"ABC News' report on presidential perks was pretty ridiculous." Pretty ridiculous is way too polite. This one article has put them in FAUX NEWS territory.

Thank Gd King George didn't have these same perks. Could you imagine the libural medea having a field day with it !

If Hilda Solis' husband had been nominated for the cabinet, this delay might make sense. But as it stands, this is completely unjustified.

"Justified" has nothing to do with it. Obama has shown weakness on nominees, and Congress is responding to that.

* The right's inability to play fast and loose with CBO reports knows no bounds.

that should be ability, shouldn't it?

Glenn, dude: On the Waterfront was just a movie. It's not really like that.

ABC News' report on presidential perks was pretty ridiculous.

To be fair, the actual ABC story is about how Wall Street blogs are complaining about Obama's perks. It goes on to tell you what some of them are, and then there is some defense of the perks. You would never get that context from the talkleft article linked above.

So maybe Steve's one liner should have been "Talkleft's report on presidential perks is pretty ridiculous."

Fairness Doctrine link to politico broken.

Given Glen Beck's ratings, he is at no risk of being assassinated....nobody would be able to recognize him.

I just can't believe how bad things are getting. I am noticing it everywhere-- many small yet insidious changes--like Restaurants getting cheaper on normal freebies (salsa and chips, bread and butter) while slowly edging up their prices.

And this is just the beginning. We are headed for a big D, and I can't believe that Blue Dogs and select Republicans are protesting efforts for the Stimulus Bill.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Richard Wolffe just said that the Obama Administration and spokespeople needed to be clearer about the purpose and vision of what exactly this bill will do, how it will work.

He added that this bill should have been the 'easy one' (we still have health care and other things to tackle)--that if we're having such problems with this, look out...

Zinni's behavior over this incident ought to disqualify him from serious consideration. Guy's a loose cannon emotionally.

OK, basically the Fairness Doctrine thing is "panic" since not much support for it but what does Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) mean by talking up bringing it or similar back?

Richard Wolffe just said that the Obama Administration and spokespeople needed to be clearer about the purpose and vision of what exactly this bill will do, how it will work.

He added that this bill should have been the 'easy one' (we still have health care and other things to tackle)--that if we're having such problems with this, look out...

I would say Wolffe has it backwards here: the stimulus bill, as the first major legislative initiative of the new administration -- and one that goes directly against the ideology of the opposition that has been dominant in the US since at least the 1980s -- is exactly what should be expected to be one of the hardest. It was natural that this would be a major test where defenders of the status quo -- including those in the President's party -- would outright obstruct or drag their heels. Its where the new administration needs to prove that it can make things happen.

Blue dogs are republican lite. Their the republican wing of the dem party.

ROLL BACK THE REAGAN TAX CUTS. Problems fixed. Those making $3.2 million/yr pay the same taxes as us but "AFTER" that $3.2 million then they pay the pre Reagan tax rate which was good enough for Nixon, Johnson, Ford etc...Then we would have the much needed money for infrastructure which has been neglected since these tax cuts were put in place.

The greedy multi-millionaires and billionaires have been using up an unfair portion of the nation and making everyone else pay for it.

What idiot would be against people making more than $3.2 million/yr paying the highest tax rate except those making $3.3million a year. This is exactly how they've been able to pay such huge CEO bonuses and packages...the Reagan tax cuts.

Something the Blue butts would never go for because that's who owns them.

"Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni had an unpleasant experience while under consideration for the job of U.S. ambassador to Iraq."

I read this article, and Hillary Clinton is clearly responsible for misleading Zinni and then leaving him hanging. More evidence of her poor management skills. I don't care what the conventional wisdom says...I wouldn't hire her to run a lemonade stand.

In reading the ABC piece (which, I agree, was less stupid than the tag and the talkleft post made it seem), something occurred to me that is creeping into the popular vernacular: President Obama did not propose "capping" Wall Street salaries. He capped the salaries of CEOS of companies receiving bailout money. Run your company well, and you can earn whatever the market will bear. But if you run your company into the ground so hard that the government has to pick up the pieces, then you can't give yourself million-dollar bonuses.

I dunno. Seem reasonable to me.


-----

"Burning Down the House"

Solis' husband had a lien? Gasp. On at least three occasions my wife and I have been threatened with liens by the IRS, two of those incidents coming out of the blue with no advance notice (that we received, in any case). I'm delighted to pay taxes, I think many of us should be taxed --more--, but any reasonable person will agree that the IRS' implementation of the tax code is so f--ked up that it's no wonder so many people hate them. One our "incidents" w/the IRS was due to their creation of a doppelganger for my wife, this duplicate individual of course not being able to pay taxes. We ended up paying $16K to IRS that we did not owe because that was cheaper than fighting them. Yeesh.

In fact, I'll go so far as to say that the IRS has served as a unwitting accomplice in the poisoning of the tax well by such pernicious vandals as Grover Norquist, et al. IRS makes life difficult for all other taxation entities thanks to their incompetence and arrogance and makes a gift of anger and resentment to the free lunch crowd.

Poor Fredo Gonzales may have to go on welfare if he doesn't find a job soon, but life looks rosy for ex-president Bush; bad economy or not, job offers are rolling in:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/05/bush-greeter/

Here. I was expecting a discussion of Harry Reid's postponing debate after claiming he was going to "burn the midnight oil" and had the votes.

Do you know what they call a majority leader who loses a vote ?

Minority leader.

By the way, the market turned up today. I wonder if the stalled porculus bill is positive news ?

cmdicely raises a good point that this bill was not necessarily supposed to be the easy one (as per Wolffe).

As I think about all the pent up anger at the fact that a democrat is in after eight years of republican tyranny (and then before that a democratic president rendered almost impotent by his congress)and before that eight additional years of "big government and taxes are horrible"...and then all of the tax problems with the cabinet pics and then add in the Tarp 1 fiasco that is now unfolding, and then add in the Madoff and the SEC travesty, along with other scandals of morality breaches such as Blago and uncovering torture cases at Gitmo and FDA so on and so forth...

WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it seems everyone is coming out of the woodwork now admitting what they heard and saw--just because they can now, it's safe to
tell the truth now...

And meanwhile the economy is in a freewheeling downward spiral and

we just elected the first black man with a Muslim sounding name and some people really DO want him to fail (no matter the cost to everyone) because they are that bigoted, that grandiose, that angry,that petty.

Obama said tonight: This is not a game..."

But I'm afraid it is for too many. I really think it is.

So no, this was not really supposed to be easy. I mean, ideally --yes, Wolffe has a point: You'd think it would a no-brainer given our dire situation and that Obama is so popular and he did reach out to republicans in good faith and made a huge compromise right away by giving more tax cuts...

But that's assuming that folks really get it, that mature responsible adults who care more about what works than being right are in Congress and in the Media.

And that's assuming far, far too much.

Let's see what the jobs report reveals tomorrow.
And let's see if the republicans even give a damn.

I can dream, can't I?

By the way, the market turned up today. I wonder if the stalled porculus bill is positive news ?

You are so miserably stupid it's not funny.

Here are the headlines expressing the general sense of today's market performance:

CFDTrading.com: "Stocks Finish Higher on Stimulus Plan Optimism"

TheStreet.com: "Possible Relief Package Helps Market Rally"

MSN Money" "Stocks Rebound as Investors Buy Government Plan to Shore Up Banks"

Marketwatch: "US Stocks Turn Higher on Hopes of Stimulus"

CNNMoney: "Investors Fixate on Stimulus Plans"

TheStreet.com: "Stimulus Chatter Drives Market Up"

Do you ever think, or gods forbid -- research -- before mouthing off???

On the plus side, you are the perfect foil for advancing progressive causes: slavering and uninformed, willing to spout off without any knowledge of your subject whatsoever. How else would we be able to elucidate the facts so clearly without your convenient nonsense to rebut?

Here's something: It goes against the current CV being touted by the chattering classes, but the last active trial at Gitmo was put on hold today, as per Prez's request. You'll need to read about it overseas for the time being since it does not comport with the previous mantra about Obama not being able to control the tribunals. Try the Guardian.

How fast did the TARP vote go through?

Almost as fast as electrons through wires.

Zip. Poof. Done. No questions asked. No accountability of any use.

Now. Stimulus=sludge timeframe, why hurry? The longer it's delayed the more fodder the repugnacans have for blaming Obama for the dismal state of the economy.

Folks, we have been royally screwed. The vast sums of Wealthcare (the bailouts + TARP), and the vast waste of Iraq where shoes should not be throne at King George (pun intended).

The tax cuts stoked the fires of the subprimederivativebased mortgage mess.

The landscape of the past 8 years is not a pretty one.

Are we ready to build a new landscape of the future?

Pass this stimulus now.

Shortstop: Zinni's behavior over this incident ought to disqualify him from serious consideration. Guy's a loose cannon emotionally.

Hmmm. Yes, maybe. On the other hand I can't think what other kind would want the job.

State is about diplomacy, however, and that seems to have been missing. I expect Clinton to be a disaster, with lots more inept handling of matters big and small.

Yesterday someone in State apparently thanked the British government for subverting justice in order to protect U.S. intelligence sources. That really brought out the new-admin-same-as-old-admin blockheads — and made the U.S. look foolish. Great diplomacy.

Did Clinton approve that? Did she even know about it? Does she even know about it now?

Long Rant, great words. If you have more long rants like that, please bring 'em on. I honestly believe even the morons are starting to hear.

Sorry I missed this yesterday. The total cost to run the White House is at least $1.6 billion (probably over $2 billion) per year.

http://theintrepid.blogspot.com/2008/11/how-much-does-it-cost-to-operate-white.html