Planet Hilker

&lt;div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;&lt;p&gt;I think that his ought to be an important public voice on economic policy over the next four years--diversified intellectual portfolio, you know:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Bruce_Bartlett_FBC90D13-8198-4352-9732-481D426CAE2E.html"&gt;The Arena: Palin&lt;/a&gt;: Before the Palin thing is completely forgotten, I just want to throw in my two cents. I think she was a disaster for McCain because she destroyed the logic of his candidacy. His best argument was that we live in perilous times and can&amp;rsquo;t afford to have a president with no experience in foreign policy and national security. But McCain destroyed this argument by appointing as his vice president someone with even less experience than Obama. In a stroke, McCain took off the table not only his best argument for being president but really his only argument. He should have picked Lieberman and run on a campaign of bipartisan national unity. It might not have worked, but at least McCain would have lost with some dignity.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Bruce_Bartlett_A9591310-DEBD-4B20-BF05-CEAA7997C50C.html"&gt;Autos&lt;/a&gt;: I think it would be a terrible mistake to simply write a check to the auto industry without demanding major, major restructuring of its labor contracts. Without that the money will simply go down a rat hole and the automakers will just be back again in a year or two asking for more money. Obama has a strong hand to play here and I hope he uses his leverage. With bankruptcy as the only alternative to federal aid, he can drive a very hard bargain with the auto workers. If he caves and just writes a blank check, everyone will know he can be rolled and he will pay a heavy political price for it. If Obama shows toughness on this issue, I think it will pay enormous dividends for him down the road.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=ZEIPN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=ZEIPN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=e65JN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=e65JN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/454464748" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;Senatorial privilege:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/article01/"&gt;U.S. Constitution: Article I&lt;/a&gt;: [Senators and Representatives] shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Makes me think that as soon as the Senate ceases its session, the Georgia courts can throw Saxby in jail for contempt and keep him there until the Senate comes back into session, no?&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Alice Massini:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.wsav.com/midatlantic/sav/news.apx.-content-articles-SAV-2008-11-14-0044.html"&gt;Chambliss Refusing to Speak in Imperial Sugar Case&lt;/a&gt;: News Three was the first to tell you Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss had been subpoenaed by Savannah Attorney Mark Tate in the case against Imperial Sugar. Tate, who represents families of the deceased, subpoenaed Chambliss because he believes Chambliss has pertinent information for the case. In a News Three follow-up, we've gotten word that Chambliss' lawyer is moving to quash the subpoena. Tate says attorneys for Chambliss claim he has immunity because he's a U.S. Senator. "Our clients have said to reporters that they have felt like he was trying to influence them and dissuade them from filing lawsuits. That's the kind of activity a U.S. Senator does not enjoy privilege to conduct," explains Tate. We were unable to reach Senator Chambliss' Office for comment. We will continue to follow this story and bring you the latest.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=1FGEN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=1FGEN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=afgWN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=afgWN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/454466956" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;I think that if the G-20 summit was worthwhile, it was the conversations that were not part of the formal summit that were worthwhile--and I do not know what they were.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;I do know that Dani Rodrik is disappointed:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://rodrik.typepad.com/dani_rodriks_weblog/"&gt;Dani Rodrik's weblog&lt;/a&gt;: I was not expecting any substantial agreement on international regulatory coordination or any semblance of a new Bretton Woods, so I am not disappointed on that score.  What I was looking for were three things: (i) coordination on fiscal stimulus; (ii) a commitment to provide more liquidity support, as needed, to prevent a further spread of the crisis to emerging nations; and (iii) a clear commitment not to engage in trade protection, with a monitoring mechanism to ensure the pledge is being observed.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;How does the statement do in these regards?  So-so.  There is no coordination in the fiscal arena, the promises made to emerging markets are vague, and even though there is a clear statement on protection and export subsidization, there is no monitoring or enforcement mechanism.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;What about the longer-term issues? The fundamental dilemma of financial globalization is that regulation and supervision remains national while financial markets are international.  The statement recognizes this dilemma...&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=H6TgN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=H6TgN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=XrveN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=XrveN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/454472096" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;I am not concern trolling--that is, I am almost certainly that I am not consciously concern trolling--but I think Andrew Samwick misses the point when he writes:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://capitalgainsandgames.com/blog/andrew-samwick/633/right-wing-strategy"&gt;The Right Wing Strategy | Capital Gains and Games&lt;/a&gt;: I suspect it will take months or even years for those on the political and ideological Right to map out a strategy to compete in national elections after two sound defeats in 2006 and 2008. The first step has been to assign blame.... Christie Todd Whitman in yesterday's Washington Post lays the blame on "social fundamentalists." I don't know how constructive that is -- each Party has a base, and if you alienate the base, you have to make inroads substantially across the political center to make up for it. The most liberal Republican he could have picked for his running mate would have been Whitman herself. I don't think that ticket would have run any better against Obama-Biden this year...&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Andrew Samwick has no influence on how the next Republican presidential and congressional candidates will campaign. But he does have the potential to have considerable impact on how those Republican members of congress (and perhaps presidents) govern: to push them toward governing in a constructive conservative manner--rather than be, say, a rerun of Gingrich-Armey-DeLay-Boehner-Dole-Lott-McConnell-Bush governance, which has been "conservative" only in its social policy.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;So I want to hear something very different from Andrew this winter: I want to hear what ideas and policies the Republican Party could serve as a carrier for that would make America a better country and the world a better world, and I want to hear how all of us can help make the Republican Party the carrier of those ideas--rather than the ideas of, say, &lt;em&gt;National Review,&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;The Weekly Standard,&lt;/em&gt; and Rush Limbaugh, to name three sets that America and the world would be better off without.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=mTqqN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=mTqqN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=so9TN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=so9TN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/454476067" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;It is remarkable. In addition to their substance-free bloviators--George Will, Cokie Roberts, et cetera--The Week puts Paul Krugman on the air. And people watching can actually learn something:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3yAyQV8gOjo&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3yAyQV8gOjo&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Steve Benen comments:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_11/015686.php"&gt;The Washington Monthly&lt;/a&gt;: On ABC's "This Week" earlier, George Will explained his belief that FDR financial/regulatory policies discouraged investment and created an environment in which the "depression became the Great Depression." Fortunately, Will was sitting next to Paul Krugman. To hear Will tell it, the Roosevelt administration stood in the way of investors. In a fairly devastating 45 seconds, Krugman not only set the record straight, but explained that it was FDR's desire to balance the budget and cut federal spending that contributed to a decline in 1937.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;My antipathy towards Will has lessened this year, after he had some genuinely sharp criticism of the McCain/Palin ticket, but he's still spouting conservative nonsense on economic issues, and it was highly entertaining to see him receive some well-earned comeuppance from the Nobel laureate to his left.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Thanks to our friends at Firedoglake for posting the clip to YouTube.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=cU6bN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=cU6bN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=QynKN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=QynKN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/455343673" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;Will somebody please tell Chari, Christiano, and Kehoe &lt;a href="http://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/WP/WP666.pdf"&gt;http://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/WP/WP666.pdf&lt;/a&gt; that there is too a credit crunch?&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081116-b8errk2w9gc82wgmasy7b8a8hw.jpg" alt="Memory Monitor" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Calculated Risk:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/11/record-spreads-between-30-year.html"&gt;Calculated Risk: Record Spreads between 30 Year Corporate and Treasury Yields&lt;/a&gt;: Here is another measure of credit stress... the spread between 30 year Moody's Aaa and Baa rated bonds and the 30 year treasury. The Moody's data is from the St. Louis Fed.... There are periods when the spread increases because of concerns of higher [long-term corporate] default rates (like in the severe recession of the early '80s), but the recent spread is unprecedented.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=I33FN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=I33FN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=fmasN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=fmasN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/454489917" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;&lt;p&gt;Felix Salmon finds linkrot:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.felixsalmon.com/000897.html"&gt;felixsalmon.com: &amp;mdash; Broken link datapoint of the day&lt;/a&gt;: Four years ago, Apartment Therapy ran a Sleeper Sofa competition. (Evidently, four years ago the switch from "sofabeds" to "sleeper sofas" had already happened.) Apartment Therapy put together a shortlist with 15 sofas on it. I found it quite quickly, when I started looking for a sofabed myself. And how many of the links to those 15 sofas are now broken? All of them. People, I'm all in favor of keeping websites fresh. But don't break all your old links when you do so.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;And quote enough of the context you are referring to for your own posts to be intelligible.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=EMiUN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=EMiUN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=wWO5N"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=wWO5N" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/455995588" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;&lt;p&gt;If there is a prominent reality-based Republican officeholder, his name is Arnold Schwarenegger. Paul Krugman has evidence that there is no prominent reality-based Republican officeholder:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/fannie-freddie-phony/"&gt;Fannie Freddie Phony&lt;/a&gt;: So I was listening to Arnold Schwarzenegger before doing the "This Weak" round table, and he was mostly making sense &amp;mdash; except for one thing. He asserted, as a simple matter of fact, that &amp;ldquo;government created the housing bubble&amp;rdquo;, because Fannie and Freddie made all these loans to people who couldn&amp;rsquo;t afford to pay them.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This is utterly false. Fannie/Freddie did some bad things, and did, it turns out, get to some extent into subprime. But thanks to the accounting scandals, they were actually withdrawing from the market during the height of the housing bubble &amp;mdash; the vast majority of the loans now going bad came from the private sector.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Yet it&amp;rsquo;s now clear that the phony account of the crisis &amp;mdash; that it&amp;rsquo;s all due to Fannie, Freddie, and nasty liberals forcing poor Angelo Mozilo to make loans to Those People &amp;mdash; is setting in as Republican orthodoxy, part of what you have to believe to be a respectable member of the party.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=RRMBN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=RRMBN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=BgURN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=BgURN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/456005347" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;He writes:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/market-movers/2008/11/16/gm-the-bailout-vs-bankruptcy-meme?tid=true"&gt;GM: The Bailout vs Bankruptcy Meme&lt;/a&gt;: At heart, this argument is simple. There's no available DIP financing for an orderly Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Chapter 7 liquidation would be disastrous, therefore we need a bailout which avoids any kind of bankruptcy at all. But I don't see why a government bailout must, ipso facto, avoid any kind of bankruptcy. GM alone has $35 billion in long-term debt, most of which is trading at about 20 cents on the dollar. That might only be a drop in the bucket compared to its total liabilities of $193 billion, but it's a good place to start: if bondholders took an 80% writedown while the government pitched in $12 billion of preferred equity in the post-restructuring entity, that's a $40 billion improvement to GM's balance sheet right there. And of course bankruptcy would give GM the opportunity to renegotiate onerous contracts with its dealers, as well as other real and contingent liabilities.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;This is what I've been referring to as a "bail-in", and it makes quite a lot of sense on its face. Let the government provide the necessary financing, but ensure that bondholders share some of the pain as well, especially since doing so would simply ratify the mark-to-market losses they've already taken.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Such a plan would involve working out the details of a bankruptcy in advance: there are large dangers involved when a company the size of GM enters bankruptcy without any clear conception of how it might exit. So there would need to be serious negotiations between all of GM's stakeholders and the government -- negotiations which, I'll concede, would be all but impossible during this uncomfortable interregnum between the election and the inauguration. Even if GM can somehow muddle through until January, it can hardly expect such negotiations to be concluded in a matter of weeks. So there's a timing problem here, given that the present administration has demonstrated zero inclination to help out Detroit. But I still think that it would be useful to stop thinking of a bailout as an alternative to bankruptcy, and start thinking more imaginatively about the different mechanisms, including both government funds and bankruptcy, which could help put Detroit on a more sustainable footing.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;The government could, for one thing, provide DIP financing...&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=NKiPN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=NKiPN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=qjoCN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=qjoCN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/456005345" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;She writes, stream-of-consciousness first draft:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://tehipitetom.blogspot.com/2008/11/one-hundred-years-of-if-stone.html"&gt;If I Ran the Zoo: One Hundred Years Of I.F. Stone&lt;/a&gt;: Yesterday we had a blast honoring my grandfather, I.F. Stone... marvelous speakers, among the best of whom was Jack Beatty, Chris Lydon, and Tony Lewis. Among the most controversial, apparently, was your own Aimai.... I believe firmly that she who blogs first, laughs last so I woke up this morning at four a.m. to get my account into print first....&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Jack Beatty's talk.... Look, he said, (more or less and forgive me, Jack, for any misquotes) Izzy was increasingly both blind and deaf. And he was always and eternally himself. He never let the audiences expectations govern his behavior. He spoke at a dinner celebrating Walter Lippman... launched into a tirade against him, leaving my poor grandmother, who could actually see the faces in the celebrity audience, to face the brunt of the audience's rage and horror as Izzy ceremonially stomped Lippman's legend into the dust. Picture Izzy doing the same thing at a film about the wonders of communism when, as an imagined "man of the left" the audience turns to him for approbation and gets a fifty minute disquisition on the horrors of communism and the glories of the red, white and blue. My favorite of Jack's stories... Thanksgiving Dinner with Morton Kondracke and Kondracke's family of young children... asked, ceremoniously, to speak on the wonders of g-d and when they came 'round to Izzy he said forthrightly (and oh, how Jewishly) something on the order of "G-d? that *&amp;amp;^%$ criminal? If there is a g-d he's responsible for more war, pestilence, and murder of children than any single human in history. He's got a lot to answer for. I'd rather believe in no g-d than have to impeach the bastard with his crimes."...&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;I seem to have gotten up and from the point of the older journalists there, barked like a puppy or, perhaps more accurately, peed on the carpet. I said what I, and my brother, and probably the entire bloggosphere have long thought. If he'd lived long enough Izzy would certainly have been a blogger. That is because the best of his work, which he famously did alone and without help, wasn't really facilitated in any way by large newspaper bureaus and increasingly, in the modern world, would not require the auspices and the power of a newspaper's backing... the historical depth, the ability to link, the ability to write as much as you want without increasing cost, and the targeted, partisan nature of blog readership would have made a blog the natural heir to &lt;em&gt;The Weekly&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Frankly, I thought what I had to say was uncontroversial but I had forgotten how much vested interest and angst the self described journalists in the room place on the war between bloggers and journalists. I also hadn't realized, or remembered, what it was like to be parachuted into a room filled with altecockers with turf to defend. I won't name any names but various elder statesmen tried to put me in my place with windy pronouncements on the inability of blogs and bloggers to take the place of journalists. This left my withers unwrung because, of course, I don't think blogs are replacing &lt;em&gt;journalists&lt;/em&gt;--they seem to be doing a nice job of making themselves extinct--but that blogs are competing with &lt;em&gt;newspapers&lt;/em&gt; and are, in their own way, a more hospitable place for honest journalistic endeavours....&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;But we were talking past each other, as that basic mismatch between what I'd said and what they'd heard demonstrates. They don't really read blogs..... Basically they think blogs and bloggers are "all about opinion and we have too much opinion" so you say "well, what about Josh Marshall at Talking Points and his *&amp;amp;^% Polk? Oh yes, of course *he's good, they say--in fact his award inclines them to think him so much a journalist.... Or, what about Bilmon? (Chris Lydon, bless his heart, brought up Bilmon) but the others had never heard of him and what's with the weird name? Or Glenn Greenwald, or Juan Cole? But, they said to me triumphantly, they have "day jobs!"? So, what, they can't be considered journalists?...&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Well, anyway, we'll be sorry when we've killed off the newspapers with our cruel inattention. What? How did I kill the Globe? It was destroyed by the new owner's insistence on packing the pages with week old reprints of news from the Washington Post, the AP and the Times. Well, sure, says unnamed altecocker, they made some bad business decisions but that wasn't the Globe's fault, "they" sold the Globe. (I realized then that we were thrashing around in an emotional swamp since apparently there was a Platonic ideal of the "Globe" under discussion. I'd have thought that we were only going to talk about real world entities like the Globe (no air quotes) and its actual owners and their actual decisions but I would have been wrong.)&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;We got onto what seemed to be of chief concern among the older journalists which was how some of them proposed to save Newspapers by figuring out this darned web advertising thing and learning to charge for content.... [T]hey were all fresh off congratulating themselves for awarding the IF Stone Award to McClatchy for its coverage of the Iraq War, coverage that famously didn't cost the newspaper company any more than the expensive and hideously bad coverage of the Times (aka Judy "I was proved fucking right" Miller). Nevertheless, they kept offering up these bizarre blogger focussed attacks on blogs and the internet for the downfall of newspapers....&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;I brought up Nate Silver... startled that they actually knew somebody's name but unaware that Nate might be classed as a blogger--&lt;em&gt;he&lt;/em&gt; has a product to sell, his expertise, but....but...he must be some kind of exceptional case. Because they had never thought of him before, and knew him primarily from his TV appearances, they didn't grasp the way Nate's blog and the special election coverage and polling that he had done busted wide open the barriers they thought existed between journalism and blogging. But hey, lets not let facts get in the way of a good group grope on the subject. &lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;I haven't been around that much testosterone poisoning since graduate school.... Someone who shall remain nameless was doing the beltway freak out that the vagina dentata known as Hillary Clinton had been offered the SOS job--although they admitted that she hadn't been offered it but it was bad of Obama to make it look like she had been.... They agreed that so far Obama had been more sure footed than not on all matters having to do with the election and managing the transition but he had really, really, really made a huge and unreversible mistake this time with the Hillary Clinton Offer That He Hadn't Made...&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=tbIgN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=tbIgN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=s4m9N"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=s4m9N" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/456019470" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;Apropos of Krugman's evisceration of the underbriefed George F. Will &lt;a href="http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/11/what-a-change-t.html"&gt;http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/11/what-a-change-t.html&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081117-ef7d74m2gnw9citedndea81xqh.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;I have never been able to make any sense at all of the right-wing claim that the New Deal prolonged the Great Depression by creating a "crisis of confidence" that crippled private investment as American businessmen feared and hated "that Communist Roosevelt." The crisis of confidence was created by the stock market crash, the deflation, and the bank failures of 1929-1933. Private investment recovered in a very healthy fashion as Roosevelt's New Deal policies took effect.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;The interruption of the Roosevelt Recovery in 1937-1938 is, I think, wel understood: Roosevelt's decision to adopt more "orthodox" economic policies and try to move the budget toward balance and the Federal Reserve's decision to contract the money supply by raising bank reserve requirements provide ample explanation of that downturn. And once those two factors had run its course the continuation of Roosevelt's policies was no obstacle to an investment recovery driven by war-related exports monetary expansion produced by capital flight from Europe.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;You can argue--and I occasionally do--that had the Supreme Court not ruled the NIRA unconstitutional it would have exerted a significant drag on medium-run economic recovery. But the Supreme Court did rule the NIRA unconstitutional, 9-0, Brandeis voting alongside MacReynolds.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Sumner H. Slichter (1938), &lt;a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1927330"&gt;"The Downturn of 1937,"&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;Review of Economics and Statistics&lt;/em&gt; 20:3 (August), pp. 97-110.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;hr&gt;&lt;/hr&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;UPDATE:&lt;/strong&gt; Pro-Growth Liberal also weighs in: &lt;a href="http://econospeak.blogspot.com/2008/11/net-investment-under-fdr-krugman-v-will.html"&gt;http://econospeak.blogspot.com/2008/11/net-investment-under-fdr-krugman-v-will.html&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;And we have &lt;a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/17/paul-krugman-schools-geor_n_144298.html"&gt;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/17/paul-krugman-schools-geor_n_144298.html&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/11/will_v_krugman_on_the_depression.php"&gt;http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/11/will_v_krugman_on_the_depression.php&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2008/11/a_sweet_77_seco/"&gt;http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2008/11/a_sweet_77_seco/&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://mainstusa.blogspot.com/2008/11/krugman-explains-depression-to-george.html"&gt;http://mainstusa.blogspot.com/2008/11/krugman-explains-depression-to-george.html&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/17/early-morning-swim-special-krugman-pwns-will-edition/"&gt;http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/17/early-morning-swim-special-krugman-pwns-will-edition/&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_11/015686.php"&gt;http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_11/015686.php&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://sanseverything.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/bambi-versus-godzilla-the-economic-edition/"&gt;http://sanseverything.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/bambi-versus-godzilla-the-economic-edition/&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;And Debra Cooper emails:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;Back in the bad ole days, not so long ago....George Will would have said his nonsense, looking and sounding professorial; Cokie Roberts would have seconded in her no nonsense kind of way (after all her parents were Democratic party icons) and the another lie would have sustained the right wing economic hegemony on elite opinion.&#xD; Now we have a Nobel Prize winning economist to put away in a few quick, well chosen, well sourced progressive views that George Will just spouts crap.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Paul has had a column since 2000, but he hasn't had the impact he deserved. The internet has lent great support to that.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;In addition to taking due credit for the election of a center left Democrat, the netroots should take an enormous and continuing bow for changing the media environment for the better.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=pPk4N"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=pPk4N" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=wfLAN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=wfLAN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/456152269" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;&lt;p&gt;It is all clear in Revelations 13:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=revelation%2013&amp;amp;version=9;"&gt;John of Patmos, After Eating the 'Shrooms&lt;/a&gt;: And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.... And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven...&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Chapter 7 bankruptcy of the Washington Post company is coming in May 2012. You read it here first.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Why am I so certain that &lt;em&gt;Newsweek&lt;/em&gt; is the blaspheming beast of the Book of the Apocalypse of Saint John the Theologian? Because of this episode of... well, I can't call it he said-she said journalism because Lisa Miller doesn't quote anybody who is not anti-Obama, does she?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/169192"&gt;Belief Watch: Is Obama the Antichrist?&lt;/a&gt;: On Nov. 5, Todd Strandberg was at his desk, fielding E-mails from around the world. As the editor and founder of RaptureReady.com, his job is to track current events and link them to biblical prophecy in hopes of maintaining his status as "the eBay of prophecy," the best source online for predictions and calculations concerning the end of the world. Already Barack Obama had drawn the attention of apocalypse watchers after an anonymous e-mail circulated among conservative Christians in October implying that he was the Antichrist.... One of the winning lottery numbers in the president-elect's home state was 666&amp;mdash; which, as everyone knows, is the sign of the Beast (also known as the Antichrist). "It is very eerie, and I take it for a sign as to who he really is," wrote one of Strandberg's correspondents.... According to a 2006 study by the Pew Forum on Religion &amp;amp; Public Life, a third of white evangelicals believe the world will end in their lifetimes.... In this world view, "the spread of secular progressive ideas is a prelude to the enslavement of mankind," explains Richard Landes, former director of the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;No wonder, then, that Obama triggers such fear.... Mat Staver, dean of Liberty University's law school, says he does not believe Obama is the Antichrist, but he can see how others might.... The people who believe Obama is the Antichrist are perhaps jumping to conclusions, but they're not nuts: "They are expressing a concern and a fear that is widely shared," Staver says.... Strandberg says Obama probably isn't the Antichrist, but he's watching the president-elect carefully. On his Web site, he has something called the Rapture Index, a calculation based on signs and prophecy of the proximity of the end. According to Strandberg, any number over 160 means "fasten your seat belts." Obama's win pushed the index to 161.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Why oh why can't we have a better press corps?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=3hzXN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=3hzXN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=3EvtN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=3EvtN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/456406958" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ezra Klein writes:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=11&amp;amp;year=2008&amp;amp;base_name=david_frum_leaves_the_national#110984"&gt;Ezra Klein&lt;/a&gt;: I have a Yahoo Tubes feed for Ponnuru, so I don't miss his writing amidst the clutter of The Corner...&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;This seems to me to be very strange--akin to "I get dead rodents delivered to my doorstep every morning by DHL."&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;There is a belief--in spite of his hanging out in the very, very bad neighborhood that is &lt;em&gt;National Review&lt;/em&gt;--that Ramesh Ponnuru is a decent, smart person whom one can learn something by reading. Where does this belief come from? What has Ramesh Ponnuru ever written that people find worth reading for its own sake? And why has Ponnuru's reputation as a "decent" right-winger survived his approval of the dust jacket copy for his... remarkable book &lt;em&gt;The Party of Death&lt;/em&gt;?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Is the Democratic Party the "Party of Death"? If you look at their agenda they are.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;IT&amp;rsquo;S NOT JUST abortion-on-demand. It&amp;rsquo;s euthanasia, embryo destruction, even infanticide&amp;mdash;-and a potentially deadly concern with "the quality of life" of disabled people. If you think these issues don&amp;rsquo;t concern you&amp;mdash;guess again. The Party of Death could be roaring into the White House, as National Review senior editor Ramesh Ponnuru shows, in the person of Hillary Rodham Clinton. In The Party of Death, Ponnuru details how left-wing radicals, using abortion as their lever, took over the Democratic Party-&amp;mdash;and how they have used their power to corrupt our law and politics, abolish our fundamental right to life, and push the envelope in ever more dangerous directions. In The Party of Death, Ponnuru reveals:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;How Hillary Clinton could use the abortion issue (but not in the way you think) to become president&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Why the conventional wisdom about Roe v.Wade is a lie&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;How the party of death-&amp;mdash;a coalition of special interests ranging from Planned Parenthood to Hollywood-&amp;mdash;came to own the Democratic Party&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;How the mainstream media promotes the party of death&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Why Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, and other leading liberals gave up being pro-life&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;How liberals use animal rights to displace human rights&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;The Democratic presidential candidate who said that infanticide is a mother&amp;rsquo;s "choice"&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;How doctors-&amp;mdash;and other health care professionals&amp;mdash;-are being coerced, by law, into violating their consciences&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;The ultrasound revolution: why there&amp;rsquo;s hope to stop the party of death&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;Ponnuru&amp;rsquo;s shocking expos&amp;eacute; shows just how extreme the Party of Death has become as they seek to destroy every inconvenient life, demand fealty to their radical agenda, and punish anyone who defies them. But he also shows how the tide is turning, how the Party of Death can be defeated, and why its last victim might be the Democratic Party itself.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=B8wVN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=B8wVN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=9GVSN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=9GVSN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/456500448" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;Larry Kudlow writes:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://kudlow.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MmZhNjdlM2RjNGQ5ZWY2NDg2MjFhMmZkN2FiNTQ3MDA="&gt;Kudlow's Money Politic$ on National Review Online&lt;/a&gt;: Mustard Seeds [Larry Kudlow]: Many Wall Street analysts are forecasting a steep 3 to 4 percent Q4 contraction. But they are not factoring in the roughly $200 billion dollar drop in consumer energy expenses that is accruing from the collapse in oil and gasoline prices. This huge energy tax cut effect will be a big booster for consumers and businesses. Not only will it benefit consumer purchasing power, it will also improve the profits picture, and as a result, the stock market...&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;But the stock market is a forward-looking animal. Unless you think investors are &lt;em&gt;really&lt;/em&gt; stupid, the effect of falling oil prices on profits and future dividends has already been incorporated into stock prices--it has just been overwhelmed by the bad news about the financial crisis.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;At some point predictions that the stock market is about to rise are going to be true. But if they are true now, it is not because "Wall Street analysts are forecasting a steep 3 to 4 percent Q4 contraction. But they are not factoring in the roughly $200 billion dollar drop in consumer energy expenses that is accruing..."&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=IxhgN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=IxhgN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=kfrjN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=kfrjN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/457496990" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;&lt;p&gt;Last week's reading:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;John Maynard Keynes (1932), &lt;a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=x7clD4YypVMC&amp;amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;amp;dq=keynes+essays+in+persuasion&amp;amp;ei=H1EkSZKwDZLakASvo63WDg&amp;amp;client=safari#PPR11,M1"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Essays in Persuasion&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; (London: Macmillan).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;This week's reading:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Wladimir S. Woytinsky (1961)&lt;a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Vc5oAAAAMAAJ&amp;amp;q=woytinsky+stormy+passage&amp;amp;dq=woytinsky+stormy+passage&amp;amp;ei=blAkSd6SIoLkkwS-36TGAQ&amp;amp;client=safari&amp;amp;pgis=1"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Stormy Passage: A Personal History Trhough Two Russian Revoutions to Democracy and Freedom, 1905-1960&lt;/em&gt;/a&gt; (New York: Vanguard Press).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Next week's reading: &lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Edmund Wilson (1940), &lt;a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=3j0KAAAACAAJ&amp;amp;dq=edmund+wilson+to+the+finland+station&amp;amp;ei=qVEkSd_iOYH6lQSv9fGoAQ&amp;amp;client=safari"&gt;*To the Finland Station: A Study in the Writing and Acting of History&lt;/a&gt; (New York: New York Review of Books).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;hr /&gt; &lt;p&gt;Earlier readings:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Donald Sassoon (), &lt;em&gt;One Hundred Years of Socialism&lt;/em&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Janos Kornai (), &lt;em&gt;Economics of Shortage&lt;/em&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Milovan Djilas (), &lt;em&gt;The New Class&lt;/em&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Sheri Berman (), &lt;em&gt;The Primacy of Politics&lt;/em&gt; &lt;br /&gt; John Maynard Keynes (), &lt;em&gt;Economic Consequences of the Peace&lt;/em&gt; &lt;br /&gt; John Maynard Keynes (), &lt;em&gt;A Tract on Monetary Reform&lt;/em&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Kevin Lansing (2008), "Exploring the Causes of the Great Inflation," FRB San Francisco Economic Letters &lt;a href="http://www.frbsf.org/econrsrch/wklyltr/2000/el2000-21.html"&gt;http://www.frbsf.org/econrsrch/wklyltr/2000/el2000-21.html&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Alan S. Blinder (1982), "The Anatomy of Double-Digit Inflation in the 1970s," in Robert E. Hall, ed., &lt;em&gt;Inflation: Causes and Effects&lt;/em&gt; (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press), pp. 261-282. &lt;br /&gt; J. Bradford. DeLong (1997) "America's Peacetime Inflation: The 1970s" in C. Romer and D. Romer, eds, &lt;em&gt;Reducing Inflation: Motivation and Strategy&lt;/em&gt; (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), pp. 247-276. &lt;br /&gt; Robert Hetzel (1998) "Arthur Burns and Inflation," &lt;em&gt;FRB Richmond Economic Quarterly&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.rich.frb.org/eq/pdfs/winter1998/hetzel.pdf"&gt;http://www.rich.frb.org/eq/pdfs/winter1998/hetzel.pdf&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Steven Braun (1984), "Productivity and the NIIRU (and Other Phillips Curve Issues)" (Washington: Federal Reserve Working Paper 34). &lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href="https://nber15.nber.org/c/2008/gif08/wheelock.pdf"&gt;https://nber15.nber.org/c/2008/gif08/wheelock.pdf&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://nber15.nber.org/c/2008/gif08/beyer.pdf"&gt;https://nber15.nber.org/c/2008/gif08/beyer.pdf&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://nber15.nber.org/c/2008/gif08/blinder.pdf"&gt;https://nber15.nber.org/c/2008/gif08/blinder.pdf&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://nber15.nber.org/c/2008/gif08/bordo.pdf"&gt;https://nber15.nber.org/c/2008/gif08/bordo.pdf&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Thomas J. Sargent (1999) &lt;em&gt;The Conquest of American Inflation&lt;/em&gt; (Princeton: Princeton University Press).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=YGWBN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=YGWBN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=D24vN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=D24vN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/458654418" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;I still remember the morning I woke up to find that the Federal Reserve had bought an insurance company.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;Now Felix Salmon has thoughts on the restructuring of the deal:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2008/11/10/the-governments-aig-dilemma/"&gt;The Curious Capitalist&lt;/a&gt;: The government's dilemma is that the people at AIG responsible for this mess really do deserve to be tarred and feathered, or maybe drawn and quartered. There's ample reason to be punitive. But once they made the decision that AIG was too systematically important to fail--and I'm not saying that was the wrong decision--the Fed and Treasury needed to structure their bailout in a way that allowed AIG to survive, at least until the financial situation improved dramatically. They didn't do that the first time around, which is why they had to restructure the deal on Sunday...&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;I think this is a significant mistake: the Federal Reserve is handing a present to AIG's shareholders and bondholders that they do not deserve.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;I say full nationalization, and then privatization of the insurance company parts of it. It is not clear to me that any private firm has any business offering insurance against systematic mortgage financial risk anyway.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=HODoN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=HODoN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=Jsr5N"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=Jsr5N" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/457496989" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;Once again, Richard Green's refutation of the right-wing hack claim that Fannie and Freddie caused the crisis by leading poor private-sector financiers to make stupid loans:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;blockquote&gt;&#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://real-estate-and-urban.blogspot.com/2008/09/charles-calomiris-and-peter-wallis.html"&gt;Richard's Real Estate and Urban Economics Blog: Charles Calomiris and Peter Wallison blame Fannie Mae for the Subprime Mess&lt;/a&gt;: Hmmmm. The loan performance on Fannie's book of business is substantially better than the overall mortgage market. And starting in 2002, Fannie Freddie (pink line) lost market share to ABS (light blue line). The data underlying the graph is from the Federal Reserve, Table 1173. Mortgage Debt Outstanding by Type of Property and Holder:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-c44kgtsftrw5xhyu58yuyctq8g.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=2fuHN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=2fuHN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=V95lN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=V95lN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/458684196" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;Andrew Gelman:&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-gix5t449dnag9c3j2r33ueyxm.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;The whites in the heartland of today's Republican Party just do not vote--and do not think--like the rest of us do. Richard Nixon wanted the Republican Party to lock up the South. Now it looks as though the South has locked up the Republican Party.&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;What is to be done?&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=gFVpN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=gFVpN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=dwe7N"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=dwe7N" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/458684197" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;&lt;p&gt;Dick Tofel of ProPublica tries to have his cake and eat it too.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;On the one hand, Dick Tofell says that Felix Salmon isn't allowed to talk to ProPublica's reporters:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2008/11/propublica-argues-theyre-open-enough/"&gt;Nieman Journalism Lab&lt;/a&gt;: Tofel... &amp;ldquo;I said to [Salmon] that we believe our reporter&amp;rsquo;s time is better devoted to additional reporting on the subject than to debating. That&amp;rsquo;s a resource decision we have to make. You may think that&amp;rsquo;s wrong, you may think that&amp;rsquo;s antiquated, but that&amp;rsquo;s the decision we make.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;On the other hand, Joshua Benton isn't allowed to criticize ProPublica because Benton has not talked to ProPublica's reporters:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Joshua Benton:&lt;/em&gt; Tofel... said he wished I would have called him or ProPublica before writing my post. He said I had a &amp;ldquo;&amp;rsquo;shoot first and ask questions later&amp;rsquo; approach, which I know is becoming more common&amp;rdquo; online. &amp;ldquo;Why wouldn&amp;rsquo;t you want to be better informed before you publish?&amp;rdquo; he asked me...&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Remarkable: "we won't talk to you because our work stands by itself and you can't criticize our work because you haven't talked to us."&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=plcjN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=plcjN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=WHzSN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=WHzSN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/458710135" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Visuals for November 19, 2008 Post-WWII Stabilization Policy Lecture:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-ef7d74m2gnw9citedndea81xqh.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-bdesxty8uatkfy98jrgbri8pp4.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-8cxx1eee4wbk27p8e9522ut4h6.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-731xsx88d49ngespgi2nsbqk4.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-eg45t7ikag5mg2suryf19pssa1.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-tcmmccr7atn7488159ti4qgpm1.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-nwbch1j97fqpdeqfubyyuxp7gr.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-kgp558qy3ffi8954wqmuj6ke3i.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-pqtmjqj5cm521sbyuybfbwaed4.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-qibdcreqf6qpuctutjken9mjbu.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-gga3gnutx4jisw6mup1926ba18.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-nn9cji3ruy4j4ec8ceqxjijmt1.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-p7fu9emj5cmckkctgcfrpqtjjw.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-ba6n1cnyy3j2xqesc53ucnpfqw.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &#xD; &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://img.skitch.com/20081119-naxkmjm4udyqgjt9djyq3stu7s.jpg" alt="Path Finder" width="500"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xD; &lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=xAJHN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=xAJHN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?a=FQjrN"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal?i=FQjrN" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BradDelongsSemi-dailyJournal/~4/458811803" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Brad DeLong at 20 November 2008 0700h

Don't Throw Me In That Briar Patch! Well, this is interesting: "The health insurance industry said Wednesday that it would support a health care overhaul requiring insurers to accept all customers, regardless of illness or disability. But in return, the...

by Hilzoy at 20 November 2008 0627h

TOO SMALL TO FAIL.... The impact of the financial crisis on the banking industry has been pretty obvious, with most of the financial services industry in turmoil. But there's part of this story that's been largely overlooked: humble local banks...

by Steve Benen at 20 November 2008 0530h

&lt;p&gt;Today was the first day recounting in Minnesota. And Al Franken made up some decent ground against Norm Coleman. The day started with Coleman ahead by 215 votes. And after recounting 18% of the precincts, Franken had &lt;a href="http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/franken_makes_gains_in_first_d.php"&gt;picked up 41 votes&lt;/a&gt;, bringing the deficit to 174. As you can see, that's about the pace Franken has to keep up if he's going to catch up with Coleman. But of course there's no reason to think that the 'pace' tomorrow will be better or worse than today. So there's still really no telling what's happening.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Another point to keep in mind is that these shifts are in ballots that neither side disputed. In other words, these were changes based on based on ballots where the voter intent was clear enough that neither campaign questioned it. There's a whole other pile of ballots that one or the other campaign challenged. And those won't get looked at until mid-December. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;According to the &lt;em&gt;Star-Tribune&lt;/em&gt;, Coleman's people &lt;a href="http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/34736454.html?elr=KArks8c7PaP3E77K_3c::D3aDhUec7PaP3E77K_0c::D3aDhUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU"&gt;challenged&lt;/a&gt; 146 today and Franken's 123. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/Oys43YviI3n8con37_j8GDa6emE/a"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/Oys43YviI3n8con37_j8GDa6emE/i" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/Talking-Points-Memo?a=SrNxvM8O"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/Talking-Points-Memo?d=120" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~4/Uq6Nkp8yp5k" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Josh Marshall at 20 November 2008 0500h

&lt;p&gt;From &lt;a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4AI91420081120?feedType=RSS&amp;feedName=topNews&amp;rpc=22&amp;sp=true"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Reuters&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; ...&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;Citigroup Inc faced a crisis of confidence on Wednesday as investors questioned the survival prospects of the U.S. banking giant, and its shares tumbled 23 percent to a 13-year low. &lt;p&gt;The second-largest U.S. bank by assets has been reeling on concerns that mounting losses from credit cards, mortgages and toxic debt could overwhelm its efforts to slash costs and add deposits. Last month, Wells Fargo &amp; Co dealt a blow by derailing Citigroup's bid to buy Wachovia Corp.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Citigroup shares closed down $1.96 at $6.40 on the New York Stock Exchange and have fallen 33 percent this week as some investors concluded that Chief Executive Vikram Pandit's plan to shed 52,000 jobs and cut expenses by one-fifth won't restore the bank to health.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;"People are looking at their business model and wondering how on earth they're going to be able to survive," said William Larkin, a fixed-income manager at Cabot Money management in Salem, Massachusetts.&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/un_qdd_yKbvYZT_J2Db5jy58BOE/a"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/un_qdd_yKbvYZT_J2Db5jy58BOE/i" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/Talking-Points-Memo?a=Z3caZcXc"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/Talking-Points-Memo?d=120" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~4/pnZb_D-JKJE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Josh Marshall at 20 November 2008 0500h

Number One Fan

by digby

Cokie's been hanging out down at the beauty parlor again and has some insights for us:

According to veteran TV newswoman Cokie Roberts, Americans should get ready for a whole lot more of Alaska's Republican Gov. Sarah Palin.

Speaking to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, the veteran ABC and NPR reporter and commentator said, "There's more of Sarah Palin in our future."

Roberts, herself the daughter of two successful Democratic politicians, suggested, in fact, that the 44-year-old mother of five and unsuccessful Republican vice presidential candidate could be "the white Oprah" in the near future.

"The camera loves her," added Roberts. "She is very determined to get back to where she was."

A best-selling author, Emmy Award-winning journalist and regular commentator on ABC's "This Week," Roberts said Palin feels "she was vastly disserved by the McCain campaign and I agree with her."

Palin is the great white (H)oprah. Man is that ever fitting.

20 November 2008 0430h

What Religious Right?

by dday


Kathleen Parker wrote an op-ed today calling out the "oogedy-boogedy" theocratic wing of the GOP and "armband religion" as impeding conservative electoral prospects for a generation.

Here's the deal, 'pubbies: Howard Dean was right.

It isn't that culture doesn't matter. It does. But preaching to the choir produces no converts. And shifting demographics suggest that the Republican Party -- and conservatism with it -- eventually will die out unless religion is returned to the privacy of one's heart where it belongs [...]

But, like it or not, we are a diverse nation, no longer predominantly white and Christian. The change Barack Obama promised has already occurred, which is why he won.

Among Jewish voters, 78 percent went for Obama. Sixty-six percent of under-30 voters did likewise. Forty-five percent of voters ages 18-29 are Democrats compared to just 26 percent Republican; in 2000, party affiliation was split almost evenly.

The young will get older, of course. Most eventually will marry, and some will become their parents. But nonwhites won't get whiter. And the nonreligious won't get religion through external conversion. It doesn't work that way.

This has sent conservatives into a tizzy, as they demand, DEMAND to know what Parker is referring to. The author of "Liberal Fascism," who has never ascribed bad motives to a political party in his life, has a representative comment.

What aspects of the Christian Right amount to oogedy-boogedyism? I take oogedy-boogedy to be a perjorative reference to absurd superstition and irrational nonsense. So where has the GOP embraced to its detriment oogedy-boogedyism? With the possible exception of some variants of creationism (which is hardly a major issue at the national level in the GOP, as much as some on the left and a few on the right try to make it one), I'm at a loss as to what Kathleen is referring to. Opposition to abortion? Opposition to gay marriage? Euthanasia? Support for prayer in school?

Hey, can I offer a piece of evidence?

The California Supreme Court will take up various legal challenges to the constitutionality of Proposition 8, with oral arguments to begin around March and a decision expected by next May. I'm sure we'll see a host of arguments between now and March, but the amicus brief on behalf of the Lord is a new one. It's a PDF, but here's the opening statement:

Acting on behalf of the Almighty Eternal Creator, who is holding sole ownership to His creations, all planets, including the earth and everything above, below and on it, myself as His heiress, and the Kingdom of Heaven World Divine Mission (also known as Rebuild My Church Divine Mission), a Non-Profit Corporation in the State of California, submit this Amicus Curiae brief to the address the legal standard for granting "yes" on Proposition 8, passed with 52% of California voters votes, as the State of California Constitution Amendment: "Marriage between one man and one woman only!"

Later on, there's this section:

After a night full of dreams, before dawn on November 11, 2008, before I woke up in the morning, the Almighty Eternal Creator ordered me, saying "You explain to them the consequences that follow each and all of their actions. Once they understand, they will listen!"

These two matters (gay-lesbian and abortion) are just a couple of many major cases where people are exercising their free-will rights for wrong purposes. This has gone on for a hundred-thousand years and has contributed heavily to extreme weather, global warming, financial crisis, recession, global hatred, lying, violence, war and murder, serious sickness and diseases - often for the purpose of gaining rights for wrong purposes, power and money.

I mean, if you want to deny that a non-trivial part of your coalition is out in la-la land, go ahead. But ultimately, conservatives are responsible for giving this kind of nonsense talk a presentable forum and a place in their party. They made a devil's bargain and now they're trying to act like the Dominionists in their midst are perfectly normal.

I don't know how right Parker is (the economic royalists and the neocons can shoulder some of the blame), but let's not pretend that the religious right is rational and benign.

John Cole has an additional bill of particulars.


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20 November 2008 0300h

Amity Village Horror

by digby

I was going to write about this, but I see that the shrill one is there before me --- and carrying a whole lot more credibility than I have in such matters):

When you hear claims that the New Deal made the depression worse, they often come directly or indirectly from the work of Amity Shlaes, whose misleading statistics have been widely disseminated on the right.

Now, Ms. Shlaes has found a new target: John Maynard Keynes. There’s a lot to critique in this piece, but this one takes the cake:

But the most telling fact about the new rush to spend is that its advocates have insisted on invoking the New Deal. They tend to gloss over the period when the phrase, “We are all Keynesians now,” was actually first uttered: the mid-1960s. (Uttered by Friedman, in fact, though he meant only that we all work in the terms of the Keynesian lexicon.)

The Great Society of that period was the ultimate Keynesian experiment, and it didn’t work very well.

Grr. Keynesianism says that deficit spending can help create jobs when the economy is depressed. The Great Society wasn’t deficit spending, it wasn’t intended to create jobs, and the economy of the 1960s wasn’t depressed. It was social engineering; we can talk about how well or badly it worked, but it had nothing whatsoever to do with Keynesian economics.

Now, LBJ did engage in some Keynesian economics: namely, he imposed a contractionary fiscal policy in the form of a tax surcharge in an effort to cool an overheating economy.

Alas, pretty soon we’ll have all the usual suspects saying that the Great Society proves that Keynesian economics doesn’t work — after all, the “experts” told them so.

One of the things I always find most amazing about conservatives is their propensity to greet any defeat with total defiance and inverse reasoning. Hence, we have a situation where free market fundamentalism, the right wing economic creed, has been tried for several decades and has now proven to be a bust, just as it was back in the 1920s, the last time they tried it.

The reaction among the conservatives is not shame or even rationalization. It's to look you in the eye and babble, "I know you are but what am I." In the face of a crisis that demands the kind of intervention that we know is the only hope to prevent a more cataclysmic result along the lines of the great Depression, these people are saying that the lessons of the Great Depression aren't just different from what we thought they were, they are the opposite of what they actually are. And then they trot out some bizarroworld conservative revisiosnist to "prove" their point, which the media happily embrace in their never ending quest to be "fair and balanced."

"Revisionist" Amity Shlaes, the new toast of wingnutville who conveniently blames Roosevelt for the depression, is the Laurie Myleroie of conservative economics. Just thank your lucky stars that John McCain didn't win the election or she wouldn't just give Stephen Moore and Glen Beck thrills up their legs, her book would undoubtedly be one of the bibles guiding the administration through this crisis. It's not like they don't have a record.


Update: Henry Farrell at Crooked Timber provides another excellent example of Shlaes' intellectual incoherence. And of course her perfect bizarroworld column defending Phil Gramm's comment that this is a nation of whiners is another one. Great gal.

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20 November 2008 0130h

<p>n the November 18 broadcast of <em><em>The War Room</em></em>, discussing the Mexico City government's reported <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FInternational%2FwireStory%3Fid%3D6250772">plan</a> to begin distributing free impotence drugs to men 70 and older, co-host Jim Quinn said: "Viva Viagra. Well -- after all, who's gonna father the next generation of illegals to come swarming across the border in their effort to reconquer the Southwest?" Quinn added: </p> <blockquote> <p>QUINN: Oh, I know, I know, I know. I'm such a xenophobe and such a hater. I mean, who would suggest that, you know, La Raza, or MALDEF [the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund], or MEChA [Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztl&aacute;n] were really Reconquista groups. I mean, we all know that that's just a myth that's been started by a bunch of right-wingers. And it's not really an invasion. It's not an attempt to populate the Southwest to the point where you eventually can outvote everybody else, and do pretty much whatever you want to do, including secede from the union if you wanted to, 'cause you still do have the constitutional authority to do that. </p> </blockquote> <p>In fact, the National Council of <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nclr.org%2Fsection%2Fabout%2F">La Raza</a>, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maldef.org%2Fabout%2Findex.htm">MALDEF</a> and <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fpublic.csusm.edu%2Fstudent_orgs%2Fmecha%2Fpages%2Fabout_mecha.htm">MEChA</a> are U.S.-based civil rights and social justice organizations. <em><em>Media Matters for America</em></em> has repeatedly documented instances of conservative commentators, including radio host <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060004?f=s_search">G. Gordon Liddy</a>, columnist <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200608240011" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200608240011">Michelle Malkin</a>, and MSNBC political analyst <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200608280004?f=s_search" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200608280004?f=s_search">Pat Buchanan</a>, claiming that immigrants subscribe to a "Reconquista" philosophy aimed at recapturing the Southwestern United States for Mexico. "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200604010001">Reconquista</a>" is a term associated with <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fstudentorgs.utexas.edu%2Fmecha%2Farchive%2Fplan.html">El Plan Espiritual de Aztl&aacute;n</a>, a document drafted in the early formation of MEChA, a group with affiliates at numerous college campuses and several high schools <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalmecha.org%2Fabout.html">that</a> "promotes higher education, cultura, and historia."</p> <p>In a July 15, 2006, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fseattletimes.nwsource.com%2Fhtml%2Fnationworld%2F2003128400_aztlan15.html">article</a>, <em><em>Los Angeles Times</em></em> reporter David Kelly wrote of El Plan Espiritual de Aztl&aacute;n:</p> <blockquote> <p>MEChA leaders say it is a historical document from a more radical time distorted by critics who focus on a few lines while missing the broader picture.</p> <p>"When did we say we wanted a separate nation? We never did," said Graciela Larios, who recently retired as head of the UC Riverside MEChA club. "We know about the spiritual plan for Aztlan. It reflects the time it was written in. We are not ashamed of it. We stand by it."</p> </blockquote> <p>As <em>Media Matters </em>has <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810130015?f=s_search">documented</a>, Quinn claimed on October 10 that 5 million illegal immigrants were given subprime mortgages and asserted that the Democrats "have given away your American dream, and by God, at some point, they need to be called to account for it." However, according to an October 9 <em><em>Phoenix Business Journal</em></em> <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bizjournals.com%2Fphoenix%2Fstories%2F2008%2F10%2F06%2Fdaily54.html%3Fana%3Dfrom_rss" title="blocked::http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/10/06/daily54.html?ana=from_rss">article</a>, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) "says there is no basis to news reports that more than 5 million bad mortgages are held by illegal immigrants" and "a HUD spokesman said ... his agency has no data showing the number of illegal immigrants holding foreclosed or bad mortgages." </p> <p><em><em>Talkers Magazine</em></em> lists <em><em>Quinn &amp; Rose</em></em> on its "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.talkers.com%2Fmain%2Findex.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D19%26Itemid%3D44">Heavy Hundred</a>" list, which it describes as a list of the "100 most important radio talk show hosts in America." According to the show's website, it <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.warroom.com%2Faffiliates.php">airs</a> on 18 radio stations and XM Satellite Radio.</p> <p>From the November 18 broadcast of Clear Channel's <em><em>The War Room with Quinn &amp; Rose</em></em>:</p> <blockquote> <p>BRIT HUME (Fox News host) [audio clip]: And finally, Mexico City<a name="ORIGHIT_3"></a><a name="HIT_3"></a> will begin handing out free impotence drugs to men age 70 and over. The city's mayor says part of the reason is that sexuality, quote, "has a lot to do with quality of life and our happiness."</p> <p>QUINN: Wait a minute. Hold on a second. Are you running out of illegals to send across the border here? Is it -- what's going on? </p> <p>HUME [audio clip]: Mexico City's health secretary says the handouts of one or two Viagra, Levitra, or Cialis pills will begin December 1st. The doses will be distributed at three centers that specialize in sexual health for the elderly after the men take a medical examination. The initiative is apparently not open to tourists. </p> <p>QUINN: Oh. Viva Viagra. Viva Viagra. Well -- after all, who's gonna father the next generation of illegals to come swarming across the border in their effort to reconquer the Southwest? Oh, I know, I know, I know. I'm such a xenophobe and such a hater. I mean, who would suggest that, you know, La Raza, or MALDEF, or MEChA were really Reconquista groups. I mean, we all know that that's just a myth that's been started by a bunch of right-wingers. And it's not really an invasion. It's not an attempt to populate the Southwest to the point where you eventually can outvote everybody else, and do pretty much whatever you want to do, including secede from the union if you wanted to, 'cause you still do have the constitutional authority to do that.</p> <p>You know, it's interesting that in the face of the people who argue that my arguments don't hold water, we have an entire Mexican bureaucracy whose job it is to facilitate the flow of illegals across the border -- to make DVDs for them, to give them maps, to give them tips on what to do after they get here to be -- to avoid detection. </p> <p>Now, if there's a government bureaucracy in the Mexican government, who is tasked with doing that, how is it not an invasion? It's one country sending their population into another country -- that's an invasion. Now, I know, I know, they're not using guns -- well, except for the drug gangs along the border. They're not, you know, killing people or kidnapping them, except of course for the drug gangs along the border. But, sorry, folks, I mean, I don't know how you avoid the essential truth that we have one country engaging in a soft invasion. And of course, this, again, this notion of Reconquista -- that they believe that the Southwest really belongs to them and always has historically, and they're going to reclaim it politically, by -- simply by populating the Southwest and literally outvoting everybody else, that is just something that right-wing fascists like me made up.</p> </blockquote>

20 November 2008 0102h

<p>Echoing a false claim made by Sen. Norm Coleman's (R-MN) <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.4president.org%2F2008%2F2008%2F11%2Fnorm-coleman-confirmed-in-2008-united-states-senate-campaign.html">campaign</a>, host Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed on the November 18 edition of Fox News' <em>The O'Reilly Factor</em> that Coleman "was certified the winner" in the Minnesota Senate race against Democratic challenger Al Franken. O'Reilly added: "Coleman won by a mere 215 votes." In fact, during the November 18 <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.house.leg.state.mn.us%2Fhtv%2Farchivessem.asp%3Fls_year%3D85">meeting</a> of the Minnesota State Canvassing Board, Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie stated that the board was signing a certificate declaring that "[e]xcept for the offices of U.S. senator, state senator District 16, state representative Districts 12b and 16a, the candidates who received the highest number of votes cast for each office voted on in more than one county is hereby declared 'elected.' " Ritchie then explained: "This is the certificate that we are signing one at a time, and it declares the winner in all but four races. And in those four races, they will receive the same process at the end of the recount." </p> <p>Ritchie's office released a <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sos.state.mn.us%2Fhome%2Findex.asp%3Fpage%3D10%26recordid%3D315%26returnurl%3Dindex.asp%253Fpage%253D10">statement</a> that day asserting that "Minnesota law triggers automatic recounts when the vote margin between the top two candidates in federal, state, or judicial races is less than one-half of one percent in a general election." It further stated: "The board reviewed and adopted election results with the exception of those requiring automatic recounts." The statement also quoted Ritchie asserting: "Only when this recount is complete in its entirety will we know who is elected." </p> <p>Several news outlets also reported that the board did not certify vote totals or a winner in the Minnesota Senate race. The <em>Star Tribune </em><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.startribune.com%2Fpolitics%2F34701314.html%3Felr%3DKArksDyycyUtyycyUiD3aPc%3A_Yyc%3AaUU">reported</a> on November 19 that the board "did not certify vote totals in the Senate race." The <em>Pioneer Press </em>reported in a November 19 <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twincities.com%2Fnews%2Fci_11017250%3Fsource%3Drss">article</a> that the board "declare[d] winners ... in all but four" Minnesota election contests, including "the U.S. Senate race." The <em>Press </em>quoted Ritchie as saying, "We do not know the winner of four races until the completion of the process." Additionally, the <em>West Central Tribune </em><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wctrib.com%2Farticles%2Findex.cfm%3Fid%3D44053%26section%3Dhomepage">reported</a> on November 19 that the "Senate race is among the four without a certified winner pending the recount."</p> <p>Additionally, Ritchie <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wctrib.com%2Farticles%2Findex.cfm%3Fid%3D44053%26section%3Dhomepage">reportedly</a> "dismissed" the Coleman campaign's <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.4president.org%2F2008%2F2008%2F11%2Fnorm-coleman-confirmed-in-2008-united-states-senate-campaign.html">statement</a> that Coleman "was confirmed as the winner" in the race. In the statement, Coleman for Senate Campaign Manager Cullen Sheehan asserted that "Coleman has, for the third time, been named the winner of the 2008 election." Ritchie reportedly said in response, "We certified that on all but four races the winner is known."</p> <p>From the November 18 edition of Fox News' <em>The O'Reilly Factor</em>:</p> <blockquote> <p>O'REILLY: "Factor Follow-up" segment tonight: Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman was certified the winner in his race against Al Franken today.<a name="ORIGHIT_4"></a><a name="HIT_4"></a> Coleman won by a mere 215 votes. But about 400,000 voters in Minnesota rejected<a name="ORIGHIT_5"></a><a name="HIT_5"></a> Franken, while voting for Obama. They crossed the ticket to support<a name="ORIGHIT_6"></a><a name="HIT_6"></a> Coleman, a stunning statistic.</p> </blockquote> <p>From the November 18 meeting of the Minnesota State Canvassing Board:</p> <blockquote> <p>RITCHIE: We will move now to the signing of the certificate, and with -- for the benefit of the audience, I would like to read this.</p> <p>"We, the undersigned, legally constituted state canvassing board, as required by law" -- and I think -- is there a good pen and all of that? Where's that original? Do you want to start it? [inaudible] "As required by law, canvassed on November 18th, 2008, the certified copies of the statements made by the county canvassing boards of the votes cast at the November 4th, 2008, state general election for presidential electors, U.S. Senate, U.S. representatives, state representatives, state constitutional amendment, and state judicial offices. We have also received the report of the 2008 postelection review, held pursuant to law, containing the changes and the number of votes counted by candidates for the offices of presidential electors, U.S. Senate, U.S. representatives in the precincts reviewed in each county of the state pursuant to Minnesota statute section 206.89, we have incorporated the indicated changes into the following report of the votes cast at the 2008 state general election.</p> <p>"We specify in the following report the names of the persons who received votes and the number received by each in the several counties in which they were cast as reported by the county canvassing boards and adjusted by the report of the postelection review. Except for the offices of U.S. senator, state senator District 16, state representative Districts 12b and 16a, the candidates who received the highest number of votes cast for each office voted on in more than one county is hereby declared 'elected.' "</p> <p>This is the certificate that we are signing one at a time, and it declares the winner in all but four races. And in those four races, they will receive the same process at the end of the recount. And the report triggers the counting by hand of the four races, which will begin tomorrow morning. And we have the task today of considering the procedures for the recount plans, which will now be presented by [Minnesota state elections director] Mr. Gary Poser.</p> </blockquote>

20 November 2008 0053h

&lt;p&gt;My goodness, it looks like a little crockery is starting to get flung around the genteel confines of the cafe. It's about time that this book club turned into a fight club. &lt;br /&gt; Bart defends himself from Paul Mirengoff's contention that he created a Potemkin Washington, DC by pointing to his book as trying to achieve an objective look at Cheney with a kind of Thucydidean detachment. For the most part, I'm sympathetic to Bart, and it is, of course, the traditional aspiration of American journalists to "show, don't tell," as the old saying has it. &lt;br /&gt; But Mirengoff is surely on to something when he says that the marshaling of evidence, the structure of the book itself is, to some extent, going to shape the narrative. I don't see anything wrong with that. Otherwise, Bart would end up in a soup of relativism, wouldn't he? The testimony he elicits from, for example, Dick Armey (not exactly a darling of the Washing Post) portrays Cheney in a very dim light--as willing, for the purposes of selling the Iraq War, to deceive an old chum. Goodness knows, Cheney isn't the first high official to engage in such tactics: Gordon M. Goldstein's new book, Lessons In Disaster, notes that McGeorge Bundy flummoxed Lyndon B. Johnson by suggesting that he should simply tell the American public the truth about sending more troops to Vietnam. Bundy observed, "Lyndon Johnson's view of the truth is like a Boston trustee's view of capital. It's much too valuable ever to be used."&lt;br /&gt; What's more, Mirengoff is right about the nature of the government bureaucracy, though I think he does the CIA a disservice by imputing highly politicized behavior to it. Instead, the bureaucracy tends to be filled with timid time-servers who drag their feet on implementing any policies. Cheney wanted to put the bureaucrats on notice. But the dilettantes--and can there be any other word?--that he enabled turned out to be completely incompetent in preparing for the Iraq War. Now Donald Rumsfeld and the neocon claque that surrounded him at the Defense Department is on the outside, while Cheney remains a lonely survivor, embedded in an administration that refuses to follow his counsel about taking a harder line, even war, against Iran and North Korea.&lt;br /&gt; Perhaps Cheney will be hailed as a savior in the future. But I rather doubt it. The truth is that it's precisely Cheney's constant attempts to do an end-run around Congress, to shield the president and himself from any and all scrutiny that has engendered the intense interest in him. The irony may be that had Cheney been more forthright, he might have been more successful. But as Josh Marshall showed several years ago in the Washington Monthly, Cheney's record as a business executive was an abysmal one. His tenure as vice-president has been no less woeful.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/syuNn4RfjE88epOO5XA33NAYPfc/a"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/syuNn4RfjE88epOO5XA33NAYPfc/i" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tpmcafe-main/~4/JIgijrJSA2s" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Jacob Heilbrunn at 20 November 2008 0000h

<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Thanks for the feedback on the previous post. My guess is that once the situation gets to the point that Citigroup is at, planning to lay off 53,000 workers, then it's too late for any kind of union -- labor, shareholder or otherwise -- to make much difference.</p><p>The larger difficulty is probably that I'm looking for a shortcut to the kind of democratic management one might get from employee-ownership and that shortcut may not actually exist. Still, building alliances between shareholding employees and -- in Erl's phrase -- "pension groups, sympathetic union organizers and the Generally Chill" seems like it could be a positive step in the right direction. </p><p>Thanks also to Marc M. for pointing out the precedent of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C5%8Dkaiya">sokaiya</a> -- a form of shareholder extortion practiced by the Yakuza. That's a bit beyond the kind of <em>legal</em> pressure I'm thinking of, but it is an interesting indication of the sort of effect a determined minority of shareholders can have. </p><p>***</p><p>If I were in the U.S. Senate, I could not approve a $25 billion aid package for the Big 3 automakers.</p><p>I might consider a $24 billion package, or even a $27 billion package, but trying to split $25 billion three ways is just asking for trouble.</p><p>Seriously, I wouldn't trust the heads of GM, Ford and Chrysler with a blank check -- I wouldn't trust those guys if they asked to borrow my leaf-blower -- but if this bailout/aid package is done properly, it wouldn't <em>be</em> a blank check. It would be more along the lines of "Here is the money and here is how you will spend it."</p><p>I agree with both of the points <a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/244487.php">Josh Marshall makes here</a>:</p><div style="margin-left: 40px;">The auto industry -- directly and indirectly -- employs a ton of people. Even in ordinary times having that all gone down the tubes would mean a massive shock to the economy. If we can avoid having that happen now, why would we possibly let them happen in the face of what already promises to be a massive recession?<br><br>Second, on the question of the environment. There is no question that the internal combustion engine is at the heart of the climate crisis. But getting rid of Detroit won't get rid of cars. More to the point of creativity -- one of the things about crisis is that it opens opportunities would never exist in normal times. People have been looking for ways to get Detroit to get serious about developing cleaner, more fuel efficient cars for years. At this point, we're beyond that. We need to get serious about cars that don't use gas at all. If the whole domestic auto industry is all but asking to be taken into federal receivership, that tells me that the people running the federal government now have quite a lot of leverage.</div> <p><br>* * *</p><p>On the subject of layoffs as a failure of management: It's possible to imagine a scenario in which mass layoffs are not the result of an equivalently massive failure on behalf of top management. But such scenarios are rare in the real world.</p><p>Likewise, it's possible to imagine a scenario in which mass layoffs are an absolute last resort and thus not a grievous<em> sin</em> being committed by top management. But such scenarios are also rare in the real world.</p><p>Yes, "sin."</p><p>You don't get to traumatize and place at risk 53,000 people and their families and then pretend it was just some kind of fluke natural occurence, like a hurricane or earthquake, and that you have no moral or ethical responsibility for the consequences of your decision. (See also one of my favorite economists, the late John Paul II, on "the scourge of unemployment," which he called "<a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091981_laborem-exercens_en.html">the opposite of a just and right situation</a>.")</p></div> </content>

by Fred Clark at 20 November 2008 0000h

&lt;p&gt;Detroit CEOs &lt;a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/19/autos.ceo.jets/index.html"&gt;fly private jets&lt;/a&gt; to DC to seek taxpayer bailout.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/JUZbSeLKIPgzQcYylg4wkH-5Ww0/a"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/JUZbSeLKIPgzQcYylg4wkH-5Ww0/i" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt; &lt;a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/Talking-Points-Memo?a=SlekK9vI"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/Talking-Points-Memo?d=120" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~4/3H84mcq6EUM" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>

by Josh Marshall at 20 November 2008 0000h

<p>On the November 18 broadcast of <em>The Radio Factor</em>, while discussing the campaign for Proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage in California, host Bill O'Reilly asserted that if states allow same-sex couples to marry they would be required, "under equal protection," to allow polygamous marriages. In fact, the California Supreme Court explicitly stated that its May 15 <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.courtinfo.ca.gov%2Fopinions%2Farchive%2FS147999.PDF" title="http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/archive/S147999.PDF">decision</a> that California's ban on same-sex marriage violated the state's constitution did not extend to polygamous marriages. Moreover, O'Reilly suggested that equal protection principles could be applied to require the state to recognize polygamous marriages if same-sex marriage is allowed but did not explain why those principles do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages to the same extent that they recognize opposite-sex marriage.</p> <p>O'Reilly said to Fox News contributor Mike Huckabee, "[A] lot of evangelicals, a lot of Christian groups -- Focus on the Family<em> -- </em>they worked against gay marriage in California. And I'm -- you just -- I'm always interested in why they opposed it." Huckabee responded, in part, "[I]f they change the definition [of marriage], then where does it stop? Do we tell the people in West Texas, whose cult believes that a man can have 27 wives, that he can't do that? And the answer would be: Why can't he do that?" O'Reilly replied, "Right. Well, that's true. Under equal protection, you'd have to extend that. All right, that's pretty much what I believe, too." Seconds later, co-host Lis Wiehl stated, "No, you could just say, 'between two people,' " to which O'Reilly replied, "You can't. Not under equal protection." He added, "If you're going to change it, then it's gotta be changed, and the blanket is gotta -- the umbrella's gotta go everywhere. You just can't say, 'Well, we're going to make an adjustment here for two people.' Why? Then you have to explain why it's not three or four. And, you know, that's logical."</p> <p>In fact, the California Supreme Court's majority opinion striking down the ban on same-sex marriage, in part on the basis that the ban <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.courtinfo.ca.gov%2Fopinions%2Farchive%2FS147999.PDF%23page%3D118">violated</a> the state constitution's equal protection clause, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.courtinfo.ca.gov%2Fopinions%2Farchive%2FS147999.PDF%23page%3D79">stated</a>: "[T]he constitutional right to marry properly must be interpreted to apply to gay individuals and gay couples does not mean that this constitutional right similarly must be understood to extend to polygamous or incestuous relationships." The majority opinion also stated: "[O]ur conclusion that it is improper to interpret the state constitutional right to marry as inapplicable to gay individuals or couples does not affect the constitutional validity of the existing legal prohibitions against polygamy and the marriage of close relatives." </p> <p>From the California Supreme Court's May 15 ruling:</p> <blockquote> <p>We emphasize that our conclusion that the constitutional right to marry properly must be interpreted to apply to gay individuals and gay couples does not mean that this constitutional right similarly must be understood to extend to polygamous or incestuous relationships. Past judicial decisions explain why our nation's culture has considered the latter types of relationships inimical to the mutually supportive and healthy family relationships promoted by the constitutional right to marry. (See, e.g., <em>Reynolds v. United States </em>(1878) 98 U.S.145, 165-166; <em>Davis v. Beason </em>(1890) 133 U.S. 333, 341; <em>People v. Scott </em>(2007) 157 Cal.App.4th 189, 192-194; <em>State v. Freeman </em>(Ohio Ct.App. 2003) 801 N.E.2d 906, 909; <em>Smith v. State </em>(Tenn.Crim.App. 1999) 6 S.W.3d 512, 518-520.) Although the historic disparagement of and discrimination against gay individuals and gay couples clearly is no longer constitutionally permissible, the state continues to have a strong and adequate justification for refusing to officially sanction polygamous or incestuous relationships because of their potentially detrimental effect on a sound family environment. (Accord, e.g., <em>Potter v. Murray City </em>(C.D. Utah 1984) 585 F.Supp. 1126, 1137-1140, affd. (10th Cir. 1985) 760 F.2d 1065, 1068-1071, cert. den. (1985) 474 U.S. 849; <em>People v. Scott</em>, <em>supra</em>, 157 Cal.App.4th 189, 193-194.) Thus, our conclusion that it is improper to interpret the state constitutional right to marry as inapplicable to gay individuals or couples does not affect the constitutional validity of the existing legal prohibitions against polygamy and the marriage of close relatives. </p> </blockquote> <p>From the November 18 broadcast of Westwood One's <em>The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly</em>:</p> <blockquote> <p>O'REILLY: OK, why are you against gay marriage?</p> <p>HUCKABEE: It's not about being against gay marriage, it's about being for traditional marriage. I always, you know, try and say that this isn't about what we're against, it's about what we're for. And we know that if we're going to have a future generation, it's required to have a male and a female give 23 chromosomes each to create the new DNA --</p> <p>O'REILLY: Yeah, but gays aren't going to -- gays aren't going to infringe on heterosexual marriage. I mean, they're just going to do what they do and then most people are heterosexual, and they'll continue to propagate the race. But a lot of evangelicals, a lot of Christian groups -- Focus on the Family<em> -- </em>they worked against gay marriage in California. And I'm -- you just -- I'm always interested in why they opposed it.</p> <p>HUCKABEE: Well, I think that if we are going to hold true that words matter and definitions really do matter -- and surely they do -- marriage has historically only meant one thing in all of human civilization. It's meant male-female relationship in the context of creating a new generation and then training replacements. Even in the most definite days of the Greek and Roman Empire, when homosexual behavior was pretty prevalent, they never changed the definition of marriage.</p> <p>And if they change the definition, then where does it stop? Do we tell the people in West Texas, whose cult believes that a man can have 27 wives, that he can't do that? And the answer would be: Why can't he do that?</p> <p>O'REILLY: Right. Well, that's true. Under equal protection, you'd have to extend it. All right, that's pretty much what I believe, too. We're losing you on your cell, but I want to plug your book again. The book is <em>Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America</em> -- Governor Mike Huckabee. And we appreciate it, governor, very much.</p> <p>You know, that's pretty much my answer, too. You get a -- you get to a situation where if you're going to change the definition of marriage for gays then you have to change it across the board for everybody.</p> <p>WIEHL: No, you could just say, "between two people."</p> <p>O'REILLY: You can't. Not under equal protection. If you're going to change it, then it's gotta be changed, and the blanket is gotta -- the umbrella's gotta go everywhere. You just can't say, "Well, we're going to make an adjustment here for two people." Why? Then you have to explain why it's not three or four. And, you know, that's logical. All right, we'll be back with your calls and comments.</p> </blockquote>

19 November 2008 2336h

Urban Legend In Her Own Mind

by digby


Sometimes you just have to love conservatives. Even in the age of Youtube and the internet they think they can get away with saying "you can believe me or you can believe your lying eyes." And they often do.

Take, for example, Michele Bachman, the certifiable loon who went on Hardball and did a Picasso-esque Joseph McCarthy impression just before the election. She appeared with Alan Colmes this week and this is how it went:

Colmes: You said you were concerned during the campaign that Obama had anti American views and you said the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look at the people and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America

Bachmann: Actually that's not what I said. It's an urban legend that was created and that's not what I said.

Colmes: I have the tape at my website Alan.com

Bachmann: What I called on Alan was for the main stream media to do their job. They failed to vet Barack Obama the way they had John McCain. That's what I was called for.

Colmes: "I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America. Do you really want..."

Bachmann: What I said was that I'm not qualified to say whether members views are pro or anti American. That's not my job to do.

He was quoting her directly and she still pretended that she hadn't said what she had clearly said.

Amato has more commentary as well as the two videos and you can judge for yourself. But at what point does this sort of thing become disqualifying? I'm beginning to think --- never.


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19 November 2008 2335h

<p>During the November 18 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage said, "You haven't seen any of what's coming in this country. You are going to see the wholesale replacement of competent white men, and I'm targeting exactly the group that's gonna be thrown out of jobs in the government. And I'll say it, and I'll be the first to say it, and I may be not the only -- the last to say it. I am telling you that there's gonna be a wholesale firing of competent white men in the United States government up and down the line, in police departments, in fire departments. Everywhere in America, you're going to see an exchange that you've never seen in history, and it's not gonna be necessarily for the betterment of this country."</p> <p>Earlier in the segment, Savage said of President-elect Barack Obama: "[W] hen you're socially promoted, you wind up as president of the United States. If you're socially promoted your whole life and nobody challenges you because you're of the proper consti