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Yglesias

Honest Like a Moron

By Matthew Yglesias on Oct 26, 2006 at 7:01 pm

Via a gushing K-Lo (“he’s a clear thinker on this war. And isn’t his honesty about the stakes and his principles — even if you’re someone who disagrees with him on this or that — reason enough to want him reelected”), Rick Santorum’s bafflingly stupid speech on “the gathering storm” facing the United States:

Mr. Casey said that “the U.S. should not escalate the drive to place weapons in space and should seek an international ban on such weaponry.” I hate to break the news to you, but Iran and North Korea are already escalating things. . . .

Let me tell you, Mr. Casey, people are concerned when Venezuela is harboring terrorists, many of whom will penetrate our border because of the amnesty bill you support, that puts amnesty before security.

And just think — what if the Venezuelan terrorists get on the Iranian space station? What then Mr. Casey, huh? huh? Seriously, these people are morons. Dangerously dishonest or (I fear) dangerously confused about what’s going on in the world. “Say what you will,” remarks Lopez, “but this is leadership.” Custer-quality leadership at that.

Kudos, incidentally, to Bob Casey for taking on the administration’s bafflingly wrongheaded National Space Strategy. This is exactly the sort of ground where Democrats normally fear to tread.

Politics

Speaker Hastert Lies About Leader Pelosi

By ThinkProgress on Oct 26, 2006 at 4:15 pm

Yesterday, embattled House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) released a statement attacking House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) over immigration:

Democrat Leader Pelosi’s plan is to leave our borders open, grant blanket amnesty and provide Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants. Is THAT their plan? Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi has NEVER visited the border. She claims to understand the needs of those on the front lines but has never visited those agents and offers no solutions.

First, Hastert is fabricating Pelosi’s position on immigration. Pelosi has consistently backed extensive new border security measures and comprehensive immigration reform.

Second, Hastert’s claim that Pelosi has never visited the border or met with border agents is false. Today, Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), a 26-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol, issued a statement discussing Pelosi’s trip to El Paso, Texas, in March:

House Democratic Leader Pelosi not only understands the importance of border security, she understands the dynamics and importance of trade and commerce to our border region and our country. She understands the critical implications that failures on the part of both the Bush Administration and the Republican Congressional leadership have had on our border communities and in making our country less safe even five years after 9/11.

How do I know? I have been at the border with her. She has taken the time not only to visit but to listen.

Here’s a photo of Pelosi in El Paso:

Digg It!

Culture

The Odds

By Matthew Yglesias on Oct 26, 2006 at 3:51 pm

John Hollinger likes the Spurs’ chances: “Tim Duncan and Tony Parker both look great, so it says here the league’s model franchise has to be the odds-on favorite to claim its fourth ring of the Duncan Era. Only potential snag is age on the wings with Bruce Bowen, Barry and Finley.”

My inclination is to agree that San Antonio has the best team in the league, but “odds-on favorite” doesn’t follow from this. The West is so much better than the East that even if you like the Spurs’ odds in a Finals matchup, the ex ante odds of San Antonio getting to the Finals have to be judged considerably worse than Miami’s. That, I think, makes the Heat the preseason favorite even though San Antonio’s better. It’s also worth keeping in mind that I see a Texas-sized x-factor in the Rockets. They probably won’t stay healthy, but faced with Yao-Battier-McGrady-Wells-Alson on the floor, I wouldn’t feel too comfortable offering “you don’t have a real power forward” as my counterargument.

Politics

Rumsfeld To Iraq Critics: ‘This Is Complicated Stuff…So You Just Ought To Back Off,’ ‘Relax’

By ThinkProgress on Oct 26, 2006 at 3:37 pm

At his news conference yesterday, President Bush repeatedly mentioned “benchmarks” for progress in Iraq, using the word 13 times. “But he did not discuss the consequences of the Iraqi government missing those targets. Such a question, he said, was ‘hypothetical.’”

At the Pentagon press conference this afternoon, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked what would happen if the Iraqi government failed to meet the “benchmarks.” Rumsfeld first responded that “it is not complicated,” but just seconds later said, “This is complicated stuff. It’s difficult. We’re looking out into the future. No one can predict the future with absolute certainty.” He added, “So you ought to just back off, take a look at it, relax, understand that it’s complicated, it’s difficult.” Watch it:

[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2006/10/rumsfeld.320.240.flv]

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Transcript: Read more

Climate Progress

Kudos to Arizona

By Joe Romm on Oct 26, 2006 at 3:15 pm

Every state will suffer the harsh effects of global warming if we fail to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So every state should take action to reduce those emissions.

We have already seen this with California, and Arizona’s governor Janet Napolitano last month signed an executive order that “establishes a statewide goal to reduce Arizona’s future GHG emissions to the 2000 emissions level by the year 2020, and to 50% below the 2000 level by 2040.”

Why not simply wait for action from President Bush? The ABC news headline summed up part of the answer to that question: “Arizona seeks to bypass Bush on CO2 emissions.” Equally important, the state faces many potentially dangerous climate impacts. The state is particularly vulnerable to climate change because it is already so hot and dry and drought-prone.

arizona.jpg

So if it wishes to avoid the trend for desertification that global warming is likely to bring, it needs to take action itself. Kudos for doing so.

Politics

Vote For The Next Progressive Talk Radio Star

By Guest Blogger on Oct 26, 2006 at 2:46 pm

microphone.JPG The Center for American Progress Action Fund has joined forces with Clear Channel Radio, Jones Radio Networks and Media Syndication Services to launch a search for the next great progressive talk show host.

Over the next three weeks, one at-large winner from the website TalkProgress.com, along with local winners from participating Clear Channel Progressive Talk stations across the country, will be narrowed to two finalists who will travel to Washington, DC for the live finals at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Right now, voting is open in the online at-large contest at TalkProgress.com. You can vote to send one of the ten online finalists to the nationals.

Progressive Talk is a strong and growing radio format. Great hosts like Al Franken, Ed Schultz, Bill Press and Stephanie Miller have pioneered the format and now this contest is looking for the next great host.

Click here to listen and vote now.

– Theo LeCompte

Yglesias

Houses Getting Cheaper

By Matthew Yglesias on Oct 26, 2006 at 2:33 pm

Much cheaper, it seems: “Housing developers are drastically cutting prices to move a backlog of unsold homes off the market, according to new statistics released today by the Commerce Department. The median sale price of a new home in September 2006 was $217,000, 9.7 percent lower than in September 2005, the report said — the steepest year-to-year drop in more than three decades.”

Is that a nominal number or a real one? At any rate, sales went way up and inventories declined as a result of the reduced prices, so that doesn’t sound to me quite like the tailspin of doom some were foreseeing but the Commerce Department still has a fairly large number of unsold homes (6+ months worth) lying around, so we haven’t seen the end of things yet. But how big a proportion of the market are new homes anyway?

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