Monday Stuff

post from The Liberal Doomsayer on 07 June 2010 11:58:00 PM. © The Liberal Doomsayer

But OF COURSE the Gulf ?spill? (and I still think calling it merely a ?spill? at this point is waay too benign) is the fault of THE MEDIA, and not BP, or the Bushco MMS, or Halliburton, or even Obama, according to Fix Noise (here)?

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?and tomorrow is the day to give Blanche the boot, people (more here)?

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??Worst Persons? (A typical gaggle of Fix Noise yakking heads tries to ridicule Obama for supposedly blowing off ?D-Day? commemoration ceremonies, even though he observed them on the 65th anniversary last year; Glenn Beck gets the ?silver? for praising a book outing Communists ? regressing further and further, I see...I?m sure he?ll be channeling Westbrook Pegler any day now ? written by a Hitler-supporting anti-Semite; but State Sen. Jake Knotts of SC gets it for ?digging that hole? some more on the whole Obama/Nikki Haley ?raghead? thing?don?t know what was up with that weird bit of film between Knotts and Beck)?

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

...and happy 70th birthday to this guy (yep, when it comes to Repug wingnuttia, "It's Not Unusual" all right).

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Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (r): it sounded
better in the original Hebrew

post from They gave us a republic... - Front Page on 07 June 2010 11:43:54 PM. © They gave us a republic... - Front Page

Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder (r) via Twitter:

... Anti-Semites does quite simply NOTHING 2 refute the astonishing explosion of lefty Jew hatred. Conservatives stoutly defend Israel, Jews about 6 hours ago via UberTwitter

"Lefty Jew hatred"? Oi vay.

@Patricialicious THE big trend of last decade: explosion of anti-semitism from the Left and left-wing academics. Evangelicals defend Israel about 13 hours ago via UberTwitter in reply to Patricialicious

#HelenThomas despicable, hate-filled outburst illustrates an important point: great prevalence of virulent anti-Semitism from the Left #pdk 7:53 PM Jun 6th via UberTwitter

All that "lefty Jew hatred" over the last decade obviously explains why John McCain and Sarah Palin did so well with the Jewish vote in 2008, right?

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
A Look at Religious Voters in the 2008 Election
February 10, 2009
....And if you look at the exit polls, Obama got 78% of Jewish voters -- that's actually slightly better than Kerry did and it's about where Gore and Clinton were....

Never mind.

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Polling and Political Wrap-Up, 6/7/10

post from Daily Kos on 07 June 2010 11:40:05 PM. © Daily Kos

With the avalanche of ballot box fun headed your way tomorrow (which, of course, Daily Kos will be all over come Tuesday evening), it perhaps should be no surprise that the Monday evening edition of the Wrap is a monument to enormity. This is especially true given the dearth of a weekend edition.

With that in mind, let's jump right into the deep end to kick off a big week of political hijinks and tomfoolery...

THE U.S. SENATE

CA-Sen: Late poll shows Fiorina pulling away
Magellan Research is one of a handful of pollsters who take one final look at California before the primary elections tomorrow. All of them have had Fiorina pulling away, but Magellan takes that premise to an entirely new level (PDF). Magellan has Fiorina north of 50% (54%), with both Tom Campbell and Chuck DeVore in the teens.

In other polling news, SurveyUSA looks at both the competitive Democratic primary for Lt. Governor (they have San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom out front), as well as final polling on all five ballot initiatives.

IL-Sen: Veterans group demands Kirk apology
Just when it seemed like the Kirk military embellishment story might die down a little bit, a new flare-up emerges. This time it comes from a group of a half-dozen veterans this afternoon who took their case to the press. They are calling on Kirk to make a formal apology for embellishing his military credentials on several occasions.

WA-Sen: Rossi consolidates support in Senate bid; polls are close
Less than two weeks into his bid for the U.S. Senate, two-time failed candidate for Governor and former state legislator Dino Rossi has found himself in a considerably happier place than he might have been on announcement day. One of the leading candidates already in the field, Don Benton, dropped out of the race late last week and offered his support. This was somewhat of a shock, because Benton had seemed the most steamed about Rossi's protracted flirtation with the race. Sean Salazar, arguably a more minor player in the field, also left the race, pledging support to Rossi, as well. This leaves the Palin-endorsed Clint Didier as the primary obstacle to Rossi's coronation. Rossi will have some ammo to go after the former NFL baller, however, as he announced at the end of last week that he had already raised more than $600K for his bid in approximately a week (although those were likely already-set pledges and other low-hanging fruit).

There was a poll released on this race today as well...kinda. The University of Washington updated their weeks-old poll again, and among the very small universe of people in their updated sample, Rossi had a small edge. However, among the entire sample, Murray continued to lead. Among likely voters, the lead widened further. Of course, what did most of the media go with? "Rossi Leads!"

THE U.S. HOUSE

SC-04: PPP poll hints at fresh teabagging in Palmetto State
Bob Inglis, at some point, must have said something nice to a Democrat or something, because a new poll from PPP has the incumbent Republican in deep trouble against Trey Gowdy (37-33). Inglis can't even rely on a split field, because South Carolina employs a runoff (like most Southern states). Even if he survives tomorrow, the runoff later this month looks like tough sledding for the longtime incumbent.

UT-02: BP becomes a campaign issue in sleeper Democratic primary
It was only a matter of time before the Deepwater Horizon incident became fodder for the campaign trail. Interestingly, one of the first uses of it in a political context is happening hundreds of miles from the site. Democrat Claudia Wright, who managed to earn a primary election against longtime Dem incumbent Jim Matheson via convention several weeks ago, is arguing that Matheson is not doing enough from his post on the Energy and Commerce Committee because he is beholden to the oil industry. Matheson vehemently denied the charge, arguing that several committee hearings have focused on the event, and that he now supports a moratorium on deepwater drilling (a change in position for the Congressman).

THE GUBERNATORIAL RACES

CA-Gov: Whitman pulling away according to two pollsters
New numbers from both SurveyUSA and Magellan (PDF) march in lockstep on the common theme that Steve Poizner is about to get pounded tomorrow. They only differ slightly on the details--Magellan has eBay honcho Meg Whitman leading 64-22, while SurveyUSA has it at the (slightly) more competitive margin of 59-30

MI-Gov: Schwarz reconsiders Indie bid, will not be a 2010 candidate
Former moderate Congressman Joe Schwarz, who was teabagged before teabagging was cool (he was 86'ed in a primary by Tim Walberg four years ago), has decided to remain on the sidelines for the 2010 electoral cycle, forgoing a possible run for Governor. Schwarz had not seemed real likely to make the bid, he is already in his early 70s and was going to have a very limited window to fundraise. Indeed, most pollsters did not even factor him in when polling the gubernatorial race in Michigan. Schwarz cited financial difficulties in declining to make the bid.

SC-Gov: From bizarre to...bizarre-er...in final days
Well, this is a fitting end to one of the most absurd primaries in recent memory. Amid weekend polling that showed Nikki Haley still holding a twenty point post-scandal lead, one of her primary challengers decided to go with a whale of a denial for leaking the story. He released results of a polygraph which he claims exonerates him.

TX-Gov: White goes after Perry for the deadly sin of sloth
It will be awfully interesting to see if, in these more trying times, a charge of this nature will stick a little bit better. Democratic nominee Bill White is blasting the incumbent, Republican Rick Perry, for having no work-related business on fully one-third of the business days in this calendar year. White made this determination after making a records request for Perry's official work calendar.

THE RAS-A-POLL-OOZA

Just Ras being Ras...and, exactly as Markos has noted/predicted, we get no primary polling or runoff polling for tomorrow. But we do now that Republicans are going to win just about everything in November. Thanks Ras!

AL-Sen: Sen. Richard Shelby (R) 58%, William Barnes (D) 31%
IN-Sen: Daniel Coats (R) 47%, Brad Ellsworth (D) 33%
NM-Gov: Susana Martinez (R) 44%, Diane Denish (D) 42%
OH-Gov: John Kasich (R) 47%, Gov. Ted Strickland (D) 42%
OH-Sen: Rob Portman (R) 43%, Lee Fisher (D) 43%
PA-Gov: Tom Corbett (R) 49%, Dan Onorato (D) 33%
PA-Sen: Patrick Toomey (R) 45%, Joe Sestak (D) 38%

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/Ny1YEfbO4q0/-Polling-and-Political
-Wrap-Up,-6-7-10

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Open Thread

post from Crooks and Liars on 07 June 2010 11:30:04 PM. © Crooks and Liars

emobama two_f3977_0.jpg

The whole Emo-bama thing started with Balloon Juice, and I decided it wasn't enough to just add Rahm Emo-nuel. To paraphrase Stephen Colbert, it's not that they don't feel your pain, dude, it's that they can't feel anything else. :)

Click here for larger image. Open thread below...

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http://crooksandliars.com/bluegal/open-thread-417

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Closing the hedge fund loophole

post from Daily Kos on 07 June 2010 11:02:05 PM. © Daily Kos

The tax extenders bill currently being cobbled together in the Senate (the House passed its bill already) would provide some much needed tax break extenders for job creation along with benefits and health care subsidies for the unemployed. This is potentially the last chance this session that Congress has a chance to do much in the way of job creation. This bill doesn't do a lot for jobs, but what it does is critical.

And to do it, it's going to take revenue--revenue in the form of closing a tax loophole for money managers, one that allows their income from money management to not actually be taxed as income, but as "carried interest" as though it were investment income rather than salary or wages. What does the resulting loss of revenue from that loophole look like? This:

(Click on image for larger version, and an action page where you can tell your Senator to close this loophole.)

There's been opposition in the Dem caucus in the Senate to closing this loophole. Senators Kerry and Cantwell initially opposed this provision, but they've been awfully quiet about it since their opposition was widely publicized. Financial services lobbyists are really opposed spreading the fiction that closing this loophole--get this--will hurt cancer patients.

Closing this tax loophole is critical not only to get those unemployment benefits and COBRA subsidies renewed, but to start in on the long process of correcting the vast gulf of income inequality in our country.

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C&L's Late Night Music Club With Ronnie Lane And
Slim Chance

post from Crooks and Liars on 07 June 2010 11:00:26 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Title: Done This One BeforeArtist: Ronnie Lane And Slim Chance
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Ronnie Lane was best known as the bassist for the Small Faces and Faces, but he was also a magnificent solo artist in his own right. Although his work with Slim Chance charted two semi-hits, Lane never achieved the commercial success that many thought he deserved. Nevertheless, Lane was highly regarded, both as a person and musician, amongst those he crossed paths with. I once spent a drunken night in Birmingham, England with Faces' keyboardist Ian McLagan and Billy Bragg, where every drink was lifted in Lane's honor, and he was fondly remembered in story after story. Enjoy this song from one of my heroes and raise a glass if you feel so inclined.

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http://lnmc.crooksandliars.com/jared-shade-reynolds/cls-late-night-music-club-ron

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Late Night: Because California Isnt Already Up
the Creek and Other Tales of Teh Crazy

post from Firedoglake on 07 June 2010 11:00:22 PM. © Firedoglake

It's certainly been a week of whack in the land of Conservatardia, and it's only Monday. Yeesh.[...]

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he-creek-and-other-tales-of-teh-crazy/

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BP Has Solved Our Oil Problem 20100607

BP has reported today yesterday (-Sunday- Monday) that they collected 6100 10,000 barrels of oil in the past 24 hours. This is stupendous! (Note: the volume changes. It was over 10,000 in 24 hours now, but that just reinforces my[...]

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Arctic ice cap now smallest in at least a few
thousand years

The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has awakened many to the necessity of ending our addiction to fossil fuels. In the traditional media, the even more dangerous crisis caused by that addiction continues to be largely ignored. This report, in ScienceDaily, is a little reminder:

Less ice covers the Arctic today than at any time in recent geologic history. That's the conclusion of an international group of researchers, who have compiled the first comprehensive history of Arctic ice.

How drastic is it?

"The ice loss that we see today -- the ice loss that started in the early 20th Century and sped up during the last 30 years -- appears to be unmatched over at least the last few thousand years," said Leonid Polyak, a research scientist at Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University. Polyak is lead author of the paper and a preceding report that he and his coauthors prepared for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program.

At least the last few thousand years. As in all recorded history. And lest anyone wonder about or doubt the cause, the abstract of the study itself makes it clear:

The last low-ice event related to orbital forcing (high insolation) was in the early Holocene, after which the northern high latitudes cooled overall, with some superimposed shorter-term (multidecadal to millennial-scale) and lower-magnitude variability. The current reduction in Arctic ice cover started in the late 19th century, consistent with the rapidly warming climate, and became very pronounced over the last three decades. This ice loss appears to be unmatched over at least the last few thousand years and unexplainable by any of the known natural variabilities.

As diaried by FishOutofWater, the ice volume of the Arctic Sea has collapsed over the last few months. In other words, the unmatched reduction in Arctic ice revealed by this new study seems to be accelerating. Rapidly.

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/J4v8L7GVFFY/-Arctic-ice-cap-now-sm
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Republican edge with independents shrinking

Tom Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling, has good news and bad news for Democrats:The party's candidates are still losing [independent voters] in almost every important [U.S. Senate] contest- but it's not by nearly the margins that led to losses in[...]

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