The WonkLine: August 12, 2009

The Wall Street Journal reports that “thousands of people opposed to Honduras’s interim government marched into the capital Tuesday…in one of the largest demonstrations in support of President Manuel Zelaya since his ouster in a coup in late June.”

The U.S. ambassador in Kabul has reportedly told the State Department that “the United States will not meet its goals in Afghanistan without a major increase in planned spending on development and civilian reconstruction next year.”

Kuwaiti authorities have reported that they “foiled a terrorist plot to use a truck laden with explosive chemicals and fertilizer to attack Camp Arifjan, a base where hundreds of Hawai’i National Guard soldiers are located.”

In the latest Bloomberg News survey, economists say that “recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s has begun as President Barack Obama’s fiscal stimulus — derided as insufficient and budget-busting months ago — takes effect.”

The AP reports that at least a dozen states struggling with budget shortfalls “are making deep cuts in college financial aid programs, including those that provide a vital source of cash for students who most need the money.”

Yesterday, the Obama administration sent to Capitol Hill “a sweeping plan to more closely oversee the giant market for derivatives by forcing many of the products to trade on regulated exchanges or electronic venues.”

Yesterday, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced a tough stance on immigration and the allocation of $30 billion to border security, adding that she does perceive a big difference between her policies and those of the Bush administration despite accusations to the contrary.

A great number of Latin Americans and Europeans are applying for investor visas to buy distressed real estate in Florida, “with the additional hope of becoming U.S. residents,” according to USA Today.

The US is releasing files of information collected by border patrol agents dating back to the 19th century, some of which contain records on famous immigrants and visitors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Salvador Dalí.

The Chamber of Commerce will begin running 30-second ads in 20 states “criticizing the Democratic proposal to offer optional government health coverage.” “The multimillion-dollar buy would be one of the largest so far critical of Obama’s effort, in a year in which opponents have been heavily outspent by supporters of the president’s plan. The spot, showing a balloon being inflated until it bursts, says: ”Big tax increases, huge deficits, expanded government control of health care. Call Congress.”

Fox News panned away from President Obama’s town hall in New Hampshire because it wasn’t contentious enough.

The health insurance lobby has published a new report about the costs of out-of-network services.

The New York Times reports today that a transition report written for the Obama administration recommended the creation of a working group to deal with the “complicated, controversial and pressing” legal issues that will arise from any governmentwide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A new Zogby poll shows: “A majority of likely voters (71%) favor the American Clean Energy and Security Act recently passed by the House of Representatives, and two-thirds (67%) believe Congress is either doing the right amount (22%) or should be doing more (45%).”

Yesterday, the Federal Register published a final order from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in which she requires Tennessee state regulators to submit a revised permit to the Tennessee Valley Authority coal-fired power plant — which is currently operating under permits that fail to properly account for air pollution.

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