The Hollywood Liberal

Strickland Leads Kasich in Ohio
A new Quinnipiac poll in Ohio finds Gov. Ted Strickland (D) leads challenger John Kasich (R) in the race for governor, 44% to 38%.

Said pollster Peter Brown: “Although Gov. Ted Strickland remains ahead, there are a couple of numbers that might be of some concern to his re-election committee. Only 37% of voters say he has kept his campaign promises and the race remains close even though 62% of voters don’t know enough about Kasich to have an opinion of him.”

Democrats Hold Small Leads in Ohio Senate Race
A new Quinnipiac poll in Ohio finds Lee Fisher (D) leading Rob Portman (R) in the U.S. Senate race to replace retiring Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), 40% to 37%.

Jennifer Brunner (D) also edges Portman, 40% to 36%.

Fisher and Brunner face off in a primary next week for the Democratic nomination. A poll yesterday had Fisher pulling away in the race.

Stop Trying to Kill Social Security
Worried about the deficit? Wall Street is the problem, not Social Security.

Worried about the deficit? Wall Street is the problem, not Social Security.

15 Ways I Oppress Rich, White Conservatives Like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh
The election of Obama has been difficult for rich, white conservatives. It’s time for me, as a black man, to make amends.

The election of Obama has been difficult for rich, white conservatives. It's time for me, as a black man, to make amends.

Can You Stomach Gluten? How Giving Up Grain May Better Your Health
An increasing amount of stores, companies and personal care products are catering to people with gluten intolerance.

An increasing amount of stores, companies and personal care products are catering to people with gluten intolerance.

Can Switching to Hybrid Cars and Organics Really Save the World, or Is It Just Lazy Environmentalism?
Heather Rogers’ new book, ‘Green Gone Wrong,’ explores whether we can save the world simply by swapping our polluting products for greener ones.

Heather Rogers' new book, 'Green Gone Wrong,' explores whether we can save the world simply by swapping our polluting products for greener ones.

Why an 81-Year-Old Widow from Iowa is Marching to Bring the Banks Under Heel
Ferol Wegner wasn’t the type of person who would normally protest against the banking industry. But that was before she lost 30 percent of her pension in the economic downturn.

Ferol Wegner wasn’t the type of person who would normally protest against the banking industry. But that was before she lost 30 percent of her pension in the economic downturn.

Being Rude to the Deficit Hawks
I worked at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) for 6 ½ years. During this time, the credibility of my work and that of my colleagues was often impugned by describing EPI as “labor backed.” This was partially true, we got…


Economic Policy Institute – Robert Rubin – United States – Citigroup – Peter Peterson

VIDEO Jerusalem: A Great Model For Arizona
I don’t know what we would do without Al Jazeera. Like the Israeli media, it goes where the American media fears to tred. Check this out. The occupied areas of Israel (including Arab East Jerusalem) have a segregated road system….



Israel – East Jerusalem – United States – Middle East – Warfare and Conflict

Do Critics Have a Better Idea for Iran Policy?
Here is the lede of Kori Schake’s slam against current US efforts to keep Iran from getting the bomb: The Obama administration is talking tough on Iran. Despite allowing the Iranian government to escape sanction for a year of not…


Iran – Kori Schake – Middle East – Presidency of Barack Obama – Government

Despite Once Being Fierce Gun Control Advocate, McCain Introduces Bill To Force D.C. To Weaken Its Laws
Facing a primary from ultra-conservative former congressman J.D. Hayworth, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been veering far to the right. He went as far as to claim that he never called himself a “maverick.” McCain has reversed his positions on a host of issues, from climate change to immigration, in an attempt to appease […]

Facing a primary from ultra-conservative former congressman J.D. Hayworth, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been veering far to the right. He went as far as to claim that he never called himself a “maverick.” McCain has reversed his positions on a host of issues, from climate change to immigration, in an attempt to appease right-wing voters; he is now doing the same on gun control.

Yesterday, McCain and Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced legislation that would force the District of Columbia to weaken its gun laws:

The Second Amendment Enforcement Act aims to change the District’s gun laws by repealing the city’s registration rules, amending federal law to allow D.C. residents to buy guns in Maryland and Virginia, while also allowing law-abiding Washingtonians to transport firearms in the District. The legislation would also alter city laws that recommend guns be kept unloaded and either unassembled or locked in homes.

“Some may ask why a Senator from Arizona and a Senator from Montana would introduce legislation that impacts the District of Columbia,” McCain said in a statement. “It’s simple — we believe that residents across this country should be able to exercise their constitutional right to have access [to] firearms to protect themselves.”

News of bill “was met with outrage from city officials,” especially considering D.C. recently gave up a chance at receiving voting rights in the House of Representatives for the first time in history after gun-rights advocates tacked on an amendment similar to McCain and Tester’s.

As Jonathan Cowan, president of the center-left think tank Third Way, noted, McCain’s sponsorship of the bill will “go down as the most spectacular and blatant reversal in Senator McCain’s political career.” In the early 2000s, McCain was a spokesperson for Americans for Gun Safety, a campaign headed by Cowan that encouraged states to enact stricter regulations. McCain cut ads on the group’s behalf, urging states with pending legislation to close the so-called gun show loophole, which allows people to purchase guns without a background check.

In 2001, McCain “rattled the gun-rights lobby” when he sponsored national legislation to eliminate the loophole. In a speech on the Senate floor at the time, McCain blasted states that hadn’t cracked down on illegal guns, saying, “We all know…[this] very dangerous loophole” needs to be closed:

We need this amendment because criminals and terrorists have exploited and are exploiting this very obvious loophole in our gun safety laws. We need this amendment because our second amendment rights do not extend to criminals who violate our laws and terrorists who hate this country. … We need this because every one of the 15 leading gun trafficking States in America has not taken action to close the gun show loophole.

“Hats off to John McCain,” famed White House reporter Helen Thomas wrote in a 2001 column, noting, “Gun-control advocates have a powerful new voice in the Senate.” The National Rifle Association was “bristling” over the gun show campaign, and “accused McCain of trying ‘to bootstrap on the Sept. 11 tragedy.’”

McCain reiterated his support for closing the loophole as recently as May 2008, when he told an NRA meeting, “I believe an accurate, fair and instant background check at guns shows is a reasonable requirement.” His moderate stance on gun control earned him scorn from gun-rights advocates during the 2008 campaign, with Gun Owners of America accusing McCain of “working with the enemy.” The group also gave McCain an ‘F’ for 2004 and 2006.

McCain’s pandering to the far right doesn’t seem to be helping him much, and his campaign opponent keeps calling out his flip-flops. So, McCain may end up losing the election along with his integrity.

Republicans hope to win three symbolic Senate seats
Every now and then, there comes a congressional race so fraught with history and symbolism that it becomes as much about sending a message as winning a seat.

McConnell doesn’t fear voter backlash for GOP blockade on regulation talks
Will voters punish Republicans this fall for constantly slowing down the work of Congress?

To woo voters, Democrats plan to cast selves as party of results
Democrats plan to run in the November midterm elections as the party of “results” after passing a health-care overhaul and will cast Republicans as political obstructionists, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said Wednesday.

Oil spill burned in Gulf of Mexico, in hope of saving coast
The Coast Guard and BP set fire to a portion of the crude oil floating in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday in a bid to limit the impact of a widening slick, which federal officials said could touch shore in parts of the Louisiana delta as early as Friday evening.

Why Cautious Reform is the Risky Option
Martin Wolf, Financial Times
Americans are obsessed with the case launched by the Securities and Exchange Commission against Goldman Sachs. At last, many hope, wrong-doers will be punished. But this misses the point. The problem is more what is allowed than preventing what is not. This is not to deny that there was much fraudulent behaviour behind the financial crisis. As John Kenneth Galbraith wrote, the “bezzle – the stock of embezzlement” – always rises in good times, But the real catastrophe, as I argued last week, is the risk taken on by the gamblers working legally…

Grilled Squid: A Ghastly Day for Goldman’s Top Brass

Incumbent Support at Lowest Level Since 1994
Gary Langer, ABC News
A third of registered voters are inclined to reelect their representatives in Congress, the fewest since the Republican Party rode voter discontent to control of the House and Senate 16 years ago, according to a new ABC News-Washington Post poll.Nearly six in 10 said they'll instead look for someone new come the fall elections.The impact on congressional races is uncertain, and the finding may chill incumbents of all stripes. But the dynamic does have a partisan cast: Republicans and swing-voting independents alike are far more likely than Democrats to be looking for change in…

Govt Needs to Regain the Public’s Trust
Rep. Mary Bono Mack, Politico
The American people are angry — and they have a right to be. Their government has disappointed them with failed policies and a dangerous agenda. More than that, it has destroyed their trust. Confidence levels in our government are the lowest in recent history. Eight in 10 Americans say they don’t trust the federal government and have little confidence in its ability to solve our nation’s problems, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. 

Arnold Wants to Sell Gov Buildings
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to sell two dozen state office buildings would cost California taxpayers billions of dollars in rent in the years ahead, far more than the state stands to make from the sale, according to financial documents analyzed by The Associated Press. If all buildings sell at the asking price, administration officials projected the state would net about $660 million after roughly $1.1 billion in construction bonds are paid off. The state would then rent space in the buildings from the new owners for 20 years. Over that period, it would pay $5.2 billion in rent, according to documents prepared for potential buyers.

Late Late Night FDL: Absolution
Sue Foley — Absolution.

Sue Foley — Absolution.

What’s on your mind?

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Early Morning Swim: Watch Claire McCaskill Beat the Crap out of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein
Awesome. “”You all are the house, you’re the bookie,” she said. Clients “are booking their bets with you. I don’t know why we need to dress it up. It’s a bet.”

Awesome.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) is pressing her betting-bookie analogy again, which she launched with two hours ago.

“You all are the house, you’re the bookie,” she said. Clients “are booking their bets with you. I don’t know why we need to dress it up. It’s a bet.”

McCaskill, who copped to betting on college sports, asked the Goldman execs: “What’s your vig?” In other words, what was Goldman’s fee for setting up these bets?

Marcy has more.

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Don’t you dare intervene in my fit!
If Lindsey Graham has a fit, you must submit.

Well, Lindsey Graham recently demanded immigration reform be taken up ASAP. In fact he had a fit. Then eventually it looked like it might get taken up soon. So he had a fit.

Allegedly the fit was because immigration would come up before the climate change bill he was working on with John Kerry and Joe Lieberman (so you know that bill would be awesome, right?).

Well, we can’t have that. So eventually, the climate bill would come up before the immigration bill, just like President Tantrum wanted — though he said he wanted both bills. Well, apparently not.

Tonight, Graham told me that he will filibuster his own climate change bill, unless Reid drops all plans to turn to immigration this Congress.

I’m sensing a pattern.

Nice to know that Graham will undoubtedly be personally stroked and caressed on this Sunday’s chat shows as a “statesman” while Carl Levin gets the Marcy Wheeler treatment because of Sally Quinn’s virginal ear (the one on the left only).

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Senators Grill Goldman Execs About Their ‘Shitty Deal’
Tuesday was not a fun day to be a top executive at Goldman Sachs. Sen. Carl Levin and his posse from the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations made sure of that during a lengthy interrogation session, which included quite a zinger from Sen. Levin to Daniel Sparks, who used to run Goldman’s mortgage department. Meanwhile, the company’s stock rose a dollar and a penny.  —KA Bloomberg Businessweek: “How about the fact that you sold hundreds of millions of that deal after your people knew it was a shitty deal?” the Michigan Democrat asked Daniel Sparks, who ran the bank’s mortgage unit at the time. “Does that bother you at all?” … In his comments to Sparks, Levin was referring to a June 2007 e-mail to Sparks from Thomas Montag, the former head of sales and trading in the Americas at Goldman Sachs. The message described a set of mortgage-linked investments that his bank had been trying to sell as part of “one shitty deal.” “I don’t recall selling hundreds of millions of that deal after that,” Sparks replied, adding that he believed the e-mail referred to his performance, not the security itself. “If you can’t give a clear answer to that one, Mr. Sparks, I don’t think we’re going to get too many clear answers from you,” Levin said. Shares Rise As the executives testified, Goldman Sachs was the only stock among 79 financial companies that gained in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The stock rose $1.01 to $153.04 as of 5:04 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Read more

Tuesday was not a fun day to be a top executive at Goldman Sachs. Sen. Carl Levin and his posse from the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations made sure of that during a lengthy interrogation session, which included quite a zinger from Sen. Levin to Daniel Sparks, who used to run Goldman’s mortgage department. Meanwhile, the company’s stock rose a dollar and a penny.? —KA

Bloomberg Businessweek:

“How about the fact that you sold hundreds of millions of that deal after your people knew it was a shitty deal?” the Michigan Democrat asked Daniel Sparks, who ran the bank’s mortgage unit at the time. “Does that bother you at all?”

… In his comments to Sparks, Levin was referring to a June 2007 e-mail to Sparks from Thomas Montag, the former head of sales and trading in the Americas at Goldman Sachs. The message described a set of mortgage-linked investments that his bank had been trying to sell as part of “one shitty deal.”

“I don’t recall selling hundreds of millions of that deal after that,” Sparks replied, adding that he believed the e-mail referred to his performance, not the security itself.

“If you can’t give a clear answer to that one, Mr. Sparks, I don’t think we’re going to get too many clear answers from you,” Levin said.

Shares Rise

As the executives testified, Goldman Sachs was the only stock among 79 financial companies that gained in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The stock rose $1.01 to $153.04 as of 5:04 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Read more

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