West Texas is as dry as California, though with less national media attention. One lake west of San Angelo is effectively dry.

In case anyone missed it, far-right actor and buffoon Chuck Norris had an interesting opinion piece earlier this week.

He not so subtly argues for a "second American revolution," and refers to clusters of like-minded traitors as "cell groups," which I thought was a loaded term reserved for terrorists.

Perhaps he's just committing the age old political mistake of telling the truth.

psst. . . Steve. . .

16 posts in a day?

c'mon, man, give me a break. you're wearing out my brain. :)

While the MSM and congress focus on one type of domestic terrorism (predictably I suppose):

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/11/terrorism.recruitment/index.html

They're decidedly ignoring another form of domestic terrorism:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/11/32434/1638/783/707067

With regard to the USA Today article you linked to, which reports that 2009 so far is the driest year ever recorded in the USA: intense, extreme, prolonged drought is not limited to the USA and Australia. Such droughts are becoming more and more widespread all over the world. This is entirely in accord with computer models of anthropogenic global warming.

We are in for some very, very tough times in the not too distant future. By "tough" I mean the worldwide collapse of agriculture, the death of oceanic fisheries, and global famine.

By "tough" I mean the worldwide collapse of agriculture, the death of oceanic fisheries, and global famine.

Thanks for clearing that up. I thought you were alluding to the fact that I might have to give up premium cable.

/average American

I just read that Jim Cramer is going to be on "The Daily Show" Thursday night. That outta be interesting!

Also, for those who haven't seen it, and the Huff Post link provided didn't link to it, here is Stewart's latest takedown of CNBC and Cramer.

Cramer is also supposed to be the guest tomorrow, so let's see if the pendejo has the cojones to show.

of course there is flooding beginning in Iowa this week, which some ignorant wingnut will use to "disprove" the idea that the droughts are the impact of climate change (not unlike Steve's pet peeve about isolated cold winter temps not disproving global warming) in 3. . .2. . .1. . .

"The federal agency that insures bank deposits, which is asking for emergency powers to borrow up to $500 billion to take over failed banks, is facing a potential major shortfall in part because it collected no insurance premiums from most banks from 1996 to 2006."

Somehow I doubt this. I have also read thier earlier backstop guarantee was never used, so this one (though bigger) might also never be used.

What's probably true is that the FDIC wants to increase charges to banks for their insurance.

Speaking of Cramer, he really should stop taunting Jon Stewart, who continues to make Cramer look ridiculous.

Minor point of clarification. Stewart does not make Cramer look ridiculous, he merely points out that Cramer IS ridiculous. Cramer does a darn good job of making himself look ridiculous.

I thought Cramer was just an idiot when I caught his act on the tube before. Now I see he is a seriously integrity-challenged con artist who will probably be the subject of a serious SEC investigation for fraud and insider trading.

Does he really think he can bully Jon Stewart or bluff his way out of this after that criminally stupid interview video surfaced? I don't think so, Cramer honey. I'd be on a fast jet to Montevideo if I was you....like immediately.

Most amusing to first watch Cramer go most pleased with himself when he thinks Stewart is apologizing, and then go rigid when the sucker punch is landed.

We should be having a lot of that this week, Cramer is the gift that will keep giving.

"It’s like washing down a doughnut with a Slim-Fast shake," says Boehner's spokeswoman regarding the omnibus bill.

Having tried that combination, I can heartily endorse it. Mmm, hypocrilicious!

Chris Matthews really ripped Ari Fleisher a new asshole. Look for it to be repeated in a few minutes.

A beautiful thing...

"Speaking of Cramer, he really should stop taunting Jon Stewart, who continues to make Cramer look ridiculous."

LOOK ridiculous ?

"Jack Cafferty is unimpressed with the GOP of late: ‘The Republican Party is becoming a cartoon....'"

BECOMING a cartoon ?

Just sayin' that these are great times for us libruls, with Richard Vitter melting, Jim Cramer called on his shit, and Obama coming out each day to counter the rabid right wing bullshit

Must. Read. This.

NYTimes: The Looting of America's Coffers

Sixteen years ago, two economists published a research paper with a delightfully simple title: “Looting.�

The economists were George Akerlof, who would later win a Nobel Prize, and Paul Romer, the renowned expert on economic growth. In the paper, they argued that several financial crises in the 1980s, like the Texas real estate bust, had been the result of private investors taking advantage of the government. The investors had borrowed huge amounts of money, made big profits when times were good and then left the government holding the bag for their eventual (and predictable) losses.

In a word, the investors looted. Someone trying to make an honest profit, Professors Akerlof and Romer said, would have operated in a completely different manner. The investors displayed a “total disregard for even the most basic principles of lending,� failing to verify standard information about their borrowers or, in some cases, even to ask for that information.

The investors “acted as if future losses were somebody else’s problem,� the economists wrote. “They were right.�

On Tuesday morning in Washington, Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, gave a speech that read like a sad coda to the “Looting� paper. Because the government is unwilling to let big, interconnected financial firms fail — and because people at those firms knew it — they engaged in what Mr. Bernanke called “excessive risk-taking.� To prevent such problems in the future, he called for tougher regulation...

If that article doesn't make your blood boil, you are related to Spock on your father's side. Sure Madoff is going to jail for a lifetime. Good. But why aren't these looters being called to justice?

"The federal agency that insures bank deposits, which is asking for emergency powers to borrow up to $500 billion to take over failed banks, is facing a potential major shortfall in part because it collected no insurance premiums from most banks from 1996 to 2006."

So not only were the banks making bad loans, "buying" phony credit AAA credit ratings for the CDOs, buying unregulated CDS "insurance", now we find out they weren't paying in to the FDIC. I guess I'm not surprised, but when are we going to be told all financial sector growth since Reagen were nothing but a fraud? Next week?

I'm long past being just being mad at both what Wall St did for the last forty years, and what we're having to do to fix it. When are some of these SOBs going to jail?

HOW THE FUCK DO YOU NOT COLLECT FDIC INSURANCE PREMIUMS FOR TEN FUCKING YEARS!!!!!!!!

Jesus, was that not the primary lesson of the Great Depression - the one that no partisan disagreed with. You can't have a run on the banks. Period. That's why the FDIC was created to keep the middle and lower classes happy, so they would feel safe with their money in a bank.

MOTHERFUCKER.

"The federal agency that insures bank deposits, which is asking for emergency powers to borrow up to $500 billion to take over failed banks, is facing a potential major shortfall in part because it collected no insurance premiums from most banks from 1996 to 2006.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures deposits up to $250,000, tried for years to get congressional authority to collect the premiums in case of a looming crisis. But [the Republican-led] Congress believed that the fund was so well-capitalized - and that bank failures were so infrequent - that there was no need to collect the premiums for a decade, according to banking officials and analysts."

This is painful.

As a rule, it's best not to get into a contentious naval dispute with China.

As impolitic as Biden's comment was about America being "tested" early in Obama's presidency, does this actually come as a surprise to anyone?

Cafferty may be on to something. The leaders (living) of the Democratic Party most admired are Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore. On the Republican side- George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and...Joe the Plumber. Which party has the brighter future?

ReRushlickins becoming a cartoon - yeah, and they're digging the grave deeper and deeper. Catch this from De Long, at http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2009/03/circular-firing-squad-of-flying-republican-attack-monkeys.html. They're ginning up (heh) to dump Steele! Apologizing to Rush wasn't good enough! And his likely or best contending replacement: Katon Dawson — Steele’s former rival for RNC chair — who, until recently, was a member of a whites-only country club...

Here's something scary about banks:
"Banks counted on looting America's coffers"
By David Leonhardt
Published: March 11, 2009
www dot iht dot com/articles/2009/03/11/business/11leonhardt.php
BTW I know some small banker types and they do a good and honest job AFAIK.

That ship harassed by the Chinese has a personal connection for me. It's the T-AGOS 23 Impeccable (like a name for an 18th c. British man-o'-war, but also makes me think of Yaqui brujo don Juan Matus ...) I worked on the design of this vessel in my small way to make this very creative design. It has an essentially unique twin hull design, look for pics.

PS: The link I provided from IHT seems to be the same or almost the same article at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/business/economy/11leonhardt.html?_r=1 noted well by koreyel. IHT and NYT must have a sharing agreement? Yes indeed, it's a "must read"! And heh, I'm getting tired or something tonight with all that "design" alliteration ...

Oh no! Levi and Bristol broke up!

How will the institution of marriage stand in the face of this tragedy! All is lost!

Michael Steele has just sealed his fate. He's announced he's pro-choice sort-of, and also that once again he doesn't know what he's talking about. No matter how he tries to finesse it, he's either for a woman's right to choose, or he's in favor of the state making that choice. He can't be both, although it seems he doesn't seem to understand the bipolarity of the issue. Reality really is a bitch.

He's toast. Look for a vote of no confidence within a month. But who will take his place? Oh, Lush, where are you? This gets more delicious by the day.

The problem for the Republican's is that the main alternative to the embarrasing Michael Steele is the even more embarrassing Kato Dalton.

tanstaafl,(@21:31),

It's Katon Dawson. And I just saw his picture (on TP) -- he's got *brown eyes*. How on earth he managed to get into an all-whites club is a mystery to me...

doubtful, @21:04,

Your link didn't seem to work. Can you repost, with URL or something? I want to know ALL about this installment in the "All Things Palin" soap opera. Not that their break-up surprises me... I figured it was a given, the moment I saw that the Republican Convention wasn't turning into a bridal/baby shower cum bachelor's night; you either marry before the baby comes or you don't marry at all.

Steve Benen @5:30: Can we not wait another four years on this?

You might want to rephrase that, since it's a little abiguous. Maybe somethine like "Can we afford to wait another four years on this?"

Is is just me, or is the whole Michele Bachmann trainwreck starting to look a lot like the Katherine Harris trainwreck?

Neil B: IHT is basically an internationized NYT; used to be put out in consortium with the WaPost.

The Brits are getting disgusted with Obama's perceived economic dithering. Note the predominance of American wingers in comments.

economic dithering

"The federal agency that insures bank deposits, which is asking for emergency powers to borrow up to $500 billion to take over failed banks, is facing a potential major shortfall in part because it collected no insurance premiums from most banks from 1996 to 2006."

Republicans ran the Senate and the House for that entire time. Happy banks, sad FDIC, f***ed you-and-me. Sounds about right.

The Internet Says It
I Believe It
And That Settles It

Oh no! Levi and Bristol broke up!

The only thing I want to know about these two is which one more frequently called the other's mother a whack job.

Privatization of Social Security.

The world knows now what private monies can

do to wreck the economy.

The Bush Tax-cuts boosted the housing scam. The collapsing housing scam (for some) meant scoring big on the oil spike last year. Once the oil spike was over, it was time for bail-outs.

We can't do healthcare but we sure as hell can do Wealthcare (bailouts and weird bank shenanigans).

Every developed nation recognizes the basic human right to health care except Turkey, Mexico and the United States. Not health insurance--health CARE. Is the president aware of this? Shouldn't we make him aware of this?

They should be playing "Movin' on up", when Cramer goes from "The Gong Show" to "The Daily Show".

As a rule, it's best not to get into a contentious naval dispute with China.

I thought a land war was one of the classic blunders.

Sorry, exlibra, didn't hit this comment thread again until today. Nothing special in my link, just the Reuters report.