Clearing A Vey High Bar

Andrew Sullivan, the infamous cartographer of Sarah Palin's birth canal, has outdone himself with his strangest and most inaccurate sentence yet.  Writing on the topic of Obama's transcendent genius and the contraception compromise, he delivers this:

Liberal Catholics on contraception - roughly 98 percent of us - are fine with the compromise.

Gay men use contraception?  Safe sex, sure but birth control?  I try to learn something new every day.

As to the 98% stat, that is phony.

For a better guess as to support for the Obama proposal, why not try a real poll?  Here is Pew Research:

Among Catholics who have heard at least a little about the issue, 55% favor giving religious institutions that object to the use of contraceptives an exemption from the federal rule, while 39% oppose exempting those institutions.

Does Obama's "Let's pretend" compromise - employers will pay for health coverage that does not incude contraception coverage; insurers will then bundle in contraceptive coverage for free and we will all pretend that the employer didn't pay for it - really satisfy the 55% calling for an exemption?  And since no one knows how self-insured institutions will be treated (maybe they will buy "free" contraception coverage from themselves?), it seems premature to declare a success.  Pew did add this:

The survey shows little difference in opinions among people interviewed before the administration’s proposed modification on Feb. 10 and those interviewed afterwards.

Still, Obama's scheme was enough to bring home the true-belivers who never really left.  This bit of analysis from Andrew shows a special lack of self-awareness:

The Vatican and Bishops and their theocon friends on the far Catholic right remain opposed, isolating themselves badly. Yes, they'll shore up the Christianist base - but they weren't going to vote for Obama anyway.

Uh huh.  But per the Pew poll, the real support for Obama's position comes from the left:

By about two-to-one (64% to 29%), Democrats say religious institutions should be required to cover contraceptives like other employers; liberal Democrats (72%) are more likely than conservative and moderate Democrats (58%) to favor this approach.

Were these people really in play with a Romney or Santorum candidacy?

Meanwhile, back in the political center:

Independents are split: 48% say religious institutions that object to the use of contraceptives should be required to cover them like other employers, while 46% favor giving religious institutions an exemption.

Well, Andrew eventually got bored writing that Bush was a genius, breaking with him on the issue of gay marriage; one wonders when Andrew will grow impatient waiting for Obama's evolution to a supportive stance on that subject.

 

Comments

[MarkO]

Really? Andrew Sullivan? Why?

[Charlie (Colorado)]

As the old joke goes, "You no play-a da game, you no make-a da rules!~"

[Melinda Romanoff]

Chaco, that was Chico.

[Ignatz]

--Andrew Sullivan, the infamous cartographer of Sarah Palin's birth canal--

Nobody's going to top that line in this thread.

[narciso]

The whole Iowahawk oevre really captures the
plural insanity, going back from this;

http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2011/01/csi-tucson.html

[Jim,MtnView,Ca,USA]

The dry tinder accumulating.

[squaredance]

While one scarcely believes PEW, it is amazing that 39% of Catholics believe that the government should force their institutions in to actions held to be mortal sins by their faith. If these are in fact practicing Catholics, which one doubts, then this is truly a bizarre statistic.

(Also, note now the conflation of abortion with contraception. Just shameful.)

No Muslim or Marxist would never be so confused about their faiths.

How feeble the West is in its core beliefs.

[Dave (in MA)]

Oy, such a headline.

[jorod]

Interesting he wouldn't start pandering to gays as soon as possible. Deferred gratification?

[Threadkiller]

--"Gay men use contraception? Who knew?"--

Two condoms walk into a gay bar. One condom says to the other, "We're going to get shitfaced tonight!"

[jimmyk]

48% say religious institutions that object to the use of contraceptives should be required to cover them like other employers, while 46% favor giving religious institutions an exemption.

One of the primary motivations of our constitution is to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority (or plurality, as it were). If 51% of the population says the other 49% should have their wealth confiscated, is that any justification?

[jorod]

Seriously, I used to anti-gay marriage. Now I think the homosexuals may be onto something. After all, Congressmen have been dickin' the taxpayers for years and look at all the fun their having.

[Jane]

TM,

Sometimes you crack me up - and not in a Whitney Houston way.

[Dave (in MA)]

Jane, what's black, lies on the floor, Will Always Love You and has white stuff around its nose?

[Jane]

Should I give up?

[Ann]

Why is birth control a right but birth isn't?

-Junior in High School 2012

[jimmyk]

Dave (in MA): sounds like a Boston Terrier.

[Dave (in MA)]

Jimmyk, that works, but the version I heard was a border collie.

[jimmyk]

Dave, that was almost my first choice, but they've got more white in them (NTTAWWT).

[Jane]

A www so cute.

[DrJ]

Dave, I would have answered a Tuxedo cat. But then I have great affections for PCs (no! pussy cats!).

[matt]

98% of bat shit crazy dope smoking excommunicate pseudo Catholics who like to dress up in clerical garb of both genders agree....

[matt]

Sullivan can't decide whether he wants to be Pope or Mother Superior.

[Porchlight]

Why is birth control a right but birth isn't?

-Junior in High School 2012

Ann, you have a very smart high schooler.

[peter]

Oy, such a headline.

Beat me to the punchline.

[SWarren]

God Bless Mother Angelica. EWTN brings lawsuit.

http://www.aei.org/article/politics-and-public-opinion/elections/mother-angelicas-network-isnt-buying-obamas-religious-liberty-ruse/

[ME]

Archbishop Dolan is in Rome as he prepares to be made a Cardinal. Here is what he writes:

When the Holy Father presents the “red hat” to the new cardinals, he will ask us to accept it as a sign of our readiness to shed our blood for the strengthening of the faith, the peace and tranquillity of the people of God, and the liberty and growth of the Church. Get it? Blood! Red!

Would you pray for me that I might do as I am asked, that I will be a courageous preacher of the Gospel, and defender of human dignity, the Church and our cherished religious freedom? I need more than your prayers though. I need your joyful witness, your solidarity. Just as the whole community shares in this honor, so too do we all share in the responsibility. If all this only means that I now dress up in a red cassock and red hat, we will have missed the whole point.

Are you ready to shed your blood? Every Christian disciple should aspire to be brave enough to do so. Please God, the day of shedding one’s blood for the faith will not come to New York, but the cardinalatial red should invite everyone to ask some questions and examine our consciences. As Blessed John Paul II observed, “If something is not worth dying for, it’s not worth living for.” God, family, faith, freedom, one’s country, friends, honor, virtue, life itself, the Church—all worth dying for . . . all worth living for!

For my part, I have to ask myself: Where do I show steadfastness now? If I can’t be courageous now in small things, how might I be ready to answer the summons to shed my blood in grave matters? Do I speak of the Gospel full and entire, with joy and conviction, even to those who appear to be indifferent or hostile? Do I defend the Church when she is maligned or attacked, or when her proper liberties are threatened? Do I stand fast with those around the world persecuted and even martyred for their faith, raising my voice in solidarity with them? Do I do my utmost, with the help of God’s grace, to live the virtues, especially those of humility and charity? Do I fight the daily battle to make room for God, in time set aside for prayer, the sacraments and works of service to others, especially those in need?

[ME]

Cardinal George charges Obama with creating schism (LUN):

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

A Timely Visit
This week I’ve been with the bishops of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana on pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul in Rome. After praying at the tombs and celebrating Mass, we went to visit the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI. We also spoke with many of his major collaborators in the Roman Curia.

Because we were away from the immediate cares of our dioceses, there was more time to pray and reflect. Because we were on pilgrimage in Rome, there was occasion to strengthen the unity of the bishops of our region with the Holy Father. This unity is called ecclesial communion, a relationship that sustains the Church’s governance and unites us to one another and to the apostles and Christ himself.

Even in the midst of this strengthened unity, news of attempts to weaken the unity between the bishops and the faithful have been reported. This is the first time in the history of the United States that a presidential administration has purposely tried to interfere in the internal working of the Catholic Church, playing one group off against another for political gain. What isn’t always understood is that the Bishops of the Church make no attempt to speak for all Catholics; they never have. The Bishops speak for the Catholic and apostolic faith, and those who hold that faith gather around them. Others disperse. That dynamic is clear in history and became clear also in the official visit to Rome that the Bishops of our region made this week.

Our visit has reminded us that the Church enjoys divine assistance even when she is being attacked. It was a timely visit.

Francis Cardinal George, OMI

[narciso]

He is a shameless cur, but we knew this already;

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/14/geithner-defends-budget-plan-amid-gop-criticism-says-deeper-cuts-would-hurt/#comment-439586741

[Jack is Back!]

Thanks for those two posts ME.

I am and never have been a so-called one issue voter but I can see how this could affect the vote of deeply Catholic voters. Voters who BTW voted for and continue to support Obama but not this time. I know a few and they are struggling to understand the logic behind this move. I think it has more to do with "opiate of the masses" then contraception.

[narciso]

You have to go all the way down, to see the CBS scam;

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57377936/cbs-news-polls-2-14-12/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

[henry]

Sign of things to come? WI Capitol Police Chief lets protestors into Capitol without a permit. Apparently he had a side deal to let them break the law. Naturally they took advantage of the chief and wrecked a few weddings in the process.

[Janet]

henry,
That is too sad. He should be fired immediately if he refuses to do his job.

[Jane]

WE need to be careful, because it is clear to me that Obama wants this election to revolve around social issues and not fiscal ones. I don't think the contraceptive issue was as much of a blunder as everyone eles. That makes Santorum the perfect candidate for administration.

He and we better make sure we can pivot to the economy hard and fast if he is nominated.

[Janet]

"They promised"...boy is he naive.

[henry]

Janet, he was in the donut line when brains were handed out.

[NK]

Ig says:
"--Andrew Sullivan, the infamous cartographer of Sarah Palin's birth canal--
Nobody's going to top that line in this thread"

That is the line of the ebtire Blogsphere for today. Even IowaHawk doesn't top that.

I disagree with Tom M about one thing - Andy S will NEVER turn on 'Bam. Andy's a middle aged man now with a hubby and a couple of mortgages, so he's got to cater to his reader/advertisers and earn that filthy lucre, so he'll stay Left-Wing. Plus I'm sure 'Bam has personally guaranteed him that once this election nonsense is over he'll wear a dress and come out big time in favor or gay marriage, and who knows what else.

[rse]

jane,

I agree. It is an attempt to get whatever the magic percentage of the female vote he needs to prevail. Like minority voters, they know exactly what issues to drive.

In 2004 I went to wait in line before dawn to get it out of the way. Plus people in line are interesting. Kept telling the black man in front of me that no one was going to deprive him of his right to vote. Contrary to what the radio stations he listened to had been telling him. Saw him a few weeks after the election and he hailed me and introduced me to his friend as the nice lawyer who was going to make sure no one prevented him from voting. Deliberate creation of an illusory conspiracy to drive turnout.

Contraception is the one prescription some women ever buy and they buy it monthly. Not having to anymore seems like a lovely gift from a caring Pres.

You and I buy our own health insurance though and know who is paying. Bout individual business owners are not his demographic anyway.

[Janet]

from one short post on Media Matters -
Media Matters
Media Matters Action
Center for American Progress
Herndon Alliance
ProgressNow
Citizen Engagement Laboratory
Color of Change
Bonner Group

They are like locusts...eating away our nation.

[Jack is Back!]

Interesting pic of the day: Underwater Volcano erupting off the coast of Canary Islands

[Jack is Back!]

I was going to save this for the next TM post on Why We Get Fat but its to special not to post now.

Man has cardiac arrest eating 6,000 calorie burger at the Cardiac Grill in Las Vegas

[Threadkiller]

He was warned, JIB.

" side affects from eating Heart Attack Grill food 'may include sudden weight gain, repeated increase of wardrobe size, back pain, male breast growth, loss of sexual partners, lung cancer, tooth decay and liver sclerosis stroke. 'In some cases mild death may occur.'"

[Clarice]

""Massachusetts hospitals are poised to receive a $3.5 billion windfall in federal funding over the next 10 years thanks to a little-known provision Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) inserted into the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act, also known as “Obamacare.”

The increased funding—$367 million a year in the form of Medicare reimbursement payments, according to the Federal Register—would not only come at the expense of hospitals in the 49 other states, but would also directly benefit an organization that has given generously to Kerry’s campaign.

The obscure policy change was formally approved by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in July 2011. It was prompted by a small, 15-bed hospital located on the upscale island of Nantucket, a popular vacation spot for wealthy New Englanders where Kerry and his wife own a $9 million waterfront home."
http://freebeacon.com/the-kerry-kickback/

[pagar]

"'In some cases mild death may occur.'"

Remember death does not increase voter turnout.

"The Justice Department refuses to enforce Section 8 of the NVRA because, as political appointee Julie Fernandes revealed in a Voting Section meeting in 2009 that I attended, removing dead people from the rolls “doesn’t increase turnout. It stops people from voting.”

[Clarice]

"Congressional Republicans are now interested in examining the Media Matters For America‘s tax-exempt status, The Daily Caller has learned. Doing so would cause the GOP to wade into the complex world of tax laws that govern “exempt organizations” such as Media Matters and more than 1 million other charitable organizations that are exempt from federal income tax. Media Matters’ critics have questioned its tax-exempt status for some time"
Daily Caller

[pagar]

My 09:13 got posted without the LUN.

"Justice Department sources familiar with Voting Section tactics tell me that DOJ has been sending investigators wearing wires and electronic surveillance equipment into state welfare and food stamp offices across the country to see if state officials are pushing voter registration on investigators posing as recipients."

There is nothing more important in the Obama regime today than getting people lined up to vote Democrat.

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/02/14/holder-stings-jindal-and-more/

[Jack is Back!]

Talking about healthy diet: Pre-schooler can't pass lunch inspection forced to eat chicken nuggets.

We are losing our collective minds.

[Ranger]

The truth is dawning on the Greek politicos:

Eurozone states want Greece out, says Venizelos

It is beginning to look like all of this was just so Germany could get a bottom line figure from the banks on how much of a haircut they could absorb on Greek bonds. Unfortunately for the Greeks, it is now cheaper for Germany/ECB to just pay the 100 Billion Euros to the banks than to pay 130 Billion Euros to bail out the Greeks.

[centralcal]

Good morning. Thinking back to Rick Ballard's important post at YouTooCongress on "16 To Support," here are 3 Senate candidates from Michelle Malkin to consider:

Dan Liljenquist v. Hatch (Utah)
Richard Mourdock v. Lugar (Indiana)
Ted Cruz v. K.B. Hutchison (Texas)

More names to add, not only to Rick B.'s call for support but also to Santelli's illustration of what the Tea Party is doing (rather than dying out).

[Jim Ryan]

First they came for the Catholics who support Obamacare and forced them provide abortion pills and sterilization. But I didn't defend the pro-Obamacare Catholics; I did nothing.

Next they came for me and forced me to buy federally selected health insurance. But the Catholics who support Obamacare did nothing. In fact some of the armed IRS agents surrounding my house at the time were pro-Obamacare Catholics. Which is why I'd done nothing. "Pro-Obamacare Catholics can go [REDACTED] up a rope," I'd said. And I was right.

[sbw]

A bleg, if you will.

Anyone have a pointer to a chart John Stossel used that represented the federal budget minus enough zeros to be the equivalent to one family's income?

[NK]

Ranger-- did you point this out yesterday? This is more evidence, and I agree. And BTW, leaving the EuroZone is far better for the Greeks. Tell the German-French Banks to take a 90% haircut-- the Germans and Chinese are paying for it anyway. Bring back the Drachma at 100-1 Euro/Dra, tourists will flock in, sell lots of olives and olive oil and produce to the EuroZone, and get buy the old fashioned way, work and don't borrow.

[Ranger]

Actually, it was somebody else who linked to a blog post about that.

The problem for the Greeks is that even if they do default, they still don't have enough money to run their government. There is no way out for the Greeks except drastic cuts in government spending, and they have been giving away "free" money for so long that is going to be very painful for lots of people.

[centralcal]

sbw: Don't know if you will find it here or not, but this is Stossels web page at Fox Business.

[MarkO]

What else do you need to know before you grab a rope and head out?

"The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs — including in-home day care centers — to meet USDA guidelines."

Doom.

[NK]

Ranger-- OK; I agree with your statements about the problems, but all of those same problems remain if Greece stays in the Euro Zone, and tied to the Euro, Greece has NO Chance to grow its economy and attack those same problems. Its only chance is a 90% debt default and devalue its currency, grow its economy and then act self sufficient. I see Italy, Spain and Portugal doing the same and then coordinating their Southern Europe currencies. The last PIIGS -- Ireland? Hmmm, maybe the Brit Pound for them-- history says no way, but national bankruptcy makes strange bedfelows.

[Janet]

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
-- C. S. Lewis

bold mine

[NK]

TomM-- BTW, I think you mean a ...VeRy High Bar in the Headline.

[Threadkiller]

Sbw, this is from McClintock last year:

Debt Crisis

July 28, 2011 4:55 PM

"Column, Washington Times: Imagine a family that earns $50,000 a year but is spending more than $88,000 with a credit card balance of $330,000. The discussions around the kitchen table are likely to be a little tense.

Proportionally, that’s where Washington’s finances are today, and that’s why the national discussion is a little tense, too."
http://mcclintock.house.gov/2011/07/debt-crisis.shtml

[Ranger]

NK, I totally agree. I was just pointing out that it won't be a painless process. And there is no way to tell where this ends once it starts.

[NK]

Ranger: We are in accord. Given my Greek heritage, I'll add one more thing. My personal opinion is that underlying a lot of Greek tax evasion, and Government failure to enforce taxes is the fact that taxes are needed to pay French-German banks who own the Bonds. If you're a greek taverna owner-- why care? If you're a greek tax collector-- why bother? Back on the Drachma, taxes have a very different meaning, if the debt and interest payments are cut 90%.

[Melinda Romanoff]

NK-

EU has begun to attack current Spanish Gov't for not doing enough (aka voting out the Socialists) and is going to restrict its assistance until "certain actions" have occurred.

Greece will suffer the same fate when they go to the polls in a few months.

[NK]

And BTW-- to every JOM reader-- this is the message that has to be sent to all your famiy and friends. The Greek debacle is the USA's fate if we follow Obamaism. There is no doubt about that.

[Janet]

Using my neighborhood as a reference...the leftist vocabulary is full of "they should" & "who do I contact". They are crazy for making up rules/laws for us to live by & then reporting those that don't comply. Moral busybodies is right. They thrive off of micromanaging others.

"The claims of these organizers of humanity raise another question which I have often asked them and which, so far as I know, they have never answered: If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?"
Frederick Bastiat

[NK]

MelR-- you're the fianace guy (gal?) as far as I'm concerned. I know more about Greece, but I assume the other southern PIIGS, will have to do what Greece does, and default/devalue-- they probably will eventually peg their currencies to each other to avoid hyperinflation.

[MarkO]

Issa to Holder:

http://dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2012-02-14-DEI-to-Holder-DOJ-Contempt.pdf

Anyone who has participated in demanding or producing documents knows what is going on here. Somewhere Tom Barr is smiling.

[Clarice]

NK, I think you meant "by" not "buy" above.

See how nitpicking on typos works?

Anyway, I'm sure TM meant "Clearing a {oy}vey high bar.

[centralcal]

Naming of Navy Ships:

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, under fire from Congress and veterans for naming ships after fellow Democrats and social activists, plans to announce another round of ship names in the near future that will be more traditional, a Pentagon official tells The Washington Times.

The official said Mr. Mabus has chosen names for five surface ships - three for war heroes and two for locations. Ships typically are named after states and cities.

[Army of Davids]

seasonal price at the gas pump...http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gas-prices-20120214,0,2523563.story>too damn high

[Porchlight]

Janet,

That brings to mind Milton Friedman smacking down Phil Donohue thusly:

"Tell me, is there some society you know that doesn't run on greed? What is greed? Of course, none of us are greedy; it's only the other fellow who's greedy. This — the world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests. You know, I think you're taking a lot of things for granted. Is it really true that political self-interest is nobler somehow than economic self-interest? Just tell me where in the world you're going to find these angels who are going to organize society for us? I don't even trust you to do that."

[GMAX]

PHEW polling is a not very accurate but a very consistent liberal biased polling firm. So take that poll and subtract about 5% from everything they found and you are probably closer to being right. Still its going to be flogged from the pulpits and as Catholics become more aware, the approval is going to drop even further. 39% approval is not too good when it is overstated, relies on lack of knowledge and misinformation from the Democrats and destined to retreat further in the days and weeks ahead.

I

[Threadkiller]

The USS Obama will be an Ayers-craft carrier.

[Melinda Romanoff]

NK-

My point was that, for the EU, it's not about the money, it's all about the politics.

Never has been in any of these "negotiations".

That's all.

[Jack is Back!]

MarkO,

Did you read my 9:23 link? They have even deployed lunch inspectors to the schools to make sure you packed a lunch that meets those guidelines. Fascists!

[sbw]

Thank you cc and tk. I appreciate the pointers.

[Melinda Romanoff]

JiB-

There's an upside to that, more salami for me.

[NK]

MelR-- The "politics?" That I don't know about. My understanding is this Kabuki has been about saving the French-German banks from an abrupt uncontrolled Greek default and the resulting CDS disaster wiping out their banks a la Lehman. I agree though that the EU weenies (Not germans or french -- the EU uber alles weenies) politicize everything they can. But I do think this is about the Money and preserving the Euro for northern europe.

[Janet]

Yeah Porchlight...that's great.

[Jack is Back!]

From this story it appears Tom Friedman is getting his wish but this time its China emulating us.

Sort of crazy that we want to discuss religious freedom with the ChiComs but don't want to really do anything about it in this country.

[MarkO]

JiB, I missed it. I'm not able to follow the threads as I would like this morning. Sorry if I repeated something you posted. It is a clear sign of what's to come if Obama returns. That he has not be driven from office with torches and pitchforks makes me fear for the future.

[GMAX]

More failure in green jobs. Wonder why the taxpayers did not get squeezed on this one? Here:

Auburn Hills-based Energy Conversion Devices said today that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and intends to sell its assets, including its main subsidiary United Solar Ovonic. . . . The bankruptcy follows an unsuccessful effort by ECD to find additional capital. In November, the money-losing company suspended manufacturing to cope with high inventory levels and announced the layoffs of 500 employees. Its sales have suffered from cutbacks in solar energy incentives in Europe and a worldwide glut of solar panels. Analysts also said the company’s technology was no longer competitive.”

Once the subsidies stop, the business plan had no viability. HMMMMM sounds kinda familiar.

[Melinda Romanoff]

NK-

The banks finance the local governments through easy credit from the ECB. The local governments finance the EU via those loans. The EU rewards members accordingly.

Losses on loans not acceptable.

Loan more to NCBs (National Central Banks) so as to support local banks and thereby protect local government funding. Recirculate through system.

Larger local government losses discovered. Loan more to NCBs so as to protect local banks and thereby protect local government funding. Recirculate through system.

Losses, unrealized, replaced by budget cuts (Austerity) as an attempt to stave off collapse of EU financial structure. Formerly, loyal patronage employees disagree, cheer agreements with Molotov cocktails. Free money system under threat.

This has nothing to do with CDS positions, which aren't going to be honored as it is, but overall solvency, which WILL get honored.

The wizards of the EU, using the ECB's lending as the drug of choice, have created such an over-levered environment to hide their faults that it will make Lehman look like the folding of a lemonade stand.

We ate most of the losses over the last 4 years. EU did nothing about their banking leverage. Noth-ing.

It's going to be very interesting how it all plays out. (And I don't think I explained myself very well.)

More later.

BREAKING: Bob Zoellick is stepping down from The World Bank, which is the institution that Hillary wants to run, coincidentally.

[Jane]

Centralcal, I posted your blurb about 3 more candidates over at You Too/. Thank you!

[rse]

melinda-

If you click the LUN I posted yesterday she mentions a Long Island summit getting ready for Rio.

That link in turn talks about a Rio+2.0 conference a few weeks ago at Stanford. Side reporting says the subtheme of the entire conference was the PS between government, civil society and private industry.

Letting Greece go screws up the vehicle's function. Nobody loves that Corporatist template more than EU and probably Geithner.

[rse]

And the World Bank kept coming up in what I am finishing up. That was less obvious but it turns out McNamara was more than a bad Sec of Defense.

[centralcal]

Great Jane. Spread the word, as they say.

[Janet]

The woman that enrolled my neighborhood in the NCRC was connected to the World Bank. Maybe nothing, but...

[Melinda Romanoff]

Janet & rse-

The institution makes Chicago public finance look like a bad allowance scheme.

[Uncle BigBad]

Sue & Porch
According to our local fishwrap, the Abilene Reporter-News, we won't get to vote in the primary because the Democrat judges in San Antonio won't finish gerrymandering districts before the nominee has been selected.

[Ignatz]

--Bob Zoellick is stepping down from The World Bank, which is the institution that Hillary wants to run, coincidentally.--

Then our problems are solved.
All Hill has to do is recreate that cattle futures trade with the World Bank's assets and the world will be literally swimming in all the new liquidity.
Suggest she get Corzine to place her trades instanter.

[narciso]

btw,guess what job,Zoellick had before he joined the Administration,counsel to Fannie
Mae, this was back in the early 90s, but still
makes you think.

[maryrose]

So will running the World Bank be a lateral move for Hil or does she want her legacy to be tied to the exploding Middle East? I say get out now before Obama can blame her for all his mishaps in Egypt, {they still have American hostages} Libya, no action in Syria{another mistake and Iraq and Afghanistan.?

[Ranger]

On a positive note, it looks like there are at least a few people in the government who will do the right thing:

Lights out for LightSquared

Though I am sure there will be a heavy price to pay for those who blocked this particular crony capitalist project.

[Ignatz]

Interesting take from AmSpec on Santorum v Romney.

[Clarice]

It's election time and Scott Brown shos some brains:

"Obamacare is bad law and needs to be repealed. Until that day arrives, it's important we fight to protect the public from some of its worst aspects.

I support a conscience exemption in health care for Catholics and other people of faith. That's why I signed on to Senator Roy Blunt's bill to restore the conscience protections in the law that existed prior to the passage of Obamacare.

Professor Warren is opposed to providing a conscience exemption. Her view is that government can mandate religious people and organizations to act in ways that are contrary to their most deeply-held principles. This type of thinking strikes at the very heart of the religious freedoms enshrined in our Constitution."

(From his mailer begging for bucks)

[Melinda Romanoff]

maryrose-

I believe the term you're looking for is "unable to serve with subpoena due to overseas travel".

I bet Bill will just love an unlimited travel budget. I can see it now, "Bangkok or Bust".

[Ignatz]

Barry knifes the Brits in the back, again, this time over the Falklands on behalf of the Chavez-lite Kirchner broad.

[Danube of Thought]

The wheels continue to come off the wagon of the greatest hoax of the 20th Century:

Snowfall in the Sierra Nevada has remained consistent for 130 years, with no evidence that anything has changed as a result of climate change, according to a study released Tuesday.

The analysis of snowfall data in the Sierra going back to 1878 found no more or less snow overall - a result that, on the surface, appears to contradict aspects of recent climate change models.

John Christy, the Alabama state climatologist who authored the study, said the amount of snow in the mountains has not decreased in the past 50 years, a period when greenhouse gases were supposed to have increased the effects of global warming.

[NK]

MelR-- I think you explained yourself quite well. I THINK we're on the same page here i.e.-- the EU is carrying Greece because NO DEFAULT- not even a piddling Greek default can be tolerated by the EU weenies, because their overleveraged welfare state house of cards collapses. I agree, and that's greece's leverage in this Kabuki. As Ranger points out, it's reached the point where it looks like it's cheaper push Greece out; the trick will be how that Greek default/restructuring is not a credit event, that causes the rest of the house of cards to collapse. Politics underlies this, Kabuki, but the money has to work.

[Danube of Thought]

Ships typically are named after states and cities.

Wrong. Traditionally, battleships (of which there are no more) were named for states; cruisers were named for cities; destroyers were named for people. Long ago, aircraft carriers were named for historical battles, but that tradition has gone by the boards. Submarines were always named for fish, until the big nukes came along and exceptions started to be made.