"* And finally, a Quote of the Day from Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, commenting on the 17,000 Italians left homeless by the Abruzzo earthquake: "They should see it like a weekend of camping.""

Are Silvio and Barbara Bush from the same family?

Posted by: barkleyg on April 8, 2009 at 5:38 PM | PERMALINK

I too, like Olbermann, am very upset with this administration regarding the government's immunity to prosecution in almost all wiretapping cases, secrecy, etc. It's unconsitutional for one and it also sets up the Bush administration to get a free pass from prosecution on their illegalities. I don't care if it's Bush or Obama, this should not happen - we should be outraged! I wish Washington Monthly pursues this issue tomorrow.

Posted by: whichwitch on April 8, 2009 at 5:56 PM | PERMALINK

One twitter-driven flash mobs in Moldava?

Do you realize that there are ten thousand events a year like this in China, but they are very rarely reported?

If it were in Slovenia, I might relate.

Posted by: OC Progressive on April 8, 2009 at 6:01 PM | PERMALINK

Gates would have been better off waiting to release the defense budget after Obama returned home. It's important to control messaging on every issue, and the GOP got there first.

Posted by: mikeel on April 8, 2009 at 6:07 PM | PERMALINK

Eric Boehlert of Media Matters was on CNN this afternoon, in a surprisingly hardhitting segment on the actions of the media, Fox News in particular, in stirring up the vulnerable and deranged to form militias and commit hate crimes. Strongest contribution was from the normally bland Rick Sanchez, taking apart the bowtied head of a gun owners' group. Never was an admirer of Sanchez before (his most memorable news contribution up to now was holding the record for most times Tasered on camera), but this puts him in a new class. Pretty courageous stuff for mainstream TV journalism. Wonder how CNN will cover Fox's Tea Parties, aka Klan meetings without robes, next week? http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/?f=h_top

Posted by: ericfree on April 8, 2009 at 6:13 PM | PERMALINK

Entire communities in Italy go camping.

Hiding criminal activities given go ahead by legal teams in the Obama administration.

The Onion doesn't even have to make anything up.

Posted by: jen f on April 8, 2009 at 6:20 PM | PERMALINK

BWAHAHAHAaHAHAHaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!

Limbought sure doesn't like being taken to task. Wow, he handled that military veteran caller with all the respect I'd expect from a draft dodging member of the Republican elite.

Apparently now, if your not a 100% brainwashed dittohead, your "no republican at all" and "exactly the type of republican that our last candidate attracted".

Yippee, the leader of the GOP has finally decided the party should be a permanent minority! Long live corporate Limbought.

Posted by: palinoscopy on April 8, 2009 at 6:36 PM | PERMALINK

Vis: * Leading progressive bloggers ask leading progressive organizations: where's the love?

From the link:
Hamsher singled out Americans United for Change,[...] and the American Association of Retired Persons, also a big TV advertiser.

To be fair... I don't think it would even occur to anyone in AARP to place ads on the "lefty blogs"; they don't read them and neither does their primary audience. And vice versa, of course. How many of you, young whippersnappers, read anything AARP has to say about Depends and Metamucil?

Posted by: exlibra on April 8, 2009 at 7:05 PM | PERMALINK

If you are camping in Italy tonight as a result of the earthquake, my sincerest prayers. I know it's no picnic what you are going through right now.

If you believe in Rush Limbaugh's drivel, GFYS.

Is the Washington Post losing it's Will to live? :-)

Posted by: Tom Nicholson on April 8, 2009 at 7:14 PM | PERMALINK

Well. I was too optimistic downblog about the ability of US military personnel under the enervating influence of Barack Hussein Obama to properly defend themselves against our enemies, big and small. So they took the captain ... this would never happen had the man you liberals derisively (!) refer to as a "cowboy", George W Bush, still been President. Our enemies now know they may do as they will against us. And furthermore, we are now poised to let the homosexual community openly infiltrate our military forces, when before at least there was a fig leaf of inhibition and submersion.

I often wish, we had repealed the 22d Amendment and perhaps a grateful America would have given this fighter another term. Pirates would not dare to challenge us, remembering what happened to Saddam Hussein after he helped Al Qaeda attack us on 9/11.

Posted by: Al on April 8, 2009 at 7:33 PM | PERMALINK

Well, viewing it as weekend camping is very healthy. An adventure, not a horrible thing.

...But uhh, who's going to build them all houses this weekend?

Posted by: Crissa on April 8, 2009 at 7:39 PM | PERMALINK

I suspect Keith-O is less pleased he's just not as pertinent as he once was. Hence the squawking.

Posted by: MissMudd on April 8, 2009 at 7:44 PM | PERMALINK

Al is clearly a spoof. It is a performance art.

Posted by: Walker on April 8, 2009 at 8:40 PM | PERMALINK

Walker: yeah, Al is an expression of transpersonal psychobabble! If only demagogues like Beck, Loombowel, Coulter etc. were performance artists just trying to have fun ...

Posted by: Neil B ☺ on April 8, 2009 at 8:48 PM | PERMALINK

* The new ads from the National Organization for Marriage are slick but ridiculous. -- Steve Benen

And, after you've watched that ad (which I thought was smarmy rather than slick), you *have to* watch the auditions for it. Where on earth they found those tapes, I have no clue bu they're priceless.

http://pamshouseblend.com/diary/10320/national-organization-for-marriages-hired-guns-for-hate

Posted by: exlibra on April 8, 2009 at 8:54 PM | PERMALINK

Does anyone know a Photoshop artist who could put a clown outfit and makeup on Rush? He needs to lighten up.

Posted by: anonymous on April 8, 2009 at 9:48 PM | PERMALINK

* I get the sense former Bush strategist Pete Wehner doesn't understand that tax increases produce more money for the government.

Tell Wehner his salary will be cut by 10% so he will have more money to spend.

Posted by: WBN on April 8, 2009 at 10:36 PM | PERMALINK

The new ads from the National Organization for Marriage are slick but ridiculous.

Or as we say in the hood, slickdickulous.

Posted by: Anonymous37 on April 8, 2009 at 10:36 PM | PERMALINK

And finally, a Quote of the Day from Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, commenting on the 17,000 Italians left homeless by the Abruzzo earthquake: "They should see it like a weekend of camping."

"Il Douche"(bag) does it again.

Posted by: TCinLA on April 9, 2009 at 12:12 AM | PERMALINK

Sheep shearing time!

Greg Sargent:

Tim Geithner’s new nominee for number two at the Treasury Department, Neal Wolin, played a key role in drafting legislation in the late 1990s deregulating the banking system, a former Treasury Department official confirms to us.

The law that Wolin helped draft has been blamed by some critics, many of them Democrats, for easing up regulatory pressure on huge financial institutions, tangentially helping create today’s mess — and his role drafting it could come under questioning at his upcoming confirmation hearings.

Posted by: koreyel on April 9, 2009 at 12:22 AM | PERMALINK

is barry going to invite totus to the seder

Posted by: rustard on April 9, 2009 at 12:24 AM | PERMALINK

The Geithner Plan for Idiots

Consider $1 invested:

94¢ comes from you and me.
6¢ comes from the rich guy's pocket.

Profits are split 50-50.
Loses are treated differently:
The most the rich guy can lose is 6 cents.
The public however can lose all 94 cents.

Here are the million dollar questions that Barack must be made to answer:

Why do we need that 6 cents on the dollar from the rich guys? Why do we need them at all? Why not just go in for the whole dollar? And why should that 6 cents cost us 50% of the profits?

Until those questions are asked and answered, we are being snowed yet again...

Posted by: koreyel on April 9, 2009 at 12:41 AM | PERMALINK

going galt? how can we miss you if you won't go away? @ skippy (w/several quotes&links to steve & hilzoy)

Posted by: skippy on April 9, 2009 at 1:35 AM | PERMALINK

"Keith Trent, chief strategy, policy and regulatory officer for Duke Energy, said his company is hoping for at least a 10-year transition period to a 100 percent auction"

Too long, and I assume he wants to start at 0%.

But there are some interesting considerations here.

Say we could pass a bill this year that starts at 50% auction and goes to 100% over five years, or pass a bill in 18 months that immediately goes to 100% auction.

Under the bill in 18 months scenario the next year and a half of carbon is free to the polluters (0% auction), so there is 150% of a years emissions for free.

Under the bill this year scenario 50% of next year + 40% of the year after + 30% + 20% + 10% then no more freebies. Total of 150% of a years emissions for free.

Obviously I chose those numbers to make it even out exactly, but the point is that there is a big time cost of doing nothing on the issue so compromises like this can be worth it, as long as they aren't too generous.

In addition the big fight will be over setting the cap. If the cap can be lowered in exchange for a temporary partial giveaway it may be very well worth it.

Posted by: JeffF on April 9, 2009 at 1:45 AM | PERMALINK

Koreyel - If I agreed to throw away .94 belonging to "the taxpayers", would you agree to throw away .06? If so, why?

Think of the Geithner plan more along the lines of a collections agency, where the creditor gives its receivables to the agency for nothing (100% investment vs zero) and the agency gets 50% of all money collected.

In any case, investors don't invest without the prospect of making a profit. And all the scenarios you and your gurus present suggest either outright fraud or stupidity.

Posted by: Danp on April 9, 2009 at 5:10 AM | PERMALINK

* Keep an eye on instability in Moldova.

Cant, to busy keeping an eye on protest in Georgia, Thailand and Baghdad. I also try to watch the violence in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India. I worry about the Egypt/Hizballah spat since it cant be good news for the people of Gaza. I already feel bad about not paying much attention to Africa (CAR, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar).

Then there is the elections in Indonesia, India, Algeria

There is always places where the economic downturn is worse and the government is weak. So I will also be keeping an eye on the IMF report suggesting the shitpile is bigger than 4 trillion and G8 worries about the future of food prices. Then there is the 08 IEA report that oil production will be tight a couple of years from now and the oil price staying above $50/barrel.Oh and there is squabbles in the Saudi royal family over who gets to be the crown prince to a dying king...

Are Silvio and Barbara Bush from the same family?

Don`t insult Barbara Bush like that. Berlusconi`s dad made his money in the Mafia, Berlusconi laundered his inheritance in in real estate then, fearing prosecution, he bought his way into all of the TV networks and moved into politics. He told friends that if he didn`t get into politics he would end up in jail. In politics he combined bribing witnesses like his lawyer and changing the law to give him immunity. Recently his party merged with the actual fascist party. His PR stunt policies and fear based TV propaganda often center around immigrants. (Oh wait, I assumed everyone knows he also owns a lot of newspapers and has the public broadcasters coordinate with his spin) When ineptitude and corruption turned the streets of Naples became on giant trash dump he figured it was nothing but a a PR problem...

Living in a neo-fascist state is bad, going trough an earthquake is bad... the two combined results in TV news going on and on about survivors and hope instead of carnage and disaster relief. Berlusconi literally visits the disaster zone every day promising everything will be rebuild in months under some crazy competition scheme while everyone knows that the corruption around fault-line area building codes will not be solved... that sucks!

One twitter-driven flash mobs in Moldava?
Do you realize that there are ten thousand events a year like this in China, but they are very rarely reported?

I am pretty sure Hong Kong based and Korean TV would love to cover students taking computers out of the windows of the Chinese parliament building. I don`t recall seeing many images like that recently though. Protest sure, crowds fighting their way into parliament? No. China isn't bordered by states with a history of “colored� revolution and part of Russia/EU/NATO alliance fights either. Nagorno Karabach disagreements IMHO are scarier than Taiwan, etc disagreements because the fighting is so much more recent.
In China serious protest are countered by jailing the leaders of the protest and then giving the crowd whatever local grievance it wants. I don't see even that happening in Moldova. These kids seem to have mistaken the colored revolutions for popular revolutions rather than coordinated protest combined with lots of external pressure.

Posted by: wasd on April 9, 2009 at 7:30 AM | PERMALINK

exlibra on April 8, 2009 at 8:54

Thanks for sharing. Those clips ARE priceless. The best advertisement against NOM would be to run a 30 second 'best of' blooper reel and at the end, a voice over would say "it's hard work creating sincerity from a pack of lies".

Posted by: hopeful on April 9, 2009 at 9:14 AM | PERMALINK