They didn’t get two thirds to suspend the rules, but they did get exactly two thirds this time around, 274 to 137.
They peeled off 49 ‘Phant legislators. Good.
Month: June 2008
It Appears that B-2 Crash Info is Worse than Previously Anticipated
It appears that there is a memo going around suggesting that the problems are more involved than just water in the air data sensors.
Specifically, there is a wheel speed sensor, and you should get a warning at about 60 kts if the wheel and air speed data does not match. Additionally, it appears that you can’t turn on the pitot heat too early to dry out the water, because it would warp the skin in that area, which would compromise the plane’s stealth characteristics.
Economics Update
Well, retail sales increased by 1% last month, about twice as much as expected. When gas if figured out, it drops to 0.8%, and then there is the question of how much food contributed.
Additionally, we have businesses expanding their inventories, though one has to wonder if this because they are hedging against inflation, or if they are expecting an uptick in business?
I tend to go with a bearish, and it appears that the outgoing head of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) thinks so too.
He sees the economy slipping into recession, and possibly stagflation.
Certainly, inflation concerns are rising world wide, with the South African central bank raising rates, ½% to 12%. (Ouch)
Employment is not looking good either, with initial jobless claims rising to 384,000 last week, though one always the caveat that week to week changes can just be noise, as opposed to signal.
Then again, with mortgage rates rising, they are now at an 8 month high, I don’t see construction leading any recovery.
In energy, we had oil down as the dollar strengthened, though retail gasoline hit a new high…again.
Cheney Lies Through His Teeth Again
And once again, it’s the folks at McClatchy who call him on it, and no one else seems to notice.
This time, he’s claiming that the Chinese are drilling off the Cuban coast, and using that as a justification for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
Well, not true, and not just the Chinese:
Yet no one can prove that the Chinese are drilling anywhere off Cuba’s shoreline. The China-Cuba connection is “akin to urban legend,” said Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican from Florida who opposes drilling off the coast of his state but who backs exploration in ANWR.
“China is not drilling in Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico waters, period,” said Jorge Pinon, an energy fellow with the Center for Hemispheric Policy at the University of Miami and an expert in oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. Martinez cited Pinon’s research when he took to the Senate floor Wednesday to set the record straight.
It’s not just Cheney. It’s also John Boehner, and George Radanovich.
If a Republican says that the sky is blue, bring a damn unbrella.
House Amtrak Appropriation With Veto-Proof Majority
I guess that people figured that with gas past $4/bbl, this would not be a good thing to vote against.
Supreme Court Upholds Rule of Law on Close 5-4 Vote.
The Supreme Court, with a 5-4 vote, along the anticipated lines, ruled that Guantanamo detainees have a right to contest their detention in court.
I don’t know whether to be elated at the decision, or scared that it was so close.
Iranian Strike on Table Again
It looks to me like the increased chatter about a possible strike is being driven by three things, Bush’s petulant arrogance, the idea that the Republican party might gain political advantage from this, and the idea that Ehud Olmert might gain political advantage from this.
Update on Republithug Corruption
Busy day.
We have former Congressman Curt Weldon tied into a Russian influence buying scheme, all laundered through a shady non-profit.
Curt Weldon was, of course one of those guys who saw agents of hostile governments everywhere…who knew he was one?
The fine folks at TPM note that former Rep. Sweeney’s (now ex-) wife, the one that he beat when he wasn’t driving drunk, was being paid for work she never did at a “fundraising firm” that she ran.
In the small fry category, we have Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) neglection to mention $286,278 in expenditures and $102,044 in contributions in her 2002 campaign. It could just be a clerical error, but seeing as how they neglected to mention a donation from “Friends of Duke Cunningham”, and over a hundred grand spent on her Daughter and Son-in-law’s “political consulting firm”, I’m thinking that we have some self dealing going on.
Low, Even for Fox
See?
…
I guess I need to clarify. I am not talking abuout putting Michelle Makin on TB. Look at the scroll.
“Obama’s Baby Mama”?
Stop Loss to Continue
So, the back door draft continues.
We are breaking our military.
Is the Proposed Iraq-US Military Agreement a Back Door to An Iran Strike?
Faiz at Think Progress notes the following troubling detail in the proposed agreement, which a Dawa MP has objected to:
The Americans insist so far that is they who define what is an aggression on Iraq and what is democracy inside Iraq…if we come under aggression we should define it and ask for help.
This means that the US could use the status of forces agreement to justify an attack on Iran.
As Faiz puts it, “Since the administration is unlikely to get an Iran war authorized through Congress, it’s instead trying to sneak it through the Iraqi parliament.”
Missile Defense Agency Cancels Test
Same old same old, behind schedule and over budget.
Taking tests out of the schedule though is not a good way to handle that problem. Insufficient testing means that we might field a system that does not work…Then again, maybe Bush and His Evil Minions™ don’t care if it works, and they just want a system fielded.
It would go along with the Republicans’ general policy of “faith based missile defense”
Get Me 1500 Ice Cream Sandwiches and 12 Tons of Fig Newtons
261 tons of Hashish in Afgan drug Bust.
That’s one serious case of the munchies.
And in the “Well, Duh!” Category
Rising gas prices are leading more people to get out of their cars and use mass transit.
Shocking, huh?
House Passes Draconian IP Legislation
HR 4279 is a very bad piece of legislation. Among other things, it:
- Creates an IP “Czar” in the Department of Justice, who would be institutionally driven to make criminal matters out of what is has been a civil offense.
- Apply civil asset forfeiture, so you could lose your house if law enforcement agencies convince a judge that you might be infringing.
- Expanded criminal penalties.
Luckily, it’s unlikely to make it through the Senate in an election year, but this legislation is evil.
What too many people do not understand, including over 400 members of Congress, it passed 410 to 10, is that Patent and Copyright Law is at its Core Public Interest Law. It is not a property right, but rather a societal contract in which we all give up our rights in order to encourage artistic and scientific development through the granting of a temporary exclusive license.
Merrill Lynch Chief Executive John Thain Can Kiss My Shiny Metal Ass
It appears that Thain really wants continued access to the Federal reserve discount window, what I have called the sh%$pile for cash program, to continue in perpetuity, but is aghast at the thought that continued access might be predicated on greater regulation of investment banking as an industry.
You want the taxpayers on the hook for your mistakes, but you want the government out of your hair so that you can make those mistakes.
You sound an awful lot like those farmers who want the government off their back, and in the next breath ask for their subsidy check.
It makes one wonder how much a Harvard MBA is really worth.
Good
The Economist is wringing its hands because the Democratic controlled Senate is refusing to confirm two Bush nominees to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. They think that it strikes a blow against the independence of the body.
They have it wrong. This is a good thing.
If the Democrats should have any goal in the next few months, it should be to absolutely prevent any permanent or long term personnel changes to the courts, the Fed, or similar bodies from Bush and His Evil Minions&trade.
They have an obligation to protect the American people from Bush.
House Votes Down Unemployment Extension…Sort Of
They had to vote, “under a procedure that required a two-thirds vote for approval”, but they fell 3 votes short, so they will reconsider it in the next few days.
Seeing as how they got about 50 Republicans to flip, and that constituents will doubtless be calling those who did not flip, I think that this will pass with a veto proof majority.
Economics Update
Well, the Federal Reserve’s beige book is reporting that economic growth is generally weak, though better than the last one two months ago, but James Bullard, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is saying that inflation is their primary worry right now, joining Bernanke and Federal Reserve Bank of New York president Timothy Geithner.
Canada is concerned about inflation too, with their central bank holding rates steady instead of lowering rates, as was expected, which pushed the Canadian dollar up.
I think that it’s likely that we will see inflation concerns in Japan driving central bank policy there too, as they just raised their 1Q GDP estimate to 4%, which is high enough to raise inflation concerns.
This would imply interest rates going up in the relatively new future, which would undoubtedly force another dip in house prices.
Of course, the resets coming in option ARMs may do this before rates get raised:
This is a scary picture.
There is some not bad news in real estate, Mortgage applications rose 10.9% last week, though one wonders how much of this is driven by bargain hunters REOs*, which was what drove the recent increase in existing housing sales.
More generally, the lack of confidence is not limited to real estate, as evidenced by the concerns that the LIBOR† is still not trusted, and that the proposed changes to it are largely viewed as inadequate.
In brighter news, rates are falling onauction rate securities, those financial instruments that were supposed to be as good as a cash account, but have locked up investor money.
This implies that some confidence in the auctions is returning to the market, and as a result, governments are redeeming fewer of the bonds, about $2 billion a week, down from over $5 billion/week for the past few months.
Still, we have problems in energy, with oil prices up over $5/bbl, and gasoline hitting a new record, $4.052/gallon.
*Real Estate Owned. Property which is in the possession of a lender as a result of foreclosure or forfeiture.
†London interbank offered rate, a critical measure used to do things like set credit card rates and mortgage rates adjustments.
SEC Proposes Changes in Ratings, Asset Backed Debt
Bloomberg wrings its hands over this, and calls the proposed regulation that would give asset backed debt a different ratings scale a “scarlet letter” for these instruments.
This letter is well deserved. What is clear is that these byzantine products cannot be rated reliably, and as such people need to be warned off of them.
They are also calling for more transparency in the ratings process, with the ratings companies making public the data that they used.
It’s a good start, but only that, a start.