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   Dan Savage, the brilliant and foul-mouthed sex columnist, has become one of the most important ethicists in America. Are we screwed?
 The federal government is supposed to issue new rules about debt levels for students in for-profit colleges. In the meantime, the states are working on their own regulations.
 Washingtons budget hawks want to decimate the federal workforce to shrink the deficit. It will have the opposite effect.
 There arent nearly enough counterterrorism experts to instruct all of Americas police. So we got these guys instead.
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December 4, 2009
FRIDAY'S MINI-REPORT.... Today's edition of quick hits: * Pakistan: "At least 40 people were killed and scores were injured Friday when a pair of suicide bombers stormed a crowded mosque in the military district of Rawalpindi City, joined by assailants who hurled grenades and sprayed gunfire among the worshipers. Officials said two attackers died when they blew themselves up during the most well-attended prayer service of the week, and two others were killed by security forces." * NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, responding to President Obama's speech, announced that NATO will send an additional 7,000 troops, all of whom will be "new forces," to the coalition fighting in Afghanistan. * Technically, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expires tomorrow, but both U.S. and Russian leaders will simply continue to operate as if it were in place as negotiators continue to work on a new deal. * We will apparently learn about a new White House policy next week, intended to "jump start" the job market. * In a surprise move, it now appears President Obama will appear at the international climate summit in Copenhagen at the end of the meeting, instead of at the beginning. * Good news on H1N1: "Swine flu infections continue to wane, just as vaccine is becoming plentiful enough that some communities are allowing everyone to get it, not just those in priority groups." * G.M.'s management shake-up isn't quite done. * The Senate will be voting over the weekend on amendments to the health care reform bill. * Congressional Republicans would have us believe cost-saving measures in reform aren't to be trusted, because they won't "stick" (Congress won't follow through in the future). They should read this fascinating report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. * Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is very likely wrong about increased recovery efforts. * World's most deliberative body? Not if Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has a say in the matter. What an embarrassment. * Zero GOP votes: "The House voted to permanently extend the estate tax on Thursday, approving a measure that would lock in a top rate of 45 percent on some multimillion dollar estates." * Republicans attacking Dems on Medicare Advantage probably ought to take a closer look at their own record. * The new, expanded GI Bill has so many applicants, officials can't keep up with demand. * Insightful post on health care reform from Ezra Klein: "Thousands and thousands of lives will be saved by this bill. Bankruptcies will be averted. Rescission letters won't be sent. Parents won't have to fret because they can't take their child, or themselves, to the emergency room. This bill will, without doubt, do more good than any single piece of legislation passed during my (admittedly brief) lifetime. If it passes, the party that fought for it for decades deserves to feel a sense of accomplishment." * The investigation into Sen. John Ensign's (R-Nev.) sex scandal continues to heat up. * Some of Obama's wealthiest contributors are "becoming a bit whiny," because the White House isn't doling out enough perks to high-dollar donors. * Andrew Malcolm isn't very good at what he does. * Far-right activists are still going after Kevin Jennings? Aren't we past this one, yet? * And finally, the correction of the day, as published by the Washington Post: "A Nov. 26 article in the District edition of Local Living incorrectly said a Public Enemy song declared 9/11 a joke. The song refers to 911, the emergency phone number." Anything to add? Consider this an open thread. —Steve Benen 5:30 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (21)
Comments
"Zero GOP votes: "The House voted to permanently extend the estate tax on Thursday, approving a measure that would lock in a top rate of 45 percent on some multimillion dollar estates." With a $3.5 million exemption for singles ($7 million exemption for married couples), the estate tax is the biggest scam going on the poor and middle class who have to pay higher effective rates on EARNED income to make up for losses caused by these exemptions favoring those who live off of inherited income. Posted by: Chris on December 4, 2009 at 5:47 PM | PERMALINKZero GOP votes: "The House voted to permanently extend the estate tax on Thursday, approving a measure that would lock in a top rate of 45 percent on some multimillion dollar estates." somewhere, tr is shaking his head... Posted by: mudwall jackson on December 4, 2009 at 5:58 PM | PERMALINKFor a movement theoretically based on Islamic fundamentalism, it's baffling that suicide bombers would target mosques. I really don't get it. Posted by: Gummitch on December 4, 2009 at 6:01 PM | PERMALINKAndrew Malcolm isn't very good at what he does. why oh why does the right hate christmas? Posted by: mudwall jackson on December 4, 2009 at 6:02 PM | PERMALINKNATO’s secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, declined to specify which countries would be sending troops, or when. LOL. Of course he did. My guess is the bulk of the promised 7000 "NATO troops" will come from NATO's senior partner. Europe is thoroughly tired of Bush cum Obama's war against Central Asia. Anything to add? I think you forgot: FUCK THAT JOHN FUCKING MCCAIN WHO'S GOING TO BE ON A FUCKING SUNDAY FUCKING TALK SHOW AGAIN!!1!!!1 DAMN IT!! Posted by: converse on December 4, 2009 at 6:38 PM | PERMALINKDisneyland in Anaheim,CA is allowing Jon Voight to essentially be master of Christmas ceremonies. Talk about frightening and loony tunes! He's such a far right-wing nut job (ala Glenn Beck) who espouses extreme fear mongering and fosters anti-American paranoid sentiment with many loaded statements of recent such as: "We must be freed from this Obama oppression", referring to our President as a "False Prophet". Shame on Disneyland!!!!:-( Posted by: Disneylnd employs extremist Jon Voight for important Christmas Ceremonies this weekend on December 4, 2009 at 6:44 PM | PERMALINKGlobally cool In a surprise move, it now appears President Obama will appear at the international climate summit in Copenhagen at the end of the meeting, instead of at the beginning. After Bush isn't it strange to have a president who is morally and intellectually superior to the American people as a whole? Instead of vice-versa? What a global sea change... By the way America how is that Tiger Woods itch of yours coming along? http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/12/hbc-90006184 Washington Monthly and its followers (that's you guys) can worship Obama, but I am off the train. Posted by: gregor on December 4, 2009 at 7:22 PM | PERMALINK* In a surprise move, it now appears President Obama will appear at the international climate summit in Copenhagen at the end of the meeting, instead of at the beginning. -- Steve Benen I haven't read the linked story but... On his return trip from Oslo instead on his way out there? Makes sense; bolstered with the hefty prize (Nobel, Peace), his opinions will carry that much more weight :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "This is the brotherhhod week" (All the Catholics/hate the Protestants./ And all the Protestants/hate the Catholics./All the Moslems/hate the Hindus/and everybody hates the Jews) applied: *your* mosque ain't, necessarily, *my* mosque. Just ask the 'vangelical fundies what they think about Catholics (both the rabid and the mild), for all that both branches are, supposedly, "Christian"... Why should Islamic nutters be any different than the Christian ones? Posted by: exlibra on December 4, 2009 at 7:37 PM | PERMALINK"Open thread": Took my (almost) daily "constitutional" late, after sundown. The moon was full. And, sure enough, there's Disputo, howling, at (almost) every thread. I suppose I ought to be grateful that he and TCinLA (Tom Cleaver is my name, axe-work is my game) aren't tuned to, *quite*, the same moon phase... Posted by: exlibra on December 4, 2009 at 7:42 PM | PERMALINKandrew malcolm is very good at what he does. he churns out repubbb propaganda and ignores facts. i had occasion to engage with him over the obama candidacy seal. he was nothing but snide and dismissive to me (see here, and mike finnigan's (of crooks&liars) reponse here). Posted by: skippy on December 4, 2009 at 8:00 PM | PERMALINKNATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, responding to President Obama's speech, announced that NATO will send an additional 7,000 troops, all of whom will be "new forces," to the coalition fighting in Afghanistan. Two pluses for Obama, one for the American commitment, the other for increased NATO support. He called for increased NATO support in his Berlin speech during the campaign. Posted by: MatthewRMarler on December 4, 2009 at 8:12 PM | PERMALINKEzra Klein: "Thousands and thousands of lives will be saved by this bill. Bankruptcies will be averted. Rescission letters won't be sent. Parents won't have to fret because they can't take their child, or themselves, to the emergency room." That's insurance reform, not healthcare reform. You'll get all that, along with skyrocketing premiums and skyrocketing costs, until the subsidies can no longer keep up and the number of uninsured resumes rising. Posted by: Joe Friday on December 4, 2009 at 8:16 PM | PERMALINK"Washington Monthly and its followers (that's you guys) can worship Obama, but I am off the train." thank you. please go away. we don't worship obama, and we're tired of your comments. The Public Enemy correction is stunning, stunning, stunning. Not only did the writer of the article fail to understand the meaning of the song's lyrics, they also failed to notice that the song was recorded in 1989! Posted by: Algernon on December 4, 2009 at 9:01 PM | PERMALINK* Andrew Malcolm isn't very good at what he does... which is piss on Obama's leg for Lighting the National Xmas Tree. How stupid can Malcolm be. Ah, exlibra, once again full of his/her incoherent childish mockery, continuing to fluff the Obama admin and assiduously avoiding any real discussion about real issues while living inside her fell-fed white-bread middle class cocoon. There's another demonstration tomorrow folks. Against the war. Obama's War. You remember the war, right? Noon. In Chicago it's at the Federal Plaza. He should be shitting down Obama's neck for sending 30K armed idiots half-way around the world to kill brown people. NOW THERE'S AN INTELLIGENT COMMENT ... THOUGHTFUL ... INCISE ... STEREOTYPICAL ... FLAT WRONG. ANYONE WHO PUTS ON A UNIFORM HAS TO BE AN IDIOT, RIGHT? LIKE YOU'VE EVER STEPPED FOOT ON A MILITARY BASE LET ALONE TALK WITH ANYONE IN THE SERVICE. OH AND IT MIGHT HAVE ESCAPED YOUR ATTENTION THAT A LOT OF THOSE "IDIOTS" ARE BROWN MEN AND WOMEN THEMSELVES. AND THAT THE GUY WHO'S SENDING THEM IS BROWN AS WELL. SO I'M WONDERING, WHO'S THE RACIST HERE? Posted by: mudwall jackson on December 5, 2009 at 1:20 AM | PERMALINKI was just reading an article that the UN is going to investigate "climategate". You know, I've changed my mind about this climate business. Though I'm a geophysicist and understand the technical part, and although I understand that global warming is correct beyond any reasonable scientific doubt, I've decided that we should ignore the data because the human race is so stupid it doesn't deserve to survive. Time to start over on the Earth. Perhaps evolution can come up with an intelligent species, someday. Posted by: rbe1 on December 5, 2009 at 3:35 AM | PERMALINKI heard Cheney was shooting his mouth off (TPM article). Was he duck hunting ? Posted by: rbe1 on December 5, 2009 at 4:12 PM | PERMALINK
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