ThinkFast: February 13, 2009
ThinkFast: February 13, 2009
Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair told Congress yesterday that America’s “primary near-term security concern” is no longer terrorism, but rather the global financial crisis and the turmoil it could ignite. “The longer it takes for the recovery to begin, the greater the likelihood of serious damage to U.S. strategic interests,” he said.
Politico reports that “House Republicans are banding together once again and leaders now expect to lose at most 8 members on the final stimulus bill, after losing 0 the first time. Just two days ago, leaders had feared 20 or more defections.”
The compromise stimulus bill is too small, says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com. “At $789 billion, the final package ‘is just not going to pack the same jobs punch’ as some earlier versions.” Zandi estimates the compromise will create only about 2.2 million jobs by the end of 2010, “leaving unemployment hovering around 10 percent” and possibly leading lawmakers to undertake another stimulus.
“A record 1 in 9 U.S. homes are vacant, a glut created by the housing boom and subsequent collapse,” USA Today reports. “The numbers are further documentation of the gravity of the housing problem,” says Nicolas Retsinas, head of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. “This inventory is delaying any kind of housing recovery.”
The National Journal writes that two key Washington, D.C. think tanks are trading places. “The Center for American Progress is in ascendancy,” while the American Enterprise Institute — the home of neoconservatism — finds itself in the political wilderness. CAP has “become an unusual hybrid of scholarship and activism — and a political juggernaut.”
Economists and financial experts say that some of the nation’s large banks are “like dead men walking” due to insolvency. “A sober assessment of the growing mountain of losses from bad bets, measured in today’s marketplace, would overwhelm the value of the banks’ assets,” according to the experts.
Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, the U.S. commander overseeing most of southern Iraq, said yesterday that “recent security gains there are permanent — and that some of his troops are openly wondering why they’re still there, even though he believes their presence remains crucial.” The region is seeing two attacks per day on U.S. soldiers, “a 90% reduction compared with the worst periods” of the war.
95 percent of American international relations scholars believe that the U.S. is “less respected abroad compared to the past,” according to a new survey by the Institute for the Theory and Practice of International Relations. Additionally, 70 percent of scholars support U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and 57 percent believe that redeploying from Iraq to Afghanistan will “increase U.S. national security.”
The Senate confirmed Leon Panetta as the Director of CIA last night in a voice vote. Last week, Panetta told the Senate that “the Obama administration would not prosecute CIA officers who participated in harsh interrogations even if they constituted torture as long as they did not go beyond their instructions.”
And finally: The tiny endangered salt marsh harvest mouse has unfortunately been getting a bad rap over the past few days, becoming a symbol of wasteful pork-barrel spending. Conservatives have been blasting the economic recovery package, claiming that it contains $30 million to fund a project saving the little critter. But as the Mercury News reports, this right-wing claim — like so many others — isn’t true. The $30 million isn’t in the bill; it’s “the total amount that the California Coastal Conservancy, a state agency, recommended more than a month ago” for five major ongoing wetlands restoration projects that would benefit various endangered species including…the mouse.
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Gitmo lawyer:
“I’ve done criminal work for 20 years. I’ve been on death row. I’ve been in local prisons, state prisons, federal prisons… I’ve never come across the conditions, the attitude, the way they handle anything at Guantanamo Bay.”
February 13th, 2009 at 9:05 amI hope the dnc runs ads naming the repukies who voted against the stimulus bill during the midterm congressional elections. that way the public can see which of their elected officials are partisan hacks voting against the intrest of their constituents.
February 13th, 2009 at 9:07 amPolitico reports that “House Republicans are banding together once again and leaders now expect to lose at most 8 members on the final stimulus bill, after losing 0 the first time. Just two days ago, leaders had feared 20 or more defections.”
They should fear losing 8 more members in 2010.
Except for the ignorant redecks that I know from attending high school in rural Georgia, most Americans are thoroughly annoyed by the Republican partisan bullshit, and approve of the President’s attempts to behave like an adult.
February 13th, 2009 at 9:07 amThe salt marsh harvest mouse deserves more protection than the dolt harsh raper rats that have been criticizing the efforts to clean up what they messed up.
February 13th, 2009 at 9:09 amlaura ingraham? you mean the same laura ingraham who was patronizingly called “young lady” on her show by arlen specter before he tore her a new arsehole?
February 13th, 2009 at 9:10 amThe compromise stimulus bill is too small, says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com. “At $789 billion, the final package ‘is just not going to pack the same jobs punch’ as some earlier versions.” Zandi estimates the compromise will create only about 2.2 million jobs by the end of 2010, “leaving unemployment hovering around 10 percent” and possibly leading lawmakers to undertake another stimulus.
Same thing Krugman is saying, and I tend to value the opinions of experts like Krugman who have nothing to gain from exptressing their opinions – except a better America – over the for-profit shills on televised noise channels….
February 13th, 2009 at 9:11 amThe National Journal writes that two key Washington, D.C. think tanks are trading places. “The Center for American Progress is in ascendancy,”
Excellent news… but the battle is far from over!
February 13th, 2009 at 9:13 amLast week, Panetta told the Senate that “the Obama administration would not prosecute CIA officers who participated in harsh interrogations even if they constituted torture as long as they did not go beyond their instructions.”
WTF?
Why are we caving into a few loud mouth GOP bullies? Why? Why? Why?
The Democrats are seriously pissing me off still acting like the minority party instead of the majority that we voted them to be!
February 13th, 2009 at 9:18 amStimulus package provides $30 billion for highway construction. Eisenhower spent $500 billion. why the pittance?
Private equity has $200 billion ready to invest in public infrastructure. While that’s for more than highways, it seems elected officials don’t want to crowd out their big financial supporters.
http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=76145
February 13th, 2009 at 9:21 am“A record 1 in 9 U.S. homes are vacant, a glut created by the housing boom and subsequent collapse,” USA Today reports.
____________________________________________________________
Think of it — on an average street in America, over 10% of the homes are empty. This affects the property values of all the rest for two reasons: 1) an empty home is often an unkept home and tends to blight the neighborhood, and 2) supply greatly exceeding demand will always lower the value of the product (in this case, available homes).
This is for all the people who believe the housing crisis doesn’t affect them. The ones who say, “hey, I make my mortgage payments OK — why should I worry about the deadbeats who can’t pay theirs?”
February 13th, 2009 at 9:24 amFrom Rep. Louise Slaughter:
“We’ve heard a lot of noise across the aisle about how partisan the development of the bill was — that Republicans were blocked from being involved. This is entirely false. ..
They are being disingenuous, or worse. These are the facts:
The bill, as it came to the Rules Committee, … already incorporated 12 Republican amendments. The Rules Committee then added the 11 amendments: 6 Democratic and 5 Republican, in addition to a complete Republican substitute, and a motion to recommit. They were unable to muster the votes necessary and lost on bipartisan votes.
House Republicans may have come together to vote against the final bill, but they split on their own amendments with 40 to 60 Republicans voting with Democrats. Some Republicans even voted against their party’s alternative bill, and it failed on the floor.
The Republican alternative didn’t have a final price tag, consisted entirely of tax cuts, and would actually raise taxes for 26 million American families. In two years, the Democratic bill would create 3.6 million jobs. The Republican substitute: 1.2 million – a third as many as the Democratic bill that passed the House.
President Obama met with House Republicans more times in two weeks to discuss this legislation than President Bush did with House Democrats in two terms.
The Republicans were certainly allowed in the process, but they wanted to obstruct.”
February 13th, 2009 at 9:25 amIt’s takes some nerve for the real Wicked Witch of the West to call someone else the Wicked Witch of the West. Helen Thomas is a good reporter who had the guts to ask George Bush some tough questions while the other White House reporters gushed and laughed at Bush’s lame jokes. I’ll bet nothing Helen Thomas has ever done in her life has caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people. Can’t say the same for Mr. Bush.
February 13th, 2009 at 9:27 ammisshusseinmolly Says: The ones who say, “hey, I make my mortgage payments OK — why should I worry about the deadbeats who can’t pay theirs?”
What’s funny is that the deadbeats have turned out not to be the poor folks that Carter and Clinton helped, as the Cons are claiming, but are actually upper middle class folks who buy $750,000 McMansions they can’t afford, and vote Republican thinking they will one day be rich and be able to blame poor people for everything too.
February 13th, 2009 at 9:27 amHelen Thomas did what most of the putz’s, including David Gregogy, couldn’t. She asked real questions. Helen got shunted and kiss ass Gregory got a promotion to Meet the Press.
We saw David’s reporting skills the night of Queen Elizabeth’s dinner. It put Clinton’s Lincoln Bedroom to shame. All David could do was stuff fish in his mouth.
Meet the Putz.
February 13th, 2009 at 9:30 amdoes it really surprise anyone repukies are nothing more than playground bullies, taking shots at little old ladies? my money would be on helen thomas in a thomas/orally smackdown. everyone knows orally and his ilk are nothing more than blowhard pu*sies
February 13th, 2009 at 9:30 amSo, “I was just following orders” is now a valid defense against criminal charges of torture.
Nice to know your captors will be exhonorated no matter what they do to you, as long as they were “following orders.”
February 13th, 2009 at 9:39 amThe stimulus is too small??? You know, economists need to get their heads out of their academic clouds and their own a**es. Have people like Zandi and Krugman not seen how nearly impossible it was to pass this one?? And they want it to be bigger?? LOL!
February 13th, 2009 at 9:48 amObama is tying himself too tightly “bipartisanship.” The rethugs need to respond if they want bipartisanship to work, otherwise Obama needs to throw them overboard if he wants to continue to say “I won.” His tapdancing around prosecution of law breaking (”…we want to look forward, not backward.”) of the previous administration will put us back into the same position of too many administration people doing illegal actions knowing that they will not suffer any consequences.
February 13th, 2009 at 9:49 amGood morning, campers. TGIF!(Even if it IS Friday the 13th)
The American Enterprise Institute is in the wilderness.
February 13th, 2009 at 9:51 amActually, the AEI is a criminal organization and its members should be rendered to Gitmo for “enhanced” interrogations, “enhanced” gymnastics and “watersports”.
I’ll betchya dollars to doughnuts that you still see more AEI weanies on TV than you you do CAPers!
February 13th, 2009 at 9:58 am“Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair told Congress yesterday that America’s “primary near-term security concern” is no longer terrorism, but rather the global financial crisis and the turmoil it could ignite.”
As far as I’m concerned, the MF’ers who sat in their soft leather chairs and gamed the system both criminally and incompetently while telling the world they had everything under control and that their warped “free market” BS was the only way are terrorists. They have weakened this country to it’s foundations and have caused more damage than OBL.
Keep Guantanamo open. Fill it full of CEO’s, lobbyists and legislators. Then close it and leave it to the smaller, furrier and more noble rats.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:04 amGood for the CAP! but the AEI and Heritage still dominate the broadcast media. On the other hand Internet as news source is still growing so CAP has that going for it.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:16 amThe first two items on this post go hand-in-hand. Republicans are banding together to vote against a package that addresses the top security threat to the US.
When a Dem would vote against W’s budget or an Iraq spending bill, they were branded as un-American by every Republican and cable “news” talking head.
Where is that same outrage today?
February 13th, 2009 at 10:25 amWow. Blotchdog (aka Dynamut, aka the individual who can’t offer an insight or thought of it’s own, who’s afraid of the big black scary man) provieds a journalist’s opinion, and a “entitlement” attack on someone who may have refused help.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:31 amNo offense blotchdog, and remember this is coming from a Christian, but I’m always suspect of certain faith based “outreach ministries”, especially those that make you profess your belief before any help.
But please, continue posting your “talking points” under different names so that all who blog here can get an insight into the dittohead’s mind (no matter how little synapsing of brain cells are actually being conducted).
“Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair told Congress yesterday that America’s “primary near-term security concern” is no longer terrorism, but rather the global financial crisis and the turmoil it could ignite. “The longer it takes for the recovery to begin, the greater the likelihood of serious damage to U.S. strategic interests,” he said.”
What a politically correct statement. Weiner. There are plenty of experts availabe to tackle the open problem of the financial crisis. His job is to track the bastards who move under the radar. eState and non-state terrorism will not go away.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:52 amUh, they’re not talking about the possbility of passing the bill.
They’re talking about, y’know, whether it will be effective in its present form.
Two entirely different calculations.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:53 amWell thanks for the link watchdog, because the following comes from it.
“The director of We Care Outreach Ministry, Tanya Johnson, says just last month she offered Henrietta Hughes permanent housing and a place to stay free for three months, but Hughes refused.”
“We would have allowed her to stay for the first 90 days, no income. You know free,” said Tanya Johnson.
We Care Outreach Ministry is a faith based organization in Fort Myers. Johnson says she also gave Henrietta and her son Corey, money, food and offered Corey job training courses, but it was refused.
“We have extended a lot of her services to her,” Johnson said.
Services? Go here http://wecarefortmyers.org/services.html
and you get “under construction” even though the organization has been around since 2005 and the site is copyrighted 2009.
Outreach doesn’t provide job-training but “life skills”.
Back to the article:
But Henrietta Hughes says these services weren’t free and the apartment in East Fort Myers came with a price tag.
Hughes says Tanya Johnson wanted $400 a month immediately.
The disability check Hughes gets is a little more than $800 a month.
Hughes owes money on a loan, has her car insurance payment, a monthly storage bill and says she couldn’t afford the rent.
“Where was I going to get $400 a month to give her if I got these expenses,” Hughes told WINK News.
WINK News Reporter Nick Spinetto went back to talk to Tanya Johnson and she stands by her story.
No other details or proofs are provided.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:54 amSwatchdog Says:
Local organization coming forward saying Henrietta Hughes is not being completely honest about how much help she has received in the past.
_______________
Do you even bother to read the rest of the article before you post these things?
‘Cause every time you do something like this, you just look like a fool.
_______________
But Henrietta Hughes says these services weren’t free and the apartment in East Fort Myers came with a price tag.
Hughes says Tanya Johnson wanted $400 a month immediately.
The disability check Hughes gets is a little more than $800 a month.
Hughes owes money on a loan, has her car insurance payment, a monthly storage bill and says she couldn’t afford the rent.
“Where was I going to get $400 a month to give her if I got these expenses,” Hughes told WINK News.
WINK News Reporter Nick Spinetto went back to talk to Tanya Johnson and she stands by her story.
Henrietta Hughes says she’s never taken advantage of the system and doesn’t choose to be homeless. Like other programs she’s tried to get help from,she says We Care couldn’t meet her needs.
State Representative Nick Thompson and his wife Chene are standing by the Henrietta and her son, Corey. They spoke out against the allegations Henrietta is milking the system, even when confronted with the fact WINK News found out the Hughes’ sold property, back in 2005. Henrietta and her son sold the land for $47,000 dollars. But Chene Thompson says that was all the money they had for several years and it’s gone.
“They have nothing today. They need help today. They didn’t need help in 2005. They need help today. So whether they had $47,000 or $147,000 in 2005, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have any money today,” she said.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:59 am______________
I thought it was understood; we tolerate the trolls, even give the the attention they crave, as long as they are amusing.
Blotchdog (h/t DRxJ) isn’t amusing, just lame. His criticism is that Democrats are voting on the bill without giving the public 48 hours to see it beforehand? When Republicans ran the Congress, they didn’t even give Congress two hours to review important bills before they had to vote on them.
I’d urge the troll to do better but I think we’ve seen it can’t.
February 13th, 2009 at 11:01 am“As far as I’m concerned, the MF’ers who sat in their soft leather chairs and gamed the system both criminally and incompetently while telling the world they had everything under control and that their warped “free market” BS was the only way are terrorists. They have weakened this country to it’s foundations and have caused more damage than OBL.”
You mean like the MF’ers running Fannie Mae (Who made millions) who at Democrat urging lowered the standards for issuing lons. The groups like ACORN who initimidated banks into issuing bad loans. It is these actions which trigerred the banks into findingb ways to offsett these loans. I guess there MFer’s everywhere. The free market was distorted by well meaning but ignorant Democrat policies.
February 13th, 2009 at 11:03 amSee, Blotchdog? THIS is how it’s done!
Make unsupportable claims that fix blame for complex problems on boogeymen of the Right, even in the face of massive evidence to the contrary.
I could have done without the gratuitous “well meaning” Democrat policies. Seemed a bit patronizing. But at least this troll did use the approved “Democrat as an adjective” construction.
Overall, I give it a B.
February 13th, 2009 at 11:11 amRoS, I missed that last part, well done.
February 13th, 2009 at 11:12 amI suspect RepubliCONS want Henrietta Hughes to be Obama’s “Joe the Plumber” in a perverse way–a manufactured fraudulent symbol.
Any attempt to compare the fraud of ‘Sam Weaselbuggerer, the Plunger’ to any possible fraud by Henrietta Hughes strikes me as being fraught with obvious problems.
davod Says:
It is these actions which trigerred the banks into findingb ways to offsett these loans. I guess there MFer’s everywhere. The free market was distorted by well meaning but ignorant Democrat policies.
________________
Siiiiiiigh… one more time for this poor, angry, confused li’l feller…
http://cribnotes.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/it-aint-cra-stupid/
“In a book on the sub-prime lending collapse published in June 2007, the late Federal Reserve Governor Ed Gramlich wrote that only one-third of all CRA loans had interest rates high enough to be considered sub-prime and that to the pleasant surprise of commercial banks there were low default rates. Banks that participated in CRA lending had found, he wrote, “that this new lending is good business.”
I know… I know… it feels SOOOOOO good to think you’ve found a target that can’t fight back to vent all your rage and frustration on.
But it… just… ain’t… TRUE!!!
February 13th, 2009 at 11:14 amACORN “intimidated banks”?!
How? Do tell, davod, do tell…!
February 13th, 2009 at 11:17 am5th Estate Says:
Any attempt to compare the fraud of ‘Sam Weaselbuggerer, the Plunger’ to any possible fraud by Henrietta Hughes strikes me as being fraught with obvious problems.
______________
But… but… that never stopped Malkin and her Flying Monkey Squadrons before, or Dild O’Rally’s crack Ambush Camera Team…
February 13th, 2009 at 11:19 amThat is a lie:
Private sector loans, not Fannie or Freddie, triggered crisis
And before you play the inevitable “Clinton did it by repealing the Glass-Steagall_Act” card:
We will call this premtive intelligence for your benifit davod:
February 13th, 2009 at 11:25 am
davod Says:
What a politically correct statement. Weiner. There are plenty of experts availabe to tackle the open problem of the financial crisis.
__________
What a politically POINTLESS comment on your part. At least Blair isn’t sticking his head in the sand like Botch did…
“Our economy is obviously going through a tough time. It’s going through a tough time on the housing market and it’s going through a tough time on the financial markets,” he added, while insisting that good times lay ahead.
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Bush_says_economy_going_through_rou_03142008.html
BTW, he didn’t say he was going to drop all terrorist related activities, dumdum.
February 13th, 2009 at 11:34 amMaj. Gen. Michael Oates, the U.S. commander overseeing most of southern Iraq, said yesterday that “recent security gains there are permanent — and that some of his troops are openly wondering why they’re still there, even though he believes their presence remains crucial.” The region is seeing two attacks per day on U.S. soldiers, “a 90% reduction compared with the worst periods” of the war.
If he means an average of two a day, this is a useless metric.
Too easily manipulated, to achieve a desired result.
I’d be more interested in attacks per week, and per month.
February 13th, 2009 at 11:53 amEven more telling, barfly, is who is being attacked, regardless of the number.
February 13th, 2009 at 1:19 pmHow come in the midst of all the Fannie stuff, Ken Duberstein is never mentioned? Reagan’s Chief of Staff and the head of George W.’s transition team served on the Board of Fannie until 2007. He also consulted with Fannie on regulatory matters, making over $1.8 million.
The Carlyle Group’s Mack McLarty (Clinton Chief of Staff) gets the same free pass.
February 13th, 2009 at 1:33 pm> The groups like ACORN who initimidated
> banks into issuing bad loans.
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAH. Omg yes please explain to me exactly what resources Acorn has to intimidate the poor little BANKS? You dont think the grotesque profit margins the banks were making off charging outrageous fees had anything to do with it? Care to discuss what role, if any, you believe the wholly unregulated credit default swap market had on the sitution your discussing?
February 13th, 2009 at 2:20 pmectoendomezo Says:
WHERE are the new credit card laws Mr. President?
Ecto, you’re getting yourself worked up again. Repeat after me: “President Obama has been in office for less than a month. President Obama has been in office for less than a month. President Obama has been in office for less than a month. . . .”
February 13th, 2009 at 2:32 pmAmerica’s primary concern should be having Bush prosecuted.
Submitted by Andrew Yu-Jen Wang
B.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA, 1993
“GEORGE W. BUSH IS THE WORST PRESIDENT IN U.S. HISTORY” BLOG OF ANDREW YU-JEN WANG
ONLINE, ANTI-BUSH, EDUCATIONAL, SCHOLASTIC RESEARCH: LISTING OF MAJOR ISSUES
http://andrewyu-jenwang.blogspot.com/2008/10/bush-is-worst-president-in-american.html
February 14th, 2009 at 1:38 amSorry Wang11 but no one cares about your blog. It is a cruel and harsh world isn’t it Wang111?
February 14th, 2009 at 3:58 amSubprime loans “affirmative action” – Andrew Cuomo
“Andrew Cuomo, then Bill Clinton’s HUD Secretary, held a press conference on April 6, 1998, explaining a settlement reached with a major bank on a lending discrimination case based presumably on the CRA. Cuomo brags about how
“this administration will enforce the law”,
but he also makes a very telling admission about the $2.1 billion in subprime loans that the bank would offer as a result of the settlement:
“They would not have qualifed but for the affirmative action on the part of the bank, yes.”
He then admits that there would be “higher risk”, and a higher default rate, on the loans the Clinton administration forced this bank to make. He also admits that the action forced this bank to lower its standards on loan qualification as a remedy to supposed discriminatory action in the past by relying on income and equity requirements. Cuomo describes everything wrong with subprime lending and reveals the government’s efforts to distort private lending markets to force “fairness” in outcomes.
The financial world did not collapse because of 15,000 loans from this one settlement, but this case did not exist in isolation. Cuomo held this press conference as a warning to all lenders that the Clinton administration intended to enforce the CRA broadly with all lenders, and in fact he explicitly stated this. When that didn’t free up credit as quickly as Clinton desired, he and Congress mandated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase more subprime paper — which Cuomo baldly admitted was riskier and would have a higher rate of failures — and to turn them into mortgage-backed securities, which they marketed as low-risk investments based on implicit government backing.This did what the heavy-handed enforcement of the CRA could not: it made lenders enthusiastic about subprime lending. Why? They could make short-term profit on every mortgage regardless of the borrower’s ability to repay, because Fannie and Freddie would buy them anyway. With the risk removed from lending, subprime loans became quick-buck rackets for all lenders, predatory or not.
February 14th, 2009 at 3:58 amThe second half of the video relates what we already know about Barack Obama. He sued Citibank to force more subprime lending, and his ACORN partners did the same elsewhere, initiating actions like the one Cuomo heralds here as a great breakthrough in affirmative-action lending. Obama bears responsibility at the edges for the beginning of this disaster, and more for his inaction while in the Senate as Alan Greenspan warned them of the coming collapse. Most of this falls on the Clinton administration and Congress in 1998-2000, who set this brush fire alight and then kept the firefighters at OFHEO at bay by calling them racists.
Troll devoid is going for extra points. I guess his picture of Bill Clinton fell off the wall and hit him on the head, poor little troll. Get a life.
February 14th, 2009 at 7:10 pm