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Suddenly, a half-dozen non-blog related, labor-intensive activities have come to a head, so I’ll have to leave you this afternoon. By the way, you can now get every single post of mine on Twitter at the new FDL News Desk feed.
• Very interested in this. Florida is like Lord of the Flies country. This particular entrepreneur is banking on the fact that nobody actually owns any of the properties down there to just take ownership of them and rent them out to low-income families. It’s like common-law property ownership.
• Speaking of foreclosures and the courts, here’s an update on the Ohio judge whose ruling on whether banks can just submit substitute documents in cases where they used robo-signers. She sounds like she understands the magnitude of the issue.
• Now Jim Clyburn wants a vote for Minority Whip. This is looking like a big miscalculation for everyone all around, which will lead to a lot of hurt feelings in the caucus. The elections should happen next week.
• We knew about the security gaps for years that could allow unscreened cargo like bombs onto planes, but shipping companies didn’t want to pay to fix it. Uniquely American.
• I think Jim Webb is just trying to put distance between himself and the Democratic Party with this interview, and he’ll continue to do so for the next two years, but he hits on a very important point about the co-opting of Democrats by Wall Street.
“I’m very concerned about the transactional nature of the Democratic Party. It’s evolved too strongly into interest groups rather than representing working people, including small business people… “People look up say, what’s the difference between these two parties? Neither of them is really going to take on Wall Street. If they don’t have the guts to take them on, and they’ve got all these other programs that exclude me, well to hell with them. I’m going to vote for the other people who can at least satisfy me on other issues, like abortion. Screw you guys. I understand that mindset.”
• Speaking of which, Michael Bennet seems like he learned the right lesson from his election, huh?
• I could get behind a slow, gradual increase in the gas tax, but only if it pays for mass transit and other infrastructure items beyond roads and bridges. And Voinovich and Carper want to put 40% of the tax to deficit reduction, which right now would be absurd.
• I think at least some Republican operatives would be happy to keep Michael Steele where he is, distracting opponents away from their mass corporate spending sprees.
• Iraq called for Barack Obama to step down after the elections, in order to break gridlock in the government… oh, wait, that didn’t happen, that would be horrifying, only the exact same thing happened when the US called for the Iraqi President to step down.
• A company claiming that the US hasn’t allowed permits to deepwater drilling companies despite lifting the moratorium had a hearing in US District Court today, which the judge closed to the media. They hate us for our freedom.
• Paul Volcker’s correct about no quick fix for unemployment, but a plan – any plan – would be nice.
• Best news I heard all day: Kent Conrad might leave the Senate Budget Committee.
• Ari Berman strikes back at Matt Bai’s fairly insipid column today.
• Gerry Connolly and Rick Larsen were confirmed the winners of their respective House contests today, leaving the scoreboard at 238 Republicans, 190 Democrats with 7 undecided. Of those, the GOP leads in 5, although they’re losing their grip on CA-20, with Andy Vidak up on Rep. Jim Costa by just a handful.
• If the Oil Spill Commission had subpoena power, they might actually reveal more than just complacency at the top firms in the Gulf.
• More on the end of the torture tape case from Bmaz.
• New expert on monetary policy Sarah Palin intentionally falsified a quote from the WSJ’s Sudeep Reddy to have it make her point. She’s certainly learning what it takes to make a great journalist in the 21st century, I’ll give her that.
• Aside from everything else, the Comcast/NBC merger will probably mean more money on your cable bill.
• Rahm Emanuel has actual competition for Mayor of Chicago in the form of Rep. Danny Davis. But I’m not certain he can assemble the kind of coalition to take on Rahm.
• Illegal detention watch: Lori Berenson has finally been released from Peru, while Liu Xiaobo’s lawyer was detained at the airport on the way to Oslo for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
• Nicaragua invaded Costa Rica because of a Google maps error.
• Olbermann’s show should be a hoot tonight.
• Alvin Greene for President.
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Correction: Palin’s speechwriter didn’t misquote Sundeep Reddy. He was just the one who noticed it. The original story is here. Since it’s the first line of the article it’s possible Team Palin just didn’t bother to read further, since reading is, um, a lot of work.
Squatting–building the ownership society!
Not a bad idea all in all, dovetails nicely with the theme that we live in a neo-feudal order anyways.
Interesting though, after the 7 year adverse possession gets you title period, I would say that the “tenants” have as much claim to the property as this entrepreneur guy.
@#$&%%#@@!!!!!
Is it too much to ask for fracking SENATORS from the DEMOCRATIC PARTY to not spread lies about Social Security? Could we set up some kind of quick-response team that jumps all over any public figure in our party that says this kind of BS? I would very gladly put money into that. This is just nuts.
(“His age”. 45. *Eyeroll*)
While much of the CW about social security is conscious lies, I have no doubt that many reps and senators actually believe what they say and are too ignorant or lazy to do any research, instead just relying on the media talking points.
Just to be clear on who really neutered the Oil Spill Commission:
Without subpoena power an investigative commission is a joke. Those who have something to hide simply lie or refuse to testify. The House approved subpoena power with only one dissenting vote (Ron Paul). Republican Senator David Vitter has been an outspoken supporter of granting subpoena power to the commission. That means Reid should have had at least 60 votes since no Democrats have expressed opposition. Yet he didn’t even bring it up for a vote.
Pretty good roundup of news. You could make things better by excluding Sarah Palin. Palin is a joke, she has the intellectual capacity of a dry sponge, brings nothing to the table, and takes up bandwith and space. There are many more important issues to talk about than Sarah Palin.
According to Bennet’s 2009 financial disclosure his net worth is $5-25 million, so I doubt his concerns about Social Security align with most 45 year olds.
But hey this was the OFA/SEIU/PCCC candidate. I supported Romanoff.
DOJ charges former Glaxo attorney with obstruction
LINK.
Code for security firms reins in violence, mercenaries
“Officials said on Tuesday a landmark US and British-backed code of conduct signed by private security operators, including some operating in Iraq and Afghanistan, would stop the firms being used as mercenaries.”
LINK.
And here’s one I can confidently drink to:
Archeologists Link Rise of Civilization and Beer’s Invention
LINK.
Republican Study Committee Recommends Cutting Welfare Program That Already Expired
LINK.
Here is the code of conduct:
http://www.rightrespect.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/PSC-2010-10-08-International-Code-of-Conduct_final-4.pdf
1) It’s strictly voluntary.
2) There’s so much wiggle room companies can still do pretty much whatever they want.
3) Quote: “The Code itself creates no legal obligations and no legal liabilities on the Signatory Companies, beyond those which already exist under national or international law.”
4) It’s meant to head-off a stronger code from from the UN Commission on Human Rights which the U.S. and other coalition countries voted against.
Color me unimpressed.
Aw, now, I was sure you’d be impressed with the one about the beer.
Goldman Sachs Suspends Foreclosures in Some States
LINK.
I am impressed. Sometimes the greatest discoveries are hidden in plain view.
Re: the Nicaragua/Costa Rica/Google Maps snafu — Um, the real problem was bad data from the U.S. government which Google Maps used.
It’s funny how nearly all reporting blames Google Maps, though, and not the source of the data. Probably won’t see Nicaragua or Costa Rica blaming the U.S….although it might be nice if one of the two countries asked why the U.S. was giving out bad data?