Last Call

President Obama will never be good enough for the "progressives".

This week, amid the hullabaloo over President Barack Obama's Deficit Dinner Diplomacy, and Sen. Rand Paul's 13-hour filibuster-cum-dissertation on drone strikes and civil liberties, financial news-watchers touted a milestone in their lives of Market Worship. We speak, of course, of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which on Tuesday hit an "all-time high" of 14,253.77. The good times rolled steady on through the week, and the Dow closed Friday at 14,397.07.

Of course, the notion that these were "record" highs was not, strictly speaking, true. As Jeff Cox as CNBC pointed out, "in inflation-adjusted dollars, the Dow would need to hit 15,731.54 to break the record." Nevertheless, the exciting new ordinal number sitting on the stock market index set off a chorus of hallelujahs. After all, this was the highest mark it had hit since October 2007. (Of course, if we recall correctly, it was about that time that all of our more recent tragic economic events began to occur.)

The fluctuations of the Dow are typically pored over, by the media, in the same way the ancient oracles pieced through the entrails of birds, seeking for whatever path leads to the most prosperity. And in the world of politics, partisans on both sides are quick to point to the Dow as generic confirmation that their policies are working. As long as the story suits their narrative, anyway. 

Authors Jason Linkins and Zach Carter continue on with their open contempt for President Obama, Democrats, the people who voted for them, the people who support them, and the people who seem to think that maybe there's hope.  Suckers!  Rubes!

I do notice there's one word missing from the article:  Bush.   And "GOP" doesn't get a mention until 80% of the way through the article:

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Dow is hitting this peak at a time when everyone in the world knows that the debate over the sequestration -- whose cuts have awesome recession-generating powers! -- has gone into vapor-lock, with the GOP refusing to compromise on raising revenues, through the very tax reform proposals that formed the basis of the party's recent presidential campaign. 

The GOP is far more responsible for the mess we're in, guys.  The functional depression we've been in?  That wasn't President Obama at the helm in 2006-2008.

Try again.

The Vagina Tax

Payday is rolling around. I’m going to look at my paycheck, and review the state and federal withholdings. I’ll grunt at my FICA and insurance costs. I won’t actually see a tax for having a vagina, but it will be there. I feel quite certain my employer practices fair pay, but in way too many cases women are not paid the same as male coworkers for doing the same job. For owning the same responsibilities. For living up to the same expectations.

I suppose some may look at this as a penis bonus instead of a vagina tax. Tomato, tomahto. Yesterday was  International Women’s Day, but before we go global I want to take a look at the United States. Women make seventy-seven cents on the man’s dollar. Not necessarily job for job, but this shows that while the glass ceiling may have cracked it is still firmly in place. Women’s rights are in the hands of politicians and courts, which is ridiculous in itself. Men don’t have to worry about sudden legislature telling them how they can treat their bodies if they were victims of a crime. Men don’t have to fear that they will have to pay more for certain medicines because a church down the road doesn’t approve. If a man is mugged, he isn’t judged for wearing a bright red shirt that clearly attracted the criminal.

If most men woke up in our world, they would take one look around and jump out a goddamn window.

The truly mind-boggling thing is that women aren’t a minority. We are the majority, by a few million. Yet we are consistently throughout history treated as inferior, weaker and less intelligent. Despite centuries of evidence to the contrary, the stereotype persists. Modern women rose to the challenge and proved their ability over and over without realizing it isn’t a matter of proof, it’s a matter of perspective. We can run faster, jump higher and work harder and if we’re really good little girls we might get a chance to break even. Until the parameters change, we can’t win.

Remember when I said I was going to get to the global perspective? Here it is: compared to the rest of the world, we have it relatively good here.

Happy International Women’s Day. Maybe by the next one there will be better things to report.

Cross-posted at Angry Black Lady Chronicles.

Freedom To Hate, Freedom To Discriminate, In The Bluegrass State

It was only a matter of time before Kentucky's legislation did something catastrophically moronic that will affect me personally.

“The Religious Freedom Act,” a bill created in response to the Affordable Care Act’s birth control coverage mandate, cleared Kentucky’s Senate Thursday night despite activists’ warning that it could topple years of civil rights progress in the state and “make discrimination legal.”

“[The] legislation could be used by an individual or entity under the guise of a ‘sincerely held religious belief’ to violate the constitutional and civil rights of other persons or organizations,” the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights warned on Tuesday. “In other words, it could make discrimination legal if the discrimination perpetrated is claimed to be due to ‘a sincerely held religious belief.’”

Despite the potential for abuse, state senators advanced House Bill 279 Thursday night by a vote of 29-6, leaving its fate in the hands of Gov. Steve Beshear (D).

Here's the fun part:  it's not just birth control you can object to.  It's basically anything.

If it does become law, Kentucky’s “Religious Freedom Act” could enable discrimination against more than just women seeking birth control. Civil rights advocates worry that landlords and employers could also use the law to justify discriminating against LGBT people and minorities as well, all in the name of “religious freedom.”

Or women.  Or other religions.  Or people who are overweight.  Or people who are short.  Or people who have kids.  How can you prove that the fact you hate LGBT people isn't a deeply held religious belief?  For a non-trivial number of Kentuckians, that's what they say they absolutely believe in.  I'm really hoping Dinosaur Steve can send this law packing, but given the massive vote totals in favor of the bill (82-7 in the state House, and 29-6 in the state Senate), a veto override is pretty much assured.

That leaves a court challenge to the bill.  I'm hoping we get it sooner rather than later, because the law is pretty much in direct violation of several Supreme Court rulings on religious freedom.

Then again, considering the Roberts court is siding with churches these days, a broad ruling in the Obamacare contraception coverage cases brought by religious organizations could indeed make Kentucky's law perfectly legal.  All it would take is five votes.  It would get four, easily.

A big clue could be the SCOTUS ruling on DOMA.  If the court decides that states do have the right to make their own decisions on discrimination, all bets are off.

We'll see.

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• Another city-block sized asteroid will pass within about 650,000 miles of the Earth on Saturday, discovered just last weekend.
• Czech Republic officials are baffled as to the source of a number of high-profile cyberattacks swamping official Czech government websites this week.
• Catholic cardinals will convene a papal conclave to select the next leader of the church beginning on Tuesday.
• The US jobless rate dropped to 7.7% as 236,000 more jobs were added in February, but January's figures were revised downward.
• The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a major decision on Friday that says the government must have "reasonable suspicion" to search a computer or laptop at the US border.

Last Call

And Sen. Rand Paul shows his true colors as he tries to fundraise off his filibuster attempt, loading his letters full of lies.  David Corn catches him red-handed.

Though foes of drones on the right and left cheered Sen. Rand Paul's filibuster this week, with the tea partier delaying confirmation of CIA director John Brennan for a day, Paul's rant targeted a nonexistent dispute: whether or not Obama administration officials believed they could use drones (or other weapons) to kill American citizens within the borders of the United States without due process. Take away all Paul's hyped-up hysteria—watch out, Jane Fonda!—and he didn't truly disagree with the administration's position that in an extraordinary circumstance, such as an ongoing terrorist attack, the US government can deploy lethal force against evildoers who happen to be American citizens. So why did Paul go ballistic? Here's a clue: The day after he ended one of the longest filibusters in US history, he tried to cash in on his stunt by zapping out a fundamentally inaccurate fundraising email for his 2016 reelection campaign.

How bad was it?  Pretty awful:

So I stood for thirteen-straight hours to send a message to the Obama administration, I will do everything in my power to fight their attempts to ignore the Constitution!

Millions of Americans chose to stand with me and put President Obama, Attorney General Holder, and Congress in the spotlight...

And the good news is, it worked!

Just hours ago, I received a letter from Attorney General Holder declaring the President DOES NOT have the authority to use drones to kill Americans on U.S. soil.

Patriot, this shows what we can do when stand together and fight.

You got it.  Rand Paul is now taking credit for the Obama administration's position. Only one problem:  As Corn points out, Rand Paul agrees with the Obama administration that under an imminent threat situation, the President can indeed do that.

Paul thoroughly mischaracterized Holder's statement for his money-shaking email. The attorney general limited his no-drones declaration to Americans "not engaged in combat." An American participating in a terrorist attack that constitutes an extraordinary circumstance could still end up on the wrong end of a Hellfire missile (with Paul supporting such a development).

Paul did not force a change in Obama administration policy or even a clarification of policy. What Holder said in the second letter was a reiteration of what he said in the first letter that Paul essentially endorsed while filibustering.

But I had to put up with all kinds of "progressive" people this week telling me how principled Rand Paul is.  Maybe it will make them feel better to be suckered into being props for his fundraising for 2016, but I'm pretty sure they don't care because they hate President Obama more than they dislike Rand Paul.

Got news for you:  that doesn't make you a principled progressive, it makes you a stooge.

Oh, and if you need final confirmation you're being played like idiots, behold John Podhoretz:

The lesson: Do interesting, unexpected things and you can highlight issues important to you, advance policy goals you think are critical for the future of the country and elevate your own standing to the level of a national figure.

Be the shiny object for our idiot village media to chase, and you get to be a "serious national leadership figure".  Thanks for playing along, suckers.

Ashley To Ashley, Dust To Dust

Apparently the DSCC has decided that Ashley Judd is a liability in Kentucky, and Michael Bennet and the powers that be on Capitol Hill are moving to get current KY Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes into the race ASAP to face Mitch The Turtle.  Joe Sonka:

The change of heart came after a recent poll the DSCC conducted, but not because it showed Judd was incapable of competing with McConnell, rather that Grimes performed better than Judd and gave Democrats the best chance at victory.

As late as last week, the wheels were already very much in motion at the DSCC in planning a Judd Senate candidacy. While those plans have not been scrapped, there is definitely a re-evaluation happening. Our sources tell LEO that while the DSCC felt that Judd could compete with McConnell, one of Judd’s strongest assets would be her ability to raise money on par with McConnell and tie up Republican campaign spending (both McConnell’s and the NRSC’s) in that race. However, their recent polling suggests the 2014 race is very much winnable, with McConnell so vulnerable that Democrats need to make their priority finding the candidate with the best chance of winning.

Then again, they are not entirely sure at this point that Grimes would even entertain a run against McConnell, as she has plenty of other races in the next three years that she could choose to run in, most of which would not be nearly as difficult as the 2014 Senate race.

As I've said before, this is an empirical opportunity to test the "Better Dems vs More Dems" theory of taking back over Congress.  If Grimes can beat McConnell, even though Judd is far more liberal, is it worth backing Grimes to get rid of Mitch McConnell?

On the other hand, a Democrat who can win a statewide race and still be a viable candidate for Congress is a rare opportunity.  On the gripping hand, Grimes may simply run for Dinosaur Steve's seat as Governor, something in the long run I would much rather have as a Kentucky voter.

We'll see how this shakes out.  If Grimes turns the DSCC down, getting behind Judd may be the way forward.

Big Dog Bites Back On DOMA

In 1996, President Clinton signed the Defense Of Marriage Act into law, preventing the federal government from recognizing any aspect of a same-sex marriage.  Some 17 years later, Big Dog says he did it to prevent an even worse law from going into effect, but he admits that discriminatory DOMA needs to go in a new op-ed for the Washington Post.

When I signed the bill, I included a statement with the admonition that “enactment of this legislation should not, despite the fierce and at times divisive rhetoric surrounding it, be understood to provide an excuse for discrimination.” Reading those words today, I know now that, even worse than providing an excuse for discrimination, the law is itself discriminatory. It should be overturned.

We are still a young country, and many of our landmark civil rights decisions are fresh enough that the voices of their champions still echo, even as the world that preceded them becomes less and less familiar. We have yet to celebrate the centennial of the 19th Amendment, but a society that denied women the vote would seem to us now not unusual or old-fashioned but alien. I believe that in 2013 DOMA and opposition to marriage equality are vestiges of just such an unfamiliar society.

Americans have been at this sort of a crossroads often enough to recognize the right path. We understand that, while our laws may at times lag behind our best natures, in the end they catch up to our core values. One hundred fifty years ago, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln concluded a message to Congress by posing the very question we face today: “It is not ‘Can any of us imagine better?’ but ‘Can we all do better?’ ”

The answer is of course and always yes. In that spirit, I join with the Obama administration, the petitioner Edith Windsor, and the many other dedicated men and women who have engaged in this struggle for decades in urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act.

Clinton signed the bill anyway.  I'm glad he's admitting the bill enshrines discrimination into the United States Code, but it's not like he wasn't in a position to veto the damn thing.  I'm not giving him a pass on that, there are a ton of Gingrich-era GOP bills Clinton signed into law that have had long-lasting and painful effects on America (and yes, I'm fully aware that 17 years from now, I'll probably be saying the same thing about Barack Obama.)

Hopefully the Supremes will do the right thing here and fix Clinton's mistake.  But the blame remains at least partially on a Democratic President who should have known better.

StupidiNews!

• North Korea has now vowed to end all its non-aggression pacts with neighboring South Korea in response to a new round of UN sanctions over its recent nuclear test.
• A new study finds as much as a fifth of Canada's glaciers could be gone completely by the end of the century due to global warming.
• A health plan survey by a California firm finds only two percent of health insurance plans are in compliance ahead of 2014 Obamacare regulations.
• The tiny Falkland Islands vote on a referendum this week to remain a self-governing UK territory, as Argentina increasingly believes the islands should belong to them.
• PC game developer InXile has set a new Kickstarter funding record with its spiritual successor to Plansecape: Torment, with the game raising a million dollars in under 8 hours.

Last Call

Democratic Sen. Carl Levin is out in Michigan for 2014.

Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called it an "extremely difficult" decision and stated that he'll better serve his Michigan constituents in the next two years of his term by not being distracted by a campaign.

"This decision was extremely difficult because I love representing the people of Michigan in the U.S. Senate and fighting for the things that I believe are important to them," he said in a statement.

During the remainder of his time in Washington, Levin said he plans to focus on his continued push for stricter rules against tax avoidance, saying tax loopholes that allow off-shore accounts are "a major drain on our treasury." He also wants to fight to boost manufacturing and address what he sees as serious flaws in campaign finance laws.

Further, Levin expressed concern about the government's fiscal problems on the military and showed a strong desire to ensure a "rapid transfer of responsibility for Afghan security to the Afghans." 

If anyone knows who will be a good egg to replace Levin, it's Chris Savage at EclectaBlog.  We'll see what he has to say on Levin.

Personally, I say the Dems will keep the seat, but the GOP has got to be salivating over it.  Going to be a tough battle...

Punish The Poor, Carolina Style

The GOP takeover of North Carolina continues, and the latest bit of wacky fun will cost every one of the people who voted for Republicans dearly in extra taxes.

With the Senate's final approval Wednesday, a measure to let a modest state tax credit for low- and moderate-income taxpayers expire in 2013 is headed to Gov. Pat McCrory.

The measure sunsets the earned income tax credit (EITC) -- after a one-year extension -- drew the scorn of Democrats, who unsuccessfully sought to extend it. The legislation lowers the state's tax break slightly for the 2013 tax year because the federal tax credit increased.

Republicans said the bill is standard fixes to "decouple" the state from federal tax policy. But Democrats link it with efforts this session to curtail unemployment benefits and prevent Medicaid expansion to show the majority party is disregarding the poor.

Yep, in addition to having the lowest unemployment benefits in the entire country, and mass purging the state's regulators, Gov. McCrory refuses Medicaid expansion, and will now almost certainly add to the tax burden of the state's poor.

It's pretty clear what McCrory is trying to do:  drive off the state's poor people to other states and make them Virginia, South Carolina, or Tennessee's problem.  Congrats, folks back home.  You get the government you vote for, every single time. 

Enjoy your austerity regime!

Read more here: http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/senate_sends_mccrory_a_bill_that_would_repeal_the_states_earned_income_tax_credit#storylink=cpy

Spiking The Earth's Punchbowl

Meanwhile, all this talk of sequestration and political combat pales in comparison to some nasty news about climate change and carbon today:  it's getting worse, and it's getting worse faster.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere underwent one of its biggest single-year jumps ever in 2012, according to researchers at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. Between the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2013, carbon dioxide levels increased by 2.67 parts per million — a rise topped only by the spike in 1998.

By comparison, global carbon levels averaged a yearly rise of just under 2 parts per million from 2000 to 2010, and increased by less than 1 part per million in the 1960s. The 2012 rise makes it that much more unlikely that global warming can be limited to the 2 degree Celsius threshold most scientist agree is the bare minimum necessary to avoid truly catastrophic levels of climate change. The Associated Press has the report :

Carbon dioxide levels jumped by 2.67 parts per million since 2011 to total just under 395 parts per million, says Pieter Tans, who leads the greenhouse gas measurement team for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

That’s the second highest rise in carbon emissions since record-keeping began in 1959. The measurements are taken from air samples captured away from civilization near a volcano in Mauna Loa, Hawaii.

More coal-burning power plants, especially in the developing world, are the main reason emissions keep going up – even as they have declined in the U.S. and other places, in part through conservation and cleaner energy.

At the same time, plants and the world’s oceans which normally absorb some carbon dioxide, last year took in less than they do on average, says John Reilly, co-director of Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. Plant and ocean absorption of carbon varies naturally year to year.

Needless to say, climate change, and the Republican efforts to block any efforts to do anything about it, will haunt America for generations.  I'm more sure of that than ever.  My own Congressman, MIT-educated inventor and businessman, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie?

Today’s Science Committee Hearing on Global Warming canceled due to snow. #TrueStory
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 7, 2013

I know he's not a moron when it comes to science.  The guy won the Lemelson prize, MIT's yearly award for inventors, and he founded his own tech company in 1995.

And yet he's cracking lame ass jokes about snow and global warming.  Just to be with the cool kids.  I'll tell you what, this guy is a piece of work, and it's only been a couple of months. If there's any Republican who should be championing science, it's the MIT inventor.

Alas, he's also a Republican businessman who thinks Rand Paul is just ultra cool.  Jesus wept.

StupidiNews!

• Overriding Gov. Mike Bebee's veto, Republicans in Arkansas' House joined the state Senate to impose the nation's toughest abortion restrictions, banning all abortions after just 12 weeks.
• After 13 hours, Sen. Rand Paul has ended his talking filibuster of CIA Director John Brennan, who will now receive a confirmation vote Thursday.
• The House has passed a measure to fund the government through Sept. 30 that locks in place the sequestration cuts from last week.
• At least one sector of Europe's economy is booming right now:  outlet malls selling Europe's biggest brands are drawing international tourists.
• A bipartisan effort to strengthen mobile and email privacy laws will be introduced this week as a new bill would mean that cops would need a warrant to search your email.

Last Call

Rand Paul is filibustering the nomination of CIA head John Brennan over drones.  And I mean an active, talking filibuster.

Republican Rand Paul stiff-armed President Barack Obama’s CIA nomination Wednesday, drawing support from fellow senators concerned about the administration’s refusal to rule out drone strikes on US soil.

With the blocking tactic stretching into it’s sixth hour, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tried to bring Paul’s filibuster to a close, but the freshman from Kentucky refused, continuing his hold on any Senate action as he railed against US policy on targeted killings.

Paul said he would be happy to yield “if the president or the attorney general will clarify that they are not going to kill non-combatants in America.”

The drone issue gained fresh currency on Capitol Hill with senators from both parties pressing US Attorney General Eric Holder on whether the administration believes such drone attacks could be justified.

Paul began by saying he will “speak until I can no longer speak,” and demanding answers from President Barack Obama on the secret unmanned aerial drone program that has emerged as the most contentious element of John Brennan’s nomination to head the spy agency.

Paul has drafted a number of Republicans to assist him in this tactic, and they're happy to keep blocking Senate business until they get what they want, or Brennan resigns from the nomination, or both.   But given Rand Paul's curious position on civil liberties when it comes to voting rights, civil rights, women's rights, LGBT rights, and the rights of the poor, hearing him prattle on about a theoretical death by fiat when the prison culture and the gun culture and the rape culture and the corporate greed culture in this country condemn thousands upon thousands to death daily without due process...

Well I don't particularly care for the man.

Perspective is needed, and I don't see a lot of it out there.  Let's remember that in addition to his "heroic" position on drones, Rand Paul happily voted against VAWA, the Paycheck Fairness Act, Hurricane Sandy aid, the fiscal cliff deal, and against using funds to transfer detainees so we could eventually close Gitmo.  He's actively spoken out against the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.  He's against any form of gun violence prevention legislation.

But Rand Paul is an okay guy because drones?

No.  He's not.  He's a Republican playing the game, and it seems the regular suspects are falling for it again, those "liberals" who think Barack Obama is a bigger threat than, well, Rand Paul.

The Next Fight In The Eternal Combat

With the sequestration detonation firmly ruining the economy, the GOP is moving on to the government shutdown fight at the end of the month, and they're playing their cards early.

A group of House Republicans said Tuesday that a bill to fund the federal government should include provisions targeting the contraception mandate in President Obama's healthcare law.

GOP lawmakers reintroduced a bill Tuesday to repeal the contraception mandate. They also pressed their party's leaders to roll back the provision as part of a continuing resolution later this month to keep the federal government operating.

"This attack on religious freedom demands immediate congressional action," the 14 lawmakers wrote. "Nothing short of a full exemption for both nonprofit and for-profit entities will satisfy the demands of the Constitution and common sense."

And nothing short of a repeal of the entire Obama administration and the resignation of all Democrats everywhere will satisfy the demands of the Tea Party nutjobs.   I expect Orange Julius will sweep this under the rug, but the pile he's already got under said rug (fiscal cliff deal, VAWA) may be too high for him to do so.

Besides, Sen. Ted Cruz appears to be willing to shut down the country in order to defund Obamacare anyway, so Boehner may be off the hook.

On the other hand, if the GOP really, reeeeeeeally wants to shut down the government over birth control (because the War on Women worked so very well for them in 2012) then go right ahead, gentlemen.

We could really use that Democratic House in 2014.

We Come Not To Praise Hugo Chavez...

...but to bury him, as Zack Beauchamp reminds us.  Deep, deep underground preferably, because the guy really was a despot and a tyrant, not to mention an actual anti-Semite.  I know that term gets thrown around a lot, but he really did go after Venezuelan Jews as political and social enemies of the state and did nothing to stop the rise of that awful garbage in his populist bullying wake.

While even Chavez’s critics admit that he did attempt to address the plight of Venezuela’s poorest, the decline in economic inequality in Venezuela reflected a broader egalitarian trend in Latin America, and can’t be fully credited to Chavez’s policies. However, Chavez’ policies harmed Venezuela’s poorest in other ways: the value of the Venezuelan currency dropped while prices soared, making it harder for people to buy basic necessities, and crime skyrocketed.

Moreover, Chavez hurt the vulnerable in Venezuela in other ways. Chavez’s state-run media hounded Venezuela’s small, beleaguered Jewish population — he himself once said “Don’t let yourselves be poisoned by those wandering Jews.” A study released by the Kantor Center at Tel Aviv University found that Chavez’s rule “witnessed a rise in antisemitic manifestations, including vandalism, media attacks, caricatures, and physical attacks on Venezuelan Jewish institutions.” Indeed, roughly half of Venezuelan Jews fled the country because of “the social and economic chaos that the president has unleashed and from the uncomfortable feeling that they were being specifically targeted by the regime.”

Chavez also attacked Venezuela’s democratic political system. Human Rights Watch reported in 2012 that “the accumulation of power in the executive and the erosion of human rights protections have allowed the Chávez government to intimidate, censor, and prosecute critics and perceived opponents in a wide range of cases involving the judiciary, the media, and civil society.” Contra Serrano, Venezuela’s elections were not certified as “free and fair” by international monitors of late: Chavez had not allowed international election monitors to observe Venezuelan elections since 2006.

Absolute best case, Chavez was a terrible leader whose reign caused untold damage among the Venezuelan people.  Worst case?  Glad the guy's in the ground.

He won't be missed.