Just a short note. I watched MSNBC as the House Chamber filled up. I enjoy Keith.
But when the Barack Obama, President of the United States, began speaking, MSNBC started a stupid, idiotic crawl at the bottom of the screen, I switched to CNN. Obama voters and McCain voters are right now hitting some ridiculous buttons letting us know how they feel about the president’s speech.
Lose the crawl, MSNBC. It detracts from the seriousness of the moment and turns the speech into a sideshow.
I’ve heard so many Republicans rail against the proposed stimulus package and none of them have any idea what they’re talking about.
Why not ask an economist? A reporter for the Notre Dame Observer, Robert Singer, sat down with some economics professors to get their take. The bottom line? The stimulus will help, it will work:
According to Economics Professor James Sullivan, one of the major reasons why legislators are calling for an economic stimulus – a massive increase in government spending – is that widespread uncertainty has caused a decrease in overall demand. Lacking confidence about their job security, people are less willing to make purchases or investments.
“People expect the economy not to recover soon and that has a self-fulfilling prophecy to it,” he said. “If you don’t think the stock market will increase, you won’t invest in the stock market.”
While the economy probably won’t suffer indefinitely without a stimulus, a bill could significantly shorten the downturn, according to Economics Professor Nelson Mark.
“In the long run, it’s not necessary, but who knows if the long run is going to be 10 years or 20 years,” he said. “So I think the question is if the government is capable of lessening the severity of the recession and if what it can do offsets the long-term costs of doing so, then it should do it.”
If people are unwilling to spend money, then the government can do it for them by cutting taxes, sending money to states, making investments or hiring workers for public works.
“The government can jumpstart things and encourage businesses to invest to get out of this sentiment of pessimism,” Sullivan said.
So much of the economy is a state of mind, but it’s more than that as well. Republicans have been screaming about spending in the bill, but government spending is actually a good thing, according to the real experts:
Direct government spending on infrastructure or energy investment would be fail-safe ways to increase overall demand, according to Sullivan, but tax breaks to individuals would allow them to make their own consumption choices.
“If the government spends it right away, then they spend it right away,” he said. “Consumers might choose to hold onto it, so there’s a little bit of a risk there. Ideally you’d like the consumers to spend it, because they could spend it on what they want.”
Economics Professor Martin Wolfson focused on aspects of the bill that call for more direct government spending.
“I think the best parts of the bill are the parts that directly put people to work,” he said. “Infrastructure spending, investing in green technology, those parts of the bill that keep people from losing their jobs and keep people receiving needed public services.”
I don’t trust the Republican solutions at all any more. Niether should you. Their don’t-confuse-me-with-the-facts mentality has failed us. Holding on to a stubborn ideology in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary is not brilliance, it’s stupidity incarnate.
We can bring our economy back. The stimulus bill will work.
That makes Karl Rove very nervous, but it should give you hope.
Washington’s Sleeping Giant is waking up. The United States Congress is beginning to show signs of life.
I know this sounds premature, especially since I’m currently watching Jon Stewart rail against Congress.
But that’s Jon. I’m feeling unapologetically optimistic.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi impresses me. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will catch up in time. But the Senate is on task. The House is on task. Republicans are, well, Republicans. They’re mired to a philosophy that failed. They have no ideas.
But Congress, thanks to the Democrats, is starting to breathe again. The economic stimulus about to pass.
This from our friends at the Huffington Post:
Congressional Republicans have been pressuring Democrats to give them 48 hours to review the stimulus package before a vote is called.
The bill has yet to be fully written and released, but a vote is still likely Friday.
The combined House and Senate packages weigh in at more than 1400 pages, a reporter pointed out to Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC).
“So what?” he said. “I’m not a speed-reader, but that’s why I have staff.” Clyburn said that comparing bills side-by-side to look for changes as the bill has evolved the last several days hasn’t taken him long.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she’s happy to sit down with House Republican leadership to talk about ways to move the bill forward. “Sure. Sure we’ll do that,” she said.
So Nancy Pelosi will have story time with the Republicans. Maybe her staff can turn the stimulus bill into a pop-up book to make it easier for them to understand.
But the Democrats need to keep moving forward, whether the Republicans get it or not.
Tonight in Springfield, Illinois, President Barack Obama called America “the last, great hope for humanity.” Today, Congress breathes again, and that hope shines anew.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
How refreshing to have a commander-in-chief who has the guts to admit when he makes a mistake, make right, pick himself up, and move on.
Remember the last Occupant of the Big House? Remember his last interviews in the days before he left the Oval Office? Remember “No-Regrets” Bush?
I’m happy to write about politics again. This Obama guy has guts.
As was reported today, Barack Obama is expected to announce Wednesday a series of new pay limits, including those for executive pay, for companies receiving significant amounts of bailout money. Obama is scheduled to make the announcement alongside Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner at the White House.
While specific details regarding the type of pay limits that the Obama administration plans to set have so far been vague, the New York Times is now reporting that top executives may see their pay capped at $500K:
The Obama administration is expected to impose a cap of $500,000 for top executives at companies that receive large amounts of bailout money, according to people familiar with the plan.
This is a huge move for the Obama Administration.
The president needs to make sure there are no loopholes. And the whining Republicans better be on board with this.
Finally, I’ll do my part. I vow to make no more than $500,000 next year as well. My employer will be pleased.
I have to admit I laughed out loud when I read the newsflash from the Chicago Tribune that the Republican National Committee elected Michael Steele their first black national party chairman. The move is “a response in part to election defeats that have left the party’s base more white and Southern at a time when the country is growing more diverse,” according to Peter Wallsten, reporting for the Trib.
Strom Thurmond must be turning over in his grave. And Jesse Helms? Well, he just died again.
Oy. Yoy. And Double Yoy!
So, the GOP is the new black?
I wonder what the Cook County Republican Party will do to match this move?
Let’s meet them. They changed leadership — and their Web site — since we last stopped by to visit. Their Web site was previously Republican Red.
It is now Obama Blue.
No kidding.
Here’s their leadership:
The Chairman is Lee Roupas. He’s white.
Eloise Gerson – City of Chicago Chairman. She’s white too.
Eric Wallace – Co-Chairman. Yup. White.
Doug Glick – Co-Chairman. White.
Judy Diekelman – Treasurer. She’s white.
Linda LaFianza– Secretary. White.
June O’Donoghue – North Suburban District Vice Chairman. June is white.
Michael J. Gadzinski – Central Suburban District Vice Chairman. Gadzinski? Don’t ask.
Sig Vaznelis – South Suburban District Vice Chairman. Sig is not from the South Side. He’s a bit white.
Frank Capuzi – City of Chicago District Vice Chairman. White.
Tony Castrogiovanni – Vice Chairman At Large. Tony is white.
John Curry – Vice Chairman At Large. He’s bright white, and his Web site loads very slowly.
Joe Hedrick – Vice Chairman At Large. Yup. White.
Let’s see what happens to this list over the next few weeks.
Will the GOP be successful in their ruse to fool Americans into thinking that Michael Steele is the new Barack Obama? Americans tend to be smarter than that. We didn’t buy it that Sarah Palin was the new Hillary.
Thanks for the laugh, GOP. You made my day.
Sideshow Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States of America, needs to stop it already with the lame attempts at humor, especially while doing anything official.
Biden took a dig at Chief Justice John Roberts today at a White House ceremony to swear in senior staff. Biden said, “My memory is not as good as Chief Justice Roberts.”
President Obama was not pleased. Watch the video for yourself.
There’s a time and a place for everything, Joe. You weren’t elected for your delightful sense of humor. Stop being a sideshow and be a part of history.
Be the Change, Joe. Not the joke.
In one day and a few strokes of the pen, President Obama signed an executive order that will close Guantanamo Bay prison within a year and prosecute terrorism suspects in the United States.
Granted, closing Gitmo is easier said than done:
Underscoring the difficult decisions Obama must make to fulfill his pledge of shutting down Guantanamo, the plan could require the creation of a new legal system to handle the classified information inherent in some of the most sensitive cases.
The issue is only so difficult because the Bush Administration dispensed with Habeas Corpus, and much of the United States Constitution with it.
With a few more strokes of the pen, President Obama banned torture.
“Both civil libertarians and ex-CIA officials involved in interrogations and detentions policies hailed the changes,” says the Washington Independent.
Under the executive orders issued Thursday, the CIA’s interrogators cannot question detainees using “any interrogation technique or approach, or any treatment related to interrogation, that is not authorized by and listed in Army Field Manual 2 22.3.” That manual was rewritten by the Army in 2006 to reemphasize its compliance with the Geneva Conventions and U.S. laws banning torture. The Bush administration took an unyielding stance toward exempting CIA interrogations from that manual and those laws. But the Obama administration revoked all Bush administration executive orders from September 11, 2001 onward “concerning detention or the interrogation of detained individuals,” and directed the attorney general to conduct a thorough review of all other “directives, orders, and regulations” on the subject issued by the Bush administration that are no longer applicable.
Remember the Geneva Conventions? They’re worth reviewing. Seems we have a president who knows them, and desires to uphold them.
We all stand taller today.
Nicely done, Mr. President.
Comedian Rish Limbaugh wants America to fail.
Even before President Barack Obama (love the sound of that) took office, Limbaugh was hoping for his failure. According to Faiz Shakir at Think Progress, last Friday, Limbaugh told his radio audience, ““I disagree fervently with the people on our [Republican] side of the aisle who have caved and who say, ‘Well, I hope he succeeds.’”
According to Shakir, Limbaugh said he was asked by a “major American print publication” to offer a 400-word statement explaining his “hope for the Obama presidency.” His response?
So I’m thinking of replying to the guy, “Okay, I’ll send you a response, but I don’t need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails.” (interruption) What are you laughing at? See, here’s the point. Everybody thinks it’s outrageous to say. Look, even my staff, “Oh, you can’t do that.” Why not? Why is it any different, what’s new, what is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what’s gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here. Why do I want more of it? I don’t care what the Drive-By story is. I would be honored if the Drive-By Media headlined me all day long: “Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails.” Somebody’s gotta say it.
Really, Rush? As bad as things are now, you want the president to fail?
If this president fails, America fails. There is no other alternative. The country is in an almost unprecedented financial crisis, inches away from another Depression. The only people not suffering are the filthy rich who lack empathy, like Limbaugh.
Over 500,000 people lost their jobs last week. That’s right — 500,000 people lost their jobs last week.
There aren’t enough pain pills in the world for them, Rush, even if you donate some of your stash.
The majority of Americans get it — the time for screaming matches is over. Limbaugh’s audience will fade. People will see him for what he is: a comedian in search of an audience. Barack Obama is not the polarizing figure Bill Clinton was at times. President Obama is an honest, likeable guy.And he’s honest.
It’s going to be tough being Rush the next four years. And it’s about time.
Martin.
The man whose name became a verb, quintessential action focused on the ultimate good. We stand together today because Rosa sat, Martin marched, and Barack chose to run.
The sun has set on Monday. Today is the day we’ve been waiting for, in many respects, since before this country was founded.
Have any of us ever seen the surrealistic festive atmosphere in the nation’s capitol in the days leading up to a Presidential Inauguration?
I stand in awe and joy as well, but I am bruised by the past eight years. My economic recovery has yet to occur. I wanted to go to Washington for the festivities, actually mentioned it at work months ago.
Then things got a lot worse, and the financial collapse hit much too close to home. Things may get worse at home before they get better, indeed.
So I will stand and laugh and cry and pray tomorrow as Barack raises his right hand, and I will promise to hope for the future, focusing on the ultimate good.
Because we all stand taller today. All of us. And we must never let anything bring us down again.