No one could have described todays republicans better than Andrew Sullivan (link above), he says it all in a nutshell.

Larry King is the dumbest of them all. Invincibly stupid.

"Could the timing be any worse"?

It's unfortunate, sure. But timing has nothing to do with it. No one could have predicted hurricanes in the Caribbean this time of year (or any other time, for that matter). BP may well be guilty of many oversights in their oil spill contingency plans, but lack of meteorological foresight is not one of them.

"The majority has gone to ridiculous lengths to make Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) happy with this bill, but he still won't publicly commit to voting for it."

An even bigger culprit is Senator Feingold, who will join Republicans to prevent an up or down vote on this legislation. Shockingly pathetic behavior from him.

Nobody does it better than The Daily Show. You would think the RNC/DNC would take lessons from them if nothing else than to show rank stupidity.

After Kagan has been confirmed and sworn in, I'm back to dreaming that Scalia and/or Thomas goes away - PLEASE! - within the next 6 - 10 months!!!!! And that Obama nominates a rock-solid lefty. (I can dream, can't I?)

It looks like new senator Scott Brown of Mass. will try to kill the bank reform bill - my feeling is that he does not even have the slightest idea of what is in it and what it means, but that he is voting the way he has been told to.(By the repub heirachy)

* Maybe the political world can get past blaming Bush for his spectacular failures a) after we're no longer dealing with the consequences of Bush's reign of error; and b) after Republicans stop blaming everything on Clinton.

Here's the reality about blaming Bush. 200 years from now, history books will *still* be pointing out how badly Bush screwed up everything. You know, because it's true.

Wait...

As an intellectual, I would like to study how that worked. I'll write a book about it if someone will send me the raw material I need — the complete archive of the Journolist. I need a Deep Throat. I promise not to regard you as disgusting.

Ann Althouse thinks she's an intellectual??? in what universe? egads.

"Could the timing be any worse? "The first major storm of the season in the Gulf of Mexico continued to disrupt oil spill cleanup and containment work on Wednesday, officials said."

* In related news, Alex is now a hurricane, and evacuations are underway in parts of Mexico and Texas."

Did anyone doubt this would happen? The only question is how many of these will rake sheets of goo across the Gulf Coast. I wonder if the locals will still be chanting, "drill, baby, drill" as they shovel the crap out of their living rooms.

Many thousands of us have one common but unappreciated reason to continue to view the Bush regime as criminal and incompetent: the fact that they stole our Washington Mutual stock and bonds and gave them to Chase. If they had waited a week, and upped the FDIC insurance to $250K, which they did anyway, WaMu arguably would not have gone under and billions in stockholder value would not have disappeared. This if course will continue to cost governments, since stockholders can claim $3 grand a year of capital losses against income, and can claim losses against any capital gains.
Ned
http://chumpsandlosers.blogspot.com

I wonder what the "Ring Around the Bathtub" states will look like, after this year's hurricane season is over. No fishing, no oil, no tourists. But lots of natives, begging for hand-outs from the Gummint.

-Sort of like Somalia, ain't it?

Ann Althouse thinks she's an intellectual??? in what universe? egads.

That's nothing. Althouse actually imagines she's a non-partisan moderate intellectual who serves as living proof that liberals are mean and conservatives are nice, because liberals insult her and conservatives praise her.

To Ann Althouse, the entire universe revolves around her and she is the standard by which all things are gauged. That's how it is that she imagines it's acceptable to demand private emails be made public, merely so she can better understand why everyone doesn't love her more. She gets so much praise from nice conservatives that it can only be a conspiracy that anyone would imagine she's a clueless dimwit.

Maybe the political world can get past blaming Bush for his spectacular failures a) after we're no longer dealing with the consequences of Bush's reign of error; and b) after Republicans stop blaming everything on Clinton.
==========================================

and c) when BPublicans finally admit that Bush-Cheney policies (tax cuts for tycoons, deregulation, and bombing foreigners) were total failures and stop demanding more of the same.
~

WHITEWASH

Both To Blame According To So-Called ‘Independent Review’

(AP) - A black Harvard scholar and the white police sergeant who arrested him last July after a confrontation outside his home both missed opportunities to "ratchet down" the situation and end it more calmly, according to a review of the case released Wednesday.

The independent review said "misunderstandings and failed communications" and a "certain degree of fear" each man had for the other led to the six-minute dispute that ended with the renowned scholar being placed in handcuffs by the veteran Cambridge police sergeant.

Sgt. James Crowley arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr. for disorderly conduct at his Cambridge home July 16 while investigating a possible burglary. Gates alleged he was a victim of racial profiling. Charges were later dropped.

The man was arrested in his own home after displaying his drivers license with the corresponding address For Pete’s Sake.

Larry King-The Most Stupid Person Still Alive! He will not be missed!

And, in the case of Prof. Gates' arrest, the call to the police by a neighbor did not allege a burglary in progress or identify the person as a black man. A possible Hispanic, maybe. I heard the call played back on DemocracyNow! this morning. The officer completely overreacted and Prof. Gates was violated in every respect. It wasn't a case of he said, he said. The facts support the allegation of racial profiling. And, the police did act "stupidly" in making the arrest, under the circumstances. Listen to DN! for a full explanation of this ridiculous case.

Fannie and Freddie had a minor role in the financial meltdown, but they are taking a major role in screwing up innovative local plans to get more solar panels on residential properties. Jonathon Hiskes reports at Grist , about their meddling in Boulder, Colorado:

ClimateSmart uses Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a Berkeley-developed tool that adds the cost of solar arrays, energy-saving retrofits, and other home improvements onto a property's tax assessment. This lets property owners pay back the cost over 15 to 20 years, removing the barrier of high upfront costs and the possibility they will lose out if they sell before the investment has paid for itself. ...

But Fannie and Freddie, the government-sponsored mortgage-finance corporations, threw existing programs into confusion last month with letters to lenders prohibiting the assessments. Grist reported the full story last week, including the odd nature of Fannie and Freddie's concern, since energy-saving investments that pay for themselves make borrowers more financially secure, not less.

Fannie and Freddie promised clarification in their May 5 letters, but have so far provided none.

King doesn't seem stupid to me; he carved out a solid and lucrative niche for decades by offering a sugary-safe format for celebs/polticos to spew their propaganda of the moment.

Doesn't mean I like the guy, or that he's knowledgeable...

"Speaking of confirmation, Gen. David Petraeus was approved today to serve as the new commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The Senate vote was 99 to 0."

Ironic Times has a great picture showing Gen. Petraeus at the moment he was informed that he would be replacing Gen. McChrystal. Oh, wait, it shows Gen. Petraeus being tended to after fainting at the committee hearing. Same difference. I laughed and laughed.

"Andrew Sullivan describes the contemporary right: "[N]o solutions, just anger, paranoia, insecurity and partisan hatred."

I feel sad as well. On the way to work I sometimes buck up and call into right wing radio stations--have called right wingers Quinn and Rose, Hannity, and a college station of libertarian hosts.
Have done my best, presenting logical views. It is alarming--the conspiracy theories and outright calls for militancy they spin each day. Unbelieveable the statements on guns, reactionary craziness. And this Sharon Angle, the insanity of Palin, Beck, and I am now fearing Scott Brown--is he a moderate or a crazy yet influential guy, inconsistent, impressionable, and emerging as some kind of wierdo.
I told Quinn and Rose, no youngsters there, to opt out of Social Security and Medicare, since they think these are socialist programs.. Just opt out. Don't be hypocrites. You hate it. It was my finest hour. Quinn seemed a bit fluffed up--and knew I made a great point.

Nonetheless, it takes a toll on me. Bearing heavily, I concern myself with the November elections, how horrid it will be if these low-on the gene pool-Republicans get to take control of the House or Senate. And start their crazy calls for impeachment, their assault on the working poor...and repeal of health care, and a green light for subsequent ruination of the continent.
That the public is so misinformed is a call to action for progressives...

"I hope folks will take a few minutes to read this terrific David Leonhardt piece on the economy...". Okay, so I did. A better read was the related link to a critique of the financial reform legislation.

http://baselinescenario.com/2010/06/21/dead-on-arrival-financial-reform-fails/

Shade Tail: Here's the reality about blaming Bush. 200 years from now, history books will *still* be pointing out how badly Bush screwed up everything. You know, because it's true.

Give us eight years of President Palin, and Bush will be as lost in history as Elagabalus and Caracalla (i.e, not entirely forgotten by those who care, but overshadowed by even greater egregiousness).

"Here's the reality about blaming Bush. 200 years from now, history books will *still* be pointing out how badly Bush screwed up everything. You know, because it's true."

Not if they're published in Texas!

"..evacuations are underway in parts of Mexico and Texas."

And the Governor of Texas, having talked of secession, will loudly protest any FEMA response that is not immediate and thorough.

"Austerity measures" really aren't proposed by elites to save economies in general, they're mostly designed to protect the upper classes from harm by whatever goes on.

"....after Republicans stop blaming everything on Clinton.

They go farther back than that.
Conservatives blame Carter for the Community Reinvestment Act, which in their scary, bogeyman-filled world, was THE cause of the housing market collapse.

Has Andrew Sullivan ever apologized for his role in fomenting "anger, paranoia, insecurity, and partisan hatred" in the buildup to our invasion of Iraq?

If not, I reiterate: F___ him.