Is that omnibus bill another that requires 60 votes in the senate? The previous funding dries up on March 6 so something has to be done quickly.

syl, I'm pretty sure that the budget bill can't be filibustered. You'll recall that Bob Kerrey made a big deal out of being the 50th vote for Clinton's first budget.

Oh, btw: we got ourselves a health care reform proposal. Dude's not wasting any time, is he?

Perhaps President Obama has confused automobile with automobile industry.

From Associated Press today:

Study: Antarctic glaciers slipping swiftly seaward
Antarctic warming worse than thought, melting glaciers could raise sea levels over 3 feet
ELIANE ENGELER
AP News
Feb 25, 2009 08:42 EST

Antarctic glaciers are melting faster across a much wider area than previously thought, scientists said Wednesday — a development that could lead to an unprecedented rise in sea levels.

A report by thousands of scientists for the 2007-2008 International Polar Year concluded that the western part of the continent is warming up, not just the Antarctic Peninsula.

Previously most of the warming was thought to occur on the narrow stretch pointing toward South America, said Colin Summerhayes, executive director of the Britain-based Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and a member of International Polar Year’s steering committee.

But satellite data and automated weather stations indicate otherwise.

“The warming we see in the peninsula also extends all the way down to what is called west Antarctica,� Summerhayes told The Associated Press. “That’s unusual and unexpected.�

For the International Polar Year, scientists from more than 60 countries have been conducting intense Arctic and Antarctic research over the past two southern summer seasons — on the ice, at sea, and via icebreaker, submarine and surveillance satellite.

The biggest west Antarctic glacier, the Pine Island Glacier, is moving 40 percent faster than it was in the 1970s, discharging water and ice more rapidly into the ocean, Summerhayes said.

The Smith Glacier, also in west Antarctica, is moving 83 percent faster than it did in 1992, he said.

All the glaciers in the area together are losing a total of around 103 billion tons (114 billion U.S. tons) per year because the discharge is much greater than the new snowfall, he said.

“That’s equivalent to the current mass loss from the whole of the Greenland ice sheet,� Summerhayes said, adding that the glaciers’ discharge was making a significant contribution to the rise in sea levels. “We didn’t realize it was moving that fast.�

The glaciers are slipping into the sea faster because the floating ice shelf that would normally stop them — usually 650 to 980 feet (200 to 300 meters) thick — is melting.

The warming of western Antarctica is a real concern.

“There’s some people who fear that this is the first signs of an incipient collapse of the west Antarctic ice sheet,� Summerhayes said.

Antarctica’s average annual temperature has increased by about 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.56 degrees Celsius) since 1957, but is still 50 degrees Fahrenheit (45.6 degrees Celsius) below zero, according to a recent study by Eric Steig of the University of Washington.

Summerhayes said sea levels will rise faster than predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group set up by the United Nations.

A 2007 IPCC report predicted a sea level rise of 7 to 23 inches (18 to 58 centimeters) by the end of the century, which could flood low-lying areas and force millions to flee. The group said an additional 3.9 to 7.8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) rise was possible if the recent, surprising melting of polar ice sheets continues.

Summerhayes said the rise could be much higher.

“If the west Antarctica sheet collapses, then we’re looking at a sea level rise of between 1 meter and 1.5 meters (3 feet, 4 inches to nearly 5 feet),� Summerhayes said.

Ian Allison, co-chair of the International Polar Year’s steering committee, said many scientists now say the upper limit for sea level rise should be higher than predicted by IPCC.

“That has a very large impact,� Allison said, adding that extremely large storms which might previously have occurred once in a year would start to occur on a weekly basis.

The IPY researchers found the southern ocean around Antarctica has warmed about 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) in the past decade, double the average warming of the rest of the Earth’s oceans over the past 30 years.

Pretty much every recent report on the observed ongoing effects of anthropogenic global warming contains a quote from a climate scientist saying "We didn’t realize it was moving that fast."

As the Obama administration and the Congressional Democrats move to take action -- however inadequate -- to reduce the carbon pollution that causes global warming, the fossil fuel corporations and their bought and paid for tools, like Senator Inhofe will kick their campaign of denial and deceit into overdrive, to undermine public support for the necessary measures. And they will seek to weaken and distort any steps that are taken, e.g. a cap-and-trade system, to protect the trillion dollar profits they expect to reap from business-as-usual consumption of their products.

Steve Benen would be doing a public service by highlighting this struggle in this popular blog.

"Will Obama face any heat from the left on its Iraq withdrawal timeline? Not really."

I agree. Let's be honest; he said 16 months was his wish, he would talk to the commanders on the ground for their input, and has now stated thst he has a 19 month withdrawal plan, with MORE troops than previously stated.

As Obama told the GOP. don't put down the whole plan when you approve 90% of the plan. Obama has done what he set out to do; give a resonable timetable for getting our troops home with as little residual force as possible.

Hey 50,000 aint small residual, but it sure is better than the 150,000 that McCain would have liked!

above S/B: with MORE troops than previously stated staying as a residual force.

Is that omnibus bill another that requires 60 votes in the senate?

Yes. It is subject to both a Budgetary Act point of order of a filibuster (cloture). In the case of the Stimulus bill, the Senate waived cloture, but insisted on the first option. But theoretically, the minority could have waived either or both.

The Treasury Department is starting to outline the "stress test" mechanism.

Related to this, CNN reports that "not all lawmakers agree" (two Republicans, in particular, objecting) with the Obama administrations desire to convert the government's preferred stock holdings in banks to common stock; 6 minutes after reporting that the administration does not, in fact, want to nationalize banks or take common-stock stakes in them.

Its too bad that CNN's financial news division doesn't pay any attention to what comes out of CNN's financial news division.

Frankly, I'd rather see the San Francisco Examiner fold than the Chronicle, if it comes to that. Since the change of ownership, the Examiner has become an unabashed right-wing cheerleader in the editorial and opinion section without even the pretense of fairness or balance.

Hard to believe that in liberal San Francisco such a thing could be, especially since the rest of the paper is harmless fluff, but that's the way it is.

* And finally, Drudge sure does play funny games with headlines. -- Steve Benen

Is that why you dispensed with your own report on the Dow-movement today?

The selection of Gary Locke to be commerce secretary is a very good thing.

He was a very popular and effective two-term governor and would almost certainly have won a third term in 2004 if he had chosen to run.

P.S. He gave the Democratic response to G.W. Bush's 2003 State of the Union address which resulted in hundreds of insulting and threatening emails, including racial slurs and threats against his children. He hasn't discussed it publicly, but a local journalist has speculated that this ugliness played a roll in his retirement.

Steve,
I think at the very least you should be a regular on Olbermann or Maddow--your blog is so imaginative, so cogent, so brimming with interesting thoughts..

No one disputes that the modern solar cell was invented at Bell Labs. Of course like all pieces of technologies it capitalized on principles that were uncovered previously. In this case the photovoltaic effect. The solar cell is a solid state device that employs the photovoltaic effect to generate useful electricity.

Jindal may be getting good advice, but I imagine he'll be eviscerated on SNL. Oughta be fun!!

Oh, God, PLEASE not an hour of David Sirota. He's smart but he has the exact same inappropriate shit-eating perma-grin as Bill Kristol. And he nurses grievances like nobody's business. If you think it can be punishing to listen to Keith Olbermann when he's in tirade mode, Full Metal Sirota would leave the whole audience brutalized.

MSNBC should fill the 10 p.m. slot with a dynamic duo -- Steve Benen and Chris Hayes or Steve Benen and David Sirota.

In the footsteps of MSNBC's solo, primetime stars (Chris Matthews, Keith Obermann and Rachel Maddow), this would make a refreshing change of pace...but not ala "Hannity and Colmes" (thank God).

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D96I77B80&show_article=1

First the diet money for her home sleepovers, now this... It looks like, by-and-by, the term "poor Sarah Palin" will be nothing but literal truth. I just hope her savings hadn't been invested in Citigroup or the like.

Could someone please translate what Bernanke said into real world meaning?

The comments section link on the article relating to Shelby is definitely worth a read:

http://community.cnhi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/753101401/m/8261052571/p/1

Yeah, the comments section bartd recommends is brimming with ignorance.

Actually, we did invent working solar technology.

According to Wikipedia, Charles Fritts (an American) invented the first working solar cell in 1884.

Russell Ohl (also American) first patented the modern solar cell.

And in 1954, three American researchers (Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin) built the first efficient silicon solar cells.

President Obama nominated former Washington State Gov. Gary Locke as the new head of the Commerce Department.
=========================

And NPR news reported, "Today, President Bush nominated former Washington Governor Gary Locke as the new head of the Commerce Department."

I think that's pretty close to word for word. Professional Journalism™ -- gotta love it!

Hell, I just want to know which President Bush they had in mind ... maybe that would kinda serve as a baseline to help normalize the other Professional Reporting that goes on around there.

Ghost of Joe - I believe they were referring to Jeb's eldest boy, George P. Bush; who, as we all know, was President Palin's VP until she was assassinated shortly following her inauguration ceremony by a liberal muslim moose in the Republican's bizarro America.

It really does help to get both sets of newspapers, even if they sometimes get the two Americas confused.

Everyone knows that access to credit is power because money is, or can be, power. So limiting credit has the effect of diminishing power. What if there were a political (or some other) basis for deciding just who's credit card is canceled or has its limit lowered (which might effect credit scores). Wouldn't that also diminish the power of some group or political party thereby making a conflicting party stronger? Who would use such a nasty tactic?

Muscular liberalism

Kleiman calls it A liberalism of national greatness.

Whatever we end up calling it, it is all about grabbing back the flag, embracing the "USA chant" and as Steve pointed out in his pre-emptive rebuttal post, laying claim to a rhetoric that embraces the enemy's finest talking points.

Barack has stolen the right's thunder.
They've got nowhere to run but further right. They've been out-muscled and out-hustled.

The center now belongs to Team Barack.
The country is his to govern.
I am starting to think: health care reform is actually doable...

I wonder if someone could do some research on how many of the republicans voted AGAINST the omnibus bill, yet inserted their own PORK in it anyway. Knowing very well that it would pass, but they can claim that they were against it.

It would be VERY nice to see a list of those miscreants plastered all over the internet.

As Steve mentioned in an earlier post, and estimated 40% of the entire pork inserted came from republicans. It would be very hard to believe that those 16 'sensible' Republicans inserted all the pork, and the retarded republicans are pork-virgins.

Hopefully someone will make a handy list for the 2010 elections.

Maybe heat from the left on Afghanistan:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/25-9

If the net effect is to move substantial troops to Afghanistan and leave substantial troops in Iraq (ready to counter any possible al Qaeda resurgence, as he said in the debates), then he'll face some heat. How much?

SecularAnimist: As the Obama administration and the Congressional Democrats move to take action -- however inadequate -- to reduce the carbon pollution that causes global warming, the fossil fuel corporations and their bought and paid for tools, like Senator Inhofe will kick their campaign of denial and deceit into overdrive, to undermine public support for the necessary measures. And they will seek to weaken and distort any steps that are taken, e.g. a cap-and-trade system, to protect the trillion dollar profits they expect to reap from business-as-usual consumption of their products.

Right now, coal generates about 55% of America's electricity. Reducing that to 53% (we might be there now, as statistics lag a little), then 51%, then 49% etc will be a long and expensive slog. In parallel with our effort, China and India will be increasing (once the recessions end) both coal and nuclear-based electricity. As you know, I am optimistic about the long-term, but there will be lots of short-term costs. Inhof and the fossil fuel coporations aside, lots of voters in districts with coal will oppose any rapid change. Inhof's vote probably isn't even needed.

After today, you can expect Robert Byrd to object to any Executive Branch energy plan not clearly the responsibility of cabinet members.

Obama promised to double the amount of energy from renewable fuels in the next 3 years. That's a good next step, but it isn't new or revolutionary, as trends already underway would probably accomplish that. But he is also in favor of "clean" coal, which on the whole is dirtier than current nuclear technology for generating electricity.

Because it must be said: Please not another white guy for the vacant MSNBC slot. That's all anyone ever sees, so that's all they can invision. Can we think out of the box a little. I think Rachel has already proven a vast improvement in the field as has Cambell Brown (IMO), I know it's inch by inch but can't we try to diversify a little more please. Asian, African, Latino. A broader perspective please!!!

PS: I would be open to another white guy to replace Chris Matthews...

A broader perspective please!!! - meady

I'll take MSNBC's diversity of ideas over CNN's diversity of ethnicity any day. It would be nice to have both, but ideas first, please.

Update on whether Americans invented solar technology and the car. In the thread below, look at comments by syd and existenz et al explaining that, given proper "working modern version" context, "yes we did":

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/02/america_invented_everything.php

Ambinder evidently look very hard. The first practical solar device was invented in the Bell Labs in the 1950s. For the benefit of uneducated, Bell Labs was part of an American company that actually has "American" in its name, AT&T.

From the "solar cell" entry in Wikipedia:

"The modern age of solar power technology arrived in 1954 when Bell Laboratories, experimenting with semiconductors, accidentally found that silicon doped with certain impurities was very sensitive to light[citation needed].Daryl Chapin, with Bell Labs colleagues Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson, invented the first practical device for converting sunlight into useful electrical power.[3]This resulted in the production of the first practical solar cells with a sunlight energy conversion efficiency of around 6 percent.The solar battery was first demonstrated on April 25, 1954. The first spacecraft to use solar panels was the US satellite Vanguard 1, launched in March 1958 with solar cells made by Hoffman Electronics."

USA! USA! USA!

Yes, Obama WILL face REAL liberal opposition to not only his delayed timeline on Iraq, but now his LIES being exposed, as the Pentagon has admitted “noncombat� troops could see combat.

Read the last three or four posts on Out of Iraq Bloggers Caucus

David Sirota? Please, for the love of g-d, NO!!

He's more concerned with badmouthing fellow progressives then actual policy, he's incapable of changing his mind when confronted with new facts or circumstances and is the most insulting pettiest man alive when he gets any form of critique. He's the progressive mirror image of Bill O'Reilly. Having him represent us would hurt the progressive movement and make me vomit.