Which Way Morocco

post from DownWithTyranny! on 23 June 2011 09:00:53 AM. © DownWithTyranny!

The Makhzen, foot soldiers of the Moroccan royal Mafia, will do anything to prevent democracy.
There's only one way for society to deal with the entitled families that style themselves "royal" and behave as though they are entitled to the wealth of their nations. The English Parliament got it exactly right in 1649 when they had Charles I , who insisted he was ordained by God, beheaded. In 1793 the French people did the same thing to the so-called "royal family," and the Russians finally blotted out the despicable Romanov parasites in 1917.
There are still kings in various parts of the world, still stealing the collective wealth of the countries they claim to "own." One of the slickest, greediest and most Mafia-like is the so-called "king" of Morocco, Mohammed VI, who I lived next to last Christmas in Marrakech... and wrote a bit about at the time.

With the Arab Spring awakening the masses across the Arab world and sweeping away tyrants, it was always only a matter of time before Morocco would start catching up with the likes of Tunisia and Egypt... and hopefully not Bahrain and Syria, where hereditary families like Morocco's would rather kill their own people than give up their ability to milk their countries. Last week Mohammed tried offering some superficial "reforms" without giving up any of his ability to plunder the national wealth as his family has been doing for generations. Many in Morocco say it won't work this time, and they want the king and his cronies to loosen their iron grip on the nation. Advised by allies in the West, Mohammed's regime is trying to foment the credible threat of a civil war to keep himself in power.

For four months now, activists have campaigned for the king to transfer powers to elected representatives and reign only as a symbolic head.

In Friday's speech, he announced the constitutional reforms he had promised in March after the first bout of protests.

The most significant proposed change is the boost in the executive powers of the prime minister and the parliament. For instance, the prime minister would appoint and remove ministers as well as dissolve the lower house of parliament in consultation with the king.

The king, however, is not divorced from executive power. The king would choose the prime minister from the party that wins the elections and he could also dissolve the parliament in consultations with the prime minister and members of the new constitutional court, half of whom he would appoint.

The continued presence of the king in the executive branch ignores the key protester demand of separation of powers. He also remains the military and religious head of the country.

While the king is offering a constitutional monarchy, the demand is for a parliamentary monarchy like the United Kingdom. For the activists, the king?s reforms are piecemeal and if they compromise now then the momentum they have generated for comprehensive change will be lost.

They also suspect that the king is trying to rush a referendum on proposed reforms-- he set the vote for July 1-- before mass resistance can be mobilized.

The pro-democracy movement ? called February 20 (after the first day of widespread protests in Morocco) ? is made up of the web-savvy youth, left-leaning parties, and Islamists.

Peaceful rallies have attracted tens of thousands of people. A few of these demonstrations have been violently dispersed by government forces but not as brutally as protests in much of the Arab world.

Conservatives hope the king's slick, superficial performance Friday will derail the Feb. 20 Movement. But Sunday thousands of Moroccans took to the streets to protest the phony reforms. They recognize that the network of corrupt privilege around the regime has to go if Morocco is ever going to prosper and join the modern world. Americans and Europeans have downplayed the Moroccans' thirst for the end of tyranny and want desperately to see the country as a happy little kingdom just south of Spain where they can go for slightly exotic, inexpensive holidays.
Since I first went there in 1969, I've been to Morocco over a dozen times. Although the royals have made sure illiteracy would remain high-- conservatives always know education is their mortal enemy, whether we're talking about "royal" families, the Taliban or the American GOP and plutocracy-- there is no Arab country I've ever visited better-prepared to take its place in the 21st century. Last week Nick Kristof opined that "Perhaps no Arab ruler responded as wisely to this year?s pro-democracy protests as the king of Morocco-- although that is an exceptionally low bar." He's right-- the bar is exceptionally low... and the P.R. campaign aimed at journalists like Kristof is the best that money can buy.

When other dictators in the Arab world answered protesters with gunfire, King Mohammed VI grudgingly accepted demonstrations, at least when he was in a good mood. His regime claimed that antigovernment activism underscored the country?s openness, and on Friday the king announced constitutional reforms that seem likely to reduce his own role in governing the country.

...It?s troubling that even as the king has been talking about reform, he has engaged in a violent crackdown on peaceful protesters in the last few months. One demonstrator died, apparently from his injuries. But the repression was just harsh enough to inflame protesters, not terrifying enough to scare them into staying home.

?Everybody gets hit,? Aymane Aoudi, a 20-year-old college student and activist, told me. ?They even hit women and children.?

Another student, Imad Iddine Habib, proudly told me that he had been arrested three times this spring, and beaten two of those times. But the beatings become badges of honor among young people-- more of an inducement to protest than a deterrent.

The king perhaps realized that he was digging himself deeper, because this month the regime has mostly refrained from beatings. The government now seems at a turning point.

The king can follow Bahrain?s example and use extreme violence to crush protesters. Or he can grit his teeth and put up with them-- but then he will have to endure more criticism and accept more compromises.

If he does embark on wider democratic reform, he could make Morocco-- already a pretty remarkable and wonderful country, where the semi-banned Islamist movement is so mellow that it has a female spokesman who advocates for women?s rights-- even more of a trailblazer. Morocco would show Middle Eastern rulers that they can respond to popular pressure with ballots rather than bullets.

In my conversations with protesters here, I keep noting how much better off they are than those in Syria or Yemen. But they don?t care about that: they keep noting how repressed they are compared with Americans or Europeans.

Read The Full Article:
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2011/06/which-way-morocco.html

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With ‘The Muppets,’ Jason Segel Turns
Back to Childhood

post from ThinkProgress on 23 June 2011 09:00:04 AM. © ThinkProgress

The trailer for the new Muppets movie looks uniformly charming, and I’m glad to see that Miss Piggy’s still a bit of a brawler:

But really, I think my most powerful interest in this, and in Jonah Hill’s 21 Jump Street reboot, is how nostalgia is functioning here. Jason Segel and Hill have been key, if not the single most important participants, in the creation of the movies that have defined the post-college years of my generation. Now that they have power, they’re continuing to make those kinds of movies, but they’re also rebooting and reconfiguring the cultural artifacts of their own childhoods.

Maybe that’s what happens when culture suddenly shifts and admits folks who are not conventional marquee idols to the ranks of reliable box-office draws. Maybe one of you, in this case Seth Rogen, goes out and stars in a superhero movie. But mostly, you fulfill all the fantasies you had when you were a kid, because who knows how long the moment will last. I think Segel might have the best chance of sticking around as a writer if not as an actor. Forgetting Sarah Marshall doesn’t have the critical cred of Knocked Up, but the scene where Kristen Bell explains why she left Segel’s character may be the best depiction of a woman in the Frat Pack’s ouvre, and I’ll be curious to see what his script for The Five-Year Engagement looks like.

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2011/06/23/251440/with-the-muppets-jason-segel-tu
rns-back-to-childhood/

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The Morning Pride: June 23, 2011

post from ThinkProgress on 23 June 2011 09:00:04 AM. © ThinkProgress

Welcome to The Morning Pride, ThinkProgress LGBT?s 8:45 AM round-up of the latest in LGBT policy, politics, and some culture too! Here?s what we?re reading this morning, but let us know what you?re checking out too.

- Let’s try this again… Today is the day! The Twitter rumor mill has accentuated the anticipation as we await the conclusion of the marriage equality fight in New York. (Of course, if it does not pass, the fight presses on for another year!) Debate continues in closed sessions about religious exemptions as other issues (like a property tax cap and rent control) also demand attention. Even Sen. Greg Ball (R), who has opposed the bill, is calling for an up-or-down vote. Carlos Maza at Equality Matters debunks the fear-mongering coming from “legal experts” and Paul Schindler of Gay City News offers an eloquent analysis this morning on the anxiety and weariness of the long fight.

- President Obama is on his way to New York tonight for a an LGBT fundraising event, a $1,250-per-plate ”Gala with the Gay Community.” Many are wondering if he will chime in on the marriage fight (and if it will be in time to help New York). A coalition of direct action groups will demonstrate outside the event “for Full LGBT Equality.”

- Despite optimism earlier this month that he might, it now seems unlikely that Defense Secretary Robert Gates will certify the repeal of Dont’ Ask, Don’t Tell before he retires.

- Equality California is the latest LGBT organization to withdraw an anti-net neutrality letter, following similar actions by GLAAD and The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force. The influence of AT&T on these organizations’ boards seems to be the root cause of this burgeoning controversy.

- A jury of Methodist clergy have unanimously found The Rev. Amy DeLong of Osceola, WI “guilty” of marrying a lesbian couple in 2009. She was acquitted, however, of being a “self-avowed practicing homosexual” herself. Her penalty has not yet been decided, but it could range from suspension to defrocking, according to the United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline.

- Enjoy this editorial cartoon from the Dallas Voice:

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/06/23/251906/the-morning-pride-june-23-2011/

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Solar Panel Prices Continue Dropping, Grid Parity
Not Magic Bullet for PV

post from ThinkProgress on 23 June 2011 09:00:04 AM. © ThinkProgress

A recent report by Ernst & Young shows yet again how dramatically solar PV module prices are dropping. The report, which focuses on the UK solar market, illustrates the continued downward price pressure on panels due to a steady ramp-up in global manufacturing capacity. By 2013, the average selling price of a solar module will be down around $1 a watt, from $1.50 today.

The Guardian writes: “this suggests that falling PV panel prices and rising fossil fuel prices could together make large-scale solar installations cost-competitive without government support within a decade.”

However, it’s important to remember that these are simply module prices ? the actual cost of solar electricity is determined by the cost of other equipment, construction and installation, and permitting. Low module prices do not in themselves bring grid parity.

But what exactly does grid parity mean? A must-read Greentech Media piece by Shayle Kann points out that the term actually means different things in different markets:

In my opinion, there will be two achievements (both occurring over an extended period of time across various locations) that will make solar mainstream. For wholesale generation, it will be the point at which large volumes of solar become attractive to utilities even accounting for dispatchability. This could achieved either through the competitiveness of solar plus energy storage, or by making solar so cheap that supplementing solar generation with natural gas or another peaking resource beats the peaking resource alone.
For retail generation, the difference will be made when consumers can see significant cost savings from a PV installation that are assured. In essence, the droves of new solar customers will be driven by cost savings, not cost parity.
The bottom line is that the solar industry is thriving even in our complicated, semi-parity world. Over time, prices will continue to fall and incentives will become increasingly unnecessary. In the meantime, let’s see grid parity for what it is: an attractive idea that will just be one among many factors enabling the solar revolution.

Precisely.

? Tyce Herrman and Stephen Lacey

Solar is Ready Now: ‘Ferocious Cost Reductions’ Make Solar PV Competitive

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/06/23/251120/pv-panel-prices-continue-dropping
-grid-parity-not-magic-bullet-for-solar/

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Econ 101: June 23, 2011

post from ThinkProgress on 23 June 2011 09:00:04 AM. © ThinkProgress

Welcome to ThinkProgress Economy?s morning link roundup. This is what we?re reading. Have you seen any interesting news? Let us know in the comments section. You can also follow ThinkProgress Economy on Twitter.

“Congressional leaders from both parties made new and competing demands Wednesday in exchange for their votes to raise the nation?s debt limit,” as debt reduction negotiations led by Vice President Biden continued. [Washington Post]

The Federal Reserve admitted yesterday that the economy is growing ?somewhat more slowly than the committee had expected,? but it still plans to pull back its recovery programs on schedule at the end of the month. [Financial Times]

“The Hispanic-white educational achievement gap has remained wide over the past two decades,” according to a new report from the Department of Education. In a statement, the Department called the report “sobering.” [Reuters]

Senate Republicans fight over whether cutting tax subsidies counts as a tax increase. [The Hill]

The race to become the next director of the International Monetary Fund is “all but over,” with French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde looking to be the choice. [Wall Street Journal]

In Indiana, where Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) brags about strong fiscal stewardship, “Large cracks have opened in [the state's] economic foundation, a sign of just how severe the downturn remains.” [New York Times]

Michigan’s controversial emergency manager law faces a challenge. [Wall Street Journal]

Regions Financial Corp. agreed to pay $210 million in a settlement regarding charges that it “fraudulently misled investors about the risks of mutual funds filled with risky subprime mortgages.” [Reuters]

Small businesses bash a proposal for a corporate tax holiday that has been gaining traction on the right. [Huffington Post]

“South Carolina may lose about $111 million in federal special education money for cutting its spending on students with disabilities for the last two years,” the Department of Education warned. [Education Week]

A recent Supreme Court decision may have limited the ability of students — particularly those at for-profit colleges — who feel they’ve been defrauded by their universities to sue. [Chronicle of Higher Education]

“In less than 40 years India will overtake the US as the world?s second-largest trading nation, pushing today’s superpower into third place and Europe in to the little leagues,” according to economists at Cirigroup. [CNBC]

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/06/23/251889/econ-062311/

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EXCLUSIVE — Herman Cain: Jon Stewart
Attacked Me ‘Because I’m Black’

post from ThinkProgress on 23 June 2011 09:00:04 AM. © ThinkProgress

ThinkProgress filed this report from Iowa Falls, Iowa.

Earlier this month, ThinkProgress reported that GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain told an audience in Pella, Iowa that he would not sign a bill longer than three pages. (Cain later said he was “exaggerating.”)

Jon Stewart picked up on the story, imitating Cain and joking that if Cain was president he would require everything to be shorter: “Treaties will have to fit on the back of a cereal box … The State of the Union Address will be delivered in the form of a fortune cookie.” You can watch the segment here. (Chris Wallace later replayed the segment during Stewart’s appearance on Fox News Sunday.)

Speaking Wednesday at the Iowa Falls Fire Department, Herman Cain lashed out at Jon Stewart, claiming that Stewart was only targeting him “because I’m black”:

I did an interview on Sean Hannity’s show on the way over here. I had been traveling the campaign so much I did not hear what Jon Stewart said on Chris Wallace’s Sunday morning show last Sunday. Where he was mocking my three page bills. Did you see that show? And then he mocked me with a, you know, Amos and Andy type brogue. And Sean said you didn’t see that? And I said no Sean, I didn’t see that, I’m out campaigning. And so they played the clip. And I said well Sean first of all if he really thinks that I’m serious about a bill only being three pages the joke’s on him. And I said secondly, as far as him mocking me, look I’ve been called every name in the book because I’m a conservative, because I’m black.
Sticks and stone may break my bones, words are not going to hurt me. I was on that radio show because a happen to be an American black conservative. I labeled my self. I’m an American Black Conservative, an A-B-C. They keep trying to put labels on me. I have been called “Uncle Tom,” “sell out,” “Oreo,” “shameless.” So the fact that he wants to mock me because I happen to be a black conservative, in the words of my Grandfather, “I does not care. I does not care.”

Watch it:

Full Transcript:

If you elect me president of the United States of America my commitment to you is I will not just be the president of the Congress or the party. I will be a president, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, of the people, by the people and for the people.
This is why you heard me say bills will be bills that you and I can understand. I said in one presentation about a month ago: “No bill is going to longer than 3 pages.” Remember that.
Some of these idiotic reporters thought I was serious. The joke’s on them. The message was short bills. Understandable bills. No it’s not literally going to be three pages. The executive summary will be three pages.
But they want to jump all over me, Jon Stewart. On the way over here, true story, on the way over here I did a radio interview on Sean Hannity’s show. Do you all get that here? Sean Hannity’s show. He pretaped it so I’m telling you when you hear it its not always live. He makes it sound like its live. I did an interview on Sean Hannity’s show on the way over here. I had been traveling the campaign so much I did not hear what Jon Stewart said on Chris Wallace’s Sunday morning show last Sunday. Where he was mocking my three page bills. Did you see that show. And then he mocked me with a, you know, Amos and Andy type brogue. And Sean said you didn’t see that. And I said no Sean, I didn’t see that, I’m out campaigning. And so they played the clip. And I said well Sean first of all if he really thinks that I’m serious about a bill only being three pages the joke’s on him. And I said secondly as far as him mocking me look I’ve been called every name in the book because I’m a conservative, because I’m black.
Sticks and stone may break my bones, words are not going to hurt me. I was on that radio show because a happen to be an American black conservative. I labeled my self. I’m an American Black Conservative, an A-B-C. They keep trying to put labels on me. I have been called “Uncle Tom,” “sell out,” “Oreo,” “shameless.” So the fact that he wants to mock me because I happen to be a black conservative, in the words of my Grandfather, “I does not care. I does not care.”

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/media/2011/06/23/251851/exclusive-herman-cain-jon-stewar
t-attacked-me-because-im-black/

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Today in Congress

post from Daily Kos on 23 June 2011 09:00:03 AM. © Daily Kos

Recapping yesterday's action:

The House completed its work on the latest drill-the-hell-out-of-everything-and-just-say-it-creates-jobs bill, rejecting all Democratic amendments, defeating the Democratic motion to recommit, and turning away a challenge to the previous question motion pointing out that the bill violated the GOP's own "cut-go" rule. Oopsies! But STFU, because you're a Democrat.

Other than that, the House jack-knifed the passage (under suspension of the rules) of the "Election Support Consolidation and Efficiency Act." How? By bringing it to the floor under suspension of the rules, meaning it needed a 2/3 vote to pass. Instead, all it got was the vote of every single Republican present and the opposition of every Democrat. Why? I have no idea. But it's just as well, since the original formal title of the bill was, "To terminate the Election Assistance Commission, and for other purposes." Now that sounds like a Republican bill!

The Senate didn't actually get anything done, vote-wise. No roll call votes were held. But they did reach an agreement to adopt the motion to proceed on the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act, meaning they could drop the cloture vote. I suppose that's a sign of some progress. I certainly can't believe anybody would have actually been shamed into dropping a filibuster of a bill designed to reduce the number of filibusters, though I suppose anything is possible.

Looking ahead to today:

The House picks up the unfinished business of the patent bill, the "America Invents Act." General debate on the bill was conducted yesterday, and today they'll handle the vote (postponed from yesterday) on the manager's amendment, plus debate and votes on the 14 amendments permitted under the rule. Also scheduled is the beginning of general debate on the Defense appropriations bill, consideration of which will spill over into tomorrow.

The Senate is expected to begin voting on amendments to the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act. And what better way to start with efficiency and streamlining than with some amendments from David Vitter and Jim DeMint? Vitter will offer some gobbledygook about the boogeymen (Boo!) known as "czars," and DeMint has some kind of bug up his ass about the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Though who knows? Maybe DeMint has something solid this time, since I see that his amendment won't have a built-in "painless filibuster," meaning it can pass with a simple majority. Vitter's nonsense, however, will require 60 votes.

Today's floor and committee schedules appear below the fold.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/CeRNZ8LW6_4/-Today-in-Congress

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The EPA Doesn't Kill Jobs; Corporate Job-Killers
Kill Jobs

post from They gave us a republic... - Front Page on 23 June 2011 09:00:00 AM. © They gave us a republic... - Front Page

It's been obvious in the coal fields for decades: Big Coal is hell-bent on eliminating jobs at all costs, and environmental regulations have nothing to do with it, though that doesn't stop the corporate owners from whining that it's all the EPA's fault.

Now, however, we have evidence - with charts! - that EPA is not, in fact, the "job-killing machine" corporate job killers love to blame.

Kevin Drum:

Is the EPA a job-killing machine? On the off chance that empirical evidence still matters to anyone, Dave Roberts summarizes a bit of recent research into this question from the Economic Policy Institute. First up, Isaac Shapiro takes a look at the costs and benefit of several new EPA rules:
The dollar value of the benefits of the major rules finalized or proposed by the EPA so far during the Obama administration exceeds the rules' costs by an exceptionally wide margin. Health benefits in terms of lives saved and illnesses avoided will be enormous. Expressed in 2010 dollars:
- The combined annual benefits from all final rules exceed their costs by $32 billion to $142 billion a year. The benefit/cost ratio ranges from 4-to-1 to 22-to-1.
- The combined annual benefits from four proposed rules examined here exceed their costs by $160 billion to $440 billion a year. The benefit/cost ratio ranges from 12-to-1 to 32-to-1.
OK, fine: the rules will save lives and improve our health. But at what cost in the tidal wave of jobs lost just to get a bit of mercury and soot out of the air? EPI's Josh Bivens runs the numbers for one of EPA's biggest initiatives, the "air toxics" rule.
SNIP
So there are job losses in some sectors and job gains in others. The middle estimate for the aggregate effect is +61,000 jobs. When you account for spending multipliers, the aggregate effect is somewhere between 77,000 and 166,000 jobs.
If you want to, you can still object to these rules. Maybe you can argue that they're distortionary in some way, or that there are cheaper ways of getting the same results. Maybe. But even if the rules aren't perfect, their benefits far exceed their costs and they actually produce additional jobs for the economy. Dave sums things up:
Conservatives are hiding behind abstractions - job-killing big-government blah-blah - but don't be fooled. They are not protecting "the economy" or "jobs." They are protecting a specific set of polluting industries, at the expense of the public interest. Put that horsesh*t in any ideological serving dish you want. It still stinks."

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheyGaveUsARepublic-FrontPage/~3/aIlUCbNn8Fk/the-e
pa-doesnt-kill-jobs-corporate-jobkillers-kill-jobs

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Even Kevin Drum Now Believes Obama Wanted The
Deficit Spending Cuts

Even Mother Jones blogger Kevin Drum, who's been stuck to the 11th-dimensional chess theory for too long, is starting to suspect that much of the current deficit-cutting frenzy is by Obama's design:

Matt Yglesias points out that last December, when Democrats cut a deficit-busting deal with Republicans to cut taxes and increase stimulus spending, would have been a perfect time to raise the debt ceiling. But:
It didn?t happen. Obama said he trusted John Boehner. Harry Reid said he didn?t want the debt limit to be raised by the 111th Congress because he wanted to force the incoming 112th Congress to take ownership over it. The results of these decisions have been a disaster.
What?s more, not only was the disaster predictable but even once it was visibly on the horizon, the White House bungled it. There was a brief opportunity for the President to dig in his heels and simply refuse to compromise. Then the debate rapidly would have become ?can John Boehner round up the votes in his caucus necessary to avoid a default.? Instead, the White House conceded the unprecedented point that even though Boehner and Obama agreed about the desirability of raising the debt ceiling that the White House should make concessions to the Speaker in order to obtain it. Consequently, you get what we have here this week.
For what it's worth, I continue to think that this probably wasn't a bungle. More likely, during his first two years in office Obama had gotten enough deficit religion from the likes of Peter Orszag and Tim Geithner that he actually welcomed the opportunity to put in place some long-term spending cuts. He couldn't very well admit that publicly, of course, since his base would go bananas, so instead he punted on the debt ceiling, knowing that Republicans would then use it to "force" spending concessions out of him. Mission accomplished: long-term spending is reduced, and Republicans get all the blame. Democrats mostly forgive him because everyone knows Republicans are crazy, and as a bonus, Republicans don't even get much of a boost from their own base out of this since any real-world spending cut won't come close to the demands of the tea party crowd.
How sure am I of this? Not very. Maybe 60%. But think of it this way: the kind of negotiating position Matt is talking about isn't rocket science. It's not even Negotiation 101. It's more like the fifth grade version. There's just no way that Obama and Reid and the rest of the Democratic brain trust were literally so stupid that they didn't understand this. A far more parsimonious explanation is that this is roughly what Obama wanted. He wanted spending cuts, but he wanted Republicans to be the ones to take the lead. And that's what happened.Bottom line: I don't think we should try to figure out what Obama "really" thinks about stimulus spending vs. deficit reduction. His actions suggest that he wants long-term spending cuts. Like it or not, that's the real Obama.

Yep. Look what Obama said back in December:

Q Just in the sense that they?ll say essentially we?re not going to raise the -- we?re not going to agree to it unless the White House is able to or willing to agree to significant spending cuts across the board that probably go deeper and further than what you?re willing to do. I mean, what leverage would you have --
THE PRESIDENT: Look, here?s my expectation -- and I?ll take John Boehner at his word -- that nobody, Democrat or Republican, is willing to see the full faith and credit of the United States government collapse, that that would not be a good thing to happen. And so I think that there will be significant discussions about the debt limit vote. That?s something that nobody ever likes to vote on. But once John Boehner is sworn in as Speaker, then he?s going to have responsibilities to govern. You can?t just stand on the sidelines and be a bomb thrower.
And so my expectation is, is that we will have tough negotiations around the budget, but that ultimately we can arrive at a position that is keeping the government open, keeping Social Security checks going out, keeping veterans services being provided, but at the same time is prudent when it comes to taxpayer dollars.

As Digby said all along, we're cutting spending because Obama wants to cut spending. Period.

Read The Full Article:
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/even-kevin-drum-now-believes-obama-wa

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Cheers and Jeers: Thursday

C&J Banner

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE?

Hey, Mind If I Butt In?

My partner, Michael, used to smoke two packs a day. Even worse, he also used to smoke the cigarettes that came in those packs. My mom smoked, too, and I sometimes wonder if she wasn't squeezing a King-size Kent between her lips as she was squeezing me out into the arms of our family doctor, who was also a smoker (Camels, if I had to guess). So I've been around smokers a good chunk of my life.

Smoking, of course, involves sucking addictive, unconscionably-toxic yet completely-legal chemicals into your body, where they do to your cardiovascular and respiratory system what Fox News does to your brain. Cigarettes lay down so much tar that some people's lungs qualify as a federally-approved infrastructure project. The robots at Fukushima will trundle around a Level-7 radioactive site, but they draw the line at entering a smoker's windpipe. At least the tobacco companies were thoughtful enough to add formaldehyde to the mix, though, so their customers can get an early start on the embalming process. Message: We care!

I don?t know if the FDA's new gross-'em-out warning labels, featuring images ranging from a corpse on a slab to a side-by-side good lung/bad lung comparison, will help reduce the 440,000+ smoking-related deaths per year or not. But they'll no doubt provide a bit of shock value when they start showing up on packages starting next year.

In an odd twist, illustrator Tim Jacobus of the Goosebumps series thinks kids may actually find the new labels more cool than scary. So I thought of a few warnings that might help take the hip factor out of lighting up:

WARNING: Your parents think it's really cool that you're smoking and they can't wait to light up with you and your friends behind the garage---they'll even bring their Pat Boone cassettes!
-
WARNING: Cigarettes are made with Grandma's heel scrapings.
-
WARNING: Smoking makes you feel like doing chores around the house.
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WARNING: Smoking will get you booted from both Team Edward and Team Jacob.
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WARNING: Cigarettes may contain vegetables.

What can I say? I'm here to help.

So, anyway. After decades of robotically lighting up whenever the nicotine demon tapped him on the shoulder, Michael joined the ranks of the non-smoking three years ago as of last week. He won?t tell you he "quit," though. Instead of thinking, "I can never have another cigarette again," he takes it one day at a time---more like, "I don?t need another cigarette yet." In fact, he still keeps an unopened pack of Basic Menthol Lights (a fine Phillip Morris weapon of mass destruction) in the freezer. Just knowing it's there helps keep the withdrawal alarm bells from going off. Oh, and he also doesn't wheeze when he gets to the top of the stairs anymore, but he does walk four miles a day without breaking a sweat. Saving $5k a year is nice, too.

In a fortuitous bit of timing, last week also marked the two-year anniversary of the first Daily Kos GUS diaries:

GUS (Gave Up Smoking) is a community support diary for Kossacks in the midst of quitting smoking. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are quitting or thinking of quitting, please---join us!

Anyone who breaks the smoking addiction, or simply makes the effort to, especially during the stressful times in which we live, deserves a medal: the Meritorious Order of the Pink Lung. Saaaaaaalute!

P.S. Y'know what other addictive American product should come with lots of extremely graphic warning disclaimers before they're marketed to us? Wars. Any ideas, FDA?

Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]