Syracuse beats Connecticut in 6 OT's to advance
in the Big East

post from Crooks and Liars on 13 March 2009 05:00:17 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Wow, what a college basketball game. #20 Syracuse upsets #4 UConn in six overtimes to win 127-117 and advance in the Big East tournament. March Madness is about to begin. A shot that could have ended the game was ruled no good at the buzzer in regulation. That was a wild play and to the naked eye was good.

After a Syracuse timeout, Harris ran the baseline and threw an inbounds pass past midcourt that was deflected by Connecticut's Gavin Edwards right into the hands of Devendorf, who let a shot go from about 28 feet just as the red lights around the backboard went off.It went in, and Devendorf jumped up on the courtside press table, pounding his chest and screaming as his teammates reached up and pulled him down to the court.
The play was reviewed as are all shots near the end of halves, and veteran officials John Cahill and Bob Donato watched replay after replay, finally stepping back and ruling the shot was late, sending the game into the first of the six 5-minute overtimes.

I'm a St. Johns and a UCLA fan as you know, but this was a riveting game. I think I'm going to set up a C&L March Madness Tournament when the teams are announced Sunday. I'm working on a few prizes to give away to the top three winners. I challenged the NRO to a duel, but so far they haven't said yes or no.

Read The Full Article:
http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/syracuse-beats-connecticut-6-ots-advanc

Digg this

Where The Rubber Meets The Road (3/13/09)

post from The Liberal Doomsayer on 13 March 2009 04:57:00 PM. © The Liberal Doomsayer

As reported in last Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer, here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes last week (not a lot happening...and I also posted over here).

House

Bankruptcy, mortgages. Voting 234-191, the House passed a bill (HR 1106) empowering bankruptcy courts to lower the principal on mortgages on main residences after borrowers have exhausted other refinancing options. The bill, which applies to Chapter 13 proceedings, would permanently raise to $250,000 per depositor per institution the level of government insurance on checking, savings, and money market accounts and certificates of deposit. That level of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protection is now in effect temporarily.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Voting yes: John Adler (D., N.J.), Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), and Joe Sestak (D., Pa.).

Voting no: Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

As far as I?m concerned (echoing the opinion of those smarter in economics than yours truly), a big part of the reason for our current mess, in addition to the inflation of the housing bubble, helped in no small part by this guy who I featured on Wednesday (Greenspan advocated home buyers taking out adjustable rate mortgages, not realizing ? or not caring about ? what would happen when the rates started ticking upwards)?well, another reason is the fraud Bankruptcy Bill of 2005, which make it more onerous for us to escape credit card debt, forcing us to skimp on mortgage payments or get over-leveraged borrowing against our equity.

So I went back to find out which members of Congress from our area voted for the bill, and here they are (noted here):

Andrews
Castle (at least he cast the right vote this time around)
Dent
Gerlach
Holden (what a joke)
LoBiondo
Pitts (of course)
Schwartz (I would say that atonement is in order)
Smith

All of these individuals bear some responsibility for the pain faced by homeowners due to their votes in favor of that awful bill (with Castle and the Dems at least realizing their mistake).

Wait, I spoke too soon ? not all Dems realized their mistake.

Is there anyone out there who can give me a reason why this guy continues to take up space in the Democratic Party?

God, I?d love to see somebody ?primary? Tim Holden next year. If so, I promise to provide whatever there is at my disposal to assist this person.

Senate

Earmarks dispute. Voting 32-63, the Senate defeated an amendment to strip an estimated 8,570 earmarks totaling as much as $7.7 billion from a $410 billion appropriations bill (HR 1105) for the current fiscal year that remained in debate. The earmarks have originated in both chambers and are split about 60-40 between Democratic and Republican sponsorship. The amendment also sought to reduce the overall bill by $32 billion so as to freeze it at 2008 levels.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting no: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Ted Kaufman (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), Robert Menendez (D., N.J.), and Arlen Specter (R., Pa.).

Endangered species. Voting 42-52, the Senate defeated an amendment to HR 1105 (above) that sought to retain certain Bush administration changes in the Endangered Species Act. One change would lessen the weight of climate-change science in protecting polar bears, and the other would deny the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine and Fisheries Service a voice in certain decisions. The underlying bill would immediately repeal the changes, which took effect a month before President George W. Bush left office.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting yes: Specter.

Voting no: Carper, Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, and Menendez.

As always, screw you Arlen (and by the way, stay out of our party).

U.N. population fund. The Senate rejected, 39-55, an amendment to withhold U.S. contributions to the U.N. Population Fund unless President Obama certifies that none of the money would reach countries or groups that coerce abortions or require involuntary sterilizations. Opponents said the amendment to HR 1105 (above) only duplicates existing law and harms programs that benefit women and girls in poor countries, including ones concerning genital mutilation and childhood marriage.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting yes: Casey.

Voting no: Carper, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.

Still waiting to hear from Bob about his awful pro-gun vote last week, by the way (and this doesn't exactly enhance his rep either).

This week, the House may have taken up voting rights in Congress for the District of Columbia, and the Senate resumed debate on a $410 billion budget bill for fiscal 2009.

Read The Full Article:
http://liberaldoomsayer.blogspot.com/2009/03/where-rubber-meets-road-31309.html

Digg this

ETHANOL FOR THE MASSES.

post from Ezra Klein on 13 March 2009 04:51:00 PM. © Ezra Klein

Tom Vilsack has done a lot of encouraging things as Secretary of Agriculture. But the original concerns were that the former Governor of Iowa would remain overly enamored of all things corn. According to Tom Laskawy, that's exactly what's happening, as[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=03&year=2009&base_name
=ethanol_for_the_masses

Digg this

Stop 'vilifying' executives, JPMorgan's crybaby
CEO pleads

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 13 March 2009 04:48:22 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Up front disclaimer, I am suing WaMu and their successor, JPMorgan. You can read the saga here and here. While my battle with them doesn't change the facts here, it does serve to explain my rage."When I hear the constant vilification of corporate[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Docudharma/~3/znxxUmIwlSc/showDiary.do

Digg this

Iraq Papers Sat: Reconciliation Conference

post from IraqSlogger.com on 13 March 2009 04:44:11 PM. © IraqSlogger.com

Leaks, rumors and contradicting claims abound regarding Maliki's new policy of "selective rapprochement" with the Ba'thi opposition (both in exile and inside Iraq.) A new "reconciliation conference" - to be held in Baghdad - was announced by the government where Maliki will attempt to group the largest number of opposition factions, Ba'this and ex-Army officers to prove that his government is on its path to transforming the opponents of the regime into legitimate, democratic, political forces that operate within the bounds of the "political process." Az-Zaman said that the conference is expected to be held in mid-April, quoting sources in the Prime Minister's office to the effect that "a number of Maliki's advisers have met with a number of representatives of high-ranking Ba'this from the wings of 'Izzat al-Duri and Muhammad Yunis al-Ahmad ...

Read The Full Article:
http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/7331

Digg this

Gibbs on Stewart’s interview: “I
enjoyed it thoroughly”

post from Daily Kos on 13 March 2009 04:40:04 PM. © Daily Kos

Sounds like the White House enjoyed Jon Stewart's demolition of Jim Cramer and CNBC. From today's press briefing:

Transcript:

QUESTION: Thank you, Robert. This is a serious question, but it’s an easier one. I don’t know if you or the President saw the Jon Stewart piece last night, or the Cramer, but it was serious journalism. Does the White House believe that this is the obligation of journalists to call out lies and warn the public of dangers ahead?

GIBBS: The President and I talked earlier in the day yesterday about watching it. I forgot to e-mail to remind him it was on, so I don’t know if he’s seen it. I enjoyed it thoroughly, despite even as Mr. Stewart said, that it may have been uncomfortable to conduct and uncomfortable to watch. I thought it was — I thought somebody asked a lot of tough questions. I am not surprised that the video of Mr. Cramer’s appearance doesn’t appear on CNBC’s website today.

Note: You can view the full episode of Jim Cramer on The Daily Show at DKTV, plus the uncensored and unedited interview.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/Ml4fjs_PADI/708159

Digg this

LARRY SUMMERS TAKES YOUR QUESTIONS. WELL, NOT
YOURS. BUT OTHER PEOPLE'S.

post from Ezra Klein on 13 March 2009 04:36:00 PM. © Ezra Klein

Today's been a Larry Summers-heavy day on the blog, but then, it's been a Larry Summers-heavy day in Washington, too. David Leonhardt reports from Summers' Q&A at Brookings, and a few points jumped out. One is that Summers says "his No. 1 aim had been to[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=03&year=2009&base_name
=larry_summers_takes_your_quest

Digg this

Why was Citis Deborah Weinswig the Only Analyst
to Downgrade Walmart on Employee Free Choice

Citigroup analyst Deborah Weinswig was euphoric on February 19 about the future of WalMart stock, appearing on CNBC to say that it was the perfect stock for the economy right now. And indeed, she may be right. Sales for all stores open a year doubled[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/13/why-was-citis-deborah-weinswig-the-only-analyst
-to-downgrade-walmart-on-employee-free-choice/

Digg this

Just Go To Russia Already

Memo to all you right-wingers talking about "Going Galt" by quitting your jobs and leaving the[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OpenLeft-FrontPage/~3/-CiGbZcy8dw/showDiary.do

Digg this

Texas Rejects $555 Million in Benefits for
Unemployed

If Texas would change the way it calculates when a person is eligible for unemployment insurance,[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2009/03/makes_perfect_sense_to_me.html

Digg this