US POLITICS SPRING 2011: Let's just call off this country.

Goddamn it... "Whitehouse to ceede nation to tea party 'because they asked in good faith,' states President"

zpost

Yep. The cowardice is just amazing One of the main projects I work on is currently slated to be ELIMINATED.

That was meant to be an xpost but whatever, tgif and so on

April Fools

I saw only for a minute an Ohio firefighter getting interviewed on one of the big cable-news channels...I wonder if the union-busting legislation in Ohio will get more equitable coverage than in Wisconsin...?

burn cantor burn

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/01/peter-defazio-april-fools/

78% of CA voters back raising taxes on the rich to close state deficit

unsurprisingly, state GOP still completely opposed to any taxes of any kind

during the biggest boomtime in US history, who received "at least" 5.3 billion dollars from government piggy banks? step forward, boeing co.

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/31/135016289/u-s-subsidies-to-boeing-illegal-wto-rules

(^ from our own Gorge)

One of the main things that I work on at the EP4 (unnecessary googleproofing, sry) is about to get cut as part of the budget "compromise". For some reason, a number of Open Data Initiatives, including Data.gov, USASpending.gov and the Sunlight Foundation, have been targeted for elimination, despite the fact that they are drops in the bucket of the federal bucket.

http://www.vizworld.com/2011/04/open-data-initiatives-fall-victim-budget-cuts/

If anyone has a few minutes to offer some support, it would be greatly appreciated:

http://sunlightfoundation.com/savethedata/

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/schumer-dems-didnt-get-screwed-in-spending-fight.php#

If Schumer and the White House are pushing to cut different things than the House bill did,as Chuck claims in the attached link, why aren't they at least pushing this to the media. I guess they just like to cave in private and must not think that they have a shot at cutting corporate farm aid instead of the EPA, pell grants, and Head Start.

still really hard to accept this budget discussion's going down the way it is after the december unemployment benefits/tax cut hostage situation. i wonder if the gop is more shameless than the democrats are spineless, if in fact it's not all kabuki theater to begin with

http://www.thenation.com/article/159577/jim-messina-obamas-enforcer

must read!

change we can believe in (pffffffft)

bye-bye dan kapanke (r-wisconsin)?

http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article_d5240e94-5c0c-11e0-b582-001cc4c002e0.html

Dan Kapanke to be recalled? Ya don;t say...

Wisconsin Democrats just announced that local activists submitted over 100% of the signatures needed to "recall" Wisconsin Republican senator Dan Kapanke from office!

After local officials certify the signatures, a new election will be scheduled for Kapanke's seat. Today's news is sending shockwaves throughout Wisconsin, and will give huge momentum to efforts in other Senate districts to gather recall signatures.

from boldprogressives.org

― curmudgeon, Friday, April 1, 2011 6:52 AM (6 hours ago)

Florida, always good for a laff.

Republicans voiced concern about young pages hearing the word uterus.

what the

new election does not automatically equal a recall (lol the Dems need a candidate first, guys) but that is good news

Scientific terms for anatomy are apparently graphically offensive in Florida. He should have been less blunt and called it a "you know, down there."

"ladybusiness"

her stork

grounds for a poll imo

i'd poll pareene's april fools but i'm too lazy

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/01/everyone_kidding/index.html

If you poll it, I will vote for 'Bachmann added that she's not actually running for president. "God, can you imagine?" '

world's douchiest congressman ever says no more social security
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MQID6sV6m0

Probably a Freudian slip, wherehe intended to say "cannot exist as they are presently constituted", but he inadvertently said what he really thinks is true. I'm sure he'll deny he meant what he said.

At least 70,000 children around the world could die if funding for global health programs is cut under the Republican budget proposal, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shahwarned warned Congress Thursday.

"We estimate, and I believe these are very conservative estimates, that H.R. 1 would lead to 70,000 kids dying," he said.

Shah said that 30,000 of those deaths would come if malaria control programs have to be scaled back, 24,000 would die from lack of support for immunizations, and another 16,000 would die at birth.

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! it's time to tighten the fucking belt!

you know, someone should suggest to rick scott that you could REALLY save money by just throwing the mentally handicapped into the atlantic ocean

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-scott-cuts-disabled-20110331,0,7724142.story

also i'm dying @ that uterus article -- dems should introduce a motion to be able to call "earmuffs"

in other news, transocean awarded their executives bonuses for "safety" last year and it's just really hard to argue with that isn't it

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e2b81ec4-5cca-11e0-ab7c-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1ITw3bTGP

here's the article if prompts a register wall

Please respect FT.com's ts&cs and copyright policy which allow you to: share links; copy content for personal use; & redistribute limited extracts. Email ftsa✧✧✧.supp✧✧✧@f✧.c✧✧ to buy additional rights or use this link to reference the article - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e2b81ec4-5cca-11e0-ab7c-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1ITx8yqDO

Transocean, the world’s largest offshore rig company, awarded its executives bonuses for 2010, citing “the best year in safety performance in our company’s history,” in spite of the Macondo disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a regulatory filing.

“Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record as measured by our total recordable incident rate and total potential severity rate,” Transocean said in a filing.

“As measured by these standards, we recorded the best year in safety performance in our company’s history, which is a reflection on our commitment to achieving an incident free environment, all the time, everywhere.”

The Macondo disaster, which involved the explosion, burning and sinking of Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon rig, killed 11 people (nine of them Transocean employees) and injured 17 before leaking oil into the gulf for three months in the industry’s highest-profile accident since the 1989 ExxonMobil Valdez spill in Alaska.

Transocean has blamed BP, as operator, for decisions that led to the accident, while BP has said its contractors bear some responsibility.

The Swiss-based company agreed to compensate executives in a decision especially notable after bonuses were withheld in 2009 to underscore the importance of safety following four deaths.

Transocean said it sets the compensation of its executive officers based on their ability to achieve annual operational objectives that further the company’s long-term business objectives and create sustainable long-term shareholder value.

The company approved base salary adjustments averaging a 3.8 per cent increase per individual, excluding the chief executive, whose base salary reflected his promotion into the CEO role.

In addition, given that Transocean’s bonus plan provides for cash awards based on performance under safety, financial, newbuilds and enterprise resource planning objectives, the company determined to pay cash performance awards for fiscal 2010 at 44.8 per cent of the target bonus opportunity for each individual.

The company also approved long-term incentive awards in the form of stock options and addressed retention concerns with “special one-time retention awards.”

“The Committee determined that the cash performance awards made to the named executive officers for 2010 were appropriate in recognition of the company’s achievement of the objectives set at the beginning of 2010 relating to significantly improving the company’s safety record and the successful implementation of our enterprise resource planning system,” Transocean said.

Do they teach that in business school? It seems like all corporate ceos and high-ranking officials want their bonuses no matter what.
Shareholders need to be given more power to oppose such things, but I guess Wall Street and Congress would never allow that.

lols from krugman

So I think that it is my civic duty to report that yesterday, as I got off Amtrak 161 from Trenton to Washington — having spent 2 1/2 hours being made more amenable to collectivism, not to mention finishing another chapter for 3rd edition — I saw George Will leaving the business class car. (I usually prefer the coach quiet car)

Ha. That's great.

Will Obama speak up about the current budget battle or the proposed Ryan longterm plan to cut corporate taxes and rich people taxes while "changing" medicare and medicaid and slashing domestic spending?

I read in the W. Post that Obama is keeping quiet and allowing Congressional Dems to handle things, because Tea Party types won't listen at all to anything associated with Obama, but they theoretically will consider something offered by Congressional Dems. Oh brother.

Bam sent his re-election e-mail. Let the billion-dollar full-time whoring begin!

Since the Obama lets congressional dems handle thing strategy has always seemed to pan out for him in the past. I wonder if Obama would put something important, like, say, his reelection campaign, in the hands of congressional dems?

Well everyone knows how popular Congress is.

I read in the W. Post that Obama is keeping quiet and allowing Congressional Dems to handle things, because Tea Party types won't listen at all to anything associated with Obama, but they theoretically will consider something offered by Congressional Dems. Oh brother.

of course ... Heath Shuler scares the sweet Bejesus outta the Teabaggers, the same way he struck fear in the hearts of secondaries defending against him when he was in the NFL ...

also, we got socked with this tax deal in large part b/c Obama deferred to the "wisdom" of the Congressional Dems (who could've had something less-Teabag friendly this past summer).

as my Dad used to say (about me haha), how could someone so smart be so dumb?!?

S'all good: all we care about is reelecting him.

In other news, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court is back to creating new meanings for the 1st amendment

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today criticized a U.S. Supreme Court ruling dismissing a challenge to tax aid to religious schools in Arizona.

In a 5-4 ruling, the high court today turned back a legal challenge to an Arizona scheme that allows taxpayers to take a 100 percent credit for donations to “school tuition organizations” that fund religious and other private schools. The court said the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the case.

“This misguided ruling betrays the public school system by directing tax dollars to religious schools,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case. “The court, with the full support of the Obama administration, has slammed the courthouse door in the face of Americans who don’t want their tax dollars to subsidize religion.”

Under the controversial program, nearly 92 percent of the funds collected have gone for tuition at religious schools. Taxpayers challenged the plan as a violation of church-state separation.

Kennedy wrote the decision and was joined by Scalia, Roberts, Thomas, and Alito. Kagan wrote the dissent.

"has always seemed to pan out for him in the past"

ie, nobody rushed the White House w/ torches and burned it down? Defining 'success' down.

the congressional GOP's reason for existing is to be anti-obama. it doesn't really matter what he might propose, as soon as his name is on something, it'll be their sworn duty to put it in the ground. maybe his popularity with everyone else is worth more, but i kind of doubt it. staying out of the budget fight might be the best thing for him to do if they actually want a deal & avoid a shutdown.

But someone should be making the case for a strong Dem deal and not a weak one.

x-post
The court, with the full support of the Obama administration, has slammed the courthouse door in the face of Americans who don’t want their tax dollars to subsidize religion.”

Lots of good news today, like Eric Holder reversing himself on KSH

all my outrage is going toward connick v thompson right this second!

It leaked that Holder was gonna spit the bit about a month or two ago, no?

Harry Connick, Jr's dad!