The Hollywood Liberal

Late Late Night FDL: Chocolate Cake
Bill Cosby — Chocolate Cake, from Bill Cosby, Himself.

Bill Cosby — Chocolate Cake, from Bill Cosby, Himself.

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GOP Jumps on Dismal Jobs Report
A president’s employment problem is the opposition’s cannon fodder during election season, and Friday’s bad news on employment is giving the GOP some opportunities to lob a few more hits at the Democrats during the lead-in to this fall’s midterm elections.  —KA Reuters via Google News: The report was a disappointment for Obama and fellow Democrats, who are anxious for glimmers of economic hope before Congress faces voters in five months, but they argued it showed a continued recovery even if more ups and downs lie ahead. The May report found hiring by private employers slowed sharply and came in lower than analysts expected, although temporary census hiring pushed payrolls higher and dropped the unemployment rate to 9.7 percent from 9.9 percent. “The underlying fact is that 9.7 percent unemployment is unacceptable by any standard. No amount of spin will resolve the fact that the president’s policies have been a colossal failure when it comes to creating jobs,” said Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee. Read more

A president’s employment problem is the opposition’s cannon fodder during election season, and Friday’s bad news on employment is giving the GOP some opportunities to lob a few more hits at the Democrats during the lead-in to this fall’s midterm elections.? —KA

Reuters via Google News:

The report was a disappointment for Obama and fellow Democrats, who are anxious for glimmers of economic hope before Congress faces voters in five months, but they argued it showed a continued recovery even if more ups and downs lie ahead.

The May report found hiring by private employers slowed sharply and came in lower than analysts expected, although temporary census hiring pushed payrolls higher and dropped the unemployment rate to 9.7 percent from 9.9 percent.

“The underlying fact is that 9.7 percent unemployment is unacceptable by any standard. No amount of spin will resolve the fact that the president’s policies have been a colossal failure when it comes to creating jobs,” said Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Read more

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‘Left, Right & Center’: BP and BHO; Israel-Gaza; the Gores
It was the Week of the Flotilla, and the controversy over Israel’s raid on a Gaza-bound convoy was ongoing as “Left, Right & Center” commentators Robert Scheer, David Frum and Matt Miller took to the airwaves in the latest show.

It was the Week of the Flotilla, and the controversy over Israel’s raid on a Gaza-bound convoy was ongoing as “Left, Right & Center” commentators Robert Scheer, David Frum and Matt Miller took to the airwaves in the latest show.

Related Entries

• May 27, 2010 Obama Rewrites America’s Nat’l Security Strategy
• May 26, 2010 Obama’s New Security Strategy Looks Much Like the Old One

Artur Davis ‘Arrogant As Hell’ For Ducking Black Media: Roland Martin
Rep. Artur Davis’ stunningly lopsided loss in the Alabama gubernatorial primary has been attributed, in large part, to his unwillingness to court the Democratic base…

Elena Kagan: A Firsthand Account Of What Makes The Supreme Court Nominee Tick
People who complain about Max Baucus seem to forget that not so long ago the likes of James Inhofe chaired Senate committees. And if you…

Chris Weigant: Friday Talking Points [126] — We’d Like Our Gulf Back
The mainstream media, led by the intrepid White House press corps, closely followed by the inside-the-Beltway punditocracy, has declared what must happen for the oil…

Arizona Elementary School Will Whiten The Faces Of Its Own Students On A Mural Because Some Racists Yelled At It
Via Ken Layne at Wonkette, this is just the worst story in the world: An Arizona elementary school mural featuring the faces of kids who…

Fox falsely claims government is not forecasting future movement of oil spill

Fox & Friends aired a computer simulation by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) illustrating one possible scenario of the oil spill’s future movement and criticized the Obama administration because the simulation “was not done by the federal government,” which Steve Doocy claimed doesn’t “even know where the oil’s going to go in the future.” In fact, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is producing daily forecasts of oil movement, and NCAR is a federally sponsored research institution.

Doocy falsely claims federal government is not modeling future movement of oil spill

Doocy faults government for not producing NCAR’s oil projection and suggests NOAA is not tracking “where the oil’s going to go in the future.” From the June 4 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends:

DOOCY: Is the government prepared for where the oil’s going to go next? Well does it seem like it? I mean that’s a really cool animation but that was not done by the federal government. You know they’ve got that wing, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. They generally do stuff like that but that thing that we just saw was done by some folks out in Boulder, the computer models were from the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

The president has been accused of being flat-footed, and here they don’t even know where the oil’s going to go in the future. If it’s going to go, as Gretch said earlier to the Carolinas, shouldn’t they be dispatching stuff to the Carolinas? That seems like a no-brainer doesn’t it?

In fact, federal agencies are tracking oil, producing daily forecasts

NOAA produces daily trajectory forecasts of oil movement. NOAA states that it “is predicting the oil spill’s trajectory and the path of the layers of oil floating on the surface. OR&R experts are conducting aerial surveys to update trajectory maps and visually track the movement of the spill.” NOAA releases daily trajectory maps, which “predict where the oil is most likely to go and how soon it may arrive there”:

Using currents and winds predictions from a variety of sources, as well as available observations, the NOAA oceanographers run several leading computer models to forecast the movement and spreading of the oil. They also use satellite imagery analysis and observations reported by trained observers who have made helicopter overflights back and forth across the potentially affected area, recording locations where oil is seen.

According to the Department of Energy, NOAA scientists believe that “projections of specific impacts more than three days in advance tend to be unreliable because of the many uncertainties involved.”

NASA satellites producing images of oil spill. According to NASA, “Two NASA satellites are capturing images of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.” The data from NASA is reportedly being used by NOAA.

NCAR is sponsored by the federal government

NCAR is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is listed as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) on the website of the U.S. government’s National Science Foundation. According to the Congressional Research Service, a FFRDC “is a hybrid organization designed to meet a federal need through the use of private organizations.”

NCAR research “was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, NCAR’s sponsor.” NCAR’s June 3 press release on their research states: “The research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, NCAR’s sponsor. The results were reviewed by scientists at NCAR and elsewhere, although not yet submitted for peer-review publication.”

NCAR: The animation is “not a forecast”

NCAR: “[T]he simulations are not a forecast because it is impossible to accurately predict the precise location of the oil weeks or months from now.” During the segment, co-host Gretchen Carlson referred to NCAR’s research as “predictions.” However, a disclaimer included in NCAR’s animation states: “The results presented here are intended for research guidance only. They are not a forecast of where the oil will go, but a scenario of what might happen if the loop current is in a typical configuration.” Also, from NCAR’s June 3 press release:

[NCAR scientist Synte] Peacock and her colleagues stress that the simulations are not a forecast because it is impossible to accurately predict the precise location of the oil weeks or months from now. Instead, the simulations provide an envelope of possible scenarios for the oil dispersal. The timing and course of the oil slick will be affected by regional weather conditions and the ever-changing state of the Gulf’s Loop Current–neither of which can be predicted more than a few days in advance. The dilution of the oil relative to the source will also be impacted by details such as bacterial degradation, which are not included in the simulations.

What is possible, however, is to estimate a range of possible trajectories, based on the best understanding of how ocean currents transport material. The oil trajectory that actually occurs will depend critically both on the short-term evolution of the Loop Current, which feeds into the Gulf Stream, and on the state of the overlying atmosphere. The flow in the model represents the best estimate of how ocean currents are likely to respond under typical wind conditions.

Reporter: ‘There Wasn’t Outrage’ After Knotts Called Haley A ‘Raghead’
Last night, South Carolina State Sen. Jake Knotts (R) called Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley a “f—— raghead,” and bizarrely suggested that she’s some kind of Sikh Manchurian candidate. Corey Hutchins, a reporter for Free Times, the alt weekly in…


South Carolina - Nikki Haley - Jake Knotts - Republican - United States

Marchant On Haley: ‘I Know In My Heart What Happened’ (VIDEO)
Here’s some video you don’t see every day: Larry Marchant, a respectable, well-coiffed South Carolina Republican lobbyist whose clients have included major players like the state Chamber of Commerce, describing in uncomfortable detail his alleged affair with a leading female gubernatorial hopeful.


South Carolina - Republican - Nikki Haley - Chamber of Commerce - United States

Gypsy cabbie: My windshield tour of Queens, New York
Author’s note: The editors of Subversify Magazine (http://subversify.com/) are holding a writing competition for the best story written on the topic of either gypsies or carnies or cowboys. The winner gets chocolate. I’m there! So here’s the story I sent them: After attending the closing authors’ breakfast at the 2010 Book Expo last week and listening to […]

Sandoval Looks Likely to Beat Gibbons
A new Mason-Dixon poll in Nevada shows Brian Sandoval (R) remains the odds-on favorite to win the Republican gubernatorial nomination away from Gov. Jim Gibbons (R).

Sandoval leads Gibbons, 47% to 33%, with Gibbons faring especially poorly among women voters.

Said pollster Brad Coker: “When you are an incumbent with a high negative rating, that is almost impossible to overcome.”

Fiorina Holds Double-Digit Lead Over Campbell
Confirming the results of every other recent survey, a new Field Poll in California shows Carly Fiorina (R) leading Tom Campbell (R) in the GOP race for Senate, 37% to 22%, with Chuck DeVore in third at 19%.

Why Did God Create Atheists?
If God is real, and religious believers can perceive him… why is anyone an atheist?

If God is real, and religious believers can perceive him… why is anyone an atheist?

The Gaza Blockade Is Illegal and the Flotilla Attack Was an Illegal Act of War
Because the blockade of Gaza itself violates international law, Israel committed an illegal act of war attacking the convoy, regardless of who attacked whom first.

Because the blockade of Gaza itself violates international law, Israel committed an illegal act of war attacking the convoy, regardless of who attacked whom first.

Liberals and Progressives Never Miss an Opportunity to Miss an Opportunity… Are We Ready to Change Directions?
Are we ready to change directions on the economy, the environment, democratizing politics, corporate social responsibility and Middle East peace?

Are we ready to change directions on the economy, the environment, democratizing politics, corporate social responsibility and Middle East peace?

Why Banks Try to Make Borrowers Feel Like Sinners When They Can’t Pay off Their Mortgages
Crazy views about homeownership are helping the very bankers who screwed us in the first place.

Crazy views about homeownership are helping the very bankers who screwed us in the first place.