We have her on doggy hospice care.
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My days revolve around the needs of my aging pets. Medications, seperate walks for every dog, twice daily injections of insulin for Pearl. Crusher, the larger shepherd girl, no longer climbs stairs so if we linger too long in the morning we are treated to the “I’m lonely” barks. Frequently, we are awakened by barks to go in or out. She also barks if she’s silly enough to fall asleep on the hardwood floor instead of the multiple dog beds and carpet runners provided for her. She has trouble rising up from the hardwood and we have to go downstairs and grab her butt and help her up. She sometimes looks a little apologetic about this but mostly she just looks entitled.
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Troi and Crusher were acquired from the Lewis and Clark Humane society when they were about 4 months old. Pearl was the sickliest kitten in a litter found in a trailer park. Felony, the pit-bull, was a gift. When the dogs were younger, we did foster work for pit-bull rescue. We fostered seven puppies. All of whom went to good homes. There has always been a certain randomness to the acquisition of these pets. We did not plan on getting two puppies when we went to the shelter. I did not intend to bring home a pit-bull. Pearl was incredibly sickly and I didn’t want my son to choose her because I thought she was a heartbreak waiting to happen. She’s 17 or so now.
Monday Morning Open Thread: Old Dogs & NewPost + Comments (27)