The Unkindest Cuts Begin

So a GOP Congress means a lot of things for America, and pretty much none of them good.  One of those "not good" things is the return of the Catfood Commission, as House Republicans are going to force a fight on Social Security disability benefits.

Buried in new rules that will govern the House for the next two years is a provision that could force an explosive battle over Social Security's finances on the eve of the 2016 presidential election. 

Social Security's disability program has been swamped by aging baby boomers, and unless Congress acts, the trust fund that supports it is projected to run dry in late 2016. At that point, the program will collect only enough payroll taxes to pay 81 percent of benefits, according to the trustees who oversee Social Security. 

To shore up the disability program, Congress could redirect payroll taxes from Social Security's much larger retirement fund — as it has done in the past. However, the House adopted a rule Tuesday blocking such a move, unless it is part of a larger plan to improve Social Security's finances, by either cutting benefits or raising taxes. 

Long the third rail of American politics, tinkering with Social Security has never been easy. Throw in election-year politics and finding votes in Congress to cut benefits or raise taxes could be especially difficult. 

But if Congress doesn't act, benefits for 11 million disabled workers, spouses and children would be automatically cut by 19 percent. The average monthly payment for a disabled worker is $1,146, or a little less than $14,000 a year.

And yes, disability benefits are different from old age benefits.  Technically, those are two separate funds, and the disability fund is definitely running out of money.  But House Republicans are blocking the usual move to tap old age benefits to fund the disability account (and the old age account is doing just fine, thanks.)

That means the fight over Social Security cuts is now one of the big issues in 2016, and Republicans are going to try to find a way to force President Obama to accept them, then blame Democrats for the cuts in perpetuity.

We'll see how this fight plays out this year and next, but keep an eye on the news.  Republicans have been waiting to gut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for years now, and this is the best chance they've got.  (What, did you think they were going to wait until a Republican president was in the White House to do it?  Can't blame the Democrats then, can they?)

Shifty bastards.

Seeing Stars Late At Night

Well here's what I call smart television: Neil DeGrasse Tyson is bringing his Star Talk radio/podcast show to TV.

On Wednesday, the National Geographic channel announced that Tyson would be hosting the network's first ever late-night talk show, Variety reported. It will be loosely based on Tyson's popular podcast, Star Talk, and feature the cosmologist in the starring role. Few other details have so far been announced, but if it is anything like the podcast, you can expect a slew of comics, celebrities and fellow scientists to join Tyson to discuss "astronomy, physics and everything else about life in the universe." 

"Cosmos allowed us to share the awesome power of the universe with a global audience in ways that we never thought possible," Tyson reportedly said. "To be able to continue to spread wonder and excitement through Star Talk, which is a true passion project for me, is beyond exciting." 

Star Talk will also mark NatGeo's continuing expansion into such original programming (they're also planning an upcoming comedy from the creators of HBO's Silicon Valley). And as an educational channel that actually still has educational programming (unlike some other guys) hopefully they'll make this expansion carefully and deliver something good.

"We continue to bolster our programming with series and event specials that are brand definitional, andStar Talk is the perfect opportunity to offer our audience an edgy, late-night alternative with the credibility and authenticity that are the hallmarks of our network," National Geographic Channels CEO Courteney Monroe reportedly said.

I enjoy watching The Nerdist on BBC America, and SyFy's The Wil Wheaton Project is also a good time, so I know there's room out there in the vast cable spectrum for smart late-night hosts and talk shows. Hell, Craig Ferguson was brilliant on The Late Late Show.

Looking forward to watching this, as the Star Talk podcasts I've listened to have been pretty good. Neil is a natural and here's hoping it's even better.

StupidiNews!

• French police continue to hunt for two of the three gunmen responsible for the deadly attack at Paris' Charlie Hebdo weekly, the third suspect has surrendered.
• Comedian Bill Cosby will go ahead with three Canadian shows this week despite growing allegations of widespread sexual assault of women over many years.
• Billionaire investor George Soros is urging the world's banks to put together a $50 billion aid package to Ukraine to shore the country up against further Russian incursion.
• President Obama will announce lower mortgage insurance premiums backed by the FHA in order to spur new home ownership and refinancing of home loans to new lower rates.
• The Los Angeles Police Department will outfit 3,000 officers with Tasers that will automatically activate body cameras when fired.

Last Call For Reading Left To White

Former Virginia Dem Sen. Jim Webb isn't going to run a dog whistle campaign for 2016, no sir. Nia-Malika Henderson at WaPo:

Some think Jim Webb could be the liberal Democratic alternative to Hillary Clinton in 2016. Perhaps it's more likely, though, that Webb could position himself as something the Democratic Party — or any party, really — hasn't seen in some time: the vocal champion of the working-class white man. 

The former Virginia senator offered this critique of his party to Matt Bai over at Yahoo!, and it sounds like something that you might hear on the campaign trail going forward. 

“I think this is where Democrats screw up, you know?” Webb said. “I think that they have kind of unwittingly used this group, white working males, as a whipping post for a lot of their policies. And then when they react, they say they're being racist.” 

Rather than run as a liberal (which he is not, in a whole host of ways), Webb could run as a kind of anti-Hillary. He would be an explicit counter to the sort of progressive, feminist narrative that would inherently undergird a Clinton run. He would also be the anti-Obama, a break from the sort of identity politics around race, gender and ethnicity that have, in Webb's telling, excluded working-class white men. 

(A white woman running for president after the nation's first black president could certainly underscore the "what about us" feeling among this demographic.)

So let me get this straight:  Jim Webb is running on "You know what, we gave black people six, eight years out of 240.  That's more than enough.  So, sorry Hillary, but it's time to get back to white guys running the place, and white guys voting for him."

And this is a Democrat running on this.

Whatever.

Drawing Attacks From Extremists

The Paris offices of French satire weekly Charlie Hebdo were attacked by three gunmen Wednesday, killing 12 and generally proving once again that religious fundamentalist idiots really cannot handle humor.

Masked gunmen burst into the Paris offices of a French satirical newspaper on Wednesday and killed 12 people, including top journalists and two police officers, before fleeing in a car. The gunmen were still at large at dusk, as an extensive police dragnet spread across a traumatized city. 

Among the dead were four prominent cartoonists who have repeatedly lampooned Islamic terrorists and the Prophet Muhammad, leading to speculation that the attack on the newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, was the work of Islamic militants acting alone or in concert with extremist groups. 

A police guard assigned to protect the newspaper was among the first victims. A second police officer, who responded to reports of the shooting, was killed on the sidewalk outside the office by the fleeing suspects, the Paris police said. The shooting of the second police officer was captured in a widely-seen video. 

President François Hollande immediately declared that the attack was an act of terrorism and an assault on freedom of the press. He ratcheted up France’s nationwide terror alert to its highest level, and met with his cabinet in an emergency session. He said France was already on high alert after several planned terrorist attacks were thwarted in recent weeks.

And speaking of idiots with no sense of humor:

Tom McInerney, a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General, told Steve Doocy that “this is a classical radical Islamist attack, Steve, and political correctness is killing us. This is a prime example.” 

“We must hold the Arab world and the Muslim world accountable,” he continued, “for this radical Islamic ideology — which, as I’ve said before — is as evil as Nazism, fascism, and communism. It is not a religion.” 

Doocy then introduced a clip of the gunman firing, and noted that that “I’ve been getting a lot of tweets from people from Paris who said that most cops choose not even to carry a gun. That, thankfully, is not the case in New York.” 

“Thankfully,” McInerney replied, “but with the current leadership in New York — and I’m referring to the mayor, the communist mayor you have up there — that may change.” 

“So I think that the world must wake up. We’ve been doing this for almost 13-plus years since 9/11, and I think it’s time to hold the people accountable with global public opinion. Challenge them.” 

“What do you know specifically about the growth of radical Islam in France?” Elisabeth Hasselbeck asked. 

“Well, France has got approaching 20 percent of a Muslim population,” McInerney answered. “When they get there, they provoke the culture of the nation they are in, and tell them about the culture they want the nation to adopt. That’s where the political correctness comes.”

“That’s the danger, Elisabeth — they become much more assertive, and they do these kinds of things.”

13 plus years since 9/11 and some of us have learned nothing.

So when do we invade France to free them from Muslim tyranny, or whatever?

The Softest Book Ever Thrown At A Crook

Sentencing for former GOP Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was handed down Tuesday afternoon by a federal judge. He could have seen 20 years in prison, the government wanted at least 10 years, the judge limited the maximum to 6 1/2 to 8 years, and Bob here ended up with 2 years prison and 2 years probation.

For hour upon hour before sentence was passed, the court heard accounts of Mr. McDonnell’s good works, and the judge said they were a mitigating factor. But, he said: “A price must be paid. It breaks my heart.” 

Nearly 450 people, including Mr. McDonnell’s relatives and their friends, had written letters seeking leniency to Judge Spencer. Some spoke of the former governor’s generosity with the homeless. Others noted his devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. Still others said he had always taken care to notice the lowest rungs of the political ladder during campaigns. 

Most striking were the letters from Mr. McDonnell’s family members. One daughter, Jeanine McDonnell Zubowsky, wrote to Judge Spencer blaming her mother, Maureen McDonnell, who was also convicted of various charges and is to be sentenced in late February. 

Ms. McDonnell “has always been concerned about getting discounts or freebies,” Ms. Zubowsky wrote. 

“This was one of the main reasons she would not communicate with him,” she said. “She hid her coordination with people for free or discounted things or services, and she didn’t communicate with my dad because she knew he would not approve.” 

Ms. Zubowsky offered another reason for leniency, noting that she is to give birth to his grandchild soon.

As Leo DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort said in "Wolf of Wall Street" after being sentenced and facing the prospect of actual prison, "Then I remembered. I'm rich."

McDonnell's angling to stay out of prison on bond pending appeal, so who knows if he'll even go to jail. Bonus points too for McDonnell's daughter freely throwing her own mother under the Virginia Department of Corrections bus to save dear ol' dad. Mrs. McDonnell's sentencing is February 20th, by the way.

That's going to be a fun hearing, I think.

StupidiNews!

• A gunman shot and killed a doctor at a Texas veterans' hospital Tuesday before turning the gun on himself.
• Recently discovered planet Kepler 438b in the Lyra constellation may be the closest exoplanet yet to an Earth-like environment.
• Republicans in Congress say their first order of business is passing legislation to force the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which is facing an immediate veto threat from President Obama.
• Ohio Republican John Boehner has once again been re-elected as Speaker of the House, but he's not above punishing those Republicans who didn't vote for him.
• Intel says it will pledge $300 million to improve diversity hiring in the tech sector, funding college scholarships and supporting historically black colleges and universities.

Last Call For 2015 Comes In With A Bang

What domestic terrorism problem?  I don't see any domestic terrorism problem.

An explosion outside an NAACP office building in Colorado on Tuesday morning that rattled neighbors was caused deliberately, officials say.

An improvised explosive device was detonated against the exterior wall of the NAACP building on South El Paso Street in Colorado Springs around 10:45 a.m. Mountain time. No one was injured, said Amy Sanders, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Denver.

A gasoline can had been placed near the device but did not ignite during the explosion, Sanders said.

FBI Denver and the Colorado Springs Police Department are on the scene. A 40-year-old man is a person of interest in the investigation. He may be driving a 2000 or older-model dirty, white pick-up truck with paneling, a dark colored bed liner, an open tailgate and a missing or covered license plate.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also investigating the case, according to Christopher Amon, acting spokesman for the agency's Denver office.

Nope, no domestic terrorism problem here.

So, which gun-loving conservative is going to call for the NAACP to start making efforts to arm African-Americans in order to protect themselves from attacks like this?

I'll just wait a bit for that to happen.

The Game's On In New York From Day One

House Republicans from New York are already having major issues in the 114th Congress, and today's only the first day it's in session.  First, convicted tax felon Michael Grimm is immediately resigning today, leaving an open seat.  As I've said, Staten Island Republican prosecutor Daniel Donovan, the man who failed to indict the cop that killed Eric Garner, is running on the GOP side. The Democrats are going to try to make this seat competitive with the man Grimm originally beat.

The DCCC had high hopes for this race in 2014, though the party’s top recruits bowed out, reluctant to take on Grimm, even after his 20-count felony indictment. The party eventually backed Domenic Recchia, who struggled as a candidate and lost badly.

Democratic recruiting efforts are likely to be a little easier in an open-seat special election, and former Rep. Michael McMahon (D), who held the seat between Fossella and Grimm, has said publicly that he’s “definitely taking a look” at the race.

Meanwhile, up in the Hudson Valley, Republican Chris Gibson is expected to immediately announce his retirement.

The Republican, who was re-elected to a third term in November, will open a competitive seat in 2016 with his departure following this Congress. President Barack Obama carried the district with 52 percent, making it a must-win for House Democrats if they want to put a dent in the GOP’s historic majority this cycle.

Last year, Gibson annihilated venture capitalist Sean Eldridge, the Democratic nominee with deep pockets, by nearly 30 points. 

Initially, Democrats were optimistic about defeating Gibson in the lush and rolling Hudson Valley-based district north of New York City. But Eldridge’s candidacy quickly flamed out, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee never reserved airtime in the 19th District to support his campaign. 

Without Gibson on the ticket, Democrats will target the district as a pick-up opportunity.

And yes, Sean Eldridge ran arguably the worst House campaign for the Dems in 2014 in what was a miserable year for them anyhow.  He made no effort to hide the fact he was buying the seat as a techbro trophy, and managed to piss off everyone in the district doing it.  The good news is the Dems can basically run anyone and they'd do better than Eldridge.

But that leaves two open seats that the Dems pretty much have to win back in order to try to make any attempt at shifting the House.

Something Something Obama's Fault

Remember this greatest wingnut hit from the 2012 campaign?

In the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election, David Siegel, billionaire chief of Florida timeshare company Westgate Resorts, sent an email to all employees. “Of course, as your employer, I can’t tell you whom to vote for,” Siegel wrote, but offered “a few facts that might help you decide what is in your best interest.” These included that re-electing Obama would “threaten your job” and result in “less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.”

Obama carved a backwards letter B on my economic growth picture and if you minimum wage slaves vote for him well it would be a shame if something were to happen to your job and HOLY CRAP IS THAT OBAMA’S ENTRANCE MUSIC I HEAR JIM?

Just over two years after penning that company-wide email, Siegel informed Westgate employees that instead of layoffs, he would boost their minimum wage to $10 per hour beginning in 2015. 

In fact, according to Siegel, 2014 was a banner year. “We’re experiencing the best year in our history and I wanted to do something to show my gratitude for the employees who make that possible,” Siegel said in announcing the wage hike. He also recently told the Orlando Business Journal that “things have never been better.” 

Westgate currently employees about 12,000 people. Though the minimum wage increase won’t impact all workers, including those who receive tips, commissions, or work under a collective bargaining agreement, a company spokesman told Vegas Inc. that thousands of employees will receive a raise because of the move.

Oh. Well then. Must be President Eric Cantor’s doing.

StupidiNews!

• Two US Ski Team prospects were killed in Austria on Monday by an avalanche while training for a spot for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
• Commercial rocket company Space X will test the landing of their Falcon 9 rocket system on a large floating drone ship in the Atlantic.
• The CIA says the agency's chief internal affairs officer, Inspector General David Buckley, is resigning his position effective at the end of January.
• Mobile carrier Verizon Wireless is looking to either form a joint venture with or outright buy AOL in order to expand the company's mobile wireless offerings.
• Sony says it has sold 18.5 million PlayStation4 consoles worldwide after a strong holiday season, continuing a strong six-month sales period.

Last Call For Dusting Off The Shutdown Clock

Guess what the new GOP Congress plans to do later this month, America?

On immigration, House Republican officials say they expect to approve a Department of Homeland Security spending measure before the end of January that would deny money to carry out Mr. Obama’s action to ease the threat of deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants. 

Because the House has been in Republican hands since 2011, the real test comes in the Senate, where the new majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, is armed with a 54-46 majority. He will still have to find a way to make legislation passed by the House attractive to enough Democrats to assemble the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural obstacles and send them to the president’s desk. 

“The Senate will be ground zero,” said one House Republican leadership aide, who was not authorized to talk publicly about party strategy.

So yes, the Republicans are planning to shut down the Department of Homeland Security in order to deport millions.  They believe this will be a winning strategy.  And among Republicans, it will be. For everyone else, well if the GOP wanted to signal to the country that they have no desire to govern, but only to destroy, there you go.

Hey, you voted for them, America.

Billions Of Reasons To Be Worried

Time to check in with the latest scorecard of the elite rich in 2014, and even with tumbling oil prices the world gained several new billionaires last year and the 400 richest people on earth made serious bank.

The world's 400 richest people added some $92 billion to their collective wealth in 2014, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. As of Dec. 29, they were all worth a combined $4.1 trillion.

According to Bloomberg, 2014's biggest earner was Jack Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce company, who added $25.1 billion to his fortune after Alibaba's initial public offering in September. Microsoft's Bill Gates remains the world's richest man, adding some $9 billion to his net worth, which is valued at $87.6 billion.

In a year of geopolitical instability, not all the mega-rich were so lucky. A clutch of influential Russian billionaires suffered as a result of sliding oil prices and Western sanctions on Moscow. Alisher Usmanov, who entered 2014 as Russia’s richest man, lost a third of his wealth.

In any event, these eye-popping figures should not be a surprise. Global inequality is deepening, with millions of poorer people around the world affected by rising rates of joblessness and decreasing incomes.

Just how bad is global inequality in 2015?  It's pretty amazing.



Some 85% of the world's entire wealth, is held by less than 9% of earth's population.  If you account for just the 35 million millionaires and up, that's 44% of the world's wealth: $116 trillion bucks.  So yes, if you own a home worth more than $100k or so, you're worth something.  But the world's millionaires and especially the world's 2400 or so billionaires run the show.

This kind of inequality can't sustain itself much longer.

Or can it?

Here's a bit of perspective on the ever-rising cost of elections, and the big-money donors who finance them: Three of the country's wealthiest political contributors each saw their net worth grow in 2014 by more than $3.7 billion, the entire cost of the midterm elections. 

And as the 2016 presidential election approaches, almost all of those donors have even more cash to burn.

At least here it can, and it will.

Gohmert For Broke

It wouldn't be a year in American politics without Texas GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert doing something amazingly stupid, and this year it's gunning for Orange Juliuis's job as Speaker of the House.

According to Gohmert, the voters made it clear in 2014 that they want leadership changes.

"There have been numerous examples of problematic Republican leadership, but we were hopeful our leaders got the voters’ message," he said. "However, after our speaker forced through the CRomnibus by passing it with Democratic votes and without time to read it, it seemed clear that we needed new leadership. There had been much discussion."

Later on Sunday, Gohmert issued a statement announcing his intention to run for speaker and explaining that he was inspired to run when his colleague Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) decided to run for speaker.

Gohmert assured that a crowded GOP field for speaker would not hurt the Republican party.

"There is false information being floated that any Republican candidates in addition to the current Speaker will split the vote and give the Speaker's gavel to Congresswoman Pelosi. This is nothing but a scare tactic to keep the current regime in power," he said in the statement. "As long as Republicans vote for an adult American citizen for Speaker, no Democrat can win."

"At this point, the Speaker’s election is not about a particular candidate. It is about whether we keep the status quo or make the change the country demands. I am putting forward my name for consideration as Speaker and hope that with a new Speaker, be that me or someone else, we can fight for the ideals and principles that the voters wanted when they elected us in November," Gohmert concluded.

Anybody But Boehner, it seems.  But can Ted Yoho or Louie Gohmert or anyone else get enough votes to beat Boehner?  I seriously doubt it.

But it'll be fun to watch. Even my own member of Congress, Rand Paul Jr. Tom Massie, is in the Anybody But Boehner camp.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) announced on Saturday that he would not be voting for John Boehner (R-Ohio) to return as House speaker once the new Congress convenes.

“For years I watched Washington from afar and suspected that something was broken,” he said in a press release. ”During my first two years as a congressman I discovered a significant source of the dysfunction. I watched the House Leadership.”

He's right about that, actually.  Should be a fun January.

StupidiNews!

• Several hundred Boko Haram militants have overrun and captured a multinational African Union base in Nigeria over the weekend.
• Scientists have discovered more information on how the brain's internal compass works when navigating, even in virtual space.
• Jury selection will begin today in the trial of accused 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who could face the death penalty if convicted on federal terrorism charges.
• The Obama administration has issued a new round of sanctions against North Korea for its suspected involvement in the hack of Sony Pictures.
• New statistics found that 50 law enforcement officers were killed by firearms in 2014, up from 32 in 2013.