U.S. Awash in Oil and Lies, Report Charges | NationofChange
With four times as many oil rigs pumping domestic oil today than eight years ago and declining domestic demand, the United States is awash in oil. In fact, the U.S. exports more oil than it imports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration - and has done so for nearly two decades.
Oh.
(Emphasis mine.)
...yeah, I know, call me crazy, but still...sometimes I wonder if this whole Libya thing, and the Egypt thing, and the Yemen and Syria thing, etc., etc., aren't just about the CIA destroying the evidence.
Files Show CIA Worked Closely with Libyan Spy Agency - Global - The Atlantic Wire
The files left behind by the head of Col. Muammar Qaddafi's spy agency suggest that the Central Intelligence Agency worked closely with the Libyan government, and may have sent terrorism suspects to the north African nation, despite the country's reputation for torturing dissidents...
...well, except for droughts, tornadoes, heat waves, and Hurricane Irene, I mean...you were having so much fun I bet you forgot about these guys, right?
A liberal watchdog group is calling on Sen. Patty Murray to stop fundraising for the Democratic party and step down from her party leadership position while she serves on the congressional "super committee," which is charged with finding trillions in budget savings this year. The White House today, however, dismissed the notion of a conflict of interest between Murray's two roles as "silly criticism."
(Emphasis mine.)
Sorry to bring this up, but this is the committe Congress set up so it wouldn't have to do the friggin' job we're friggin' paying it to do (how cool would it be if you could appoint a committee to do your job and still keep collecting your check?) and they have only a couple of months to cut the federal budget (remember, it was loss of government jobs that caused August job growth to net out to a big fat zero, the worst performance since WWII) all to shreds.
Oh, and BTW, they're bought.
I'm thinking, run.
Obama Speechwriter Quits for More Fulfilling Career in LA - Politics - The Atlantic Wire
Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett is quitting the White House to move to Hollywood and try his hand at TV comedies...
At Least 16,000 Guns Have Gone Missing from Factories Since 2009 - National - The Atlantic Wire
Several thousand firearms--16,485 to be exact--have left gun factories in the U.S. without a record of being legally sold over the past two and a half years....At that rate, an average of about 18 guns go missing from factories daily.
The Sideshow September 2011 Archive
Yes, yes, Bush wrecked the economy and the Republicans are trying to keep it wrecked, and everybody knows it, but the best thing Obama has going for him is that most people don't realize how much he could have done to fix it and has consistently refused to do.
And it works!
Obama Pulls Back Proposal to Tighten Clean Air Rules - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is abandoning its plan to immediately tighten air quality rules nationwide to cut reduce emissions of smog-causing chemicals after an intense lobbying campaign by industry, which said the new rule would cost billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs, officials said Friday.
Come on. Corporations have been doing this on a local level for at least three decades. "We'll bring jobs to your town if you build us a highway; we'll bring jobs to your town if you give us a tax rebate; we'll bring jobs to your town if you donate the land for our factory. Don't raise our taxes or we'll take our jobs somewhere else." Now they've got the Feds dancing to the same tune, is all.
CIA lawyer: Obama ‘endorsed’ nearly all Bush-era programs | Raw Replay
“With a notable exception of the enhanced interrogation program, the incoming Obama administration changed virtually nothing with respect to existing CIA programs and operations. Things continued. Authorities were continued that were originally granted by President Bush beginning shortly after 9/11. Those were all picked up, reviewed and endorsed by the Obama administration.”
Schultz: Republicans Don't Give a Damn About You | Video Cafe
MSNBC host Ed Schultz blasted House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and his "cronies" for forcing President Barack Obama to delay his speech on jobs from Sept. 7 to Sept. 8....
"Once again, this President has smoked 'em out. He has proven to the country one more time that he can't even schedule a speech to the joint session of the Congress without it being obstructed..."
Ed Shultz is a left-leaning blabberwockie for MSNBC. I don't know much more about him than that because I don't watch his show. But this does seem to be the official Democratic spin on the recent spat about Obama's speaking schedule: Obama triumphs by proving yet again what big bad old meanies those Republicans really are. Which might even be, somehow, bizarrely persuasive if Obama had even tried to hold out against their big bad old meanie meanness for, you know, an hour or two before giving in and switching his speech so it no longer conflicts with that big old meanie Republican candidates' debate – the one we've all been waiting for lo these many months – and now conflicts instead with the first regular-season NFL game of the, you know, season, and who cares about that anyway.
Really.
The most important thing here is to realize that these vaunted centrists are just desperate to hook up with a billionaire businessman hero, and they'll pretty much go down on their knees and ... beg, if that's what it's going to take.
Sadly, they don't understand that no matter how much they complain about the old ball and chain, these businessmen are actually quite happy with their current mates -- the Republicans and the Democrats. They are getting everything they need at home.
Troubling Trend: Libyan Rebels Are Rounding Up Black Africans - Global - The Atlantic Wire
As Libyan rebels gain on Qaddafi and setup a temporary government, they've begun imposing their rule on Libya's people, including rounding up thousands of black Libyans and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, reports the Associated Press. The rebels have accused the detainees of fighting for Qaddafi.
Right. We have all read this script before.
Obama bows to Boehner, will move jobs speech - Chicago Sun-Times
WASHINGTON — In a retreat after an hours-long test of wills Wednesday, President Barack Obama...
From the Atlantic Wire this morning we have the spectacle of Wikileaks suing The Guardian for, well, leaking...
Wikileaks Is Suing the Guardian Over a Security Breach - Global - The Atlantic Wire
Wikileaks is blaming the leak of over 250,000 secret US cables on a security breach caused by one-time cable publishing partner the Guardian.
...and in The New York Times Nicholas Kristof enthuses about the glory of humanitarian (and dare we say non-hostile) bombing.
From Libyans - ‘Thank You, America!’ - NYTimes.com
Libya is a reminder that sometimes it is possible to use military tools to advance humanitarian causes.
Maybe it's not too late to just go back to bed.
Obama requests joint session of Congress for Sept. 7 jobs speech - 44 - The Washington Post
“It is coincidental,” Carney said. “There are a lot of factors that go into scheduling a joint session of Congress for a speech. You can never find a perfect time.”
Blah blah something something mumble mumble.
...it's because I stirred up some powdered milk and put it in my tea. I found this box of powdered milk at the back of a high kitchen shelf not long ago – I figure it's been there for at least 10 years, maybe quite a bit longer. I tried to throw it away but there are at least four one-quart packages there so I couldn't. There's no expiration date anywhere I can see, on the box or on the still-sealed envelopes inside. So I figure, how sick can I get? I mixed up an envelope and it doesn't smell too bad and tastes OK, so how can putting a little bit in a cup of tea hurt, right?
Right?
Report: Exporting Energy Security: Keystone XL Exposed | The Price of Oil
“To issue a presidential permit for the Keystone XL, the Administration must find that the pipeline serves the national interest,” said Stephen Kretzmann, executive director of Oil Change International. “An honest assessment shows that rather than serving U.S. interests, Keystone XL serves only the interests of tar sands producers and shippers, and a few Gulf Coast refiners aiming to export the oil.”
Oh. "Honest assessment." Right.
Over the past two weeks, I have been closely following reports of renewed leaking in the Macondo oil field, the site of last year's Deepwater Horizon disaster (Map)....
Today, pilot Bonny Schumaker of On Wings of Care once again took to the air over the Gulf of Mexico, finding evidence of what appears to be a massive leak near the site of last year's drilling disaster.
According to Schumaker, the oil "stretched for miles" with one continuous sheen stretching for nearly 10 miles. This contradicts BPs official story, which is that "none of this is true."
Oh. Well then.
Five Best Wednesday Columns - National - The Atlantic Wire
Rick Perry recently signed legislation in Texas that would allow those with a hunting license to shoot feral pigs from helicopters.
Well, actually, there is another reason, per this Atlantic Wire report. But that's no reason we can't get a photo op someday soon.
Robert Reich (Rick Perry's Secret Plan to Save Blue States from the Red States)
Perry, it turns out, is a closet liberal.
'Harvard' Is Now Code for 'Effeminate' - Politics - The Atlantic Wire
It's tricky running a campaign knocking your opponent for being a well-educated rich person when you are also a well-educated rich person. So what can Romney do?
Irene's flooding:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47txwmuwCY&feature=player_embedded
Other images on the same page. Shelburne Falls is about 20 minutes ride up the hill from us, on the Mohawk Trail.
And photos from Vermont here: http://photos.masslive.com/republican/2011/08/irene_vermont_3.html
One of the little reported details from the latest batch of Wikileaks material are cables showing that the Obama Administration worked hard behind the scenes not only to prevent any investigation of torture in the United States but shutdown efforts abroad to enforce the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture. This includes threatening the Spanish that, if they did not derail a judicial investigation, it would have serious consequences in bilateral relations.
Top NASA climate scientist arrested at White House | The Raw Story
Dr. James Hansen, who runs NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, was arrested along with 139 other protesters taking part in a series of demonstrations against the planned $7-billion Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport 500,000 barrels of crude per day from America's neighbor to the north all the way to the Gulf coast of Texas.
News from The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- Consumers' confidence in August dropped almost 15 points to the lowest level since April 2009...
China announces plans to boost secret detention powers | Reuters
(Reuters) - China wants to cement in law police powers to hold dissidents and other suspects of state security crimes in secret locations without telling their families...
Matt Stoller: Power Politics – What Eric Schneiderman Reveals About Obama « naked capitalism
Obama is not trying to do the opposite of what he’s doing, he’s not repeatedly suckered by Republicans, and he isn’t naive or stupid. Obama is simply doing what he thinks is right. So is Eric Schneiderman. So is Tom Miller. So are any number of elected officials out there....
But the basic Reaganite liberal argument defending supplication towards Obama these days is that Obama is “disappointing”. In this line of thought, powerful corporate interests and Republicans are preventing him from enacting what his real agenda would be were he unfettered by this mean machine. Eric Schneiderman, who is in a far less powerful position as New York Attorney General, shows that this is utter hogwash. Obama is who he is, and anyone who thinks otherwise is selling something.
Time Warner profits from Guy Fawkes masks worn at ‘Anonymous’ protests | The Raw Story
Some of the profits from the Guy Fawkes masks frequently worn by members of the hacktivist collective "Anonymous" go to one of the largest media companies in the world....
The New York Times reported that Time Warner owns the rights to the Guy Fawkes mask because "V for Vendetta" was produced by Warner Brothers, one of its many subsidiary companies. Time Warner is paid a licensing fee with the sale of each mask.
Gary Lures Hollywood With a Bounty of Decay - NYTimes.com
In 2010 Gary [Indiana] was the location for 24 movies, most of them attracted by the city’s visually arresting decay.
A power play is underway in the foreclosure arena, according to the New York Times.
On the one side is Eric Schneiderman, the New York Attorney General, who is conducting his own investigation into the era of securitizations – the practice of chopping up assets like mortgages and converting them into saleable securities – that led up to the financial crisis of 2007-2008.
On the other side is the Obama administration, the banks, and all the other state attorneys general.
Chocolate lowers heart, stroke risk - USATODAY.com
Chocolate has been linked to reducing the risk of heart disease before, but in this analysis of recent studies involving more than 100,000 people, researchers find that those who eat the most chocolate on a regular basis reduce their relative risk for heart disease by one-third.
I just opened up a solitaire game I haven't played with for quite a long time and the game says it owes me $13,673.
Woohoo!
The Election March of the Trolls | NationofChange
Journalists, whose role has been reduced to purveyors of court gossip, whether on Fox or MSNBC, descend in swarms to report pseudo-events such as the Ames straw poll, where it costs $30 to cast a ballot. And then, almost immediately, they blithely inform us that the Iowa poll is meaningless now that Rick Perry has entered the race. The liberal trolls, as they do in every election cycle, are beating their little chests about the perfidiousness of the Democratic Party and Barack Obama. It is a gesture performed not to effect change but to burnish their credentials as moralists. They know, as do we, that they will trot obediently into the voting booth in 2012 to do as they are told.
GOP pols told they're not welcome at Wausau Labor Day parade - JSOnline
Community parades often feature local politicians waving to the crowds, but this year's annual Labor Day parade in Wausau may be short a few elected officials.
That's because the head of the group that sponsors the Wausau Labor Day Parade, the Marathon County Central Labor Council, is telling Republicans lawmakers from the area that they're not welcome on Sept. 5.
Why I'm not voting for Obama in 2012 - Coyote Crossing
Democratic loyalists point out that if we don’t vote for their guy, the worse guy gets in. This is clearly true. But it also manifestly creates conditions by which the lesser evil will, over time, get more and more evil. We see this now in that we’re likely to be asked to vote for a man who has us involved in four concurrent wars, continues torture and rendition and denial of habeas corpus, offers up Medicare and Social Security for cuts as a compromise (another victory Bush could have only dreamed of), and would preside over the largest paving of the deserts in history — simply because his likely opponent is fucking batshit insane.
A Weakened Irene Sweeps Northward - NYTimes.com
Rising waters were also a problem in Vermont, where Gov. Peter Shumlin said the state has “a full-blown flooding catastrophe on our hands.”
“For all intents and purposes, for whatever reason, Vermont is getting the full force of Irene and we’re going to be devastated with flooding,” Mr. Shumlin said. He expects the devastation to spread across the entire state of Vermont.
Here, not so bad, although there is serious flooding up in the hill towns and some problems on the Connecticut River just east of us. The lights flickered once or twice around supper time but not enough to reset the kitchen clock. But now it's cool and quiet and, I'm thinking, over.
Warnings for Eastern Franklin, Massachusetts : Weather Underground
Some reports received include... 5 to 6 feet of water at Exit 24 on Route 5 in Northampton with at least 2 cars floating down the Road.
Also there's some flooding reported on the rivers in the hills to the west of us, and trees down on power lines here and there. Here, well, we have a little puddle in the driveway, much smaller than we get from a typical snowmelt, and a few leaves blown off a tree. We've had a little rustle-making breeze from time to time, but I haven't heard a window rattle all day. The center of the storm, no longer a hurricane, is more or less right where we are, so although the rain seems to be mostly pushing on ahead of it we will still have at least the potential of tropical-weight winds for quite some time.
This was apparently a serious storm along the coast and it's been doing some substantial mischief up in the hills but here in our pleasant valley it really hasn't been much more, so far, than just a very big rain.
Wall St expected to open Monday | Reuters
(Reuters) - The stock market will open for a normal, if possibly lighter, trading session on Monday despite the damage and flooding in New York and on Wall Street from Hurricane Irene.
Well, maybe not yours. But, you know.
Iran ‘discreetly aided Libyan rebels’ | The Raw Story
Iran "discreetly" provided humanitarian aid to Libyan rebels before the fall of Tripoli, Jam-e-Jam newspaper quoted Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday as saying.
You mean, we were on the same side as....oh no! Of course we were on the same side in an entirely non-hostile way. So maybe that's OK.
