Submitted That Mark Sanford Is In Fact An Incredible Asshole

Two stories from today.

First, South Carolina now has an unemployment rate of 10.4%. It's second worst in the country, only Michigan has a higher rate, and it's the worst unemployment rate in 26 years in the Palmetto State.

Second, naturally this means with people in his state hurting badly, SC Gov. Mark Sanford wants to take $700 million of the state's $2.8 million in stimulus to pay down the state's debt instead of using it on unemployment benefits or job creation as he plays politics with the lives and livelihoods of thousands for his own Presidential bid in 2012.

The prosecution rests.

A New Face On An Old Bogeyman

Despite stabbing Barack Obama in the back repeatedly, Democrats left Joe F'ckin Lieberman in charge of the Senate Homeland Security committee. Surprising absolutely nobody, Lieberman today used his chairmanship to try to scare the bejeezus out of America and remind us that THERE ARE MUSLIMS IN AMERICA.

There is an increasing threat of homegrown terror stemming from segments of a deeply isolated and alienated Somali-American community, a U.S. Senate committee hearing concluded Wednesday.

The hearing, conducted by the Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee, focused on the attempted recruitment of young Somali-American men by al-Shabaab, "a violent and brutal extremist (Somali) group" with significant ties to al Qaeda, according to the U.S. State Department.

"Over the last two years, individuals from the Somali community in the United States, including American citizens, have left for Somalia to support and in some cases fight on behalf of al-Shabaab," noted the committee's chairman, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Connecticut.

Al-Shabaab -- also known as the Mujahedeen Youth Movement -- was officially designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government in March 2008.

The hearing highlighted the case of Shirwa Ahmed, a 27-year-old Somali-American who had been radicalized by al-Shabaab in his adopted home state of Minnesota before traveling to Somalia and blowing up himself and 29 others in October.

The idea that Ahmed was radicalized in the United States raised red flags throughout the U.S. intelligence community. The incident -- the first suicide bombing by a naturalized U.S. citizen -- was the "most significant case of homegrown American terrorism recruiting based on violent Islamist ideology," Lieberman said.

I don't know about you, but I'm much more worried about homegrown American terrorism actually happening on American soil based on violent Christian ideology than I am Somali-Americans going over to Somalia and getting involved with the wars there.

I would think with the number of people actually killed on US soil by radical idealogue domestic terrorists, you'd want to instead be investigating those who publicly make threats of sedition and secession against the US, rather than demonizing Muslims.

Not saying there aren't people that want to hurt America. 9/11 was an act of massive tragedy. But it's far past time to admit there are Americans who want to hurt America, people who aren't foreign, aren't Muslim, and aren't dark-skinned. Not every terrorist in America is from out of town, folks.

I would think those folks are a far greater actual threat. They are the ones actually killing Americans on American soil. Just because they're not using planes to do it doesn't make the people killed any less dead.

State Of Panic

State unemployment figures are in, and they are pretty lousy. Four states now have double digit unemployment (MI, SC, RI, and CA) and half a dozen other states are at 9% or more (OH, NC, OR, NV, IN, and DC).

Needless to say, these numbers are only going to get worse before they get better. The axe has yet to fully drop on other populous states like Texas, Florida and New York, and if layoffs there start gaining steam, we could find the entire country may be into double digit unemployment sooner rather than later.

Very soon now we're looking at a critical mass juncture. Once that tipping point is reached, it's going to start getting very bad, very quickly.

And finally keep in mind that the real unemployment numbers are a good 7-8% higher if you count the full U-6 number, meaning that states like Michigan (at 11.6% U-3) are now approaching the 20% U-6 level. Roughly one in five Michiganders are out of work, underemployed, or have given up on finding a job.

That will spread and grow quickly. Another 2-4% to the U-3 will most likely put most of the country into the 20% U-6 range, with the worst states approaching that 25% mark. I'm not swearing off a U-3 number of 12%, either.

Yes, it could be that bad. We've seen states gain almost 5% unemployment in just 12 months. A similar year ahead to March 2010 would put a lot of states closer to 15% U-3 than 10%.

How's that for cheery?

Give In To A Bully Once...

...And they will keep taking and taking and taking from you. Case in point: less than 24 hours after the Israel lobby killed the appointment of Chas Freeman and they have seen how easy it is to roll Obama, they have moved on to their next issue -- getting the Rosen/Weismann AIPAC spy case thrown out. The Washington Post editorial board is more or less demanding AG Eric Holder drop the case immediately, and given the usual M.O. of the Israel lobby, there's a very good chance that the case will indeed be thrown out now.

As Justin Raimondo at Antiwar.com points out,

The president's left-wing supporters want action on the Israeli-Palestinian front, and expectations are high: a new understanding of the "special relationship" is a prerequisite for success. Yet the administration is extraordinarily sensitive to criticism from the Israel lobby, which has gone on a jihad against Freeman, throwing everything in the book at him, and then some. The chosen theme of their hate campaign, in this case, is to portray Freeman as an agent of foreign powers – Saudi Arabia and China, so far. This charge, coming from the Israel lobby, is a hoot and a half – especially when one considers that the first voice to be raised against Freeman belonged to none other than Steve Rosen, the former AIPAC top lobbyist awaiting trial on charges of espionage on behalf of Israel (see this timeline).

And now we see the other shoe drop: drop Freeman, then drop the Rosen case.

Once again, one has to ask who is running America's foreign policy, and the answer isn't America. I'm hoping that Holder will resist the WaPo's ludicrous call to do it, but I would bet money that the case will be dismissed pretty soon.

After all, Israel's new government has a United States of America to run.

Zandar's Thought Of The Day

Alan Greenspan is now trying to pin the blame for the economy on Ben Bernanke, China, and too much regulation. Publicly. In the Wall Street Journal.

In any just universe where God existed and cared enough to administer justice, this would be followed by Greenspan being crushed under a file cabinet full of subprime mortgage paperwork.

Apocalypse Wingnut: Heart Of Dorkness

Over at the Frog Pond, Steven D dives into the brackish, dark waters of the true wingnut blogger fringe and dredges up my evil goatee wearing clone.

Came across this brand new blog yesterday while researching the "Restore the Republic" video I wrote about as an update to my post about Glenn Beck and Chuck Norris and their "We Surround Them" coming TV even on Fox News.

Follow me below the fold for a glimpse into the hatred, paranoia and desires for the overthrow of our government that this blogger who hopes to sponsor a "Patriot March" on Washington, DC this July to protest the tyranny of the Federal Government under President Obama.

This is one wingnut's vision of future events which he believes the Obama administration and control of Congress by the Democratic Party will bring about. Read it not because it is an "entertaining" piece of of unintended farce. Read it because of what it reveals about the mindset of far too many people who do not accept Obama's victory, and believe he should be taken down "by any means necessary." In that respect, it is deeply disturbing. This "prophecy" is from someone who listens to Fox News, is a member of the ditto head nation of Rush Limbaugh, and who likely attended one of those hate fests last October otherwise known as Sarah Palin rallies. I think his screed is representative of a new wave of right wing hatred and violence laced fantasies (and some far to real plans for home grown terrorist violence) which have re-emerged over the last year. So read it, please, if only to better know the insanity that is lurking in the shadows waiting for its moment in the sun.

Do read Steve's post, this guy's most certainly a cross between a Harry Turtledove novel and the fevered rantings of College Republicans on LSD.

Our buddy from Patriot March spins a tale of a mirror's dark aspect, looking into a world where California goes bankrupt, the South secedes, Mexican immigrants take on the National Guard in pitched border battles, Fox News and Rush Limbaugh are taken off the air by government fascists, the illegal Obama administration is overthrown by military junta, and the US is broken up into "autonomous regions".

It's hysterical stuff. You have to laugh at it, because it helps cushion the shock that comes after when you realize that millions of your fellow Americans believe this is going to happen. A whole hell of a lot of people in this country believe that this country under Obama is headed down this firey path to Hell and some will be willing to do whatever it takes to stop Obama and the government. Remember Tim Mcveigh? Eric Rudolph? Crackpots along those lines, domestic terrorists like those hateful fools, they're still out there.

And only one of them has to get lucky.

Midterm Grades From The Village Idiots

Since the first 100 days of an administration is passe' and for losers, the Village Idiots and Wingnuts have declared Obama THE WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF PRESIDENTING THINGS after just fifty days in office, the very model of pundit efficiency (all the hate, half the wait.)

The Wingers are keeping a tally of his indelible sins, Salon's Camille Paglia is screaming at Hussein Ofailure for picking on poor, defenseless Rush Limbaugh, Politico warns us that the administration has resorted to left-wing conspiracy conference calls to get out its doomed message, Newsweek's Howard Fineman declares the Village is turning on the President for not being a swaggering cowboy, and Jake Tapper complains that the President is just trying to do too much too soon, the cad.

You'd think that after 50 days of a President that actually did things and has a 60%+ approval rating for it, and helping to boost the approval ratings of Congress 20 points to a four year high, (all this qualifying as an unqualified failure apparently) these same folks would in comparison really absolutely savage a President that spent eight years jerking around and nearly a thousand days screwing around his ranch or hanging at Camp David and a final approval rating in the low 20s by handing the worst economy in generations off to the current guy.

But inexplicably, you'd be wrong. It's all Obama's fault, you see.

Your Liberal Media at work once again. Remember the steady warnings I've been giving you about underestimating the amount of sheer hatred that the Village has for him?

It's become painfully clear that it's just getting started.

StupidiNews!

• An Alabama man went on a shooting rampage and killed 10 before taking his own life.
• Bernie Madoff will plead guilty to all charges and could get 150 years in prison.
• As the economic recession rolls on, auto loans are the next segment to go bad.
• Congress has passed the $410 billion omnibus spending bill funding government through September.
• In-flight internet takes off across American domestic flights this year.

Dear America:

"I just cannot possibly begin to fathom how any rational, thinking, human being can possibly even consider supporting the horribly failed, fascist, socialist Obama empire. After seven entire weeks of the worst Presidential administration in American history (and possibly any President of anything anywhere), this whole Chas Freeman thing just underscores how much I hate, hate, hate HATE, HATE, HATE Barack Hussein Obama. MY GOD, JUST IMPEACH HIM ALREADY!"

--Jennifer Rubin, Commentary

Bonus Verbatim Stupidity: "We know the Far Left is where the “cabal” resides and that their regard for human rights is nonexistent."

I defer to Zandardad for the psych assessment of this woman.

New tag: Obama Derangement Syndrome.

Freeman Gets The Freeway

If you have any questions about who is running Obama's Middle East policy, the answer came down this afternoon as National Intelligence czar Dennis Blair withdrew Chas Freeman's nomination as chair of the President's National Intelligence Council.

Charles W. Freeman Jr. asked today that his name be withdrawn as chairman of the National Intelligence Council, Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair announced.

The withdrawal came hours after Blair gave a spirited defense of the outspoken former ambassador to a dubious senator, and a day after all seven Republican members of the Senate intelligence committee criticized the appointment over his views on Israel and his past relationships with Saudi and Chinese interests.

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) questioned Blair about the appointment today when the intelligence chief came before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Lieberman cited Freeman's past associations and statements which, the senator said, "appear either inclined to lean against Israel or too much in favor of China."

The National Intelligence Council oversees production of national intelligence estimates and shorter assessments on specific issues, tapping experts from among the 16 intelligence agencies. The chairman's position does not require Senate confirmation.

The answer to who controls Obama's Middle East policy is simple: Israel.

Israel didn't like Freeman. Ergo, Freeman was forced to withdraw. Game, set, match, Tel Aviv. That's all you need to know about Obama's "change" as far as the Middle East goes: we're still Israel's vassal state.

[UPDATE] Double G has more:

Does anyone doubt that it's far more permissible in American political culture to criticize actions of the American government than it is the actions of the Israeli Government? Isn't that rather odd, and quite self-evidently destructive?

And thus, nothing has truly changed. The depressing, maddening thing is the number of people on both sides of the aisle who are actually taking credit for Freeman's defeat. Both Democrats and Republicans are in fact crowing about how they stopped Chas Freeman, as if he was the most despised man in the United States.

But that's the power of Israel in the US. You cross them, you're done in Washington.

Zandar's Thought Of The Day

If 4 inches of snow in Las Vegas, the most in three decades, is proof that global warming is a hoax, then what about the fact it's 77 degrees here in Cincy today -- a record high that was four degrees warmer than the previous mark for March 10 that stood for 36 years?

I mean, I guess that proves it's real by that logic, huh? By the same token, today's 380 point gain on the Dow is therefore proof that Wall Street has wholeheartedly embraced the Obama administration's economic plan, yes?

An Issue Of Choice

The Employee Free Choice Act is in trouble. Democrats are wavering on the bill in the Senate because big business is bringing massive pressure to bear. Starbucks, Burger King, and Wal-Mart are all strongly against the measure, and the GOP is closing in.

But the question isn't will the bill pass, but how watered down the bill will be as Jonathan Tasini explains.

First, a bit about my view of the state of play. The math has always been pretty simple: EFCA will easily pass the House. The fight will be to get to 60 votes in the Senate. I've always suspected the conventional thinking on this was off--conventional, meaning, once Al Franken is seated, bringing the Democratic Senate caucus to 59, it would be easy to recruit one more Republican, more than likely, Arlen Specter, to support EFCA.

The problem is that there are a handful of Democratic Senators who are, at best, weak on labor, and, at best, just outright shills for corporate interests in the Congress. Here is my list: Max Baucus, Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, and Blanche Lincoln; it's not clear to me what the replacement Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet will do on the bill, nor do I entirely trust Bill Nelson or Mark Pryor (on Pryor, maybe it's a family thing: his father was one of two Democratic Senators who would not vote in the 1990s to break a filibuster on the legislation that would have banned striker replacements, dooming the bill and giving corporations even more power to intimidate workers). That's seven Senators who, in my opinion, you cannot count as passionate champions of EFCA.

Here is what should concern us. I doubt any Democratic Senator will say "I oppose EFCA". What you will hear is something along the lines, "I think unions are good but there needs to be a balance between the interests of workers and business and the following amendment makes sure there is a balance..." and, not publicly, "thank you, Chamber of Commerce, you can now write out the PAC check for my next campaign..."

So we'll see. The legislation should be introduced today, and where it goes and what form the final bill will take is anyone's guess.

Opposite Man

When your party's ranking member on the House Budget committee tells the world the real problem with the economic crisis is that banking rules "were too Liberal" then you have officially exhausted any and all remaining credibility you have on the issue.

When you have mark-to-market accounting in a downward economy, in a spiraling balance sheet economy, that means those reserves have to grow, that means you can't lend as much.

So we need to fix the mark-to-market rules, either suspend them, go to a six- or a one-year rolling average. It's these mark-to-market rules that are taking these balance seats of these banks downward and preventing them from lending.

So rather than changing the capital requirements, which were too liberal in the last, you know, 10 or so years, let's fix the rule that caused it in the first place, and that's mark-to-market.

Yes, the accounting rules that allow you have fair and real numbers for your assets rather than making complete bullshit up are the problem according to the GOP, not the fact that banks have been habitually lying about their assets since the repeal of Glass-Stegall ten years ago.

The problem isn't your car is on fire, the problem is the mechanic has to honestly tell you your car is on fire, and that you can't play pretend anymore.

But I Dunno Man, They Have Chuck Norris

So, yeah. The forces of Glenn Beck's War Bunker Attack Zone or whatever have a new avatar of asskickery: Chuck F'ckin Norris (h/t BooMan Tribune).

The call by some right wing leaders for rebellion and for the military to refuse the commander in chief’s orders is joined by Chuck Norris who claims that thousands of right wing cell groups have organized and are ready for a second American Revolution. During an appearance on the Glen Beck radio show he promised that if things get any worse from his point of view he may “run for president of Texas.” The martial artist/actor/activist claims that Texas was never formally a part of the United States in the first place and that if rebellion is to come through secession Texas would lead the way.

Today in his syndicated column on WorldNetDaily Norris reiterates the point: “That need may be a reality sooner than we think. If not me, someone someday may again be running for president of the Lone Star state, if the state of the union continues to turn into the enemy of the state.”

He continues; calling on a second American Revolution; “…we've bastardized the First Amendment, reinterpreted America's religious history and secularized our society until we ooze skepticism and circumvent religion on every level of public and private life.

How much more will Americans take? When will enough be enough? And, when that time comes, will our leaders finally listen or will history need to record a second American Revolution? We the people have the authority according to America's Declaration of Independence, which states: That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…”

Norris claims that; “Thousands of cell groups will be united around the country in solidarity over the concerns for our nation.” The right wing cells will meet during a live telecast, "We Surround Them," on Friday March 13 at 5 p.m.

This is pretty dangerous stuff here, talking about secession from the US because, you know, they don't like the guy in charge. Last time this happened, well, a whole hell of a lot of Americans died.

Now, Chuck Norris is a trained martial artist and could whip my fat ass like a lemon meringue, but the guy is certifiable if he thinks he's going to be Sam Houston. Abolishing the Obama administration? Thousands of cell groups? C'mon. Can you imagine the outcry from the right if George Clooney or Brad Pitt or Michael Moore said a state should secede from the union and that there were thousands of cell groups out there? We'd have calls for McCarthy-style hearings into Hollywood in a heartbeat.

And yet Glenn Beck's "We Surround Them" movement is calling for Americans to do just that, to resist the notion of prior consent and that the family is the ultimate authority, not the government. Beck is rolling this movement out on FOX as a call for open resistance to the Obama government.

Once again, can you imagine how quickly the right would have Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow's jobs (and heads) if they called for this type of thing? How they would openly be called traitors? How they would call for their incarceration or even execution for mentioning something like this against the Bush administration?

But I suppose national TV/radio hosts and Hollywood TV personalities openly calling for secession from the union are 100% acceptable now that Hussein X, Scourge of Whitey is in power.

Go figure.

Nothing Can Stop The Power Of Helicopter Ben

Helicopter Ben says the POWAH OF REGULATION will prevent the next global depression 80 years from now!

"We must have a strategy that regulates the financial system as a whole, in a holistic way, not just its individual components," Bernanke said in prepared remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Fed chief's speech come as the Obama administration and Congress are starting to crafting their overhaul strategies. For the administration, critical work on that front will be carried out among global finance officials this weekend in London. That will help set the stage for a meeting of leaders from the world's 20 major economic powers in April.

Revamping the U.S. financial rule book -- a patchwork that dates to the Civil War -- is a complex task. Congress, the administration and the Fed are involved because they want to strengthen the system to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis -- the worst since the 1930s-- that has plunged the U.S. and many other countries' economies into painful recessions.

Here's a start, kids: Repeal Gramm-Leach-Bliley. Bring back the separation of insurance, banking, and brokerages under Glass-Steagall. In the space of less than ten years, GLB has all but destroyed the global financial system.

Get that law passed. These companies are costing us trillions and trillions of dollars to save. They should be downsized and broken up to the point where they are no longer systemic threats to the world financial fabric if even one of them fails. You want to reform the system there, Ben? Start there.

No real, meaningful reform to the financial system can start without first putting back the bank regulations that were enacted after the *last* depression, and that means restoring Glass-Steagall's firewalls between the financial, brokerage, and insurance industries. These corrupt companies only exist now thanks to trillions in bailouts and loan guarantees backed up by taxpayer dollars, and they have shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that corporate greed and shoddy enforcement will invariably lead to disaster. I have no sympathy left for them, and neither does anyone else.

The time has come. If Helicopter Ben is serious about reform, start with Nancy and Harry putting back Glass-Steagall.