Inspire Political Discourse

Break up the big banks?

Economist, Paul Krugman:

Clearly, there was a massive increase in financial concentration, with a few true behemoths emerging. It’s easy to argue that this creates moral hazard, because the giant firms know that they’re too big to fail – which is also an easy slogan to remember. The idea that size is the problem has gained a lot of credibility from Paul Volcker, who personally embodies the truth of too big to fail (if you’ve ever met him); more seriously, Volcker has argued strongly that the repeal of Glass-Steagall, allowing financial firms to grow big in part by merging conventional banking with investment activities, set the stage for the crisis.

My view is that I’d love to see those financial giants broken up, if only for political reasons: it’s bad to have banks so big they can often write laws. But I’m not sold on the centrality of too big to fail to the crisis, for reasons best explained in terms of the second doctrine.

Economist, Simon Johnson:

There is no social value to having banks above $100 billion in total assets and we all now understand the danger of allowing banks to become 10 times that size – let alone entering the $2-$3 trillion range; we will gradually and responsibly force our biggest banks to become smaller.  This worked for Standard Oil – no one can claim it hurt the oil industry.  And who would really want to go back to having AT&T run a monopoly in any part of telecommunications?

Krugman on Wingnut Paranoia

Paul Krugman on the wingnuts:

“The truth is that the factors that made politics so ugly in the Clinton years — the paranoia of a significant minority of Americans and the cynical willingness of leading Republicans to cater to that paranoia — are as strong as ever. In fact, the situation may be even worse than it was in the 1990s because the collapse of the Bush administration has left the G.O.P. with no real leaders other than Rush Limbaugh.»

Faux Populist GOP Tax Day Tea Parties Are Anti-Obama In Spite of Their Claims to the Contrary

Although the Tea Party protesters are currently claiming that their protests are non-partisan (since they were busted for having no real talking points, and the organizers imbued them with a few), are not “anti-Obama” (meaning anti-brown skin), both the lack of brown people at their protests and their signage, begs to differ. Say what they like, they are protesting for 3 reasons.

1. They HATE Obama because most of them are right at home in white sheets.

2. They lost the election, and they feel the next one slipping away from them. They are big whiney crybabies aka very sore losers.

3. Rush, Fox News, and Freedom Works have been drilling them re “wealth destruction”. These pathetic dupes are protesting because those people earning over $250,000 annually will see a slight tax increase, or a return to Clinton-era taxes. Really. I know it’s hard to fathom. Think of sheep. Bahhhhhhhh……..

               Click an image below to view at a larger size.

In an excellent article by Bob Cesca, he notes:

Whether intentional or not, the talkers and bloggers who appear to be driving the post-Bush crazy train, have, intentionally or not, opened up the conservative tent to some pretty unsavory and dangerous characters. And in light of what happened in Pittsburgh, are they really so sure that deliberately conflating conservatism with the radical, violent end of the ideological spectrum is such a wise strategy? Beck and the others were so shocked and disturbed that their rhetoric was being partly blamed for Pittsburgh. But that was last week. This week, they definitely seem to be sharing their tea bags with the psychotics. And such behavior can cause a serious infection. Political infection. Is what I meant.

Arianna Huffington today on the tea parties:

Those pathetic, corporate lobbyist-backed tea parties clearly didn't do the trick. They were steeped in desperation. A bitter brew of misguided outrage and good-old-fashioned hate mongering.

It's what people do when the only two ideas they have -- tax cuts and deregulation -- have been given full expression for the last 8 years and failed. Miserably.

The GOP is so devoid of any actual solutions to the many crises we are facing they find themselves grasping at the vaguest hint of a talking point or, failing that, making stuff up out of thin air. So we get Rep. Spencer Bachus saying there are 17 socialists in Congress, and Michele Bachmann warning about "re-education camps for young people," and a Fox reporter "covering" a tea party saying we need to "wake up and start fighting the fascism permeating this country."

Silly name or not, the right wingers have made this in to something that portends more than just wingnutty chatter and parties, but rather something that smells like violence.

For more info on the teabaggers, read my previous articles:

:: The Unfortunate Implications of the Teabagging Revolution

:: Krugman on Faux-Populist Tea Parties, Republicans, and Democrats…..

IPD Political News Summary: Wednesday, April 15, 2009

               Pete Souza/White House

| The biggest story of the past couple of days was the introduction of Bo Obama, the newest resident of the White House, on Tuesday. A Portuguese Water Dog, Bo is completely adorable. If you'd like to see his intro to the press, the best video is from the BBC, and NYT has the best pics.
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| On Tuesday night, Reuters reported that another U.S.-flagged and U.S.-owned ship, the Liberty Sun, was attacked by Somali pirates. The pirates attacked with rockets and automatic weapons, but failed to board the ship. The crew was unharmed, but the ship did suffer damage, and contacted the U.S. Navy for help. They are now under escort by the USS Bainbridge. __________________________

Krugman on Faux-Populist Tea Parties, Republicans, and Democrats…..

| In his NYT column, Nobel prize- winning economist, Paul Krugman weighs in on tea parties, Republicans, and   Democrats…..And once again, I find myself agreeing with Krugman, the economist whom Republicans have just recently loved to quote, as Krugman has been at odds with the Dem mainstream over the handling of the economy. This time, however, I suspect that the right wingers won't be too happy about what Krugman has to say…..

Today’s G.O.P. is, after all, very much a minority party. It retains some limited ability to obstruct the Democrats, but has no ability to make or even significantly shape policy.

Beyond that, Republicans have become embarrassing to watch. And it doesn’t feel right to make fun of crazy people. Better, perhaps, to focus on the real policy debates, which are all among Democrats.

Krugman goes on to say essentially the same thing that I pointed out in my article last week --- namely that the tea parties are not a matter of public sentiment, are not spontaneous, but rather, organized and paid for by the corporatists, and promoted by Fox News.

Last but not least: it turns out that the tea parties don’t represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. They’re AstroTurf (fake grass roots) events, manufactured by the usual suspects. In particular, a key role is being played by FreedomWorks, an organization run by Richard Armey, the former House majority leader, and supported by the usual group of right-wing billionaires. And the parties are, of course, being promoted heavily by Fox News.

Liberals invented revolution in this country. Leave it to the Republicans to muck it all up and give it an undeservedly bad rep. Happy teabagging, tools.

UPDATE:

MSNBC’s David Schuster gives us some background on the teabagging movement. Hilarious and factual.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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Tuesday, March 3, 2009 on Media Matters

• This is "a great leader for conservatives"? Media Matters looks back at some of the worst of Limbaugh

• MSNBC's Brewer cropped Dow to suggest current decline began on Election Day

• Politico, Roll Call ignored GOP flip-flops on filibustering judicial nominees

• WSJ uncritically quoted former CEO of scandal-plagued hospital firm attacking Obama on health care

• Was Scarborough listening when Krugman explained why "we can't" fix economy by doing "the things we did in the '80s"?

• AP omitted that Santelli retreated from claim of White House "threat" when challenged by Lauer

• Wash. Post latest to omit Sebelius' Catholic support

• On Twitter, Gingrich falsely claimed "no [oil] spill since 1969" in waters off Santa Barbara
• Drudge, Fox News again suggest a few days of cold weather trump climate change science
• NY Times ignored other recent example of Republican walking back criticism of Limbaugh, despite Emanuel pointing it out

Mitch McConnell: "Republicans are more fun and interesting people."

:: While the GOP has definitely become the party of clowns, I don't think too many people would describe them as "fun" and "interesting".
From HUFFPOST:

In his CPAC speech, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted that conservatives are more "interesting" and "fun" than liberals. Here's his proof: "who wants to hang out with guys like Paul Krugman and Robert Reich when you can be with Rush Limbaugh?"
And you can taste the difference, too! After all, Paul Krugman is an economist who worries that Obama might fail to restore the economy. Whereas Limbaugh is a radio talk show host who hopes Obama might fail to restore the economy. Which one sounds more "fun" to you?

And honestly, is a nuke directed at Chicago really very funny?.

Here's a prime example from the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.:

This morning, former U.N. ambassador John Bolton spoke to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). He tried to up the fear quotient in the room by raising the prospect of an Iranian-sent nuclear attack on an American city. "It's [a] tiny [threat] compared to the Soviet Union," Bolton said, "but is the loss of one American city -- pick one at random: Chicago -- is that a tiny threat?" The audience erupted in cheers and laughter at the idea of Obama's home city being obliterated.

That's truly hilarious, isn't it--the nearly three million Americans who live in the third largest city in the U.S. wiped out in a nuclear holocaust? Definitely worth laughing at and, yes, cheering for.

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Will the Obama Administration Call for Nationalization of Bailed-Out Banks?

:: Over the past few days, there has been a lot of noise bandied about re nationalization of the banks. One entity has been noticeably silent, however. From TPM:

Late Update: Writing about an hour ago, Krugman provides some key context on what's actually happening here and what it means. These banks are already insolvent. They've been able to stay afloat because the markets have believed that the federal government has implicitly guaranteed their obligations. "What's happening now is a growing sense that the federal government, in return for rescuing these institutions, will demand the same thing a private-sector white knight would have demanded -- namely, ownership."

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Political News Summary: Monday, January 26, 2009

:: Geithner confirmed as Treasury Secretary. From HUFFPOST:

WASHINGTON — The Senate has confirmed New York Fed chief Timothy Geithner to be President Barack Obama's secretary of the treasury.
The 60-34 vote puts Geithner at the helm of Obama's plan to rescue the economy from the worst financial crisis in three generations.
Obama and others supporting Geithner's nomination said the nation couldn't afford to wait for Obama to search for another nominee to run the Treasury Department.

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:: The US to engage in diplomacy with Iran. From HUFFPOST:

United Nations — President Barack Obama's administration will engage in "direct diplomacy" with Iran, the newly installed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Monday.

Not since before the 1979 Iranian revolution are U.S. officials believed to have conducted wide-ranging direct diplomacy with Iranian officials. But U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice warned that Iran must meet U.N. Security Council demands to suspend uranium enrichment before any talks on its nuclear program.

AP photo.
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Take it to the People

Never mind the damn Republican obstructers, and the Blue Dog Democrats. Screw 'em. They wish to play politics when this country is in deeply serious trouble, tell 'em to take their balls and go home, because they aren't working for the people who not only voted them in to office, but pay their freaking salaries!.Take it to the people, Obama!

That really is all you need to do.

UPDATE - Jan. 26 - One of the "eggers-on" of the obstructionists, Bill Kristol, seemingly lost his position as a columnist at the NYT. For further info, read Jason Linkins on the HuffPost, and to view Kristol's last, pathetic lying column, click here. So long, Billy, we will not miss ya. In my collage below, Kristol is Old Neocon No.3.

UPDATE - Jan. 26 - Nobel prize winning economist, Paul Krugman weighs in. Bolding is mine. From the Int. Herald Tribune (NYT global):

As the debate over President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan gets under way, one thing is certain: Many of the plan's opponents aren't arguing in good faith. Conservatives really, really don't want to see a second New Deal, and they certainly don't want to see government activism vindicated. So they are reaching for any stick they can find with which to beat proposals for increased government spending.

 

Political News Summary: Friday, January 16, 2009

:: Economist, and New York Times columnist, Paul Krugman, joins the crowd of bloggers and media who are clamoring for Bush and Cheney to be held accountable for their crimes.
On a personal level, I was torn about this, but I have come to believe that they must be held accountable. Without accountability, there really is nothing to prevent a future president from repetition of the acts of the Bush administration, or perhaps even worse.

“Let’s be clear what we’re talking about here. It’s not just torture and illegal wiretapping, whose perpetrators claim, however implausibly, that they were patriots acting to defend the nation’s security. The fact is that the Bush administration’s abuses extended from environmental policy to voting rights. And most of the abuses involved using the power of government to reward political friends and punish political enemies.
At the Justice Department, for example, political appointees illegally reserved nonpolitical positions for “right-thinking Americans” — their term, not mine — and there’s strong evidence that officials used their positions both to undermine the protection of minority voting rights and to persecute Democratic politicians.”Source: NYT

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Political News Summary: Monday, Jan. 12, 2009

:: Bush43 to give farewell speech during primetime on Thursday night.
Um, I personally have no need to watch him say goodbye. I can't imagine that most of us have.

“WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush will give a farewell address to the nation Thursday night, billed by the administration as a chance to reflect on his tenure and welcome Barack Obama without fighting old battles one last time.
Bush will deliver the speech, expected to run 10 to 15 minutes, from the ornate East Room of the White House. He will have a small audience of people in the room, chosen for their stories of personal courage.”Source: AP

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:: Roland Burris to be seated as the junior senator from Illinois.

Senate Dems said that they expect to seat Burris this week.

“"He is now the senator-designate from Illinois and, as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a senator-elect," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said in a joint statement.”Source: HUFFPOST

 

US Automakers Return to Washington - Daily Political News Round-Up - Thursday, December 4, 2008

 

►Wingnut Alert: A number of lawsuits have been filed, challenging the citizenship of the president-elect. This is, of course, ridiculous, and has been proven to be untrue. Does anything stop the wingnuts? Tomorrow, one of these lawsuits will be discussed by the Supreme Court, who will turn it down.

“The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will tomorrow discuss whether or not it should take up the case of Leo C. Donofrio, Applicant, v. Nina Mitchell Wells, New Jersey Secretary of State, a case that challenges the citizenship of President-elect Obama.
After the Justices meet -- and assuredly decline to hear the matter -- the anti-Obama activists supporting the case will hold a vigil near the steps of the highest Court in the land.”  Jake Tapper - ABC News

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►Doom and gloom economic predictions from Krugman and O'Neill. Former Treasury secretary, Paul O'Neill, on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Daily Political News Round-Up - Friday, November 21, 2008

►According to the NYT, Hillary Clinton has made a decision to accept the position of secretary of state.

“Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her the public face around the world for the administration of the man who beat her for the Democratic presidential nomination, two confidants said Friday.”Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton campaigning in Florida in October (Photo: Damon Winter/The New
York Times)

►Expected to be nominated for commerce secretary on Monday, is former U.N. Ambassador and Energy Secretary in the Clinton administration, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

“New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has emerged as a "serious contender" to head the Commerce Department under President-elect Barack Obama, according to a Democratic official close to the proceedings.
Richardson, who was elected governor of the Land of Enchantment in 2002 and reelected with 69 percent of the vote in 2006, has made no secret of his interest in returning to Washington to take a place in the Obama Administration.” The Washington Post