tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16813657225191017032011-11-27T19:18:57.062-05:00Random thoughts from a private citizen about U.S. politics and society.DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.comBlogger1431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-34920947492994375892009-04-28T13:50:00.000-04:002009-04-28T13:50:56.280-04:00

Embattled PA Sen Arlen Specter has switched to the Democratic Party. If MN Sen-Elect Al Franken is ever seated, the Dems will have their filibuster-proof 60-seat majority. Off to pop popcorn and watch Faux News!

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-54854979901283017042009-04-23T22:32:00.001-04:002009-04-23T22:35:11.328-04:00

... when our institutions and traditions are corrupted? People start seeing reasons for their cynicism everywhere. (Puts on sunglasses.) It's zoom and enhance, man, zoom and enhance. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeah!

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-61121507865881565582009-04-23T22:11:00.004-04:002009-04-23T22:12:33.140-04:00

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-72382670800435516182009-04-23T11:18:00.002-04:002009-04-23T11:18:34.952-04:00

Wow... people will just tweet anything.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-40175687353850644542009-04-23T11:01:00.000-04:002009-04-23T11:01:45.188-04:00

First there was this: Nothing is too small for the family to ignore. Isaac Newton Farris, King's nephew and chief executive officer of the King Center in Atlanta, demanded payments for images showing President Obama and King on the same T-shirts. "We're not trying to stop anybody from legitimately supporting themselves," Farris said. "But we cannot allow our brand to be abused." It is hard to

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-1419456796889791832009-04-23T10:03:00.002-04:002009-04-23T11:10:09.753-04:00

Fox News host Shep Smith just can't seem to keep his opinions to himself. Derisive comments about the conservative "he's a socialist!" meme... Openly mocking Glenn Beck on camera... And, his view on Bush/Cheney's 1984-esque torture regime have been featured in this space. Now, he's dropping the f-bomb on air. Smith, it appears, isn't as "conservative" as his southern roots and

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-13364282546944141262009-04-22T23:59:00.004-04:002009-04-23T00:05:26.310-04:00

According to the Senate Armed Services Committee's torture report, the Bush administration ordered the military to torture detainees so that they could trumpet a non-existent link between Sadaam Hussein and 9/11 and justify an unjustifiable war.When those soldiers were prosecuted and imprisoned for the Abu Ghraib torture prisoner abuse, the Bush administration said not a word to defend them, even

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-71886368226857501922009-04-22T18:28:00.000-04:002009-04-22T18:28:05.000-04:00

If you go through the process of competing in and winning in regularly scheduled elections, three friggin' times, how is it that you're a dictator? Just askin'... And what kind of "dictator" only manages to get 62% of the vote? Then again, the same people who call Hugo Chavez a dictator call President Obama a secret-muslim-anti-christy-hitlery-socialist-fascist, soooooooo...

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-61716850453252092882009-04-22T17:57:00.001-04:002009-04-22T17:58:21.533-04:00

Shorter HRC to Pence: "Maybe you wanna STFU." HA! (Via TPMTV)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-20365409324974162992009-04-22T11:23:00.001-04:002009-04-22T11:24:11.584-04:00

I like President Obama. But I'm proud of Attorney General Eric Holder.By all accounts, there was much strum and drang at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue about releasing those CYA torture memos that were written by the OLC, with Obama's national security "team" arguing against (because it will be embarrassing) and Holder arguing for (because torture is, well, illegal). The AG prevailed in that

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-44979435829123957512009-04-21T18:25:00.001-04:002009-04-21T18:26:11.077-04:00

A front man for the right-wing Ohio Militia is calling for another Million Man March on Washington for this July 4. Only, he wants his million men to be armed.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-67894178577444918962009-04-19T13:43:00.000-04:002009-04-19T13:43:03.975-04:00

I couldn't agree with this editorial more. In one of the more nauseating passages, Jay Bybee, then an assistant attorney general and now a federal judge, wrote admiringly about a contraption for waterboarding that would lurch a prisoner upright if he stopped breathing while water was poured over his face. He praised the Central Intelligence Agency for having doctors ready to perform an emergency

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-68637406006321783922009-04-19T13:36:00.000-04:002009-04-19T13:36:40.049-04:00

By 2012, we will have eaten all of the tuna left in the ocean. Tuna will be wiped out by 2012 unless overfishing is stopped, environmental groups have warned. If current quotas are maintained, the breeding population of Atlantic bluefin tuna will have disappeared in three years, it is claimed. [...] In November, EU members were among those who signed an agreement setting bluefin quotas. The

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-15153482835968722892009-04-19T13:32:00.001-04:002009-04-19T13:32:55.223-04:00

Glen Greenwald tweets, Can someone in WH press ask why Obama's desire to look forward, not back, only applies to gov't officials and not common criminals? Thanks.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-8441745878721723052009-04-19T13:25:00.001-04:002009-04-19T13:26:56.026-04:00

This picture:... or, this story?A hunter sees a bear off in the distance, carefully aims and fires. Bang! He sees the bear go down, and goes to retrieve his prey. But, when he arrives at the spot where his downed bear should be, there's no bear there.Suddenly there is a tap on his shoulder. The hunter turns... and it's the bear!"Did you just shoot at me?" asks the bear.He's alone in the woods,

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-59612815148724782142009-04-17T17:47:00.001-04:002009-04-17T17:48:29.982-04:00

Looks like someone wants to sell Texas on eBay before the wingnuts secede.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-22492482136526786112009-04-17T12:20:00.001-04:002009-04-17T12:22:09.159-04:00

Firedoglake publishes a theory on why President Obama decided to forego prosecutions of the CIA agents who tortured prisoners, and concludes... President Obama's position regarding those line officers, while I disagree with it, may be a reflection that he believes that they were manipulated and lied to by those they had a right to trust. Further, nothing in his statement yesterday suggests that

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-71695678454203749492009-04-17T12:13:00.000-04:002009-04-17T12:13:45.184-04:00

I give the President real credit for releasing those memos yesterday, and releasing them without heavy redaction, but [l]etting the authors of the most humiliating episode of a uniformly incompetent and vicious administration walk while cravenly mouthing nonsense about "looking ahead not backward" is not actually that far from the crimes themselves. It's illegal to manage prosecutions of

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-83279843879311960262009-04-17T11:44:00.002-04:002009-04-17T12:25:18.240-04:00

Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundström, the guys behind The Pirate Bay, have been sentenced to prison and fined a total in excess of $30M in damages for abetting copyright law violations.Peter Sunde tweets, "Really, it's a bit LOL. It used to be only movies, now even verdicts are out before the official release."UPDATE: Seems it's not as OMG as it seems... Swedish

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-55302185634380690012009-04-17T11:38:00.000-04:002009-04-17T11:38:29.625-04:00

That's how many Texans want to secede from the United States. Another 7% aren't sure if they'd stay or not. As I noted yesterday, there is no seccession option to the Constitition, for Texas or Alaska or anyone else. But it's strange, isn't it: whether or not to say the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance gets all the press, but in some parts of the country, the real controversy

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-44866459901609621522009-04-17T11:31:00.002-04:002009-04-17T11:32:36.966-04:00

Last night, Keith Olbermann had a thing or two to say about President Obama's "reflection not retribution" talk about not prosecuting those CIA officials who committed war crimes.See for yourself.Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the EconomyIf you haven't yet read those memos, you really should. You'll agree, the Nuremburgy "we were just following orders" just isn't

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-41518628652883221042009-04-16T15:10:00.001-04:002009-04-16T15:11:46.249-04:00

Another bat-shit crazy Republican, this time Senator Coburn of Oklahoma. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said this week that the administration will try "all sorts of things" to chip away at the individual right to own a gun, warning of gun control policies aimed at "disarming us." Speaking at a town hall meeting in Cushing, Oklahoma, Coburn warned that Attorney General Eric Holder "doesn't believe in

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-72615459121554623812009-04-16T14:53:00.001-04:002009-04-16T14:54:39.446-04:00

Palin. Jindal. Pawlenty. And now, Perry. Why are Republican governors insane? Is bat-shit craziness a prerequisite for the job?In case you missed it, Perry signed legislation in Texas declaring the state 'sovereign' and demanding [t]hat all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or that requires states to pass

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-13296495124133419792009-04-16T14:26:00.000-04:002009-04-16T14:26:12.485-04:00

Beware the salad at your local McDonald's... it'll probably just make you supersize your fries. Investigators asked college students to choose foods from menus that differed in only one feature; one menu offered a salad and the other did not. The point? To find out whether the presence of a salad on the menu influenced what else the students ate. It did. The students choose French fries

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-35990016432214515642009-04-16T13:34:00.001-04:002009-04-16T13:36:38.901-04:00

That's one helluva dog, no? From the publisher: Bo, America's Commander in Leash™ is the first children's book starring the most famous dog in the world. Join Bo on an exciting adventure as he learns all about the White House and experiences the traditions that make it such a special place. Bo's adventures include time-honored White House traditions, including the Easter egg roll, Fourth of

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-66450900218404541752009-04-16T13:10:00.001-04:002009-04-16T13:11:56.192-04:00

I was all prepared to spew forth with The Rage today, had the President decided to shield from the public the DoJ torture memos. This piece in the New York Times makes me feel good. Looks like Obama kept his pair, after all (insert obligatory teabagging joke here).After a tense internal debate, the Obama administration this afternoon will make public a number of detailed memos describing the

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-15270525046739861112009-04-16T11:20:00.000-04:002009-04-16T11:20:57.785-04:00

You know how much I love Elizabeth Warren. Last night, she showed up on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show. Video below. The first half of her appearance was really quite funny -- in a gallows humor kind of way --- but in the second half, Warren perfectly framed the choices we face in deconstructing the financial house of cards that was built over the last 30-odd years. The Daily Show With Jon

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-54861335088325280192009-04-15T16:32:00.002-04:002009-04-15T16:36:20.470-04:00

I was pulling on my black patent-leather chaps and heading down to Atlanta's Tea Party -- a Dick Arm(e)y will be there! -- but Pandagon let me know that this teabagging party wasn't what I thought it was.[The Tea Party movement is] a group of fucknuts joining other groups of marginally related fucknuts to protest something or other, in a hugely fucknutty way.  The point of the Tea Party movement,

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-51500936189439793822009-04-15T14:00:00.002-04:002009-04-15T14:05:10.063-04:00

Pesticide manufacturers are upset that the White House garden will be organic.So, when the rabble are through teabagging Obama, will they next want to toss Michelle's salad?Just askin'...

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-56498147347175782082009-04-15T12:13:00.000-04:002009-04-15T12:13:17.256-04:00

Bo Obama has a Twitter feed. He's a dog.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-46206334465480456442009-04-10T12:47:00.000-04:002009-04-10T12:47:31.404-04:00

with Ms. Cox! Heh. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the EconomySeriously, though... do conservatives really not know what teabagging is?

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-20653732616783134152009-04-09T12:49:00.000-04:002009-04-09T12:49:51.161-04:00

... but not about dudes, says Ta-nehisi. There's a lot of hip-hop that communicates being into girls, because it impresses your friends, but not as much that communicates being into girls because, uhm, you're heterosexual. I think that's because the expression of want, the communication of deeply felt need, implies vulnerability. It implies the possibility of failure, of disappointment. Hip-Hop

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-16585761609676645322009-04-09T12:19:00.000-04:002009-04-09T12:19:23.634-04:00

Rocketboom looks at the world's superlatives (the most powerful man in the world, the highest-grossing actor in the world, the coolest astrophysicist in the world, the fastest man in the world on foot and in a car) and concludes Black is in.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-21572312175432094272009-04-08T12:25:00.001-04:002009-04-08T13:57:24.184-04:00

Once, he was either a secret Muslim, or a radical white-hating acolyte of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, or the Anti-Christ (but only when speaking in his Anti-Christy backward's language). Then came this: President Obama and his family will mark the beginning of Passover with a Seder at the White House with friends and staff.Salon's Alex Koppelman snarks, "[I]t turns out Obama isn't a secret Muslim,

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-86153898584303118082009-04-07T12:55:00.000-04:002009-04-07T12:55:32.846-04:00

A man was rushed to hospital after telling doctors how his best friend bit his penis off in a row - and swallowed it. Horrified Marian Milczarek, 53, from Lesna in south west Poland, was attacked following a row with his friend - apparently over borrowing a trailer. 'He began hitting me with a chain and then pulled down my trousers and started biting. It was agony,' he said.Presumably, the two

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-80611454216551100542009-04-06T14:22:00.000-04:002009-04-06T14:22:03.386-04:00

Rep. Michelle Bachmann's latest conspiracy theory, from this weekend: I believe that there is a very strong chance that we will see that young people will be put into mandatory service. And the real concerns is that there are provisions for what I would call re-education camps for young people, where young people have to go and get trained in a philosophy that the government puts forward and then

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-78394625424806384182009-04-06T14:11:00.000-04:002009-04-06T14:11:49.260-04:00

Reports The Daily Beast's Scott Hornton: Senate Republicans are now privately threatening to derail the confirmation of key Obama administration nominees for top legal positions by linking the votes to suppressing critical torture memos from the Bush era. A reliable Justice Department source advises me that Senate Republicans are planning to “go nuclear” over the nominations of Dawn Johnsen as

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-4193108505108560892009-04-06T13:43:00.000-04:002009-04-06T13:43:45.197-04:00

Nate Silver weighs in on the roiling discussion on pot legalization currenlty underway on Teh Internets, and find in the generational bias a trend. There is not, of course, a one-to-one correspondence between having used marijuana and supporting its legalization; one can plausibly support its legalization without having ever inhaled, or vice versa. Nevertheless, I would venture that the

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-86530592928374884852009-04-06T13:36:00.001-04:002009-04-15T14:27:36.752-04:00

I didn't know this was going on, but seems that some are up in arms about Tyler Perry and his "mammy-like" Madea.It seems like black people get very picky about the representations of blackness that get put on screen. And this is understandable considering the long history of racist depictions by white media. But we cannot only advocate for portrayals that we like. And by we, I mean the middle to

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-62209834086575859112009-04-06T12:51:00.001-04:002009-04-06T14:22:44.696-04:00

Levi Johnston says that Sarah Palin let him spend the night in Bristol's room, he told Tyra Banks today, and adds that "I'm pretty sure that she probably knew [that we were having sex]."Ya think? But, that's not very "evangelical," is it?(Via US Magazine)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-562287795058649982009-04-06T11:28:00.001-04:002009-04-06T14:12:32.574-04:00

What happened between February 2008 and February 2009 to cause the assets held by New York Federal Reserve Bank to triple in value?(via WikiMedia)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-527565222274631072009-04-06T11:22:00.000-04:002009-04-06T11:22:03.298-04:00

Several weeks ago, some fellow on the tee-vee machine said that the "proximate cause" of the recession we are currently in was last summer's run-up in oil prices. I don't remember who said it, or on which show, but the notion immediately struck me as spot-on. Of course, the host of the show didn't pause to explore that notion -- it didn't fit the prevailing narrative that the oligarchs have

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-89342205756623649332009-04-03T16:55:00.001-04:002009-04-03T17:05:06.660-04:00

The President of the United States All Media gave the French a little taste of his All-Obama-All-Over-the-Place-All-the-Time in Strasbourg, where he participated in a town hall meeting. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy So, the President does the email, the Internets, the Twitter... he fills stadia, and malls, and processional boulevards... he sends video

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-47561705454074932712009-04-02T15:07:00.002-04:002009-04-02T15:13:18.212-04:00

X-Men Origins: Wolverine leaked on the Internet yesterday. I downloaded and watched. I thought it was pretty good. Others disagreed. The movie hits theaters May 1.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-73377702233412622232009-04-02T14:59:00.000-04:002009-04-02T14:59:41.173-04:00

Left to Right: Barack Obama, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, Russian Prez Dmitry Medvedev, and Chinese Prez Hu Jintao. Whaddya think of the pic, though? Kinda looks like the cover of a 1950's Stax album to me.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-21442082558423871492009-04-02T14:50:00.001-04:002009-04-02T14:50:57.936-04:00

The UK's Times Online profiles the 10 most stylish protesters of all time. No bullshit. Here's their Number Two:

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-76199129460709442252009-04-02T14:38:00.000-04:002009-04-02T14:38:12.000-04:00

... but that you don't care that much. Introducing the All-in-One Card Stamp.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-28140380935393618622009-04-01T13:00:00.001-04:002009-04-01T13:00:41.847-04:00

It's gone now, but New York magazine blogger Dan Amira wrote this yesterday: This morning President Obama departed for the G20 summit in London and a week of other meetings around Europe, his first visit since last summer's epic charm offensive. As he boarded Marine One, Obama returned the salute of the marine standing guard ... we think. It also looks like Obama might just be blocking the sun's

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-46820865919123685312009-04-01T12:45:00.000-04:002009-04-01T12:45:05.267-04:00

HP, the world's largest PC maker, is considering installing Google's (effectively free) Android operating system into its netbooks instead of Windows. (via PCWorld)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-84859698097075487762009-04-01T11:07:00.001-04:002009-04-01T11:07:21.479-04:00

... and the sleeves! Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-81495742197872134842009-04-01T10:51:00.000-04:002009-04-01T10:51:18.962-04:00

Stephen Colbert dons an adult diaper to mock crazy-ass Glenn Beck. The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cThe 10/31 Projectcomedycentral.comColbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorNASA Name Contest

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-10675531800694582412009-04-01T10:34:00.000-04:002009-04-01T10:34:01.621-04:00

Pakistani Baitullah Mehsud called up the Associated Press and NBC News and announced that A) his group was responsible for bombing a Lahore police academy on Monday, and B) he was planning an attack on the White House "soon" that would "amaze the world." He's already fingered with the assassination of Pakistani ex-premiere Benazir Bhutto. I say we start carpet bombing South Warziristan. It

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-33627518514253768012009-04-01T10:23:00.000-04:002009-04-01T10:23:07.187-04:00

Steve Levitt, U-Chicago economist, NYTimes blogger, and "Freakonomics" co-author, will be joining Geithner's team. While some argue that Levitt deploys economics in the analysis of the trivial, he is a much noted thinker on the intersection between economics and crime, and using the former to ferret out the latter. Also joining the administration, Greg Mankiw, who's previous Washington job was

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-27266213739969009522009-03-29T22:38:00.000-04:002009-03-29T22:38:45.687-04:00

Seems Lil' Mikey-Mike is mad with the President for not calling him. Psst, Mike... he's just not that into you.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-36185488086091402312009-03-29T10:03:00.000-04:002009-03-29T10:03:03.958-04:00

Silicon Valley electric car start-up Tesla Motors has unveiled it's all-electric Model S. Expected to be delivered in 2011, the sedan will have a 300-mile range, will achieve a 0-60 of 5.6 seconds, and will "quick charge" in 45 minutes. Starting price: $57,400. A beautiful sedan, though less butter than the rival Fisker Automotive Karma. Still, it's an around-town kind of car, and I continue to

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-72559919188140372082009-03-29T09:50:00.000-04:002009-03-29T09:50:49.924-04:00

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-47624476818052791062009-03-29T09:44:00.002-04:002009-03-29T09:45:30.049-04:00

(Via Boomerang)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-64656138436757324132009-03-29T09:42:00.000-04:002009-03-29T09:42:34.934-04:00

A) God will let us know when the earth will end, and B) there's a theological debate, based upon the presumed climate that is supposed to have prevailed during the age of the dinosaurs, that we live on a carbon-starved planet.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-28625569897770354682009-03-27T17:48:00.001-04:002009-03-27T17:48:35.835-04:00

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-23047233363237906292009-03-27T16:40:00.001-04:002009-03-27T16:43:18.781-04:00

As he rushed his family to the hospital, 26-year-old NFL running back Ryan Moats rolled through a red light. A Dallas police officer pulled their SUV over outside the emergency room. Moats and his wife explained that her mother was dying inside the hospital. "You really want to go through this right now?" Moats pleaded. "My mother-in-law is dying. Right now!" Officer Robert Powell, 25, was

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-69549789573639178652009-03-27T14:00:00.000-04:002009-03-27T14:00:05.103-04:00

In its short history, Twitter -— a microblogging tool that uses 140 characters in bursts of text -— has become an important marketing tool for celebrities, politicians and businesses, promising a level of intimacy never before approached online, as well as giving the public the ability to speak directly to people and institutions once comfortably on a pedestal. But someone has to do all that

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-71468893458801055232009-03-27T13:51:00.001-04:002009-03-27T13:51:49.571-04:00

Minnesota DFL Party chairman Brian Melendez responding to Representative Bachmann's call for an American revolution against our "enemies" in the White House:Michele Bachmann must have missed the memo: The revolution already happened. The old way of doing business -- her way of doing business -- lost.We face the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. To overcome that crisis, Americans

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-87639321374478618832009-03-27T13:45:00.000-04:002009-03-27T13:45:26.095-04:00

... and dangerous. Speaking on Sean Hannity's radio program: We are headed down the lane of economic Marxism, more quickly, Sean, than anyone could have possibly imagined. It's difficult for us to even keep up with it day to day. [...] At this point the American people - it's like Thomas Jefferson said, a revolution every now and then is a good thing. We are at the point, Sean, of revolution.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-12356674510308853522009-03-26T19:26:00.001-04:002009-03-26T19:26:11.577-04:00

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-85446865808981681152009-03-24T22:24:00.003-04:002009-03-24T22:32:49.188-04:00

Yesterday on Rachel Maddow's show on MSNBC, NBC Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd revealed that he was soliciting questions from ordinary citizens through newsvine.com and NBC's blog FirstRead in prep for tonight's press conference. Why?Well, you know, it comes in this sense. You know, you‘ve heard about the bubble. Everybody talks about the Washington, D.C. bubble, the beltway bubble

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-258311338712225952009-03-24T17:21:00.000-04:002009-03-24T17:21:19.474-04:00

Bacon vs. Standing Rib Roast (corn-fed?) was an admittedly close matchup, but Chicken Tails over Lamb Chops??? Who paid the refs? (via Bobulate)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-11653225102041336062009-03-24T15:03:00.000-04:002009-03-24T15:03:57.946-04:00

... it's science... and you don't want to go against science and the Pope, too, do ya? (Image via Flickr)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-84802439799046709252009-03-24T14:55:00.000-04:002009-03-24T14:55:40.434-04:00

This little nugget from the WSJ: Some [financial institutions] have begun "slow-walking" the information previously sought by Treasury for stress-testing financial institutions, three bankers say, and considered seeking capital from hedge funds and private-equity funds so they could return federal bailout money, thereby escaping federal restrictions. (emphasis mine)Now, ostensibly, this "

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-2218023812074781472009-03-24T14:04:00.002-04:002009-03-24T14:06:28.810-04:00

This isn't even worthy of comment. So, I'm not gonna provide one.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-50992666600733269002009-03-24T13:55:00.001-04:002009-03-24T14:03:41.976-04:00

Chicago lawyer Thomas Geoghegan shows up on Democracy Now! to discuss his recent article in Harper's Weekly, “Infinite Debt: How Unlimited Interest Rates Destroyed the Economy,” in which he argues that usury destroyed the American economy by driving capital away from productive, wealth-creating sectors and into the maw of the financial industry.[T]his isn’t some left-wing progressive critique

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-61911856786978050872009-03-24T13:16:00.000-04:002009-03-24T13:16:11.205-04:00

A rundown on common myths about what makes for healthy food. For one, 'Kosher' != 'Healthy'... and neither does fruit juice, which "has been linked in the U.S., Australia and Spain to increased calorie intake and higher risks of diabetes and heart disease." Most grass-fed beef tastes worse than corn-fed (and has a larger carbon footprint). And white foods make a come-back: [W]hite cabbage

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-53880157590255918222009-03-24T13:04:00.001-04:002009-03-24T13:05:28.235-04:00

From the Washington Post: The Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage the broader economy, according to an administration document. The government at present has the authority to seize only

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-42753677680847387892009-03-23T15:08:00.000-04:002009-03-23T15:08:11.431-04:00

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-49147973384777042012009-03-23T13:34:00.000-04:002009-03-23T13:34:38.231-04:00

You decide. Fair warning: the trade can be sooooo tricky. So to speak... (Admittedly, this is hard difficult for the uninitiated.) (Via Details)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-26623991728176459792009-03-23T13:21:00.000-04:002009-03-23T13:21:44.851-04:00

#1 of the 25 best hip-hop videos of all time, says Format Magazine.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-18686467989582340412009-03-23T13:11:00.000-04:002009-03-23T13:11:58.746-04:00

But some executives at private equity firms and hedge funds, who were briefed on the plan Sunday afternoon, are anxious about the recent uproar over millions of dollars in bonus payments made to executives of the American International Group. Some of them have told administration officials that they would participate only if the government guaranteed that it would not set compensation limits on

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-24248414287596728702009-03-23T13:08:00.000-04:002009-03-23T13:08:24.872-04:00

[Said] Shine, the elder statesman of the group, “You have to be real careful when you mess with folks at the top, because when the war is over, you’ll need these guys real quick. Ninety-nine percent of people just doing what they’re told — you couldn’t find half a brain among all of them. But the ones with the brains — don’t let them go.” I was deeply upset by this comment. In fact, I thought

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-89613907883840262152009-03-23T12:49:00.001-04:002009-03-23T12:50:21.802-04:00

"When I hear the constant vilification of corporate America I personally don't understand it." That would be Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase. Well, could this be a reason? Embattled bank JPMorgan Chase, the recipient of $25 billion in TARP funds, is going ahead with a $138 million plan to buy two new luxury corporate jets and build "the premiere corporate aircraft hangar on the eastern

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-40066333043103562642009-03-23T12:14:00.000-04:002009-03-23T12:14:47.359-04:00

Not the trolls, but too many choices. Of course, we already knew this, didn't we? (via PsychCentral)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-56589616869729555522009-03-23T11:48:00.002-04:002009-03-23T11:48:38.352-04:00

Here.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-29536532528184554142009-03-23T11:42:00.001-04:002009-03-23T11:44:13.059-04:00

Reports Aussie news site news.com.au, There is mounting evidence to support the existence of a new syndrome afflicting heavy cannabis users, after the world's first cases were found in South Australia. The condition "cannabinoid hyperemesis" was first identified in a group of about 20 heavy drug users in the Adelaide hills in 2004, and a new case has emerged this time in the US. The syndrome

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-88042709028982477362009-03-23T11:32:00.001-04:002009-03-23T11:32:36.499-04:00

So says Virginia Hammerness, granddaughter of Bank of America founder A.P. Gianinni, to ABC News.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-49020613496878407792009-03-23T11:26:00.002-04:002009-03-23T11:26:53.178-04:00

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-88732020968137279282009-03-23T11:22:00.001-04:002009-03-23T11:23:34.316-04:00

Really, a remarkable interview. Spitzer: When AIG initially received $80 billion -- a decision that was the consequence of a very brief meeting of the president of the New York Fed, the secretary of the Treasury, perhaps Chairman Bernanke and arguably, some reports say, the chairman of Goldman Sachs -- $80 billion, virtually all of it flowed out to counterparties, $12.9 billion to Goldman Sachs.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-72473329911681626042009-03-23T11:04:00.002-04:002009-03-23T11:06:25.759-04:00

So, the President is coming under some criticism for chuckling during his interview last night on 60 Minutes. Frankly, interviewer Steve Croft chose to frame some of his questions in inanely hilarious ways, like here, STEVE KROFT: There is a perception right now, at least in New York, which is where I live and work... BARACK OBAMA: Right. STEVE KROFT: ...that, um, people feel they thought that

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-11213620266370682822009-03-23T10:35:00.001-04:002009-03-23T10:36:30.089-04:00

Of course, that taxpayers are going to basically shell out another $1 Trillion-plus to create a bubbly new Ponzi scheme to save us form the bubbly old Ponzi scheme is disheartening. Certainly, there has been much rending of shirts in certain quarters all weekend long. Others, though, have argued that it even if it doesn't feel good and populisty, the Administration's bank bailout plan will "

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-73871056590604400872009-03-20T12:25:00.006-04:002009-03-20T12:35:47.890-04:00

Parts I and II!Soooo much better than Forrest Gump in One Minute.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-55716820900203586912009-03-20T12:17:00.004-04:002009-03-20T12:21:01.389-04:00

... so he only scored an 8.7 for it.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-51354440200179792102009-03-20T11:42:00.003-04:002009-03-20T11:58:53.070-04:00

British PM Gordon Brown won't be watching those DVDs from President Obama that he was so offended to receive. The ridiculous DRM region coding system keeps Brown from watching the flicks in his region 2 DVD player.Maybe Brown will make a state visit to China next, so that he can get the bootleg versions.(via Techdirt)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-16405442156101346172009-03-20T11:36:00.002-04:002009-03-20T11:39:38.932-04:00

That's what Firedoglake reminds us of. The rationale went from presenting a small footprint to encourage private investment in these failed banks and to save taxpayer money, to lessening bailout requirements that would be too-burdensome on small local banks, on to the current rationale: we'll get sued (and it's too late, anyway).Tim Geithner needs to get his story straight. Yesterday he told

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-60838680733872411142009-03-20T10:01:00.003-04:002009-03-20T12:47:38.213-04:00

The Obamas are going to plant an organic garden at the White House grounds.I guess he pays more attention to the blogs than he lets on...(image via NYTimes)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-4247986217360189612009-03-20T09:52:00.001-04:002009-03-20T09:54:28.784-04:00

So Geithner appeared on CNN yesterday, and confirmed Senator Dodd's story that the Treasury Department pressed to have language included in the stimulus package to allow TARP money recipients to continue to hand out bonuses. Fine. We already knew that. What remain's unknown is who at Treasury was doing the pressing, specifically. Geithner says it wasn't he, but "staff." Who? Embedded video

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-77843070379234972832009-03-19T23:04:00.000-04:002009-03-19T23:04:49.979-04:00

Keith Olberman pulls a Keith Olberman on the Wall Street investment banks, on AIG, on corporate CEOs, and on the mainstream media ...including his employer, NBC. .msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;} .msnbcLinks a {text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-61908349404316194732009-03-19T22:18:00.003-04:002009-03-19T22:28:30.133-04:00

Andrew Sullivan shares a readers' email. I just read the actual AIG FP bonus contract, which was posted on the NY Times website. Two things jumped out at me. One is that it's not a "bonus" contract at all. It's an "Employee Retention Plan." In other words, it's not meant to be structured as a reward for performance. It's more like just another part of the employee's salary package. To me it's a

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-90907199821181652322009-03-19T20:58:00.003-04:002009-03-19T21:13:22.876-04:00

NY AG Andrew Cuomo has the list of AIG employees who got those bonuses.Will he release the names? Should he?Discuss!

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-11568202284773447252009-03-19T20:38:00.001-04:002009-03-19T20:40:04.961-04:00

AIG offers its employees some security tips for avoiding the pitchfork-wielding mob.(Leaked memo via Gawker)

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-58762455802219754312009-03-19T19:58:00.007-04:002009-03-19T20:15:32.938-04:00

Microsoft imagines the world in 2019:Cool. On the other hand, "where's my jetpack?" YMMV, I suspect, on the future forecasting.(Adorably, Microsoft seems to imagine that we'll still be in airplanes in 2019... that's sweet. And the company appears blissfully unaware of that inconvenient-for-future-forecasting date. Awwa.)((Wait...there are surprising few people in the video... a strangely

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-23707503280216291452009-03-19T18:30:00.003-04:002009-03-19T18:31:26.980-04:00

Your looking at it.From the JD Power annual Vehicle Dependability Survey, 2009's five most dependable automotive brands:#1 Jaguar (a Ford) - tied#1 Buick (a GM) - tied#2 Lexus (a Toyota)#3 Toyota#4 Mercury (another Ford)Surprised? The Detroit automakers do a piss-poor job of telling their own story, don't they?

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-47343048541832918872009-03-19T17:37:00.003-04:002009-03-19T22:30:17.497-04:00

Reports MSNBC:At least 13 firms receiving billions of dollars in bailout money owe a total of more than $220 million in unpaid federal taxes....[...]Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., chairman of a House subcommittee overseeing the federal bailout, said two firms owe more than $100 million apiece.It gets better (or worse, depending on your POV), after the jump.Banks and other firms receiving federal money

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681365722519101703.post-40425671189795993232009-03-19T17:26:00.000-04:002009-03-19T17:26:00.749-04:00

The national debt today. Just sayin'.

DaCheckrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840814819401676281noreply@blogger.com0