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Waiting on the vote in the House on the payroll tax, but there isn’t a lot of suspense in the immediate term. The House will vote down the Senate bill. Then things get more unpredictable.
• AT&T threw in the towel on its bid to acquire T-Mobile, which is one of the first major corporate mergers actually scuttled in an anti-trust action that I can think of, at least in quite a while. Pretty sure that the only person to say a word about this in Congress was Al Franken.
• Breaking: it still sucks to get a loan modification. And while I’ve focused on those brave Attorneys General trying to fight the corrupt lending industry, I should pat more attention to those cravenly acquiescing to it, like Florida’s Pam Bondi.
• An inequality tax? Seems a bit unwieldy, but it could work as well as any other tax prone to allowing individuals to stash their money to get under the compliance level.
• Syria will allow monitors in to observe the country, under the terms of a deal it signed with the Arab League. Let’s see if this leads to additional protests or if the Syrian security forces just ignore the monitors and continue to brutalize their people.
• Newt Gingrich is fading in Iowa because he’s just getting pummeled on the air with a negative barrage. The question is whether Ron Paul, seemingly the beneficiary in Iowa, can carry the momentum to New Hampshire, where he already sits in second.
• Thanks, Paul Krugman, for making us all worry about an economic collapse in China. Just what I needed!
• Something to savor – the new air pollution restrictions that managed to get through the EPA over the past few years will lead to dozens of coal plant retirements.
• The pay-for on the doomed payroll tax deal, a change to Fannie and Freddie mortgage guarantee fees, would also impact FHA loans to the tune of about 17 bucks a month. That money would come back in the first year in the form of the payroll tax cut, but it is an issue. I do believe that it’s better for the housing market to have Fannie and Freddie properly price their thing of value, the guarantee, so we don’t have to keep bailing out their shortfalls.
• Turns out that Mitt Romney still makes lots of money from Bain Capital, 13 years after leaving work there.
• Set your calendars: the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the Affordable Care Act March 26-28, 2012.
• Shouldn’t Rick Perry want there to be proof that fracking pollutes groundwater? Isn’t natural gas competing with his home state energy product, oil?
• If I were a drone operator, I’m sure I would have a high level of stress too. Wait, I would never be a drone operator.
• Activists in Wisconsin completely ignored Scott Walker’s restrictions on speech, requiring the purchase of a permit for demonstrations in the Capitol, and engaged in a holiday sing-along instead.
• How about Jeb Bush coming out of nowhere with a Wall Street Journal op-ed? Must be a coincidence.
• The clashes in Egypt are getting pretty intense.
• CAP is getting really brazen on denouncing premium support. File these quotes away for when Democrats change their minds and decide to support it.
• Unsurprisingly, almost all of Jim DeMint’s deficit reduction plan cuts money for the poor.
• As the Iraq war ends, CNN catches up with Jessica Lynch. She’s a teacher now, and a mom.
• The Obama Administration announces $9 billion in fraud recoveries under the False Claims Act.
• In addition to the tragic end to a proposed food aid deal, the death of Kim Jong-il has complicated the return of the remains of US soldiers from the Korean War.
• Prince Alwaleed bin Talal buys a stake in Twitter. He has a similar financial stake in Fox News Channel.
• Ron Paul sweeps up the “freedom to drink unpasteurized milk” vote.
• I think Katha Pollitt has the definitive take on Christopher Hitchens.
• For some reason, ESPN college football analyst Craig James wants to run for the GOP nomination for US Senate in Texas.
• If the Worst Persons in the World slots aren’t filled up today, you could do worse than the couple who put out a fake Salvation Army bell and kettle and stole the money they made from it.
• Braveheart died. Understated brilliance.
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Good on her!
Clinton blasts Egypt’s ‘shocking’ treatment of women
“She denounced a “deeply troubling patter” of military authorities and the major political parties alike keeping Egyptian women out of the decision-making process.
‘“At the same time, they have been specifically targeted both by security forces and extremists,” the top US diplomat added.
‘“Women protesters have been rounded up and subjected to horrific abuse. Journalists have been sexually assaulted and now women are being attacked, stripped and beaten in the streets.”’
LINK.
Yay nurses!
Nurses Warn: Wall Street Targeting Hospitals for Profits
:Hundreds of nurses and their supporters from across the U.S. will converge outside the offices of Cerberus Capital Management, 299 Park Avenue, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 12:30 p.m., to protest the practices of the multi-billion dollar private equity firm’s health care unit, Steward Health Care System. Cerberus-Steward now operates 10 hospitals in Massachusetts, has partnered with a number of physician practices here, and is now entering the health insurance market as well. Cerberus-Steward has come under increasing criticism for cornering the market with predatory practices, undercutting patient care with its push for profits.
“ The nurses – from Massachusetts, and joined by RNs from NY, DC, CA, Il, PA and NV — are members of National Nurses United, the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S., with 170,000 members. Nurses, allies and Occupy Wall Street protesters will speak at the rally, which will also feature theater and a 10-foot, three-headed dog, “Cerberus,” the mythical canine at the Gates of Hell. ”
LINK.
That’s nice, but where was she when NYPD’s Tony Bologna was pepper-spraying
defenseless young women in the state that she used to represent in the Senate?
Or when the Seattle PD was macing a pregnant teenager?
Too true. The silence about what is happening in the streets across the US is deafening, isn’t it?
BTW, did anyone ever verify the pregnant teenager story in Seattle? It sort of dropped out of the news.
Scott Walker Kills Women’s Cancer Screening Program For Political Gain
LINK.
Don’t know, but here is some video of Seattle’s finest.
* The only thing anyone needs to know about Christopher Hitchens is he was one of the main media cheerleaders for the Iraq war.
* Twitter’s investment from Saudi Prince Alwaleed isn’t exactly the smart investors’ seal of approval. He’s the guy who bought a huge chunk of Citigroup right before the meltdown. I still don’t see how Twitter makes money without driving away users (right now its annual revenue is about the same as Denny’s restaurants).
* Notice that by far the largest fraud recoveries are from the Medicare/Medicaid drug benefits.
* “Premium support” and the “percent of premium” subsidy in the ACA seem like almost the same thing to me. But CAP loves it some ACA so their natural instinct is to lash out at any alternative.
Actually, Glenzilla has the VERY BEST on Hitchens:
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/17/christohper_hitchens_and_the_protocol_for_public_figure_deaths/singleton/
“China: Guangdong Uprising, Now in Haimen” (GlobalVoicesOnline.Org, Dec. 20, 2011)
“Shantou Haimen town protesters occupy government buildings” (English translation) (Boxun.Com, Beijing, Dec. 20, 2011)
My attempt at ferreting the translations of these Tweets:
hi David did you see this
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/bureau-labor-statistics-caught-red-handed-leaking-confidential-labor-data#comments
also the governor of IOWA is saying to ignore who wins in Iowa and look at who comes in 2nd or 3rd. For the real the governor is saying ignore who the people voted for even if that is how I got in office
Texas is a large natural gas producer. A lot in south Texas, and also by product of some oil wells.
I was going to mention that too.
Also, there has been a Hugh increase in hydraulic fracturing in Texas over the decade.
Why is it so bad that people in need took money from people who wanted to help people in need.?? Although I don’t think they should have misrepresented their affiliation, the salvation army is a vocal anti gay and enforced pregnancy organization. I wouldn’t want someone thinking I agreed with them.
As the head of the State Department, I don’t think she is in a position to speak out about domestic issues and problems.
Jebster, giving his version of the Bill of Rights.
And hell, yeah, I want to be able to drink raw milk. Eat raw cheese too. And smoke marijuana without getting thrown in jail, and oppose endless war against Mooslims without getting locked up forever in Guantanamo, and a few other things.
As though we needed further evidence that all of Congress is corrupt.
Worst persons in the world? You’re kidding, right? The U.S. military is engaging in wholesale killing of innocents throughout the world, banks are stealing us blind, our constitution has been shredded and our civil liberties have gone up in smoke, the president claims the right to assassinate anyone he deems a “terrorist”, and these two idiots are the worst people in the world? Not even close.
(I posted once this but it disappeared!)I’ll try again.
Jeb Bush will be the 2012 GOP nominee for President.
Perfect timing for him to start making his move now. An op-ed in the WSJ today, a statement somewhere tomorrow, an appearance here, an appearance there, and before you know it the GOP clown car will disappear under the Jeb Bush tidal wave. Just watch.
And o will retire with millions for being the bush family placeholder.
It’s in the stars or “magical voting machines” or sumpton.
There’s nothing wrong with unpasteurized milk.
Pasteurization was a huge improvement in a world generally without refrigeration. In the modern world, it’s a cheap substitute for basic cleanliness.
http://thepassionateattachment.com/2011/12/19/us-interference-in-syria-could-bring-about-another-iraq/
http://truthsyria.wordpress.com/
TV is letting the GOP say that the House already voted for the payroll tax cut -and not coming back and noting that the bill the GOP House passed cut UE from 99 weeks to 59, and paid for the tax cut with cuts to Medicare.
China has been having trouble for months now, it started bailing out unregulated (aka “shadow banking”) institutions in October, drowned out of the news by the Euro crisis, and, well, a healthy measure of disbelief in the American media — e.g. business rags that will simultaneously report bailouts and housing market collapses and then opine that there is zero money that isn’t controlled by the government. In reality, more than 22% is estimated to be in the shadow banking system (Barclays estimate), and there is a ton of money in the housing bubble that is speculative (and borrowed), as there is in the current growth figures. You can’t, after all, have 10% growth in an export based economy while the rest of the world is in collapse and not buying stuff. In October, all the talk was about whether or not they could pull off a “soft landing”. With the European economy in total crash mode, and the U.S. openly doctoring its figures in preparation for an election, I believe the operative expression is “fat chance”.
I agree – as long as hedge funds/investment banks/”private banks” are allowed to operate unregulated it is hard to have much faith in econ numbers that are announced.
I know what we were able to do to get around single country regulations via unofficial co/bankA to bankB/co deals – and we played by the rules.
And even for the 80% of activity outside of shadow banking, Reagan/Greenspan started the “trend in election year will elect – morning in America” doctored economic data game –
so I expect 2012 will have some nice numbers/s
:-)
“Shouldn’t Rick Perry want there to be proof that fracking pollutes groundwater? Isn’t natural gas competing with his home state energy product, oil” – I believe Texas has a large gas drilling operation which has been “fracking” since at least the late 70′s.
“CAP is getting really brazen on denouncing premium support.” – they are correct – nice that they fight it over Medicare, but why did they not fight the equivalent “subsidy Exchanges” under ACA FOR THE NON-MEDICARE POPULATION?
Scott Walker’s restrictions on speech – A PERMIT TO SING! – and the ending of cancer screen for many women just because the state has to contract with a local Planned Parenthood treatment facility to get it done. Can’t wait for the recall and Wisconsin getting a new gov.