Walker Isolated

post from MyDD on 22 February 2011 11:49:30 PM. © MyDD

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), today:I'm not sending the state police after anybody. I'm not gonna divert a single trooper from their job of protection the Indiana public. I trust that people's consciences will bring them back to work. ... For[...]

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Kansas City Primary Wrapup: Our long municipal
nightmare is over

post from They gave us a republic... - Front Page on 22 February 2011 11:43:55 PM. © They gave us a republic... - Front Page

The man who made himself a national laughing stock will be vacating the 29th floor of City Hall in May when either Sly James or Sly James or Mike Burke is sworn in as the next mayor of our fair city. The controversy-and-scandals plagued Mark Funkhouser becomes the first Mayor of Kansas City to be denied a second term since the voters decided Frank Cromwell didn't deserve one...in 1924.

The General election is March 22nd, and to be eligible to vote you have to be registered by March 9, or if you have moved have your registration updated by then. You can register or update your registration in person at the KC Election Board, recently relocated to Union Station, or at any branch of the Kansas City public library.

If you live in Kansas City and want to review the returns for city council races, you can find them here.

One last thing before I go sleep the sleep of the weary and the just -- Alvin, I can now accept your forgiveness. But damnit -- Tony was right and I was wrong. Do you have any idea how hard that is even get my head around, let alone accept?

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Open thread for night owls: Elizabeth Warren and
the enemies of the CFPB

post from Daily Kos on 22 February 2011 11:30:02 PM. © Daily Kos

At The Nation, Katrina vanden Heuvel writes, Elizabeth Warren's battle:

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)?the people?s agency and cop on the beat to protect consumers?is now a reality. Its website is live, you can sign-up for updates, and check out a sleek Arrested Development-style video narrated by Ron Howard that explains the bureau?s mission.
?David beat Goliath, but make no mistake: Goliath is not down for the count. Families can and should be proud of their new watchdog, but they would be wrong if they take its future security and independence for granted,? said Warren. ?Many of those who have opposed the CFPB are still trying to chip away at its independence by subjecting it entirely to Congressional appropriations without any dedicated funding from the Federal Reserve.?
Indeed Texas Republican Representative Randy Neugebauer has introduced legislation to house the CFPB in Treasury so that Congress can control its funding through Appropriations. That would be a disaster, potentially immobilizing the bureau.
?Politicizing the funding of bank supervision would be a dangerous precedent, and it would deprive the CFPB of the predictable funding it will need to examine large and powerful banks consistently and to provide a level playing field with their non-bank competitors,? said Warren.
This week, Warren and the CFPB will host a summit examining the impact of credit card legislation passed by Congress one year ago to cleanup the industry. Participants will include academics, industry leaders, consumer advocates, and government officials.
This kind of work is at the heart of the CFPB mission, as described by Warren: ?We can do our part to help level the playing field, to cut out the tricks and traps, to make it possible to master a credit card contract or a mortgage closing without needing an army of lawyers.?

? ? ? ? ?

Marwan Bishara, senior policy analyst at Al Jazeera, writes Gaddafi's threats were no different from those of any foreign occupier.

conchita writes ACTION: Help Prevent Another Massacre.

lotlizard writes Eyes on Egypt & Region Liveblog #122 - Libya

? ? ? ? ?

At Daily Kos on this date in 2008:

Another day, another story of GOP corruption. In this case, the offender is embattled Arizona Republican Rick Renzi, now indicted:
Republican Rep. Rick Renzi has been indicted for extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other charges related to a land deal in Arizona.
A 26-page federal indictment unsealed in Arizona accuses Renzi and two former business partners of conspiring to promote the sale of land that buyers could swap for property owned by the federal government. The sale netted one of Renzi's former partners $4.5 million.
Extortion, fraud, money laundering. That's quite a list, Congressman. Sure you didn't miss one?

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-owls:-Elizabeth-Warren-and-the-enemies-of-the-CFPB

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If You Want A Better World, You Are Going To Have
To Speak Up

post from Texas Liberal on 22 February 2011 11:23:37 PM. © Texas Liberal

If you want a better world, you are going to have to speak up. You are going to have to step up to the podium. I can go on posting here about any number of outrages. And to some extent, that is what I will keep doing at this blog. But in the end it [...]

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These Folks Were Going To Have A Good Day At The
Beach No Matter What

post from Texas Liberal on 22 February 2011 11:09:45 PM. © Texas Liberal

Here are some folks in Galveston a few months ago who were going to have a good day at the beach no matter what. I think these people have a pretty good attitude about life. (Photo copyright Neil Aquino 2011.)

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Late Night: Lardish Limbaugh Wrong

post from Firedoglake on 22 February 2011 11:00:13 PM. © Firedoglake

Actually, the problem is, while Rush may be used to downing ribs with that many calories, the rib--yes one rib-- enjoyed by the First Lady at Kelly Liken in Vail, Colorado with her daughters, while tasty, carried less than half that caloric load.[...]

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John Thune passes on 2012 White House bid

post from Daily Kos on 22 February 2011 11:00:04 PM. © Daily Kos

John Thune

No John Thune in 2012:

For months now, my wife Kimberley and I have received encouragement from family, friends, colleagues, and supporters from across South Dakota and the country to run for the presidency of the United States...[but] at this time, I feel that I am best positioned to fight for America?s future here in the trenches of the United States Senate.

Translation: Thune didn't think he would win. He's spent his entire career in politics, either as an aide, an appointed official, state party chairman, or candidate for office. He ran for Congress at age 35 and has probably imagined himself as President since he was a toddler. In short: I can guarantee you that if John Thune thought he would win this campaign, he would have run.

The only question is whether Thune thinks the problem would have been winning the nomination or beating President Obama. Given how how much insider enthusiasm there was for him to run, I'm betting on the latter. Each of the top three candidates -- Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee -- have serious flaws. Romney's is that he's an unprincipled hack, Palin's is that she's Palin, and Huckabee's is that he doesn't seem to be running.

Thune could have run circles around Tim Pawlenty, and he had an army of operatives just dying for him to make the bid. In fact, as of September, he'd all but announced he would be running:

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the "Daschle slayer" who beat the Senate Democratic leader in 2004, is ramping up plans for a presidential run in 2012, associates say.
Thune, 49, spoke candidly about his plans for a cover story in The Weekly Standard ? priceless exposure for an ambitious conservative. Senior Editor Stephen F. Hayes writes that Thune "is likely to run for president in 2012."
"Thune allows that he's thinking about it seriously enough that he's gamed out his 'pathway to get there,' calculated the amount of money it would take to be competitive in early primaries, and even thought about the timing of an announcement," Hayes writes in "Dakota Dreaming: The Presidential Ambitions of John Thune."

Since that time, it's not like the GOP field has gotten any stronger. Romney hasn't gone anywhere except down, Huckabee is showing less interest than Mario Cuomo, and every time Sarah Palin opens her mouth, she turns off yet another swath of America. So if Thune wanted the nomination, it's there for the taking.

But while the GOP field has gotten weaker, President Obama has gotten stronger. In December and January he proved his political mettle, and despite the midterm results he's bounce backed in a big way. I'm not saying President Obama is a lock for reelection. If Republican spending cuts lead to a double dip recession, he might pay the political price. But at least based on his decision today, it seems clear John Thune wasn't willing to take a bet on that happening.

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C&L's Late Night Music Club with the Jimi Hendrix
Experience

Genre: Rock and RollTitle: Wild ThingArtist: Jimi Hendrix Experience

From the Jimi Hendrix Experience's American debut at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival: If anything more electrifying in the world of music has ever been captured on film or video, I'd like to see it.

Jimi Hendrix: Live at Monterey

Price: $9.46 (As of 02/22/11 12:11 pm details)

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Monday Stuff

Sometimes it really is that simple...

...and the latest issue of Rolling Stone features another great report by Matt Taibbi, this time on how the banksters escaped jail, and it also features a story on a recording, the band's first in 24 years, by the surviving members of The Cars, minus Ben Orr, who passed away in 2000 - when I think of the group, this is one of the 3-4 songs that comes immediately to mind.

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http://liberaldoomsayer.blogspot.com/2011/02/monday-stuff_22.html