More Civil Liberties Poseurs

Ezra Klein and Matt Yglesias show their unsteady commitment to civil liberties by backing the silencing of anyone who received TARP money.  The topic is the right of Deborah Weinsig, a Citigroup equity analyst who covers retail stocks, to explain to her clients why she thinks that card check will be bad for WalMart.

Mr. Klein (in a follow-up post):

This is a big deal for two reasons. First, it calls into question the impartiality of Citibank's ratings division. Second, it happened amidst a government-funded bailout of Citibank. This is a moment when you'd expect Citibank to be on its best behavior, both in terms of its political action and its business practices. In fact, they appear to be dispatching their analysts and leveraging their ratings division to oppose a policy that the Obama administration supports.

So much for dissent as the highest form of patriotism.  Here is Mr. Yglesias:

But there’s a fairly clear case to be made that firms on the public dole shouldn’t be engaged in lobbying or political activities.

That case is not supported by a link or further argumentation so we can not compare it to the case for (or against) teachers on the public payroll chiming in on Obama's education proposals, or doctors who receive NIH grants providing their views on stem cell research.

Bah!  I am just warming up and I have to run.  I'll be back.  And when I am I will belabor at least three points:

1.  A teensy bit of perspective would be helpful.  This is not the Citi board or CEO talking - this is one equity analyst charged with providing interesting market commentary so that institutional investors pay attention to her rather than fifty alternative analysts at rival firms.  Surely bloggers can relate.

2.  A lot of the scuffling about civil liberties under George Bush came across as partisan posturing, and apparently it was.  But "civil liberties" is not simply a phrase to be tossed around in partisan pillow fights.  Libs might even want to contemplate the notion that civil liberties extend to their political opponents.  (Radical.)  If we can make the world safe for terrorists who want to use the telephone networks to plot our destruction, surely we can allow US citizens to criticize the legislative process.

3.  A real killer point, but what was it... hmm.  Are Messrs. Klein and Yglesias offering unprincipled, poorly argued work product of the 8:45 AM call?  I blame the early hour and weak joe!  (But don't head over to Starbucks...)

[end of thread]

Comments

[kim]

'Best behaviour in political action'? Oh, my God, the lack of self-consciousness of these autocratic progressives is dismaying.
=========================================

[kim]

It's only one step further to demanding correct political speech over correct analytical speech. How corrupt is this? Where will trust come from, if speech must be politically correct rather than an accurate reflection of reality?
=======================================

[Granddaddy Long Legs]

First, the left relied on the old chickenhawk fallacy to silence their rivals. If you weren't involved in the situation, you shouldn't be allowed to have an opinion. Under that logic, shouldn't Messrs Klein and Yglesias shut up and let Citi tell us all what they think about government intervention in business?

It's not surprising that they've changed their tune. Consistency is hardly at the top of their list of virtues. See their evolving stance on signing statements and deficit spending.

[bgates]

What is lobbying but a request for the public dole?

[MayBee]

We don't need to be on the 8:45 am phone call.
It's easy enough to figure out what has been discusses.

[Ranger]

But there’s a fairly clear case to be made that firms on the public dole shouldn’t be engaged in lobbying or political activities.

Hmmmm... Does that mean ACORN must stop their political activies now that they are getting all kinds of Federal money?

[Clay Ranck]

Wasn't part of the issue with SarBox that equity analysts were making stock picks based on the financial relationships of the firms, instead of being based on objective factors. But when that financial relationship is with the government...

[hit and run]

Since libs think that a tax cut essentially is the government giving a tax payer money that belongs to the government -- there’s a fairly clear case to be made that persons on the public tax cut dole (95% of working families in Obama's America!) shouldn’t be engaged in political activities.

I'm looking at you, Matt.

[Jim Ryan]

Does that mean ACORN must stop their political activies

You don't get it. The point is that no one on the boss's payroll should be criticizin' da' boss, see? That includes any of youse disabled on welfare. Youse better support the boss's policies if you know what's good for y'z. ACORN? ACORN don't do nuthin' wrong. ACORN is some of our best men.

[hit and run]

TM:
I am just warming up and I have to run.

Smart. Less likely to pull a muscle.

[clarice]

Ranger, you beat me to it.
And not just ACORN --the whole range of advocacy groups, including Planned Parenthood, that receive substantial amountsa of government money.(I think even race baiting La Raza gets federal $$).

And then when we're finished with that, what about those receiving tax exempt $$$?

[DebinNC]

I forget. Who changed the IG rules? And who inserted that anti-whistleblower law in Porkulus? This is getting very scary.

[Appalled]

TM:

I think you are charactarizing Ezra Klein's response unfairly. He is saying the Citbank analyst was being political (and makes a pretty good argument for that proposition). I don't think he is saying that, if they take TARP money, they shouldn't get to.

[Gabriel Sutherland]

heh.

I'm sure someone will waddle along and write a book about "Heads in the Sand" and all will be well.

[Topsecretk9]

So I guess Citi should just fire their analysts since it's a crime for them to do their job now apparently.

[Ranger]

Appalled,

So, now it is "political" to state that if Card Check passes, it will be easier to unionize Walmart. And if Walmart is unionized, their cost of labor will go up. And if their cost of labor goes up, all other things being equal, their earnings will go down.

But, of course, everything is "political."

[MayBee]

Appalled- do you think Ezra Klein actually knows anything about the job of a stock analyst?

[Topsecretk9]

It's easy enough to figure out what has been discusses.

Posted by: MayBee | March 12, 2009 at 04:47 PM

HAH.

You can tell the topic of the conference call just by reading their incestuous posts:

TPM- Adding to what Yglesias wrote earlier blah blah blah...

Yglesias- I think to Ezra Klien's larger point in this post blah blah blah...

Ezra Klien - Earlier Josh mentioned blah blah blah

Is how their blogs go every fricken day -- it's like Lambchop's Song that never ends...

[Topsecretk9]

I don't think he is saying that, if they take TARP money, they shouldn't get to.

He shouldn't, unless he thinks Media Matters shouldn't get tax exempt status because they are anything but non-partisan.

[clarice]

Lambchop's Song that never ends...
HEH,TS--SMOOOOOOOOOOOOCH

[bgates]

Lil' Ezra says,
Citigroup's analyst is right to worry that shareholders would see smaller gains if Wal-Mart were unionized.
So he's admitting that the analyst is doing her job right, and still complaining that she should have a commissar looking over her shoulder.

He also gurgles,
many on the Left are arguing that this is more about generating a controlled stock market panic
If this analyst is able to slow the stock market collapse into a controlled panic, she should replace Geithner today.

[David Walser]

Appalled wrote: I think [TM is] charactarizing Ezra Klein's response unfairly. He is saying the Citbank analyst was being political (and makes a pretty good argument for that proposition). I don't think he is saying that, if they take TARP money, they shouldn't get to.

Appalled, if that's the case, why does Klien write: This is a big deal for two reasons. First, it calls into question the impartiality of Citibank's ratings division. Second, it happened amidst a government-funded bailout of Citibank. (Emphasis added.)

Why is the analysts comment a "big deal" because it came while Citi was getting federal money? Is Klien saying it's a big deal but one of those big deals we shouldn't do anything about? I think a more reasonable reading of Klien is that we shouldn't allow Citi to comment on policy because it's on the federal dole. If that's the proper reading, then TM's criticism is spot on.

[kim]

Appalled should be appalled at the call to be politically useful or to be quiet. I'm appalled that Appalled isn't appalled.
===================================

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

So it's their position that the card check bill just being introduced is good news for companies now operating without unions?

And that all analysts should/would see it that way?

None of these fools has ever run a business union or non-union.

[hit and run]

Followed the "Pres. Obama Will Not Attend Annual Gridiron Dinner, First President (since Grover Cleveland not to make the first dinner of his term) linked over there on memeorandum.

When I got to mediabistro where the article is from, I saw this as an ad above the article:

http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=87440&c=jfbdc>Firedoglake.com is looking for a http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=87440&c=jfbdc>DC Politicial Reporter. See all other great jobs at our http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/>Job Board.

Tops!!! So good to see you. You would be the perfect intrepid reporter for this position!

[bad]

But there’s a fairly clear case to be made that firms on the public dole shouldn’t be engaged in lobbying or political activities.

I'm actually pretty excited about this idea. Schools could get back to teaching and leave all of the radical sh** out of the curriculum. Hell, fire Ayers and Dohrn to start the process and let everyone know there is a new sheriff in town.

[Ranger]

Pres. Obama Will Not Attend Annual Gridiron Dinner, First President (since Grover Cleveland not to make the first dinner of his term)

Hmmm... Maybe they refused to let him use a teleprompter?

[Appalled]

D. Walser...

I made the mistake of following TM's link, rather than reading his quoted "graph". The comment TM quotes does not occur in the blogpost he links. Either there was significant editing of the post, or TM mislinked.

Kim:

I'm not defending the position taken here, as there are numerous takers of Federal dollars, and no lobbying restrictions placed on them. Plus, I'm pretty sure such a restriction would violate the constitutional right to petition the government for redress of grievances.

[Barry Dauphin]

But there’s a fairly clear case to be made that firms on the public dole shouldn’t be engaged in lobbying or political activities

But it's OK for Teacher's Unions.

[Jim Ryan]

Klein link.

[Fresh Air]

These guys have no idea what they are talking about. OBVIOUSLY!

...it calls into question the impartiality of Citibank's ratings division...

There is no such thing as a "ratings division." The retail analyst works in Equity Research. Weinsig's job is to follow retailers and report her analysis of them to investors, who are her clients. She probably makes in excess of a million dollars a year. She is not going to put that salary at risk by trying to be "political" with her ratings. These idiots only suspect that sort of thing because it's exactly the kind of thing they would do if they were in her shoes.

Post global settlement there can be NO pressure applied to any analyst internally or otherwise to change or alter ratings. To do otherwise is to risk termination, at a minimum. Isn't this what the liberal shmucks like Spitzer wanted, you know, impartial research.

What a couple of clowns--and clowns who never worked on Wall Street, that's for damn sure. Probably still sore they didn't get recruited when Morgan Stanley came to campus.

[Jim Ryan]

But it's OK for Teacher's Unions.

Don't y'z get it yet?

Someone's talkin' against the boss's policies? Maybe someone don't feel too good. See?

[Appalled]

Fresh Air:

I think there is a problem here, if Ezra Klein is correct in the Jim Ryan provided link:

At least, it was until yesterday, when Citibank improbably joined with the Chamber of Commerce to host a call opposing the Employee Free Choice Act. During the course of the conversation, the call leaders said that EFCA will "inhibit flexibility," "hamper companies from competing effectively," and prove "cumbersome" for business. The representative of the Chamber of Commerce said that "from the Chamber's perspective, and I would say probably from the whole business communities perspective, there are really no amendments you could make to this bill that would make it acceptable."

The moderator on the call? Deborah Weinswig.

There's a real problem of impartiality, here.

[TCO]

This was easily predicted and was predicted by bailout opponents. When are you RINO commie pussies going to admit you were wrong?

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

Not wrong about AIG, TCO, which was what we first argued about. AIG's foreign subs were the ones in trouble. A US Chapter 11 bankruptcy was not a practical solution.

Many of us were not in favor of bailouts after that.

Please be more discriminating in your pot-shot diatribes.

[Ranger]

Don't worry, all this will soon be irrelivent. Obama plans to abolish the economic cycle.

March 12 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=arahXWMs43R4&refer=worldwide>(Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama warned a group of chief executive officers that the U.S. can’t continue with “endless cycles of bubble and bust” and must build a new foundation for future economic growth.

[Enlightened]

Huh? So the FBI raids Kundra's offices, aide is arrested etc. etc....

And now Kundra takes an "indefinite leave"????

Seriously, as much as I detest this new administration and my opinion is just and opinion...Obama and his team are the most unprofessional team of hacks I've ever seen. And they are so frikking Kossack-arrogant they cannot discern the giantic shithole they are about to get sucked into.

Unbelievable.

[Enlightened]

TCO - STHU. Ron Paul has some earmarks for ya. Git along now.

[Extraneus]

These idiots only suspect that sort of thing because it's exactly the kind of thing they would do if they were in her shoes.

Exactly, FA. Every time they impugn someone's motives, they open a little window into their own souls. And every day another facist wannabe raises his head.

How could any stock analyst not "oppose a policy that the Obama administration supports"? Does anyone know of a policy the Obama adminstration supports that would help stocks? Maybe Ezra or Matt could cite one for us.

[hit and run]

Ranger:
Hmmm... Maybe they refused to let him use a teleprompter?

Heh, actually, its his kids' spring break.

Listen, I've got a tip for you. If he's really thinking of taking the week off, maybe going to the Caribbean or Hawaii or something, away from press conferences and interviews and summits and other appearances ... BUY BUY BUY!

And then sell the day he gets back in front of a microphone. But well before he actually speaks, of course.

[Ranger]

Yes, it is kind of hard to believe they can't staff Treasury because their standards are so high, and then they hire this guy who was running an office rife with kickbacks to venders for equipment never delivered and contract employees who never existed.

I love this line from the Yahoo News story:

Kundra said part of his focus is to change the way the government buys technologies from vendors.

I'll bet he did.

[mel]

hit-

that is a trading strategy I can work with.

Oh, first hires under the RAT Act? 1.4 million census workers.

Can't fill Treasury's potholes, but they got Rahm's departent covered.

Who's really in charge over there? Wait a minute, they're from here. i know that one...

[bgates]

the lack of self-consciousness of these autocratic progressives is dismaying.

That's what I thought when I saw this TP comment:

People are not, however, allowed to use government resources directly in political campaigns. That's why Bill Clinton could in his spare time ask for campaign contributions but couldn't use White House phones to call people to ask for money.

But it was followed by this:
nd frankly, given that this is a progressive political blog, I'm OK with sacrificing a very minor point of intellectual honesty to support labor.

[Jim Ryan]

Obama plans to abolish the economic cycle.

Great idea! So obvious it's a wonder no one ever tried it out before. By planning the economy centrally in Washington we can simply not have busts and have a constant boom!

With intellectuals like Obama in the WH, we are in good hands. This idea of his is Nobel Prize in Economics caliber. I can't believe I thought he was a charlatan before.

[Jim Ryan]

I'm OK with sacrificing a very minor point of intellectual honesty to support labor.

What a weird thing for a leftist to say, what with the history of leftism and the basic tenets of Marxism being 180 degrees opposed to such a thing.

[DebinNC]

Pres. Bush at last year's Gridiron Dinner at his self-deprecating best.

[Extraneus]

I'm OK with sacrificing a very minor point of intellectual honesty to support labor.

Just a little eeensy weeensy window.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

In Olympia, Washington they don't beat around the bush:

Lawmakers would not release the e-mail, but a copy was obtained by The Seattle Times. It apparently was from a staff member of the Washington State Labor Council to several members of labor organizations as well as a small number of state lawmakers.

It reads in part: "Brothers and Sisters, Just a quick update on where we are on the Worker Privacy Act:

• "Great leadership call yesterday where folks agreed that we would push for passage in the House this week and then call for a union president meeting with the Governor and the Majority Leader of the Senate to move the bill through the rest of the process.

• "Union leaders would send a message to the State Democratic party and to the Truman and Roosevelt funds from the House and Senate that 'not another dime from labor' until the Governor signs the Worker Privacy Act."

The key being, of course: "...'not another dime from labor' until the Governor signs the Worker Privacy Act." AKA, bribery.

[MayBee]

The FANTASTIC thing about this is they want EFCA and they super duper promise the unions won't harass people into joining unions.

So all the bloggers pushing this legislation are publishing the name of a woman who works at Citibank and deems EFCA unhelpful to WalMart. All the bloggers doing this are directed by the unions.

I do not know where people would get the idea unions try to intimidate people.
It's delicious.

[Jim Ryan]

O's pick for Commerce on O's budget:

The argument that it cuts the debt in half in four years is, ahh, is truly spurious.

[TCO]

Rhoads: tell me in detail why a bankruptcty was not possioble and why the govenment had to step in. I am so sicj of you pussies paying off counterparties. They played a derivative game. let them take the loss.

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

Great idea! So obvious it's a wonder no one ever tried it out before. By planning the economy centrally in Washington we can simply not have booms [busts] and have a constant bust [boom]!

There. Fixed, Jim.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

TCO, it works like this: bankruptcy is a US law. The part of AIG involved isn't in the US.

Stupid is one thing. Aggressively, ignorantly, obnoxiously stupid, with no apparent ability to learn, is really something else.

[kim]

Oh, no, Charlie, he's learning; he's not falsely accusing me of supporting further bailouts anymore.
===============================================

[bad]

TCO, please take your meds.

[EB]

If lobbyists for companies that took bailout money should be silenced politically, what about unions of bailed out companies?

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

Unless Congress amends the NLRA to delete Union Unfair Labor Practices. 8(b)(1) (prohibits union coercion and intimidation) and 8(b)(2) (prohibits union causing employer discrimination) I suspect management labor attorneys will be filing a lot of those charges if the card check legislation passes. It will be full employment for good management labor lawyers.

TCO:

Most of AIG's toxic assets and bad insurance contracts mostly impaired its foreign subsidiaries ("I" stands for international).

Applicability of US bankruptcy laws and jurisdiction of US bankruptcy courts over foreign insurance contracts is problematic enough that it would surely be challenged by disgruntled debtors and creditors -- especially those whose contracts have a choice of law clause specifying that the laws of an EU country (e.g. Switzerland, Great Britain, Belgium). Such a challenge would likely eventually go to SCOTUS or an international tribunal.

[bgates]

what about unions of bailed out companies?

Assent is the highest form of patriotism.

Or as Jim's been saying, if they don't wanna have problems, maybe they don't wanna cause problems for nobody else.

[Captain Hate]

I'm glad you other comment people do the heavy lifting of reading all of doucheboy Ezra's stuff so I don't have to endure it but still get an executive summary of his disconnect from reality. Let me sum up Ezra in one phrase: Stupid people say stupid things. If I ever form my own blog I'll never link that idiot.

TCO's just upset that the Redskins released Jason Taylor without getting anything worthwhile out of him.

[matt]

if you haven't noticed, a number of companies are beginning to reject bailout money, including Citi, B of A, and GM. My gut feeling is that this is being done to to retain some autonomy and avoid the harsh regulation that Obama wants to put in place. They are basically being smothered with conditions after the fact, which doesnt quite seem legal to me.

Another response to passage of card check legislation is going to be legal. The secret ballot is part and parcel of our political process, and this kind of blatant intimidation is not going to go down well with a large sector of society. Hey, maybe the ACLU will have to file a case!

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

Correction:

TCO:

AIG's toxic assets and bad insurance contracts mostly impaired its foreign subsidiaries (The "I" in AIG stands for international). Its US insurance business was financially sound.

Applicability of US bankruptcy laws and jurisdiction of US bankruptcy courts over foreign insurance contracts is problematic enough that it would surely be challenged by disgruntled debtors and creditors. Indeed many of the insurance contracts have a choice of law clause specifying that the laws of an EU country (e.g. Switzerland, Great Britain, Belgium) apply. This would automatically generate a jurisdictional tussle if unilateral application of US bankruptcy law were attempted.

Any jurisdictional challenge would likely eventually go to SCOTUS or an international tribunal -- scarcely a clean and fast procedure.

Easy answers are your stock in trade, but they are not persuasive.

If you would meet arguments head on instead of calling reasonably intelligent people stupid, you'd get a better audience here.

As it is, I see you as a bit of a one trick pony.

[Neo]

But there’s a fairly clear case to be made that firms on the public dole shouldn’t be engaged in lobbying or political activities.

Please explain the exception for ACORN

[Extraneus]

Please explain the exception for ACORN

What's a teeny sacrifice of a very minor point of intellectual honesty compared to supporting communities?

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

The moderator on the call? Deborah Weinswig.

There's a real problem of impartiality, here.

How can an analyst be impartial and still be an analyst? They analyze things and then make judgments about their findings.

Is it truly a problem if an analyst who has just issued a report saying EFCA will negatively impact Wal Mart earnings hosts a conference call wherein she states EFCA will negatively impact Wal Mart earnings?

[hit and run]

Extraneus:
What's a teeny sacrifice of a very minor point of intellectual honesty compared to supporting communities?

Obama gave them a waiver, so it's all good.

[verner]

Ranger: Don't worry, all this will soon be irrelivent. Obama plans to abolish the economic cycle.

Karl Marx, Capital. Anyone who has read it knows where the O man is coming from.

Come out of the closet Barry--you're a SOCIALIST.

[verner]

And the comments on Tappers Political Punch are CLASSIC! The 8:45 astroturfers were going on and on saying that during Obama's economic talk--without a teleprompter--the CEOs and Captains of Industry were nodding their heads in agreement while Obama was presenting his agenda!

What they didn't see was that when they left the room, they speed dialed their CFOs and brokers and said "oh shit, it's even worse than we thought."

Barry speaks, Dow 6500 tomorrow.

[hit and run]

verner:
during Obama's economic talk--without a teleprompter--the CEOs and Captains of Industry were nodding their heads in agreement while Obama was presenting his agenda!

I heard they http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1063353.html>didn't blink.

[William Teach]

I wonder if Ezra Klein and Matt Yglesias have issues with NASA employees, such as Jim Hansen, and other government employees campaigning for global warming legislation. I doubt it.

[bad]

William Teach, you're hot. Excellent point. Although I'd bet they'll say Hanson was sharing **SCIENCE**

[mel]

The developments of the now, joint and several, institutions extracting themselves from the game the administration wanted to play is a really, really big step for my sense of where things are and where they're going. This break away from the teat of government is so huge and will be politically devastating for any further advancement of the administration's goals. They absolutely require compliant corporate soldiers to roll over for them.

The snap back is just about ready to hit them in the face. This, and the "tea bag" neo-conservativism, is building way faster than they anticipated. They relied on a compliant press to get them there and that selling out by the media was noticed. Other sources have been sought, newspaper sales are off even more since the election. I wouldn't be surprised that page views are up, while commenter's numbers remain largely the same The change, for me, came with Bernanke's testimony on the third, when he stopped supporting the administration. The game has changed, but not for you TCO, of course, 'cause you're special.

I wonder how Rahm's going to respond.

[sbw]

"tea bag" neo-conservativism

Better yet: tea bag conservatism

[mel]

verner-

I believe he started with a teleprompter and they took it down for the Q and A. It sure looked like it from the camera angle used, and the ten o'clock, two o'clock head swings during his speech.

But I wasn't there, so there.

[mel]

sbw

I was looking for the double political entendre, so perhaps too much of a reach. I tried.

[bad]

I wonder how Rahm's going to respond.

I've heard he was into knives and dead fish in the past. Perhaps he'll step up to guns and horse heads.

[MayBee]

He had the teleprompter for the speech, and answered questions without one.
He did do a good job answering questions. It was very much the Obama we know, saying what the audience in front of him wants to hear.
He was saying things that will simply never happen- like, Congress will realize it has internal contradictions in their desire for Health Care reform, and that will lead to them writing a sensible bill.

His speech was mostly a defensive refutation of Warren Buffet. He didn't scold any of these fat cats the way he does in front of the people.
He also said things aren't as bad now as we think they are.

[narciso]

Isn't at least part of thee real point that Elliot Spitzer sidelined Hank Greenberg out of AIG, and the successive management was substandard, unaware or unwilling to supervise what was going on in the London subsidiary. All the while pretending he was the big anti-Wall Street crusader, in reality he was doing to us,'metaphorically' what he was doing with Ashlee Dupree literally. Similarly the ones who were put in the catbird's sea, Frank, Dodd, Waters, Schumer, add Emanuel, Paulson Geithner & Co, were the ones who engineered the problem
in the first place. Add the likes of Madoff
and Stanford, who perpetrated enormous scams
under the 'watchful' eye of said figures and you have a recipe for disaster.

[Rick Ballard]

"He also said things aren't as bad now as we think they are."

Did he give a hint as to how much worse they are in reality?

[bad]

Yet a wave of energy companies has in the last few months announced plans to move to Switzerland -- mainly for its appeal as a low-tax corporate domicile that looks relatively likely to stay out of reach of Barack Obama's tax-seeking administration.

Unfortunately, no estimates of the tax dollar loss to the US. Looks like more job losses unless people are ready to relocate to switzerland.

LUN

[bad]

Congress will realize it has internal contradictions in their desire for Health Care reform, and that will lead to them writing a sensible bill.

When it sucks, and it will, the health care fiasco will be the fault of congress, not O. Think stimulus, only worse.

[Ranger]

You know, Barry is so transparent with his manipulations, it is scary he thinks he can get away with it.

Barry: We must pass the Porkulus bill now, without conference or debate. We can not let a disaster turn into a catastrophy!

Wall Street drops 10%

4 Weeks Later:

We must transform Healthcare, Energy, and Education to fix the economy, but my budget is fiscally responsable because the recesion is almost over already and things will be fine in 6 months.

Wall Street drops another 8%. People start asking why he's not focusing on the economy.

2 Weeks Later:

Hey, don't worry about the economy. Everything is fine and we have pleanty of money to pay for Health Care, Energy, and Education transformation.

[Captain Hate]

Congress will realize it has internal contradictions in their desire for Health Care reform, and that will lead to them writing a sensible bill

Sensible bill == Diminished supply + Reduced quality + Euthanasia + Unknown cluster f***s

I've got a headache already.

[mel]

bad-

you can only push a rubber band so far. The Senate is the True "Weakest link".

It's coming like a freight train, and the May Treasury Statement will be a HUGE wake up call, when all that money isn't there (tax receipts).

Did you listen to Jim's video, or do I have to post it again?

(Tomorrow, cause I gotta go to bed. Night all.)

[E. Nigma]

Who, oh who in Congress will write such a sensible bill?
Show me the sage that will emerge from the committee and do this bit of authoring legerdermain. Name me a name.
This is just so much political blather and boiler plate.

[bad]

Please post again Mel, I missed it.

Sweet dreams.

[bgates]

Congress will realize it has internal contradictions in their desire for Health Care reform, and that will lead to them writing a sensible bill
Or, to speak Greek — we have thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. For those who do not know the Hegelian formula: affirmation, negation and negation of the negation.

[Elliott]

Tea-bag conservatism

I've always taken my inspiration from the classic film Brewheart: "You make take our livelihoods, but you may never take Darjeeling!"

[bad]

bgates, I prefer the following for O:

flim, flam, flub

[scoopa]

Hot Air has a possible Romney/Sanford ticket, hmmmmmm.......

[Elliott]

***may take*** (and it should be "they" not "you.")

[PD]

But there’s a fairly clear case to be made that firms on the public dole shouldn’t be engaged in lobbying or political activities.

Wouldn't that apply to members of Congress? And Obama?

[Analien]

"The argument that it cuts the debt in half in four years is, ahh, is truly spurious."

So how about an easy question for the uniquely qualified Geitner?

a)Start with the deficit number on Jan 20 2009: I think it is 1.3 trillion.

b)Add the following: TARP 0.700 trillion, Porkulus Stimulus 0.787 trillion, another 0.41 trillion last week and now the budget of 3.35 trillion.

c) Deficit number in four year's time: 0.533 trillion

(a) + (b) - (c) gives: 6.014 trillion

Will there be net receipts of 6.014 trillion over 4 years? Mr. Geitner?

[Charlie (Colorado)]

As it is, I see you as a bit of a one trick pony.

I don't see TCO as being very successful turning tricks.

I'd say something about his Mom, but that would be mean.

[Neo]

MSNBC tonight subscribes to notion of "corporate serfdom" as well.
It's truely amazing just how much contempt for the 1st amendment there is among the "reality based community"

Obama rewards journalists for their support during the campaign by deciding not to attend the Annual Gridiron Dinner.

[Bill G]

If "firms on the public dole shouldn’t be engaged in lobbying or political activities" what is the situation for this chap Hansen who works on the public dole at NASA?

[kim]

Oh, Hansen's repeatedly violated the Hatch Act. He made himself somewhat immune to dismissal during the Bush times by squealing about censorship, which was hogwash. He's the darling of Chu, Browner, and Holdren, so he'll now be allowed free reign to promote his nonsense, unless and until global warming is revealed as the scientific hoax it is. And in case you didn't know it, we are cooling; for how long even kim doesn't know.
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[Cecil Turner]

Let's see if I get the idea: Rush may not speak (Air America can speak, but apparently nobody wants to listen); unless one has served in this particular war, one cannot speak in favor of it (though of course anyone can speak against it); uniformed soldiers may not speak at all (unless of course it's against the war, then they get to enforce the rule); CIA operatives may speak only if they speak poorly of President Bush, and then they must be allowed to remain anonymous (even when they out themselves); NSA spooks may speak . . . but only to Daniel Ellsberg or any of the tame reporters at the NY Times.

I'd laugh, but it's more pitiful than funny (at least until it becomes enforceable regulation . . . then it's tyranny).

[kim]

Well, I know this much. We'll cool for at least 20 years because of the cooling phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. If the sun is hibernating, we may well cool for a century. And sunspots are going away in another six years. Big news, but do you read it in the Sunday supplement?
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[kim]

"A teeny sacrifice of a very minor point of intellectual honesty" is how they dismiss the First Amendment. This from the same people who call dissent the highest form of patriotism, which it may well be. They have no intellect with which to be honest.
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[kim]

Farce or tragedy? Nay, Monsieur Brumaire, farce and tragedy.
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