ThinkFast: November 23, 2009
ThinkFast: November 23, 2009
The federal government faces “a trifecta of headaches: a mountain of new debt, a balloon of short-term borrowings that come due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are sure to climb back to normal as soon as the Federal Reserve decides that the emergency has passed.” Still, the NYT’s Paul Krugman warns that a phantom debt menace could hinder our nation’s economic recovery.
The New York Post reports that JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon is being rumored as a potential replacement for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. People familiar with Dimon’s thinking said he “would love to serve his country,” and in recent weeks Dimon has had a noticeably higher profile in Washington.
“A deal to house Guantanamo Bay detainees” at a prison in Thomson, IL “could bring nearly 3,000 jobs to the area,” according to White House analysis. “There are too many people out of work,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). “They need paychecks.”
The Afghan government and the U.S. military “have begun a fledgling drive to lure Taliban foot soldiers away from the battlefield by offering them job opportunities and protection.” The program “is conceived as a bottom-up, grass-roots effort” similar to “the Awakening” in Iraq.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the press over the weekend that “an additional income tax to the upper brackets” could be used to fund a troop surge in Afghanistan. House Appropriations Chairman Rep. David Obey (D-WI) also warned that without a war surtax, “there ain’t going to be no money for nothing.”
In a effort to “mend some of Iraq’s sectarian wounds,” Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi has proposed that the government offer Shiite-Sunni couples a $2,000 “gift” if they get married. ”The idea behind this project is that promoting love and socializing between Iraq’s people is good for the country,” an al-Hashemi aide said.
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) told The Providence Journal that the Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has banned him from receiving Communion, citing his support for abortion rights. “The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion,” Kennedy told the paper.
“House Democrats leading the charge for comprehensive immigration reform” are suggesting that they will take action without the support of Republicans in order to avoid passing a watered-down bill. “Our bill will be to immigration reform what the public option was to health care reform,” Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) said.
“Recruiting Elmo and Big Bird,” President Obama will announce a campaign today to encourage students “to pursue science, technology, engineering and math.” With the help of “companies and nonprofit groups,” the campaign, called Educate to Innovate, “will focus mainly on activities outside the classroom.”
And finally: Don’t mess with Martha. On Saturday, Martha Stewart waded into politics and spoke out about Sarah Palin, calling the former Alaska governor “a dangerous person” she “wouldn’t watch…if you paid me.” “She’s so confused,” Stewart said. “Anyone in government like that is a real problem.”
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And then hopefully, Congressman Kennedy told the Bishop which orifice to place his ancient view of the world in, and how deeply to plant it.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:05 amIf Dumbya had paid for the Iraq war with a tax increase — or even if he had simply withdrawn the tax cut for the wealthy — would we still be in Iraq today?
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:09 amThe trillion dollars lost in Iraq could have been well spent in the USA, but repugs are loathe to spend $$ on Americans.
Anyone hear where Voinovich was during the health care reform vote Sat. night?
The Dems managed to convince Lincoln, Nelson, Landreau & Liebermann to allow the bill to the floor, but Liebermann is already putting them on notice that a public option will be a non-starter.
Joe, YOU’RE a non-starter. How much have insurers donated to your pockets this past decade?
Full disclosure; I don’t like this bill at all. It’s been watered down to an unrecognizable form. They removed the clause eliminating anti-trust status, put mandatory coverage in, no caps on rate increases or premium costs, etc., etc.
I guess it’s important that at least it’s going to be debated, but even if it passes, it’s still a bad bill.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:10 amAhhh, but those that propagated a war under false pretenses, resulting in thousands upon thousands of deaths, probably are more than welcome to receive communion.
This is my problem with Catholicism. The ability to pick and choose.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:13 amWhat’s next? Only those that tithe above 15% may receive the blessed offering of Christ?
This will drive O’Reilly berserk in a very sarcastic way.
I’m wondering when political and religious groups are going to start protesting that Sesame Street is indoctrinating kids.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:15 amHaving a “war tax” on the wealthy is a brilliant idea. First off, the Republicans would never vote for it and secondly, the wealthy don’t send their sons and daughters off to fight in a war so this would be their way of sharing in the “cost of war”.
Good for Martha Stewart speaking out against the “whole of babble on”.
As for Elmo and Big Bird… the right wing Conservatives will now ban their children from watching Seseme Street. Shouldn’t make any difference because these phony Conservatives like to under-educate their children anyway.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:15 am#6 – should read: “whore of babble on” and not “whole of babble on”.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:16 amIs Bishop Tobin a child molester? We don’t know, but it’s a fair question to ask, given the cathoic church’s behavior in the past. I would hazard a guess that he is concerned with the loss of potential “alter boys” due to abortions.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:16 amIn 1960, Jack Kennedy was made to promise over and over again that the church owuld not influence his presidency, should he be elected.
Today, the church demands that their religious doctrine does indeed influence our government. They seem to think we are a province of Italy, where the church is the government.
The church is not only opposed to abortion, they are also opposed to birth control. They are also opposed to the death penalty, but do you see them withholding their sacraments from politcians who vote for that?
Do they demand that politicians who are divorced not receive communion?
Do they admit that those “annulled” marriages (even those with children) are not valid? Of course not: annullments are granted AFTER large financial donations are made to the church.
Their hypocrisy is astonishing and the church should be ignored insofar as politics is concerned.
Haven’t we seen enough of the effects in countries where religious leaders rule the land?
This is added to the blatant and gross hypocrisy of the church in protecting pedo philes within their ranks.
(trying to get past the TP censors here)
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:16 amThis action is political. The Catholic Chuch should have their tax-exempt status removed by the IRS.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:17 amThe way religion has a strangle hold on our politics is amazing. From the Evangecals to the Catholic Bishops, they all want to stick their collective noses in our policies. How the get away with it is beyond me. I always thought there was a separation of Church and State? From demonizing gays to a womans right to choose, these guys will never stop.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:18 amI’m sure I’m not alone in thinking Dimon is not much of an improvement over Geitner. Sure, he’s not nearly as incompetant or easily shaken (few are), but appointing another Wall Street exec to take over the Treasury department is just reinforcing the message that it’s the bankers and corporate titans that should have the first, largest, and last say in the management of the economy. We need someone like Robert Reich, though it’s damn near impossible for him to get confirmed.
Let’s see the GOP play the terror card while denying the creation of 3000 jobs in a Republican held swing district. Not the smartest thing they could do, unsurprisingly.
Bribing the militants is a bit crude, but it seems to be pretty effective. Ideology tends to fall by the wayside when you’re struggling to feed, clothe, and shelter your family. So long as the militants stay paid, they cease to be a problem. Of course, it will just lead to all-out hell when we leave and the money eventually dries up. Money that could be used to build roads, schools, and hospitals being paid to people who have spent the last 3 decades blowing up roads, schools, and hospitals.
Ha. War surtax. It’s about damn time. And it’s completely logical. It satisifies the budget hawks by mandating a tax increase to offet new spending. It satisifes the war hawks by expanding the war. And, naturally, the GOP will come out against it. Those who will be taxed are, in all likelihood, those without children fighting the war. So long as the national service act/draft is never brought back, this is the only way to acheive a bit of justice.
Al-Hashemi strikes me as being a few chickpeas short of a falafel, but when your country is in that much disarray, anything is worth a shot. Still. Such a horrible, horrible idea.
And it appears the Catholic Church has reverted to its pre-Reformation days, when the Church was infallible and all kings, politicians, and the men (and women) of the earth were expected to bow down in complete subservience. Shame on the Bishop, putting rigid ideology ahead of social justice. Shame shame shame. You’re that worried about abortion? Expand adoption services. And pray.
Comprehensive immigration reform: sure to piss off people of every persuasion, but it’s doable. Yes, many migrants will be exploited in the process, but it’s a damn sight better than the system now…and what the GOP proposes. We need a system that cracks down hard on corporations that hire illegal immigrants (and pay them half what an unemployed American citizen makes). Consumer prices will rise due to the increase in labour costs, but that’s the price to pay. Maybe they can work in an end to the “war on drugs” while crafting the bill…
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:25 amReligious hypocrisy is exceeded only by Republic fearmongering.
U of MN researchers recently brought a rat back to life. It’s heart had been removed, washed, treated with test compounds and the restarted. When placed back in the rat’s body, it came back to life.
Would ‘pro-lifers’ support bringing the dead back to life?
Of course not. It’s not life they’re supporting, it’s the intrusion of government into private reproductive activity.
Why is it OK for government to legislate reproductive rights but not legislate health care?
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:26 amHe was back in Cleveland. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of his electoral victory. Against Dennis Kucinich. Let’s face it: even though Voinovich doesn’t “officially” retire until January 3rd, 2011, he’s already started looking for mansions along the Cuyahoga.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:28 amRep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) told The Providence Journal that the Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has banned him from receiving Communion, citing his support for abortion rights. “The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion,” Kennedy told the paper.
Ah, the good ol Catholic Church. The bastion of fourteenth century thinking.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:39 amThe federal government faces “a trifecta of headaches: a mountain of new debt, a balloon of short-term borrowings that come due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are sure to climb back to normal as soon as the Federal Reserve decides that the emergency has passed.”
It is scaremongering just like this that Dr. Krugman criticizes and warns against. Well done, TP. In whose interest are you acting?
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:41 amIf we’d tax the rich and remove tax exempt status from politically active churches it would go a long way to solving our debt problems.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:42 amFrom what I understand, the Catholic Church is going to deny funds to the homeless if a certain bill that benefits gays is passed. How Christain! Denying food and shelter for the poor? What would Jesus do?
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:43 am“The New York Post reports that JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon is being rumored as a potential replacement for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.”
WTF? Putting the CEO of a bank that has stalled the restructuring of the mortgages of thousands of people who are losing their homes, while sitting on top of millions in Bailout funds?
Yeah, that’ll be an improvement.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:44 amScarborough speaking for the right wing nuts said that health care shouldn’t be an issue the administration should be focusing on jobs. But then the same people argue against creating 3,000 jobs in small town Illinois or any of the other towns with prisons.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:44 amYeah, PD that’s in DC. I hope that catholics of conscience will withold their tithes and give it to the poor instead.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:46 amGeithner seems to be a wonk more than a CEO type. And he doesn’t seem to be acting in his self interest so maybe he should be cut some slack and allowed to do his job.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:47 amNow see, there goes those tax-and-spend liberals…soaking the rich to pay for their wars. Now Bush, Bush did it right. Ya wanna fund a war, ya gotta cut taxes. Especially the death tax. That way, when these young kids die for their country, big government doesn’t get its hands on their life insurance. But no, the liberals just want to tax the rich. And what’s that gonna do? I’ll tell you what it’s going to do…the rich are just gonna take all their money and put it into off-shore tax shelters – like I’ve done – so not only will they not pay any taxes, some 95% of the wealth in this country is gonna get transfered to the Virgin Islands. And when you invest that much money in Virgins – someone’s gonna get screwed.
/rush
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:49 am22. Shayne,
It’s not the wonkiness that draws ire (it’s actually one of his better qualities), it’s the incompetance and corporate ties.
It’s a bad omen when you’re nominee for treasury secretary has tax issues. And, in retrospect, we would’ve done better with an academic whose ties to Wall Street are casual at best
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:50 amSigh — if only the Catholic Church took such a strong stance when it came to killing innocent lives in unjust and illegal wars…
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:51 amBob@21, The Catolic Church will NEVER change. It’s all about money. Sad, but true. As a young girl, I was raised Catholic. I always wanted to be a nun until we took a trip to the Convent then the Rectory. What I saw shocked me. The priests lived in luxary, they had two maids and a cook and ate on good China. The nuns were housed two to a room, had no possessions and did all their own work and cooking. That taught me a powerful lesson. Women were second-class to the Catholic Church and they always will be.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:52 amFrom what I understand, the Catholic Church is going to deny funds to the homeless if a certain bill that benefits gays is passed. How Christain! Denying food and shelter for the poor? What would Jesus do?
They are following the teachings of Christ.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:57 amP.D. That is correct. The church (in D.C. I believe) has threatened to hold off on their charity missions if the gay rights bill is passed.
I am sure Jesus would approve.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:59 amBut then again, the church never really did care what Jesus would approve — they have always operated more like Pontius Pilate — looked the other way when it didn’t serve their purposes.
Scarborough said the administration should be focused on jobs creation — and when pressured how, he answered with “infrastructure.”
Isn’t he the hypocrite who decried the stimulus plan and the government support of funds for infrastructure?
Now he advocates for the admin. to focus on those jobs in infrastructure, but he can’t/won’t say how to fund them.
Anywhere from 1500 to 3000 jobs will be created if the high-security prison would be occupied in part by the DoD
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:03 amand their high-security prisoners but the hypocritical naysayers don’t want those jobs either!!
P.D. Also having been raised catholic, I back up your comments entirely.
It’s all male domination, paternalistic, hypocrisy.
I knew priests who would also date the older sisters of my classmates. Not all of them diddled with little boys.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:06 amRep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) told The Providence Journal that the Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has banned him from receiving Communion, citing his support for abortion rights.
I wonder if the dumbass bishop would like it if the government told Rep. Kennedy that anyone who believed in Jeebus wasn’t allowed to vote.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:16 amI think it’s high time that the fat cats who hide behind religion pay their fair share.
I’m sick to death of taking orders from the Vatican and from Pat Robertson!! Tax ‘em, I say!!
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:38 amThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
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Dr. Krugman’s response to the scaremongering NYT debt article and TP’s echoing of it. Dr. Dean Baker’s comment is here.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:02 amGALLUP: Obama Approval Down to 48%
U.S. Islamic center holds its own ties to Iran
Maryland Islamic center maintains links to Iran despite its claims that it is independent of a foundation being sued by the government for funneling money to the Islamic republic
Obama buys last vote for $300 million!
We are now a banana republic
Staffers on Capitol Hill were calling it the Louisiana Purchase. On the eve of Saturday’s showdown in the Senate over health-care reform, Democratic leaders still hadn’t secured the support
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 am#34. What’s the frequency, Kenneth?
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 amHi kenneth:
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:08 amThere is a gay thread.
Why don’t Mr. Geithner and Mr. Dimon simply switch jobs? Or perhaps Barack Obama and Lloyd Blankfein from Goldman Sachs can do the same.
Isn’t that in the grand tradition of the revolving door mentlity between Washington and New York?
“The audacity of change” was never more than a campaign slogan, in my view. From the moment Obama reassured the Canadians that his stance on Nafta bore no resemblance to his actual promises on the campaign trail, the “community organizer” bit the dust as far as I was concerned.
Again: Google “Bilderberg Group”. You will find that many upper echelon Obama administration officials [Geithner, Summers] are members. You will find that many top banking and finance industry leaders are members.
They sustain their own political and economic power and perks above all else.
The problems on Main Street are way down the list.
Yet stop a thousand people at random in any American city and ask them to offer opinions about Bilderberg, the Trilateral Commission, the CFR etc. A chorus of “huhs?” will commense to echo block after block after block.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:28 amgeorgewalton
ya da ya da, dems are just like republicans. Where have I heard this before.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:58 amAnd yet nobody was denied communion for proceeding with a war the Pope said was immoral. Amazing. You know, currently Catholics are about 23% of the population. They claim to follow a higher authority than our civil government. They hold 67% of the seats on our Supreme Court and you can’t watch Cable or broadcast news without seeing mostly Catholics. NBC news was run for years by a conservative Catholic and now almost all the news elites on MSNBC and NBC are Catholics. Catholics own thousands of businesses and the Catholic Church owns hundreds of millions of dollars worth of American real estate.
I think it’s time for Catholics, Mormons, Scientologists, Protestants, Born-agains, etc. etc. to start PAYING SOME TAXES! They enjoy tax-exempt status because they are supposed to be apart from the political world – but they’re deeply involved in politics – SO THEY SHOULD PAY THEIR TAXES!
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:58 amstewarjt says:
#34. What’s the frequency, Kenneth?
What does that mean?
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:05 pmWell, I’ll tell you where it hardly ever comes up at all: In the mainstream media.
Now, why is that? You know, in relation to, say, the continuity of policies Bush/Paulson and Obama/Geithner pursued?
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:15 pm#42. That is an REM song. Or it could mean your tinfoil hat needs its antennae adjusted.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:56 pmGeorge: “A chorus of “huhs?” will commense to echo block after block after block.”
Right. They say the same things when you try to convince them that the Masonics are secretly running things and aliens are studying us. Funny, isn’t it?
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:58 pmThe federal government faces “a trifecta of headaches: a mountain of new debt, a balloon of short-term borrowings that come due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are sure to climb back to normal as soon as the Federal Reserve decides that the emergency has passed.” Still, the NYT’s Paul Krugman warns that a phantom debt menace could hinder our nation’s economic recovery.
Now just pile on the 2,200 page health care fiasco. Oh, but that bill won’t add to the debt? LMAO.
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:09 pmAnd finally: Don’t mess with Martha. On Saturday, Martha Stewart waded into politics and spoke out about Sarah Palin, calling the former Alaska governor “a dangerous person” she “wouldn’t watch…if you paid me.” “She’s so confused,” Stewart said. “Anyone in government like that is a real problem.”
Nothing confusing about a stint in jail.
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:10 pmRep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) told The Providence Journal that the Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has banned him from receiving Communion, citing his support for abortion rights. “The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion,” Kennedy told the paper.
Probably fearful Kennedy would drink ALL the Jesus juice.
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:12 pm