UBS Costs to Settle Auction-Rate Probes May Exceed Citigroup's
By Michael McDonald and Karen Freifeld
Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG, Switzerland's biggest bank, may pay more than Citigroup Inc. or Merrill Lynch & Co. to settle state and federal claims that it fraudulently sold auction-rate securities, a person briefed on the negotiations said.
UBS is close to resolving those claims and may make a promise to retail and institutional clients to buy back the securities, valued at $25 billion by regulators, the person said.
Zurich-based UBS, the target of three state complaints over auction-rate sales, reported a net loss of 25.4 billion Swiss francs ($25.6 billion) in the nine months through March, more than any other bank.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
WILL UBS GO BELLY-UP? AND WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN FOR THE GLOBAL ECONOMY?
MORE ON THE "DOWD COLUMN" E-MAIL
I just can't understand the wingnut mind! On the same AOL thread about the column by Maureen Dowd, a poster writes this:
The Snopes link debunks the entire story!!!
Try this one....
Obamas campaign is now publicly supported by Marxists, Communists, Socialists and Terrorist, now to include huge sums of money from Saudi Arabia, Iran and China This is how a president is chosen for the United States? Wheres the press coverage of this barn-burner of a story?
OBAMA'S TROUBLING INTERNET FUND RAISING
July 9th, 2008 (626 views )
Further investigation is needed. JB says he will provide the evidence, until then we cant conclude this is true. To contact JB directly:
JB Williams
JB_Williams@comcast.net
www.JB-Williams.com
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/donations.asp
The Snopes link debunks the entire story!!!
A LITTLE MORE INFO ON THE LOON WHO WAS AT ONE OF OBAMA'S TOWN HALLS
Bizarre Incident During Obama Visit to Ohio College Is Seen as Unavoidable
Peter Schmidt
August 6, 2008
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee was beginning a town-hall style meeting at Baldwin-Wallace College when John Quinn, a freelance photographer on assignment for Bloomberg News, interrupted him by calling on him to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Senator Obama went along and led the crowd through the pledge.
Mr. Quinn subsequently refused to give his name to other journalists in the press pen. A video of the incident shows Mr. Quinn shoving his hand into camera lenses, shouting at other reporters, and responding to requests for his name and press affiliation by saying, “I was speaking as John Q. Public.”
“Nobody wants to honor the flag,” Mr. Quinn says in the video. “I had to speak up.”
Judith Czelusniak, a spokeswoman for Bloomberg News, confirmed today that Mr. Quinn was on assignment for her company. “He was hired for that assignment, and there are no more assignments scheduled,” she said.
AOL has some good clips of this lunatic in action.
THANK GOD FOR REGULATORS
The purveyors of auction-rate securities basically told their customers to fuck-off and now they have to make good on their claims about the safety of the securities. So far, this only applies to the little folk, not the big institutional investors. Other large firms, like Bank of America, are expected to come to terms in the coming months.
2 Banks Will Buy Back $17 Billion in Securities
By ERIC DASH
Published: August 6, 2008
NY Times
Two Wall Street giants agreed on Thursday to buy back more than $17 billion of auction-rate securities that were improperly sold to retail customers, likely paving the way for other banks and brokerage firms to take similar actions.
Citigroup reached a settlement Thursday morning with state and federal regulators, agreeing to buy back about $7.3 billion of auction-rate securities that it sold to retail customers and pay a $100 million fine for its conduct.
Merrill Lynch said it would buy back about $10 billion in auction-rate investments that it sold to retail investors, a move that gets ahead of regulators investigating the company.
A NEW THEORY ABOUT 3-MILE ISLAND
BACKGROUND:
Here's a fine example of conservative paranoia:
The accident at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 1979, was the most serious in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history...
The accident began about 4:00 a.m. on March 28, 1979, when the plant experienced a failure in the secondary, non-nuclear section of the plant. The main feedwater pumps stopped running, caused by either a mechanical or electrical failure, which prevented the steam generators from removing heat. First the turbine, then the reactor automatically shut down. Immediately, the pressure in the primary system (the nuclear portion of the plant) began to increase. In order to prevent that pressure from becoming excessive, the pilot-operated relief valve (a valve located at the top of the pressurizer) opened. The valve should have closed when the pressure decreased by a certain amount, but it did not. Signals available to the operator failed to show that the valve was still open. As a result, cooling water poured out of the stuck-open valve and caused the core of the reactor to overheat.
Because adequate cooling was not available, the nuclear fuel overheated to the point at which the zirconium cladding (the long metal tubes which hold the nuclear fuel pellets) ruptured and the fuel pellets began to melt. It was later found that about one-half of the core melted during the early stages of the accident.
Here's a fine example of conservative paranoia:
#4 - Posted on 8/07/08 at 06:21 PM
Re: Post #3
Lefteliminator
ISNT IT A CO-INCIDENCE THAT HANOI JANE STARRED IN "CHINA SYNDROME" WHICH SCARED A WHOLE GENERATION OF YOUNG POTENTIAL BRAINDEAD DEMOS INTO BECOMING ANTI NUKE?
THINK IT WAS A CO-INCIDENCE THAT THE MOVIE AND THREE MILE ISLAND WERE SO CLOSE TOGETHER, AS EVENTS?
DO YOU ACTUALLY THINK THAT THE THREE MILE ISLAND RELEASE, TWELVE DAYS AFTER THE MOVIE CAME OUT WAS AN ACCIDENT?
IT WAS NOT!
IT WAS A PLAN BY THE EARLIEST OF THE COMMUNISTS THAT INFILTRATED OUR FILM INDUSTRY....THE ONES THAT Mc CARTHY DIDNT CATCH, HAD KIDS....
THE WHOLE PLOT AGAINST USA POWER WAS, AND HAS BEEN BASED ON POWER/ENERGY/OIL/NUKES!
ANOTHER VIRAL E-MAIL ATTACKING OBAMA
This time it's supposedly rehashing an op-ed by the NYT's Maureen Dowd. I found it on an AOL message board:
In The Record (San Joaquin)we have the debunking:
Obama's internet funding-from overseas?
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\OK- this is a NYT editorial board , right?
Lets look at an "oped" by MAUREEN DOWD-a Pulitzer Prize winning writer.( Not a rant by a clerk-typist.) Condensed for brevity.
"Obama's campaign to raise money by using existing lists to raise money over the internet. Suddenly huge amounts started to appear. about $200 milllion so far. One of the web site security monitors began to notice the bulk of the contributions were clearly coming in from OVERSEAS Internet Service Providers and at the rate and frequency of transmission it was clear that these donations were "programmmed" by a very sophisticated user.
While the security people were not able to track most of these sources due to firewalls and other blocking devices put on these contributions, they were able to collate the number of contributions thatwere coming in from individuals but the funds were from only a few credit card accounts and bank fund transfers.
The internet service providers ( ISP) they were able to trace were from SAUDI ARABIA. IRAN, and other Middle eastern countries. One of the banks used for the fund transfers was also located in SAUDI ARABIA. Another concentrated group of donations was traced to a CHINESE ISP with a similar pattern of limited credit card charges.
It became clear that these donations were very likely coming from sources OTHER than American voters. this was discussed at length within the campaign and the decision wss made that these donations did not violate campaign financing laws.
It was decided that it was not the responsibility of the campaign to audit these millions of contributions to the ACTUAL source( specific credit card numbers or bank account numbers) to insure that none of these internet contributions exceeded the the legal MAXIMUM donation on a cumulative basis of many small donations. They also found the record keeping was not complete enough to do it anyway. THIS IS A SHOCKING REVELATION.
I guess we should have been suspicious when the numbers started to come out. We were told (no proof offered) that the Obama internet contributions were from $10 to $25 or so. If the $200 ,000,000 received is correct and the average cointribution is $15 then THAT WOULD MEAN THAT !3 MILLION INDIVIDUALS MADE CONTRIBUTIONS! That would mean that 13 million contributions would need to be processsed. How did all that happen? I believe the Obama Internet fund raising raises a SERIOUS , IN DEPTH investigation and audit." Unquote.
Again, the author has integrity and unquestioned competence for her to win the Pulitzer Prize!
Obama will turn out to be the biggest phony in history. His receiving millions from CHINA,SAUDI ARABIA , and IRAN bode ill for the USA.
In The Record (San Joaquin)we have the debunking:
Shadow of a Dowd
Piece attributed to N.Y. Times columnist not what it seems to be
By The Record
July 11, 2008 6:00 AM
Maureen Dowd, whose stiletto-like wit about Bill Clinton and his dalliances with a White House intern won her a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1999, has turned her keyboard on Barack Obama.
Or has she?
In an e-mail circulated this week, an Obama attack piece was sent out under Dowd's name and the New York Times logo. It was published, the e-mail said, June 29. Except it wasn't.
That day, Dowd's column in the Times was about Obama, but it was about Hillary Clinton supporters who refuse to give up.
Anyone familiar with Dowd's writing should have been quickly suspicious of the e-mailed fake. Beyond that, a quick look at Dowd's most recent work at nytimes.com would show what's she's been writing. And failing all that, pasting the first paragraph of the suspect e-mail into Google would have linked it immediately, among other places, to a right wing blog.
Clearly, anyone who wanted to know could easily have found that Dowd did not write the column e-mailed to who knows how many.
But beyond that, the fake Dowd column should serve as a warning: Just because it's on the Internet - wonderful source of information and communication that it is - does not mean it's real. Or true. Or hasn't been altered to suit the sender's purpose.
And just because something pops up on more than one Internet site does not increase its validity. Material that gets on the Internet can quickly take on a life of its own.
The Internet is often a powerful tool. Too often, though, it is little more than a rumor mill and a playground for those whose purposes are their own.
SEC. RICE ON OBAMA
Boy, this will upset the wingnuts.
Rice says surge helps McCain, Obama
By MIKE ALLEN 8/7/08 4:34 AM EST
The POLITICO
During the interview in a regal room at the State Department appointed with chandeliers, rich carpets and cases of porcelain, Rice was asked: “Would you feel safe with a President Obama?"
"Oh, the United States will be fine,” she responded. “I think that we are having an important debate about how we keep the country safe. I think we are having an important debate about our responsibilities, our obligations, our interests in the Middle East in the wake of the now increasing evidence of success in Iraq. Those are important judgments for the American people to make.”
FELDSTEIN IS STILL A LYING WHORE
In a WSJ op-ed, "The Tax Rebate Was a Flop. Obama's Stimulus Plan Won't Work Either," Prof. Martin Feldstein makes 2 dishonest arguments.
One is that a windfall tax on Big Oil profits will reduce the amount they spend on refining and exploration and that will result in "oil prices higher than they would otherwise be." First, they don't want to lower the price of oil because that is against their economic self-interest. Second, we need alternatives to oil instead of going down this dead-end road to Peak Oil.
The second is Feldstein's attack on Obama's tax plan. Feldstein asserts without proof that the increases on those making over $250K will greatly hurt our economy despite lack of evidence. He also fails to mention the cuts Obama has proposed for the vast majority of Americans who make less than $112K.
One is that a windfall tax on Big Oil profits will reduce the amount they spend on refining and exploration and that will result in "oil prices higher than they would otherwise be." First, they don't want to lower the price of oil because that is against their economic self-interest. Second, we need alternatives to oil instead of going down this dead-end road to Peak Oil.
The second is Feldstein's attack on Obama's tax plan. Feldstein asserts without proof that the increases on those making over $250K will greatly hurt our economy despite lack of evidence. He also fails to mention the cuts Obama has proposed for the vast majority of Americans who make less than $112K.
McCAIN IS PAYING FOR LIES!!!
This is a logical extension of the tactics of the GOP Noise Machine and probably cheaper than paying hacks off like Bill Bennett and Victor Davis Hanson.
I went to Granpa's site and found this page about the agit-prop campaign. The campaign breaks down blogs into 4 categories, liberal, moderate, conservative and other. These categories are a bit confused because Instapundit and Pajamas Media are regarded as "other" instead of conservative.
Win Points for McCain!
Rewards Program for Online Commenters
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2008; Page C01
Spread John McCain's official talking points around the Web -- and you could win valuable prizes!
On McCain's Web site, visitors are invited to "Spread the Word" about the presumptive Republican nominee by sending campaign-supplied comments to blogs and Web sites under the visitor's screen name. The site offers sample comments ("John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan . . .") and a list of dozens of suggested destinations, conveniently broken down into "conservative," "liberal," "moderate" and "other" categories. Just cut and paste.
People who sign up for McCain's program receive reward points each time they place a favorable comment on one of the listed Web sites (subject to verification by McCain's webmasters). The points can be traded for prizes, such as books autographed by McCain, preferred seating at campaign events, even a ride with the candidate on his bus, known as the Straight Talk Express, according to campaign spokesman Brian Rogers.
I went to Granpa's site and found this page about the agit-prop campaign. The campaign breaks down blogs into 4 categories, liberal, moderate, conservative and other. These categories are a bit confused because Instapundit and Pajamas Media are regarded as "other" instead of conservative.
WHY "SURPRISINGLY LIGHT"?
This is what the AP had to say about the Hamdan sentence:
Just in case the wingnuts start blaming the jury, let's note who they are:
Gitmo jury gives bin Laden driver 5 1/2 years
Aug 7, 5:53 PM (ET)
By MIKE MELIA
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - A U.S. military jury gave Osama bin Laden's driver a surprisingly light sentence on Thursday, making him eligible for release in just five months despite the prosecutors' request for at least a 30-year sentence to deter would-be terrorists.
Salim Hamdan's sentence of 5 1/2 years, including five years and a month already served at Guantanamo Bay, fell far short of the life sentence he could have gotten for aiding terrorism by driving and guarding bin Laden. It now goes for mandatory review to a Pentagon official who can shorten the sentence but not extend it.
Just in case the wingnuts start blaming the jury, let's note who they are:
...the five-man, one-woman jury, all military officers hand-picked by the Pentagon for the first U.S. war crimes trial in a half-century.
FIRST, THE EVIDENCE
(h/t Atrios)
(CLICK ON FOR LARGER IMAGE)
Now, the claim:
(CLICK ON FOR LARGER IMAGE)
Now, the claim:
Sixteen years ago, the Democratic Party refused to allow Robert P. Casey Sr., then the governor of Pennsylvania, to speak at its national convention because his anti-abortion views, stemming from his Roman Catholic faith, clashed with the party’s platform and powerful constituencies. Many Catholics, once a reliable Democratic voting bloc, never forgot what they considered a slight.
If you look at the graph, the percentage of Catholics voting FOR Clinton went UP after 1992, so there's little evidence to suggest that the supposed snubbing of Casey had anything to do with later changes in voting patterns. MORE IMPORTANT, the Casey story isn't true, it's part of wingnut mythology, so even if there were voting changes, they wouldn't be caused by an incident that never took place.
This article is from "the newspaper of record" and is evidence of how effective the GOP Noise Mcahine is.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
A QUESTION OF INCENTIVES
The Corrigan report, Containing Systemic Risk: The Road to Reform The Report of the CRMPG III, mentions 5 different problems that led to the Big ShitPile. Compensation incentives was one of them and that's not surprising since many of the MOTU responsible for the ShitPile still walked away with tens of millions of dollars.
Fifth: it is likely that flaws in the design and workings of the systems of incentives within the financial sector have inadvertently produced patterns of behavior and allocations of resources that are not always consistent with the basic goal of financial stability. Often, when the issue of incentives is discussed, the focus is oncompensation and, especially, executive compensation. Consistent with the priorities of this Report noted earlier, the Policy Group has chosen not go into the subject of executive compensation in any detail. Having said that, the Policy Group recognizes that more can be done to ensure that incentives associated with compensation are better aligned with risk taking and risk tolerance across broad classes of senior and executive management. Accordingly, and respecting the role and responsibilities of the board of directors in matters relating to executive compensation, the Policy Group believes that compensation practices as they apply to senior and executive management should be (1) based heavily on the performance of the firm as a whole and (2) heavily stock-based with such stockbased compensation vesting over an extended period of time. The long vesting period is particularly important for high risk, high volatility lines of business where short run surges in revenues and profits can be offset if not reversed in the longer term. In broad terms, the Policy Group recognizes that this philosophy of compensation is hardly new, but its importance looms especially large given the events of the past twelve months.
While the linkage between incentives and compensation is obvious for large integrated financial intermediaries, the incentive question has much broader – and no less important – implications. For example, the framework of incentives at the level of individual firms should help to balance business imperatives by ensuring that the resource base and the recognition/reward system for the support and control functions are such that critical tasks, such as risk monitoring and price verification, are performed in a manner that protects the financial integrity and professional reputation of the institution.
SOME MOTU DISAGREE WITH UNCLE ALAN
(You may recall that Alan Greenspan still believes in the Free Market Fairy so he's against more regulation.)
They just came out with a report offering 60 proposals to prevent another Big ShitPile:
According to the WSJ blog Real Time Economics, Corrigan believes these proposals won't need much in the way of new regulations:
According to the NYT, there is some grumbling from other MOTU because they may face COMPETITION in an area where they've been used to a relatively free hand:
They just came out with a report offering 60 proposals to prevent another Big ShitPile:
Debt Market Fix? Try 60
Wall Street Group
Seeks Tougher Rules
After Credit Woes
By JON HILSENRATH and SERENA NG
August 7, 2008; Page C3
An industry group representing Wall Street's biggest banks proposed a wide-ranging set of revisions to make debt markets and financial institutions more resilient in the wake of the yearlong credit turmoil.
The group, co-chaired by Gerald Corrigan, a Goldman Sachs managing director and former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, laid out 60 proposals, including that banks be forced to account for more assets on their balance sheets, face tougher standards for selling complex debt instruments, accelerate overhauls of the credit-default-swap market, and implement tougher standards for managing their own risk and liquidity. (Read the complete report.)
According to the WSJ blog Real Time Economics, Corrigan believes these proposals won't need much in the way of new regulations:
...there should be no bureaucratic holdup for the proposals. Most of the steps recommended in the report can be implemented under the terms of the existing regulatory structure, Corrigan said.
According to the NYT, there is some grumbling from other MOTU because they may face COMPETITION in an area where they've been used to a relatively free hand:
Now Mr. Corrigan is pushing for the industry to establish a central clearinghouse for derivatives. The clearing project is supported by the Federal Reserve, but many Wall Street firms are concerned that such a move could open their lucrative over-the-counter trading operations to competition from exchange companies.
ANOTHER LINE WORTH STEALING :-)
David Corn posts an e-mail he got from "Jeffrey Hart, a veteran conservative who has been a senior editor at The National Review since 1968 and who wrote speeches for Nixon and Reagan." Hart has 10 suggestions for Obama and I got chuckle from this one:
Demosthenes is probably a better example for Obama's role and one commenter suggested Mr. Magoo for McCain's.
8. The three presidential debates will be devastating for McCain: Pericles vs. Donald Duck.
Demosthenes is probably a better example for Obama's role and one commenter suggested Mr. Magoo for McCain's.
SOMEBODY TELL JEROME CORSI: A HAT BOX IS NOT A HAT
On MSNBC, Corsi was interviewed by Contessa Brewer and she pointed out one of the many factual errors in his book:
Just because there's no hat box, it doesn't mean there isn't a hat.
BREWER: You say it's a comprehensive look, and yet there are already online bloggers that are going through this book page by page and picking apart what they see as factual errors. Let me give you an example. You say in this book, "Interestingly, Obama did not dedicate Dreams from My Father to his mother or to his father, Barack Sr., or to his Indonesian stepfather," and Media Matters, the online organization, says in his book, he actually says on a -- on the last page of the introduction, "It is to my family, though, my mother, my grandparents, my siblings, stretched across oceans and continents that I owe the deepest gratitude and to whom I dedicated this book." So if they're going through, and they're finding all of these factual errors in your book, why should we give you the credibility?
CORSI: Let's discuss that one. If you'll read carefully what Media Matters said, they point out there is no dedication page even in the second edition.
BREWER: But it says right in the introduction that it's dedicated to his family.
CORSI: In the introduction that he wrote after, this was going with the second book. [NOTE: THIS IS ALSO A LIE] And the original book had no dedication page and this is not the typical way that you dedicate a book. So I'm making the distinction there is no dedication page in the book at all, never has been.
Just because there's no hat box, it doesn't mean there isn't a hat.
"THE BEST HEALTH CARE IN THE WORLD"
That's how Sean Hannity has been describing America's health care system and he intends to prevent any reform other than that done by the "free market." In reality, we don't have anywhere near the best care in the world and it looks like the care has been declining over the decade 1996-2006.
National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2006 Emergency Department Summary
by Stephen R. Pitts, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P.; Richard W. Niska, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P.; Jianmin Xu, M.S.; and Catharine W. Burt, Ed.D., Division of Health Care Statistics
ED Utilization
+ From 1996 through 2006, the annual number of ED visits increased from 90.3 million (24) to 119.2 million visits (up by 32 percent). This represents an average increase of about 2.9 million visits (3.2 percent) per year. There were, on average, about 227 visits to U.S. EDs every minute during 2006.
+ As the number of visits to the ED has increased, the number of hospital EDs has decreased from 4,019 to 3,833 (25), thus increasing the annual number of visits per ED.
+ From 1996 through 2006, the overall population-based ED utilization rate increased by 18 percent, from 34.2 (24) to 40.5 visits per 100 persons.
EDs nationwide are under increasing pressure to provide care for more patients, resulting in crowding, hallway boarding of admitted patients, and ambulance diversion (4). ED crowding has had multiple other effects, including decreased physician productivity and increased waiting times for minor illness (5). However, delays are now also occurring for the treatment of serious problems, such as myocardial infarction (6).
National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2006 Emergency Department Summary
by Stephen R. Pitts, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P.; Richard W. Niska, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P.; Jianmin Xu, M.S.; and Catharine W. Burt, Ed.D., Division of Health Care Statistics
ED Utilization
+ From 1996 through 2006, the annual number of ED visits increased from 90.3 million (24) to 119.2 million visits (up by 32 percent). This represents an average increase of about 2.9 million visits (3.2 percent) per year. There were, on average, about 227 visits to U.S. EDs every minute during 2006.
+ As the number of visits to the ED has increased, the number of hospital EDs has decreased from 4,019 to 3,833 (25), thus increasing the annual number of visits per ED.
+ From 1996 through 2006, the overall population-based ED utilization rate increased by 18 percent, from 34.2 (24) to 40.5 visits per 100 persons.
EDs nationwide are under increasing pressure to provide care for more patients, resulting in crowding, hallway boarding of admitted patients, and ambulance diversion (4). ED crowding has had multiple other effects, including decreased physician productivity and increased waiting times for minor illness (5). However, delays are now also occurring for the treatment of serious problems, such as myocardial infarction (6).
WHERE DOES GASBAG NEWT GET MONEY?
Newt heads up a non-profit, American Solutions For Winning The Future, that is pushing the "Drill here. Drill now. Pay less." wingnut scam. Faiz at ThinkProgress note that this is another instance of wingnut welfare:
Sheldon Adelson is also one of the main backers of Freedom's Watch, another agit-prop group.
Just like the “Contract with America,” Gingrich’s new conservative takeoverhas its roots in a bargain with deep pockets – in this case, the deep pockets of the energy industry. Over at the Wonk Room, Brad Johnson reports that American Solutions is a front group for coal:The key funder is right-wing casino kingpin Sheldon Adelson, who has pumped over $3 million into the organization since its beginning in 2006. A total of fourteen Bush pioneers have contributed over $4 million to Newt’s ASWF. Eight of those same right-wing money men are top McCain fundraisers, channeling $2 million into his coffers.Peabody, World’s Largest Coal Company, #4 Backer Of American Solutions For Winning The Future. Newt Gingrich’s 527 organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future, has received $275,000 in contributions from Peabody Energy, Inc. As of July 1, 2008, the world’s largest private-sector coal company is ASWF’s fourth highest contributor. [IRS, $250,000 6/16/08, $25,000 4/30/08]
Sheldon Adelson is also one of the main backers of Freedom's Watch, another agit-prop group.
WHAT HAPPENED TO DAVID GREGORY?
When he had the White House beat, he asked good questions and didn't swallow the BS. Now, he seems to want a job with FAUX News. (h/t bluegal at Crooks & Liars)
GREGORY: Yet, Jay, you know that conservatives are beginning to make an argument here about Obama, that he’s famous for being famous, that he’s a light weight, that he’s presumptuous, that he’s self-absorbed, and that there’s something mysterious about him. All this talk about whether it’s weirdness or that you can’t quite nail down what his core is all about, is to say there’s question mark above this guy’s head. Until you get that answered, you have to vote for the guy you know and trust. That’s McCain.
WHY DOES THIS HALF-WIT STILL GET AIR TIME...
excerpt perhaps on a show called "The History of Failed Ideas"? CNN gives Newt Gingrich a few inches of coverage and he's back to talking about closing down the government, something that blew up in his face when he used it against Clinton.
THE "CLINTON NEWS NETWORK"
That's what the wingnuts often call CNN and they believe is a another network with a liberal bias. I wonder how they would explain CNN giving Glenn Beck his own show and giving smear merchant Jerome Corsi air time?
ANOTHER SOURCE OF AUTHORITARIANISM
This time from the New Testament and I suppose this provides some justification for the religious reactionaries, like Maistre and D. James Kennedy, who believe in something like this.
The New Revised Standard Version
Romans 13
13:1
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.
13:2
Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
The New Revised Standard Version
Romans 13
13:1
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.
13:2
Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
HANNITY TO TAKE ON TRUMAN!
On his radio show, Hannity played a clip of Obama saying Truman Burgess would demolish Hannity in a debate and I needed to google to find out who Burgess is. Here's the result:
Hannity has been challenging Obama to come on his radio show since Obama pushed back against him and other extremist smear merchants.
Valley residents give Obama warm welcome
Published:Wednesday, August 6, 2008
By David Skolnick
The Vindicator
Dem targets Ohio issues
During a question-and-answer session, Truman Burgess of Warren, a retired Lordstown General Motors worker, praised the U.S. senator from Illinois for not being afraid to change his position on issues, particularly those dealing with energy.
“When change happens, you reassess,” Burgess said.
Obama was pleased with the comment, repeating, “That’s pretty good” several times.
After the speech, Burgess called Obama “an amazing individual. His vision embodies what this country needs.”
Hannity has been challenging Obama to come on his radio show since Obama pushed back against him and other extremist smear merchants.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
IF THINGS ARE SO GREAT IN IRAQ, WHAT WITH
(h/t Kevin G. Hall at McClatchy)
McCain and other wingnuts declaring "victory," how come the Iraqi government can't spend its oil money on rebuilding the country? The latest GAO report found that there were several reasons, among them violence:
McCain and other wingnuts declaring "victory," how come the Iraqi government can't spend its oil money on rebuilding the country? The latest GAO report found that there were several reasons, among them violence:
Third, these officials have noted that violence and sectarian strife remain major obstacles to developing Iraqi government capacity, including its ability to execute budgets for capital projects. The high level of violence contributes to a decrease in the number of workers available, can increase the amount of time needed to plan and complete capital projects, and hinders U.S. advisors’ ability to provide the ministries with assistance and monitor capital project performance.
THE MILITARY HAS PLENTY OF WINGNUTS
It's not surprising that the military attracts authoritarian freakshows but it is a bit suprising that so many officers are completely loony tunes. My favorite is LTC "Buzz" Patterson (ret.) and through the LA Times, I found another screwball, Maj. Gen. Jerry Curry (ret.). He thinks that the yellow-cake at Tuwaitha is a WMD. THIS is the truth about it:
Iraq removes uranium left over from Saddam era
Mon Jul 7, 2008 3:32pm BST
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's government has removed 550 tonnes of natural uranium left over from Saddam Hussein's era and sold it to a Canadian company, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.
The uranium, called yellowcake, had been stored in a compound at Tuwaitha, south of Baghdad, which was once the centre of Saddam's nuclear weapons programme.
The Tuwaitha nuclear complex was dismantled after the 1991 Gulf War. But tonnes of nuclear material remained there under the seal of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), until the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq when it was left unguarded and looted by Iraqi civilians.
Yellowcake is an impure mixture of uranium oxides obtained from processing uranium ore. It has to be enriched before it can be used in nuclear reactors or to make bombs.
WAL-MART IS AFRAID OF OBAMA
Wal-Mart knows that if Obama becomes President, he will sign a law making it easier for unions to organize. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is also worried.
Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win
By ANN ZIMMERMAN and KRIS MAHER
August 1, 2008; Page A1
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies -- including Wal-Mart.
In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.
The Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings don't specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's election, but make it clear that voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in, according to Wal-Mart employees who attended gatherings in Maryland, Missouri and other states.
"The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. "I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote," she said.
AN EXAMPLE OF FREE MARKET FAILURE
I know that the old AT&T Bell Labs did a lot of great work. Here's a short list of some of the lab's achievements:
On the other, Big Oil hasn't been much help and it doesn't look like it ever will be a big help. From Satyam at Think Progress:
Information Theory
Experimental Suppport for the Wave Nature of Matter
Radio Astronomy
The Transistor
The Solar Cell
Practical development of the Laser
The Echo of the Big Bang
On the other, Big Oil hasn't been much help and it doesn't look like it ever will be a big help. From Satyam at Think Progress:
ABC: Exxon spends 1 percent of profits on alternative energy.
Exxon Mobil today broke its own record for the highest-ever profit by a U.S. company, with net income this quarter rising to $11.68 billion. While Exxon officials regularly tout the company’s investment in alternative energy, ABC reported today that Exxon spends only 1 percent of profits on alternative energy sources. Watch it:
ANOTHER SIGN OF TOLERANCE
A wingnut gets into an Obama town hall and asks a question derived from the lies of the radio gasbags. Obama handles him easily AND the clown is allowed to remain.
Man heckles Obama about Pledge of Allegiance
Aug 5 04:25 PM US/EasternBEREA, Ohio (AP) - A man who wore press credentials and took photographs from a platform interrupted Barack Obama's town-hall meeting Tuesday by shouting complaints that the Democratic presidential candidate had not called for the audience to say the Pledge of Allegiance.
Obama invited the heckler to lead the audience in the pledge, and he did.
Attendees at the gathering in the gymnasium at Baldwin Wallace College in this Cleveland suburb rose to their feet and recited the pledge. "Thank you, sir, appreciate it," Obama told the man.
The man, who carried a large, professional-style telephoto lens, was among photographers and videographers on the main press platform at one end of the gym. He wore what appeared to be the regular daily news media credential the campaign issues local news media members who cover the Illinois senator at a single events.
Campaign officials said they did not know who the man was, and no effort was made to remove him. He continued taking photographs throughout Obama's appearance.
Speaking with reporters afterward, he identified himself only as "John Q. Public" and declined to say which news organization, if any, he represented.
Asked why he had interrupted the event, the man said: "He (Obama) said it was a town-hall meeting" and open to the public. He expressed dismay that Obama hadn't called for the pledge himself, saying, "You all learned the pledge in the first grade."
TPM SCOOP!!!
Talking Points Memo puts Pajamas Media to shame, if wingnuts can feel any shame.
McClatchy helps to mainstream this potential scandal:
Multiple Oil Company Executives Gave Huge Contributions To Electing McCain Just Days After Offshore Drilling Reversal
By Greg Sargent and Eric Kleefeld - August 4, 2008, 12:47PM
McClatchy helps to mainstream this potential scandal:
Queens couple's $61,600 donation to McCain questioned
By Greg Gordon McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Tuesday, August 5, 2008
WASHINGTON — Alice Rocchio is an office manager at the New York headquarters of the Hess Corp., drives a 1993 Chevy Cavalier and lives in an apartment in Queens, N.Y., with her husband, Pasquale, an Amtrak foreman.
Despite what appears to be a middle-class lifestyle, the couple has written $61,600 in checks to John McCain's presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee, most of it within days of McCain's decision to endorse offshore oil drilling.
At a June fundraiser, the Rocchios joined top executives at Hess Corp. — Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Hess, his wife, Susan, his mother, Norma Hess, and six other officials in giving a total of $313,500 to a joint McCain-RNC fundraising committee, Federal Election Commission records show.
The donations, first traced by Campaign Money Watch last week, were part of $1.2 million in oil industry contributions to McCain's Victory '08 Committee, 73 percent coming after McCain reversed his long-held opposition to offshore oil drilling. The non-partisan watchdog group said oil executives and their spouses from Colorado, Mississippi, Louisiana, California, Indiana, New Jersey and Florida also donated.
I CAN HEAR IT NOW...
Obama will be called a "liberal elitist" by the radio gasbags even though he made a good point, though not entirely correct, about conserving energy by making sure our autos are in good shape. Here's what Obama said today:
"Now two points, one, they know they're lying about what my energy plan is, but the other thing is they're making fun of a step that every expert says would absolutely reduce our oil consumption by 3 to 4 percent. It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant.
PARIS PUNKS GRANPA McCAIN!!!
She made her own video in which she highlights McCain's age:
"Hey America, I'm Paris Hilton and I'm a celebrity too," Hilton declares breezily. "Only I'm not from the olden days and I'm not promising change like that other guy. I'm just hot.
"But then that wrinkly white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad, which I guess means I'm running for president. So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude, and I want America to know I'm, like, totally ready to lead."
See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die
RON SUSKIND IS A PATRIOT
I almost didn't use the word "patriot" because the wingnuts have misused the term to justify their warped agenda but Suskind did a great book on Paul O'Neill, Bush's 1st Secretary of the Treasury, that let us know attacking Iraq was on Bush's mind from day 1. Suskind has new book, The Way of the World, that claims the criminal Bush regime forged a letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein in order to show there was a link between Saddam and Al Qaeda. This smells like a Cheney operation but Suskind offers no hard evidence of Cheney's involvement.
George the Whore Tenet had this to say about the book:
Tenet himself had claimed early in 2001 that we had no " direct evidence that Iraq has used the period since Desert Fox to reconstitute its WMD programs” and we know from Hans Blix that the U.N. inspectors went to sites recommended by U.S. intelligence and found NOTHING. The latter fact should have been enough to stop the war but Tenet, among others, was a coward and did not stand up for the truth.
George the Whore Tenet had this to say about the book:
Tenet says about Habbush in the statement: “In fact, the source in question failed to persuade his British interlocutors that he had anything new to offer by way of intelligence, concessions, or negotiations with regard to the Iraq crisis and the British – on their own – elected to break off contact with him.
“There were many Iraqi officials who said both publicly and privately that Iraq had no WMD – but our foreign intelligence colleagues and we assessed that these individuals were parroting the Ba’ath party line and trying to delay any coalition attack. The particular source that Suskind cites offered no evidence to back up his assertion and acted in an evasive and unconvincing manner.”
Tenet himself had claimed early in 2001 that we had no " direct evidence that Iraq has used the period since Desert Fox to reconstitute its WMD programs” and we know from Hans Blix that the U.N. inspectors went to sites recommended by U.S. intelligence and found NOTHING. The latter fact should have been enough to stop the war but Tenet, among others, was a coward and did not stand up for the truth.
WHAT "FAMOUS TEMPER"?
In the excerpt from HARDBALL I posted below, Roger Simon of Politico mentions McCain's "famous temper" but it seems that it's only famous in The Village because it doesn't get much coverage in the media. The lack of coverage IS an important issue because the McCain campaign and the GOP and surrogates like Hannity will try to use the "character issue" to attack Obama.
Monday, August 04, 2008
IT'S NOT ST. McCAIN'S FAULT
Satyam at Think Progress found on July 25th McCain's chief economic advisor, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, admitting that McCain doesn't speak for McCain:
Now, the pundits are saying that his own campaign doesn't speak for McCain.
(h/t Atrios & Josh Marshall) Here's the relevant passage from the August 4th edition of HARDBALL1:
You put the two snippets together and you are forced to conclude that McCain simply isn't responsible for both what he says and what his campaign does. Obviously, this isn't the sort of person we want as President.
1MSNBC
August 4, 2008 Monday
SHOW: HARDBALL 5:00 PM EST
HARDBALL for August 4, 2008 MSNBC
BYLINE: Mike Barnicle, Andrea Mitchell
GUESTS: Roger Simon, Jim Warren, Susan Page, Mike Paul, Del Walters, John Heilemann, Michelle Bernard, Maria Teresa Petersen
SECTION: NEWS; Domestic
LENGTH: 7867 words
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain’s chief economic adviser, says the numbers he provided to the TPC aren’t secret—they’re the same ones he provides to anyone who asks. He also disputes the way the study takes suggestions McCain has made on the stump out of context. “This is parsing words out of campaign appearances to an unreasonable degree,” Holtz-Eakin said. “He has certainly I’m sure said things in town halls” that don’t jibe perfectly with his written plan. But that doesn’t mean it’s official.
Now, the pundits are saying that his own campaign doesn't speak for McCain.
(h/t Atrios & Josh Marshall) Here's the relevant passage from the August 4th edition of HARDBALL1:
MITCHELL: ... the sort of appropriate realm of political combat. By the way, I have maybe a counterintuitive view that John McCain also doesn`t like this kind of politics, went along with his new, tougher political advisers, and I think on some of his responses such as saying last week, personally saying that he thought that Barack Obama had retracted some of his previous comments -- I think he`s inside a bubble and is not aware that Barack Obama never did say that and he`s being told by his advisers, you know, He did this, he did that, Obama did this. I think he`s been ginned up a little bit.
BARNICLE: I agree with you.
MITCHELL: I think all of these candidates are being handled a bit too much. You know, they`re traveling. They`re giving speeches. They don`t see what we all see who are fixated on this stuff. They don`t know.
(CROSSTALK)
BARNICLE: I absolutely agree with you. Do you agree with that, Roger?
SIMON: I do. For a guy who`s supposed to have such a famous temper, McCain really doesn`t like attacking. I think Andrea is exactly right about that. Which is why I think he is often uncomfortable with his own campaign. The Britney and Paris ad I think will go down in history as one of the most visually incoherent ads ever shown on TV. At the end of it, it just made John McCain, in my opinion, look like a grumpy old man.
BARNICLE: Well, it also -- it also, I would think, gets to his -- something that he`s very proud of, has been very proud of, and it`s clear in talking to him over the years -- his sense of honor. And I think an ad like that offended, or would offend, if he paid attention to it, his sense of honor. Do you agree with that, Andrea?
SIMON: I do, but I think that he may have been misled about what Obama did or did not say, about how he may have been mischaracterized from the House caucus meeting that he attended. You know, there`s a lot of anecdotal stuff out there, and in this Internet age and with the blogosphere, things are just ricocheting around. And I think he just -- as a candidate, there`s no way that he could be tracking all of this himself.
You put the two snippets together and you are forced to conclude that McCain simply isn't responsible for both what he says and what his campaign does. Obviously, this isn't the sort of person we want as President.
1MSNBC
August 4, 2008 Monday
SHOW: HARDBALL 5:00 PM EST
HARDBALL for August 4, 2008 MSNBC
BYLINE: Mike Barnicle, Andrea Mitchell
GUESTS: Roger Simon, Jim Warren, Susan Page, Mike Paul, Del Walters, John Heilemann, Michelle Bernard, Maria Teresa Petersen
SECTION: NEWS; Domestic
LENGTH: 7867 words
THE FREE MARKET FAIRY HAS BEEN SLACKING
Alan Greenspan and Nouriel Roubini offer warnings about the economic condition.
Unfortunately, Greenspan still clings to the Fairy:
Nouriel Roubini says the losses may mount to $2 trillion before the end of the crunch. (h/t The Big Picture)
Nouriel also reminds of Uncle Alan's role in this mess:
Greenspan says more banks, institutions may founder
Mon Aug 4, 2008 6:46pm EDTLONDON (Reuters) - More banks and financial institutions are likely to face insolvency and need bailouts before the global financial crisis is over, according to former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan.
Writing in the Financial Times, Greenspan called the current crisis -- which started a year ago -- a once or twice in a century event and said insolvency would only end once U.S. house prices stabilized, underpinning mortgage-backed securities.
Unfortunately, Greenspan still clings to the Fairy:
Greenspan said increased market regulation was not the answer, and could do more harm than good.
"The cause of our economic despair, however, is human nature's propensity to sway from fear to euphoria and back, a condition that no economic paradigm has proved capable of suppressing without severe hardship," he said.
"Regulation, the alleged effective solution to today's crisis, has never been able to eliminate history's crises."
Instead of believing that more rigidity in the system would prevent breakdown, he said continued flexibility was required.
"We may not easily confront or accept the price dynamics of home and equity prices, but we can fend off cries of political despair which counsel the containment of competitive markets.
"It is essential that we do so. The remarkably strong performance of the world economy since the near-universal adoption of market capitalism is testament to the benefits of increasing economic flexibility."
Nouriel Roubini says the losses may mount to $2 trillion before the end of the crunch. (h/t The Big Picture)
Yes, That's $2 Trillion of Debt-Related Losses
Nouriel Roubini, Economist and Professor, New York University
By ROBIN GOLDWYN BLUMENTHAL
I estimate this financial crisis will lead to credit losses of at least $1 trillion and most likely closer to $2 trillion. When I made this analysis in February everybody thought I was a lunatic. But a few weeks later the International Monetary Fund came out with an estimate of $945 billion, Goldman Sachs (GS) estimated $1.1 trillion and UBS (UBS) $1 trillion. Hedge-fund manager John Paulson recently estimated the losses would be $1.3 trillion, and late last month Bridgewater Associates came up with an estimate of $1.6 trillion. So, at this point $1 trillion isn't a ceiling, it's a floor. And the banks, as I've said, have written down only about $300 billion of subprime debt.
Nouriel also reminds of Uncle Alan's role in this mess:
The damage was done earlier, beginning when the Greenspan Fed lowered interest rates in 2001 after the bust of the technology bubble, and kept them too low for too long. They kept cutting the federal funds rate all the way to 1% through 2004, and then raised it gradually instead of quickly. This fed the credit and housing bubble.
Also, the Fed and other regulators took a reckless approach to regulating the financial sector. It was the laissez-faire approach of the Bush administration, and (tantamount to) self-regulation, which really means no regulation and a lack of market discipline.
DID THE GOP JUST LOSE THE NASCAR VOTE?
(h/t Atrios)
Steve Benen points out how much fun the GOP is having making a joke out of Obama's suggestion that we get tune-ups and make sure our tires are properly inflated. IF there really is a "NASCAR voter," then one would think that the GOP just blew it. From NASCAR:
Steve Benen points out how much fun the GOP is having making a joke out of Obama's suggestion that we get tune-ups and make sure our tires are properly inflated. IF there really is a "NASCAR voter," then one would think that the GOP just blew it. From NASCAR:
Tire maintenance key to safety, fuel economy
From Press Release
July 25, 2006
08:57 AM EDT (12:57 GMT)
Tires that are underinflated by 6 to 7 pounds per square inch increase tire rolling resistance 10 percent or more, increase tread wear rates and tire fatigue. When a tire is underinflated, the tire's road contact zone and cyclic stress level changes resulting in undesirable loss in tire and vehicle performance.
To prevent the above, we recommend the following in maintaining proper inflation level (a vehicle's proper inflation level can be found either on the door or on a placard in the glove box) and in checking tire wear:
• Check tire inflation pressure (including the spare) at least once a month and before every long trip. Tires must be checked when they are cold; that is, before they been run a mile.
With escalating fuel prices, the time is now for drivers to focus on simple things like proper tire pressure to maximize tire performance and increase fuel economy.
FATS TAKES ON PICKENS
Hannity was glad to have T. Boone Pickens on his show but Pickens isn't enough of a Big Oil Whore for Rush.
Boone Pickens says we need to drill for every bit of oil we can get, Boone is also out there saying we can't drill our way out of the problem. That's just absolute nonsense. It defies common sense.
THEY ALSO BOTCHED THE NORTH KOREA ISSUE
The radical war-whore wingnuts in the criminal Bush regime deliberately mislead the American people about the threat N. Korea posed, according to a new book. I suppose any time you have a freakshow like John Bolton involved, you can expect the worst.
Once again, Cheney and his minions are implicated:
'Intel spin' by US hardliners sparked NKorean crisis: book
9 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — In circumstances echoing the Iraq war controversy, hardliners in US President George W. Bush's administration spun intelligence and triggered a nuclear crisis with North Korea, says a new book to be released this week.
Intelligence on a North Korea effort to acquire components for uranium enrichment was politicized to depict the hardline communist state running a full-fledged production facility capable of developing a nuclear bomb, said the book by former senior CNN journalist Mike Chinoy.
Now with the Los Angeles-based Pacific Council on International Policy, Chinoy wrote "Meltdown: The inside story of the North Korean nuclear crisis" after gaining unprecedented access during his 14 trips to North Korea and conducting 200 interviews in Washington, Seoul, Tokyo and other Asian capitals.
The book showed that US intelligence did discover in 2002-2003 a North Korea effort to acquire components that could be used for uranium enrichment but that it was only a procurement effort.
There was no credible intelligence that North Koreans actually had a facility capable of making uranium based bombs.
Once again, Cheney and his minions are implicated:
It showed how Kelly's successor Christopher Hill seized control of the policy process -- first, by violating instructions from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and holding unauthorized bilateral meetings with the North Koreans, and then, after winning her over to his side, by freezing out hard-line opponents of engagement, including critics in the Vice President Dick Cheney's office.
CORSI ISN'T WELL RECEIVED BY THE POLITICO
At least Ben Smith doesn't think too much of Corsi's smear book. In a review of another anti-Obama wingnut book, he writes:
Freddoso’s is one of two new books harshly attacking Obama. The other, by Jerome Corsi, reportedly covers some of the same territory as the viral emails that have plagued the Democratic candidate, making much of his slender connections to Islam and his teenage drug use.
The book by NRO wingnut Freddoso does use the "Obama is a radical" meme so beloved by Sean Hannity:
It reviews his support for a range of liberal policies, and his “radical associations,” which in Freddoso’s telling range from the unrepentant former domestic terrorist William Ayers to former Clinton National Security Advisor Anthony Lake.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
I WAS GOING TO LISTEN TO WINGNUT RADIO
but I found a link in an Alternet story, "Talk Radio and the Conspiracy to Kill" by Rory O'Connor, just as good. The link goes to an opinion piece by Don Feder and you can find it here. Feder is just as bad as any radio wingnut I can think of and here's a taste of his insanity.
Feder thinks that making the world safe for Israel and the Likud Party is the only possible choice and anyone who disagrees must be anti-Israel. I don't think there are any "mainstream media counterparts" to the radio gasbags. The idea that the Left is "anti-market" is another bit of agit-prop that Limbaugh or Hannity have uttered in the past. For these devotees of the Free Market Fairy, any suggestion that the market doesn't always come up with the best solution is anathema. Finally, Feder doesn't understand what the Fairness Doctrine was all about - giving an fair shot to an opposing point of view. There's nothing in it that would require the Left to get the same amount of air time, only a shot at on-air rebuttal. This could be done during the last 10-15 minutes of the major wingnut radio shows and would have little impact on revenue, at least until more people wised up to the scam the wingnuts have been running on Americans.
The left will do anything to gag its opponents.
Conservative talk-show hosts tend to be the most outspoken defenders of Israel anywhere in the U.S. media, while their counterparts in the mainstream media are overwhelmingly anti-Israel.
Being anti-market, the left is incapable of understanding any exchange -- including the marketplace of ideas. The dominance of conservative talk-show hosts couldn't possibly have anything to do with the popularity of conservative ideas.
This is how the Fairness Doctrine would be applied to talk radio: If a station broadcast three hours of Rush Limbaugh -- or Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly or Dr. Dobson -- in the afternoon, it would have to provide equal time to The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Father Michael Pfleger or Osama bin Laden.
You're more likely to find diverse viewpoints in Beijing's People's Daily than you are on the average NPR or PBS station.
Feder thinks that making the world safe for Israel and the Likud Party is the only possible choice and anyone who disagrees must be anti-Israel. I don't think there are any "mainstream media counterparts" to the radio gasbags. The idea that the Left is "anti-market" is another bit of agit-prop that Limbaugh or Hannity have uttered in the past. For these devotees of the Free Market Fairy, any suggestion that the market doesn't always come up with the best solution is anathema. Finally, Feder doesn't understand what the Fairness Doctrine was all about - giving an fair shot to an opposing point of view. There's nothing in it that would require the Left to get the same amount of air time, only a shot at on-air rebuttal. This could be done during the last 10-15 minutes of the major wingnut radio shows and would have little impact on revenue, at least until more people wised up to the scam the wingnuts have been running on Americans.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FINANCIAL COLLAPSE
I found this graphic and nice article about the Big Collapse on Market Watch:
CLICK ON GRAPHIC FOR LARGER IMAGE
A year into credit crunch, more pain expected
Government bailouts limit the damage, but may delay recovery
By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch
Last update: 7:37 p.m. EDT Aug. 1, 2008
As the first anniversary of the crisis arrives this coming week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 14%, U.S. economic growth has more than halved, financial institutions have suffered $350 billion in write-downs and fired chief executives and thousands of workers, while house prices have slumped as much as 40% in some areas. Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth-largest investment bank, had to be bailed out by the Fed and J.P. Morgan Chase. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , the bedrock of the U.S. mortgage market, may be next.
Eight U.S. banks have failed since the beginning of the year, including First Priority Bank of Bradenton, Fla. late Friday.
CLICK ON GRAPHIC FOR LARGER IMAGE
McCAIN, THE INTERNET AND THE NSA
We had a bit of fun pointing out that Fossil McCain can't even get online by himself and I think the way the press has handled this shows how they tend to give the GOP candidate a pass. The Politico has this little gem:
Let's look at the facts: 1) McCain admits he is a computer illiterate 2) The Press reports what he says. 3) People believe McCain's statement. The NY Times July interview found that McCain hadn't made much progress since January, so what's this crap about "battling the impression"? McCain was illiterate in January, July and he's STILL illiterate.
A NY Times reporter asks:
How about because the President has control over the National Security Agency, the 800-pound gorilla of the Internet snoopers?
Now, though, McCain is battling the impression that he’s an Internet “illiterate.” When Politico’s Mike Allen asked him in January whether he uses a Mac or PC, the candidate replied, “I am an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance that I can get.” Since, he’s taken to Macs, become a student of the contemporary, blog-driven media cycle, and become a reader — if not yet a writer — of e-mail.
Let's look at the facts: 1) McCain admits he is a computer illiterate 2) The Press reports what he says. 3) People believe McCain's statement. The NY Times July interview found that McCain hadn't made much progress since January, so what's this crap about "battling the impression"? McCain was illiterate in January, July and he's STILL illiterate.
A NY Times reporter asks:
So why have Mr. McCain’s admissions of digital illiteracy sparked such ridicule in wiseguy circles?
How about because the President has control over the National Security Agency, the 800-pound gorilla of the Internet snoopers?
BARNES CONFIRMS CHAIT
Jonathan Chait in The Big Con pointed out that the GOP can't win on the issues, so it has to rely on character attacks and Fred Barnes confims Chait's claim1:
I agree with Barnes and I think the Obama campaign really needs to attack McCain on his temper and rudeness.
1Fox News Network
August 3, 2008 Sunday
SHOW: FOX NEWS SUNDAY 9:00 AM EST
Fox News Sunday Roundtable
BYLINE: Chris Wallace
GUESTS: Fred Barnes, Mara Liasson, Bill Kristol, Juan Williams
SECTION: NEWS; Domestic
LENGTH: 3808 words
BARNES: I think he does need to fill in that side of the ledger. But you have to remember one thing, and that is why what McCain is doing now is important -- you may not agree with it, but in playing on this issue that Obama is a lightweight and he's inexperienced and he's not up to being president.
The president is different -- electing a president is different from electing somebody to any other office in the country. You know, we don't elect, as parliamentary governments do, a party leader. We elect a person.
And people -- and it's so important in the presidency that you -- things matter other than just politics and other than your substantive agenda. It's your character. It's your judgment, as Tom Daschle would say as well about Barack Obama.
Your character, your judgment, your basic honesty, your temperament, your experience -- all those things matter more in the presidency, and we often get presidents elected at a time when politics is running in favor of the opposite party. Eisenhower got elected in a Democratic era. Clinton got elected in a Republican era.
So whether you're playing on that issue, as McCain is doing, saying that Obama is a lightweight, not up to the office, is entirely legitimate in a race for president, because that's -- those characteristics matter so much.
I agree with Barnes and I think the Obama campaign really needs to attack McCain on his temper and rudeness.
1Fox News Network
August 3, 2008 Sunday
SHOW: FOX NEWS SUNDAY 9:00 AM EST
Fox News Sunday Roundtable
BYLINE: Chris Wallace
GUESTS: Fred Barnes, Mara Liasson, Bill Kristol, Juan Williams
SECTION: NEWS; Domestic
LENGTH: 3808 words
WAPO GIVES FATS LIMBAUGH MORE DENIALIST AMMO
This opinion piece by a staff writer at the WaPo could've been taken straight from Fats Limbaugh. Fats has been attacking the notion of man-made global warming for years and ridiculing anyone who thinks there's something to it.
As evidence for his claim that "we" are all doing this, Achenbach refers to a single writer at NEWSWEEK. The real problem with this piece is that it will be used by the denialist gasbags and they won't bother to mention that Achenbach DOES think there is man-made global warming.
Global Warming Did It! Well, Maybe Not.
We're stuck on the notion that climate change is the culprit every time a natural disaster strikes. But that's just muddying the waters.
By Joel Achenbach
Sunday, August 3, 2008; Page B01
Somewhere along the line, global warming became the explanation for everything. Right-thinking people are not supposed to discuss any meteorological or geophysical event -- a hurricane, a wildfire, a heat wave, a drought, a flood, a blizzard, a tornado, a lightning strike, an unfamiliar breeze, a strange tingling on the neck -- without immediately invoking the climate crisis. It causes earthquakes, plagues and backyard gardening disappointments. Weird fungus on your tomato plants? Classic sign of global warming.
As evidence for his claim that "we" are all doing this, Achenbach refers to a single writer at NEWSWEEK. The real problem with this piece is that it will be used by the denialist gasbags and they won't bother to mention that Achenbach DOES think there is man-made global warming.
Moreover, the evidence for man-made climate change is solid enough that it doesn't need to be bolstered by iffy claims. Rigorous science is the best weapon for persuading the public that this is a real problem that requires bold action. "Weather alarmism" gives ammunition to global-warming deniers.
Our fundamental problem is that -- now it's my chance to sound hysterical -- humans are a species out of control. We've been hellbent on wrecking our environment pretty much since the day we figured out how to make fire.
Conservatives say that we just need to focus on maintaining free markets and let everything sort itself out through the miracle of the invisible hand. But the political tide is turning against unfettered free markets and toward greater regulation. Climate-change policy is part of that: Somehow we've got to embed environmental effects into the cost of energy sources, consumer goods and so on. The market approach by itself has let us down.
PTSD HITS HOME
Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and suffering from PTSD are starting to flood the Southern Arizona VA system. Will any of the war whores address this issue?
Iraq vets here seek help while psychic wounds are still fresh
By Carol Ann Alaimo
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.03.2008
"Daddy, why don't you play with us anymore?"
Iraq war veteran Rigo Morales was cut to the core by the question from his 4-year-old twin girls.
His wife had been asking questions, too, wondering what had become of the doting husband who used to leave her roses on the windshield and love notes on the fridge.
"I knew right away when he got back from the war that something was wrong with him," Angelica Morales, 30, said of her 34-year-old mate.
"He used to be so loving and attentive. After he got back, he was always tense. He looked scared.
"If we tried to go anywhere, the people and the noise would bother him so much that we'd have to leave. So we stopped going places."
Such cases are on the rise in Tucson and around the country. The Pentagon and the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System are reporting major spikes in stress illness among veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The PTSD clinic at the local veterans hospital has seen its caseload soar by more than 100 percent. Last fiscal year, an average of 32 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans visited the clinic each month, compared with 73 a month so far this year.
Nationally, about 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with the disorder since 2003, The Associated Press has reported.
Iraq vets here seek help while psychic wounds are still fresh
By Carol Ann Alaimo
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.03.2008
"Daddy, why don't you play with us anymore?"
Iraq war veteran Rigo Morales was cut to the core by the question from his 4-year-old twin girls.
His wife had been asking questions, too, wondering what had become of the doting husband who used to leave her roses on the windshield and love notes on the fridge.
"I knew right away when he got back from the war that something was wrong with him," Angelica Morales, 30, said of her 34-year-old mate.
"He used to be so loving and attentive. After he got back, he was always tense. He looked scared.
"If we tried to go anywhere, the people and the noise would bother him so much that we'd have to leave. So we stopped going places."
Such cases are on the rise in Tucson and around the country. The Pentagon and the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System are reporting major spikes in stress illness among veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The PTSD clinic at the local veterans hospital has seen its caseload soar by more than 100 percent. Last fiscal year, an average of 32 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans visited the clinic each month, compared with 73 a month so far this year.
Nationally, about 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with the disorder since 2003, The Associated Press has reported.
Rigo Morales is one of 150 or so Iraq and Afghanistan vets with once-crippling symptoms who have been treated in an intensive, three-week inpatient program at the Tucson VA hospital, one of three programs of its kind in the nation.
Troops are admitted to the hospital for education, counseling, peer support, and therapy for anger management and nightmare reduction.
They practice relaxation techniques and communication skills, receive medication for frayed nerves and sleeplessness, and learn how to rejoin a world that often doesn't make sense to them when they return from combat.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
WHAT THE DEPT. OF ENERGY SAYS ABOUT OFF-SHORE OIL
Just in case you believed the wingnut lie that by drilling now, we'll shortly be paying less for oil. NOTE: "OCS" is short from "Outer Continental Shelf" and this report is from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Impacts of Increased Access to Oil and Natural Gas Resources in the Lower 48 Federal Outer Continental Shelf
Released: Issues in Focus, AEO2007
The projections in the OCS access case indicate that access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030. Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017. Total domestic production of crude oil from 2012 through 2030 in the OCS access case is projected to be 1.6 percent higher than in the reference case, and 3 percent higher in 2030 alone, at 5.6 million barrels per day. For the lower 48 OCS, annual crude oil production in 2030 is projected to be 7 percent higher—2.4 million barrels per day in the OCS access case compared with 2.2 million barrels per day in the reference case (Figure 20). Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant.
UM, WHAT HONOR?
In his NEWSWEEK column, Jonathan Alter writes wistfully about the "old" John McCain and concludes his piece with this:
First, McCain is the REPUBLICAN PARTY NOMINEE so he can't, he absolutely can't, talk about "corporate greed," as Alter claims he once did. Second, he lost his sense of honor when he stayed with the GOP after the despicable treatment he got in the South Carolina Primary in 2000. Third, how many times has McCain lied about himself or flip-flopped? I'm pretty sure it's over 50 times by now. An honorable doesn't turn into a chameleon just for political gain.
And defeat would leave John McCain feeling more than the usual depression, wondering why he mortgaged his precious personal honor just to trade up to the White House.
First, McCain is the REPUBLICAN PARTY NOMINEE so he can't, he absolutely can't, talk about "corporate greed," as Alter claims he once did. Second, he lost his sense of honor when he stayed with the GOP after the despicable treatment he got in the South Carolina Primary in 2000. Third, how many times has McCain lied about himself or flip-flopped? I'm pretty sure it's over 50 times by now. An honorable doesn't turn into a chameleon just for political gain.
CARTER GOT IT RIGHT ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO
If we had followed up on Jimmy Carter's advice on July 15, 1979 maybe we wouldn't be in such an energy bind right now. From Anonymous Liberal at Crooks & Liars:
In little more than two decades we’ve gone from a position of energy independence to one in which almost half the oil we use comes from foreign countries, at prices that are going through the roof. Our excessive dependence on OPEC has already taken a tremendous toll on our economy and our people. . . .
This intolerable dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence and the very security of our nation. The energy crisis is real. It is worldwide. It is a clear and present danger to our nation. These are facts and we simply must face them. . . .
To give us energy security, I am asking for the most massive peacetime commitment of funds and resources in our nation’s history to develop America’s own alternative sources of fuel –from coal, from oil shale, from plant products for gasohol, from unconventional gas, from the sun. . .
UNEMPLOYMENT UNDER CARTER
I'm posting the numbers & graph because of this moronic post about Carter on AOL:
Raj4db
10:41 PMAug 03 2008
onepalmerstreet you an idiot 16.5% unemployment, double digit inflation,20% interest rates ,gas price doubled his leadership alaso lead to the current Iran situation
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
Series Id: LNU04000000
Series Id: LNU04000000
Not Seasonally Adjusted
Series title: (Unadj) Unemployment Rate
Labor force status: Unemployment rate
Type of data: Percent
Age: 16 years and over
Year
Annual
1977
7.1
1978
6.1
1979
5.8
1980
7.1
THE MAGGOT JEROME CORSI MAKES IT TO AOL
This didn't take long:
MMCullen
10:08 PMAug 03 2008
Looks like you guys should read The Obama Nation before you put our countryin the hands of OBama.[
THE WINGNUT ROT SPREADS PRETTY EASILY
On july 29, 2008, Investor's Business Daily falsely reported that the Global Poverty Act of 2007, sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama, "would force U.S. taxpayers to fork over 0.7% of our gross domestic product every year to fund a global war on poverty, spending well above the $16.3 billion in global poverty aid the U.S. already spends." Of course, the bill authorizes no such thing but Hannity repeated that lie on his radio show and now it has made it to an AOL news board:
MIDLandSFX
09:45 PMAug 03 2008
Obama wants to send $850 billion a year OF YOUR INCOME to Africa via his bill for world poverty tax. SEE>http://www.usnews.com/blogs/capital-commerce/2008/2/20/does-obama-want-a-trillion-dollar-global-tax.html
urn:x-aol:oid:mddn:d91b3f7a-60fd-11dd-aae2-170779177b78 AVG RATING: (4) REPORT! thank you for rating
STANDARD & POOR BETRAYED AMERICA
By revenue, Standard & Poor is the largests ratings agency in the world and it was in the tank when it came to rating collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), part of the Big Shit Pile.
Conflicts of interest began as early as 2004:
S&P Email: 'We Should Not Be Rating It'
By AARON LUCCHETTI
August 2, 2008; Page B1
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Problems keeping up with the surging growth of mortgage-related debt products were particularly acute at Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, according to a draft version of a Securities and Exchange Commission report on bond-rating firms.
In one email, an S&P analytical staffer emailed another that a mortgage or structured-finance deal was "ridiculous" and that "we should not be rating it." The other S&P staffer replied that "we rate every deal," adding that "it could be structured by cows and we would rate it."
Meanwhile, an analytical manager in the collateralized debt obligations group at S&P told a senior analytical manager in a separate email that "rating agencies continue to create" an "even bigger monster -- the CDO market. Let's hope we are all wealthy and retired by the time this house of cards falters.;O)"
Conflicts of interest began as early as 2004:
But satisfying Wall Street issuers also crept into the process. "We are meeting with your group this week to discuss adjusting criteria for rating CDO's of real-estate assets...because of the ongoing threat of losing deals," S&P commercial mortgage analyst Gale Scott wrote to colleagues in August 2004, according to the draft report and a person familiar with the situation.
YES, ST. PAUL GETS A LITTLE REACTIONARY TOO!
In 1 Corinthians, verses 22-26, St. Paul echoes the malevolence found in the Old Testament when he writes about the 2nd Coming of Christ:
(New Revised Standard version)
22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, F78 when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
NOT JUST AN ENTERTAINER
Fats got calls from 3 members of the Bush Crime Family, Bush Senior, Jeb and Fredo. Here's what Fredo had to say:
RUSH: What are...? (interruption) Interrupting for what?
THE PRESIDENT: Hello!
RUSH: Oh, jeez. The president?
THE PRESIDENT: Rush Limbaugh?
RUSH: Yes, sir, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: President George W. Bush calling to congratulate you on 20 years of important and excellent broadcasting.
JEROME CORSI HASN'T CHANGED
He's still in the business of pushing BIG LIES and Hannity is more than willing to help him. In addition to his radio show and Hannity & Colmes, Hannity also had Corsi on Hannity's America and on all 3, Corsi repeated a despicable lie about Obama:
This fits in with Hannity's and Levin's attempts to depict Obama as a "radical" and I suppose will appeal to the more deluded segments of the GOP's base.
On three Hannity programs, Corsi offered another falsehood: Obama supports abortion "[a]fter a child's born"
Summary: Jerome Corsi, author of the book, The Obama Nation, falsely claimed on Hannity's America that Sen. Barack Obama said, "Even if a child was born ... the woman still had the right to kill the child in an abortion." Corsi similarly falsely asserted on Hannity & Colmes that "[a]fter a child's born, Obama ... in the [Illinois] state Senate, wanted the child killed if the mother desired an abortion," and on Sean Hannity's radio program, said that "Obama's on record as let's kill the baby if that's what the mother wants." In fact, Obama has never supported giving people the right to kill their children.
This fits in with Hannity's and Levin's attempts to depict Obama as a "radical" and I suppose will appeal to the more deluded segments of the GOP's base.
DANIEL LARISON ON MAISTRE
In a critique of my post on Joseph de Maistre and other reactionaries, Larison writes:
Maistre wasn't a philosopher of science and he thought empirical research was a threat to religion and authority. This is from the Encyclopedia Britannica1:
1Maistre, Joseph de. (2008). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 2, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9050194
He was a philosopher of science and wrote a serious critique of the materialism of Bacon, so to say that he hated scientists is absurd.
Maistre wasn't a philosopher of science and he thought empirical research was a threat to religion and authority. This is from the Encyclopedia Britannica1:
He opposed the progress of science and the liberal beliefs and empirical methods of philosophers such as Francis Bacon (1561–1626), Voltaire (1694–1778), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78), and John Locke (1632–1704).
1Maistre, Joseph de. (2008). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 2, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9050194
Friday, August 01, 2008
WHAT'S THE INCENTIVE TO DRILL?
Big Oil is raking it in at historic levels so I ask: What's the financial incentive to drill? Why would they try to lower their profits?
Big Oil's biggest quarter ever: $51.5B in all
By JOHN PORRETTO, AP Business Writer
Fri Aug 1, 5:11 PM ET
HOUSTON - Oil giants Chevron Corp. and Total SA wrapped up a string of gargantuan, record-breaking earnings reports Friday, a stretch in which six of the major international oil companies topped $50 billion in combined profit for the first time.
SITEMETER.COM IS DOWN
And that means that I can't view Crooks & Liars or Atrios or, until I edited out the code to Sitemeter, even my own site. I think I recall this happening before but I think IE told me that www.sitemeter.com was the source of the problem. Not this time...
THE MOTU ARE GETTING SOME PUSH BACK
Remember how the big investment banks walked away from the auction-rate bond market, screwing over lots of people, institutions and municipalities? Well, the great liberal states of Massachusetts and New York are pushing back against these "financial engineering" thugs. Will Sean "Invisible Hand" Hannity report on this?
Citigroup is also is trouble:
Massachusetts sues Merrill Lynch over auction securities
By Greg Farrell, USA TODAYThe top securities regulator in Massachusetts charged Merrill Lynch (MER) with fraud Thursday, claiming the brokerage giant knowingly misled investors in the auction-rate securities market, which ground to an unexpected halt in February.
In this latest action, Galvin accused Merrill brokers of assuring investors that any cash put into auction-rate securities could be redeemed with ease, despite warning signals to the contrary.
Citigroup is also is trouble:
Citigroup to be charged by Cuomo, faces SEC probe
Sat Aug 2, 2008 1:27am BST
By Joseph A. Giannone and Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo plans to imminently charge Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), accusing it of fraudulently marketing and selling auction-rate securities, and destroying documents that had been subpoenaed.
In a letter Friday to the bank, David Markowitz, chief of the state's investor protection bureau, accused the largest U.S. bank by assets of having "repeatedly and persistently committed fraud" by falsely representing to customers that auction-rate debt was safe, liquid and the equivalent of cash.
MEDVED THE MORALISTIC ON OBAMA
UPDATE: MSNBC has the transcript of the exchange.
I listened to a few minutes of Michael Medved's show and although I shouldn't be, I was again amazed at his intellectual dishonesty. Medved played a clip from a town hall appearance Obama made in St. Petersburg, Florida and in it, Obama took a question from an audience member who was wondering about where Obama stood on various issues, notably those involving injustice or neglect of black people. Obama went through his previously stated positions on those very issues and Medved criticized him for talking about himself. THE QUESTION WAS ABOUT OBAMA, MICHAEL!
I listened to a few minutes of Michael Medved's show and although I shouldn't be, I was again amazed at his intellectual dishonesty. Medved played a clip from a town hall appearance Obama made in St. Petersburg, Florida and in it, Obama took a question from an audience member who was wondering about where Obama stood on various issues, notably those involving injustice or neglect of black people. Obama went through his previously stated positions on those very issues and Medved criticized him for talking about himself. THE QUESTION WAS ABOUT OBAMA, MICHAEL!
"JUST AN ENTERTAINER"?
I don't think so. Fats Limbaugh is currently THE spokesman for the radical conservatives in America. Here's a short list of some of the creeps who have praised him on his 20th Anniversary.
Empowerer of the Modern Conservative Movement
by Steve Forbes (08/01/08)
Rush Limbaugh is part of the trinity that made modern conservatism the most potent political and economic force in America.
Limbaugh's 'V-8 Moments'
by L. Brent Bozell III (08/01/08)
You're listening to the show and like the old tomato juice commercial you slap your forehead thinking to yourself, 'I should have thought of that!'
The Other Inventor of Radio
by Ann Coulter (08/01/08)
Thanks Rush: Conservative Talk Radio Pioneer
by Michael Reagan (07/31/08)
What a Difference: The Impact of Rush
by Dick Morris (07/30/08)
Limbaugh Remains on Top Because of Courage
by Phyllis Schlafly (07/29/08)
Exclusive: Rush Remade American Politics
by Karl Rove (07/29/08)
Rush Limbaugh: The Babe Ruth of Broadcasting
by Sean Hannity (07/28/08)
Rush: The Engine of Conservatism
by Mark R. Levin (07/28/08)
Empowerer of the Modern Conservative Movement
by Steve Forbes (08/01/08)
Rush Limbaugh is part of the trinity that made modern conservatism the most potent political and economic force in America.
Limbaugh's 'V-8 Moments'
by L. Brent Bozell III (08/01/08)
You're listening to the show and like the old tomato juice commercial you slap your forehead thinking to yourself, 'I should have thought of that!'
The Other Inventor of Radio
by Ann Coulter (08/01/08)
Thanks Rush: Conservative Talk Radio Pioneer
by Michael Reagan (07/31/08)
What a Difference: The Impact of Rush
by Dick Morris (07/30/08)
Limbaugh Remains on Top Because of Courage
by Phyllis Schlafly (07/29/08)
Exclusive: Rush Remade American Politics
by Karl Rove (07/29/08)
Rush Limbaugh: The Babe Ruth of Broadcasting
by Sean Hannity (07/28/08)
Rush: The Engine of Conservatism
by Mark R. Levin (07/28/08)
Human Events Exclusive: Jed Babbin Interview with Rush Limbaugh
by Jed Babbin (07/28/08)
Rush Limbaugh on his twenty years as a leader of American conservatism, Obama and the Limbaugh cigar philosophy.
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