Sunday Morning News Roundup

post from Where Is The Outrage? on 28 October 2012 08:26:45 AM. © Where Is The Outrage?

Sunday Morning News Roundup I really haven't said anything for the last couple of days because? I really haven't had anything to say. A large earthquake in Canada caused a tsunami warning in Hawaii. Tsunami warning was just listed. Thankfully, it was a false alarm. Once again, I become disillusioned, no that's not the right

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Sunday Morning Bobblehead Thread

post from Crooks and Liars on 28 October 2012 08:00:06 AM. © Crooks and Liars

Before I go into my normal bobblehead schtick, let me send my good and dry thoughts to those of you on the East Coast, like our own Susie Madrak, in the pathway of Hurricane Sandy. I hope you to stay safe and with power.

As you watch our punditry bobble their heads, I want you to consider the curious case of Lance Armstrong. As far as I'm aware, Armstrong has never tested positive for doping, yet we know...know...that he is the embodiment of athletic malfeasance. Stories have come bubbling up to confirm his guilt: accusations of fraud, bribery, bullying, perjury, etc. Swift and severe consequences must be applied, so Armstrong has been stripped of his titles, banned from cycling (not just as a sport but as part of other events as well), stepped down from his cancer foundation and if that's not enough, now there's a campaign to demand back his millions in winnings. After all, Armstrong must be made a lesson to others that we will not tolerate someone compromising the integrity of this sport.

Okay.

I'm actually agnostic on Armstrong. I don't know if he's guilty, but frankly, I don't care. What strikes me is how unevenly this outrage and the demand for integrity and justice is applied. Sure, let Armstrong be a lesson to others. But where is the outrage and the swift and severe consequences for those who have done damage to more than themselves? Where's the punishment for Jamie Dimon and his buddies at Bank of America/Countrywide? Who will hold the Congressional Republicans responsible for their record number of filibusters, putting partisan benefit ahead of the country? Yes, by all means, let us stand for integrity and fairness. But if we're going to do that, let's make it matter. Not in the cycling world, but for the whole country.

ABC's "This Week" - Stephanie Cutter, deputy campaign manager for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Panel: ABC News' George Will; PBS' "Washington Week" moderator and managing editor Gwen Ifill; Andrew Sullivan, editor of "The Dish" at The Daily Beast; former Obama economic adviser and ABC News consultant Austan Goolsbee; and Republican strategist and ABC News political analyst and contributor Nicolle Wallace.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Govs. John Kasich, R-Ohio; John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; Scott Walker, R-Wis. Panel: Vice Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Carly Fiorina; Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne; NY Times columnist David Brooks; MSNBC?s Rachel Maddow; and NBC?s Chuck Todd.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Katty Kay, BBC; Joe Klein, Time; David Ignatius, Washington Post; Kelly Evans, CNBC
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Panel: National Review's John Fund, the Daily Beast's Bob Shrum, New York Times Magazine's Mark Leibovich, The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus and CBS News Political Director John Dickerson.
MSNBC's "UP with Chris Hayes" - Heather McGhee, Vice President of the progressive think tank Demos; Ari Berman, Contributor to The Nation magazine and author of ?Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics;? Bertha Lewis, Former CEO of ACORN and Founder and President of The Black Institute; Hedrik Hertzberg, Senior Editor and Staff Writer at The New Yorker; Ilyse Hogue, Co-Director of Friends of Democracy (a 2012 initiative to build political power around the issue of money in politics), former Senior Adviser to Media Matters for America and former Director of Political Advocacy and Communications for MoveOn.org; Avik Roy, Member of Mitt Romney's Health Care Policy Advisory Group, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and author of ?The Apothecary,? the Forbes blog on health care and entitlement reform; Akhil Amar, Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School, Author of ?America's Constitution: A Biography;? Jane Meyer, Staff writer at The New Yorker.\
MSNBC's "Melissa Harris-Perry" - Ari Melber, Correspondent for The Nation, MSNBC Contributor and Former National Staffer for Kerry for President Campaign; Dorian Warren, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Public Affairs, Columbia University; John Rowley, Democratic Strategist and President of Fletcher, Rowley Media; Tara Dowdell, Business and Political Strategist; Greg Palast, Author of ?Billionaires & Ballot Bandits,? author of the new piece in The Nation titled ?Romney?s Bailout Bonanza;? Craig Melvin, MSNBC Anchor; Shelby Knox, Feminist Organizer; Jacob Soboroff, Host and Producer of HuffPost Live and Board Member of Why Tuesday, a non-partisan group working to increase American voter participation; Joy Reid, Managing Editor of TheGrio.com
CNN's "State of the Union" - David Axelrod, adviser to the Obama campaign; Reince Priebus, Republican National Committee chairman; Gov. Bob McDonnell, R-Va., and former Gov. Ted Strickland, D-Ohio. Panel: pollsters Bill McInturff, Anna Greenberg and Time Magazine?s Michael Duffy.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Columnist Joe Klein, economist Ken Rogoff and commentators Amity Shlaes and Chrystia Freeland.
CNN's "Reliable Sources" - Michael Shear of The New York Times, Lauren Ashburn of the Daily-Download.com, and political blogger Craig Crawford; Matt Lewis of The Daily Caller, and John Aravosis of AmericaBlog; media critic for The Baltimore Sun David Zurawik.
"Fox News Sunday" - Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va.; Mark Udall, D-Colo.; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Panel: Brit Hume, Joe Trippi, Karl Rove, Juan Williams.

So what's catching your eye this morning?

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Frankenstorm Watch - Sunday Morning Update

post from DemConWatch on 28 October 2012 07:47:01 AM. © DemConWatch

Although the storm is not due to "hit" until much later, already the rain has started here in Chester County, PA. Last I heard, Sandy has grown from 700 miles across to 1,000 miles.

Yesterday, between fielding our canvassers and phone bankers, we talked about what we would be doing later today, and at what point we'd pull our canvassers. Since I'm proud of what we did, know that yesterday our people went to 1,475 houses and made 1,528 phone calls, all from 2 staging locations.

The last major storm to hit my neighborhood was Floyd in 1999. I was out of town on business (unbelievably in a worse part of Floyd) and my sitter called to tell me that lightening had struck and the phones no longer worked. (We all had landlines back then.) All I cared about was "is everyone okay?????" - I knew I could buy new phones. Lightening had hit a power something on my block - people lost refrigerators, televisions -- just stuff. One house had a tree crash into it, but amazingly the house held, although the neighbor couldn't use his front door until the tree was removed.

I thought about that through my sleepless night last night. The trees are much bigger now. I also thought of DCW community member Leah, who lives in Texas. A few years ago a storm (I don't remember which one) was going to hit her neighborhood, and she posted that she was about to lose power. It was days before she posted pictures of running an extension cord from the house across the street to her house...I have never met Leah, nor spoken with her, and yet I felt a severe worry (if you're a Jewish mother you understand "severe worry") for Leah and her friends and family. I know we will lose power here, and am prepared as possible for when that happens. Still, my personal fear is palpable. I worry for my 20 month old puppy, Fiona. She was born with visual acuity problems. She is not blind, but has a lot of trouble in the dark. Her behaviour indicates she knows something is coming, and she is fearful. I foresee a lot of "deposits" in the area where she was paper trained, but I'm ready with newspapers, and I can always get a new floor.

This morning I'm meeting my committee person for breakfast to nail down the final details for election day and pick up all my election day supplies (signs, tables, handouts, etc.) Then off to field canvassers for as long as possible, then putting everyone on the phones, in addition to the phone bank people who'll already be there.

I hope that tomorrow morning, I'll be able to post great numbers from today's work. I know the numbers will be tabulated, but whether I can get online is something I just don't know. As of this writing, they are not planning on shutting down my workplace, and we have generators, so if I can get there, you might see a post from my phone, likely replete with spelling errors since the screen is so small!

I know we have a lot of DCW community members within Sandy's path, and I keep a kind thought for all. While I am concerned about what the damage means for Election Day, my more immediate concern is that there is no loss of life. Remember, you can always get more stuff. Good luck to all!

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Six In The Morning

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 28 October 2012 07:30:00 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

On Sunday More Jews praying on site also sacred to Muslims Israeli police and Muslim officials say the prayers at the Temple Mount-Al Aqsa mosque site are a provocation. Others call them a basic human right. By Edmund Sanders, Los Angeles TimesOctober[...]

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Today's campaign schedule

post from Daily Kos on 28 October 2012 07:00:05 AM. © Daily Kos

Hurricane Sandy is playing havoc with campaigning schedules; Beau Biden originally was scheduled to appear with Jill Biden in North Carolina today but cancelled because he was needed in his home state of Delaware, and Mitt Romney originally was scheduled to hit the stump alone in Virginia but instead is teaming up with Paul Ryan for Ohio appearances.

Check locally with up-to-date information if you play on attending any events.

Jill Biden ? Huntersville and Asheville, NC, and Duncansville, PA

OFA field office (Huntersville)
1 PM EDT

OFA field office (Asheville)

AFSCME Union Labor Building (Duncansville)
7 PM EDT

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan ? Celina, Findlay and Marion, OH

Celina Fieldhouse
1:30 PM EDT

University of Findlay
4:30 PM EDT

Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Marion)
6:30 PM EDT

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Sunday Open Thread

post from My Left Wing - Front Page on 28 October 2012 07:00:00 AM. © My Left Wing - Front Page

No one's conception of art
is going to be acceptable to everybody.

Jane Alexander

Born October 28, 1939

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Joan Armatrading Willow Sight and Sound

post from AMERICAblog on 28 October 2012 06:44:34 AM. © AMERICAblog

It’s another chilly morning but plenty of sunshine. Yesterday was my first “cold” ride of the year which is never something that I look forward to. Adding to the fun on my ride were wind gusts that nearly blew me off the path into the Seine, which was full of white caps. Even better, while [...]

.

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GOP Presidents Worst Contributors to Federal Debt

post from The Washington Note on 28 October 2012 06:00:18 AM. © The Washington Note

Phil McCarten/Reuters

In terms of total increase in "federal debt to GDP" under U.S. presidents in the post-World War II era, Republican presidents during their terms have contributed far more to the debt load of the nation than Democrats.

Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush all added to the federal debt significantly on a percent of GDP basis. On the Democratic side, President Obama -- who inherited the worst financial crisis in this era from his predecessor -- also ranks high in terms of contributing to the federal debt as a percentage of GDP.

Who reduced debt as a percentage of GDP the most?

When comparing by presidential term as in the chart to the side (click image to make larger), the big winner is Harry Truman, followed by Bill Clinton. Eisenhower is next, followed by Johnson and Nixon, the Kennedy, and finally Jimmy Carter. All of these presidents reduced debt as a percent of GDP.

While absolute levels of debt may have been growing through much of this period (though not all), what really matters is what percentage of GDP that debt represents. Most U.S. presidents have been able to keep the debt to GDP ratio declining -- but in the very modern era, since 1980, only Bill Clinton has succeeded in massively decreasing America's federal debt to GDP levels.

When considering it on a per annum basis, the chart of presidential debt-reducers and debt-increasers remains mostly the same, though Barack Obama wins among those adding to the debt load with a per annum increase in debt to GDP of 12 percent. Ronald Reagan is next at 7 percent. As shown in the chart to the left, Truman and Clinton still clobber other presidents in terms of a per annum decrease in federal debt to GDP.

When looking at the charts this way, it is fascinating to see what a stand-out the Bill Clinton presidency was in balancing the budget and achieving revenue surpluses.

These data sets were assembled by a close collaborator and credit expert Richard Vague as part of a larger history of debt project that he and I are working on.

As the debates on who is responsible for the levels of federal debt continue to play out in the next 10 days before the election and the 66 days before the US hits a fiscal cliff, remember that the worst contributors to America's debt load were mostly GOP presidents -- with the single exception of Obama, who had a global economic tsunami crashing in on the White House and nation when he took the helm.

-- Steve Clemons is Washington Editor at Large at The Atlantic, where this post first appeared. Clemons can be followed on Twitter at @SCClemons

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What's New, Sununu

His former chief of staff, a white Republican, weighs in on Colin Powell?s Obama endorsement and delivers a twofer on racism, not only against his boss but the President as well.

Retired Col. Lawrence Wilkinson blasts: ?My party is full of racists, and the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants President Obama out of the White House has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as commander-in-chief and president, and everything to do with the color of his skin, and that's despicable.?
Wilkerson, who had previously expressed regrets about not resigning over his role in helping prepare Powell?s 2003 U. N. speech on Iraq?s nuclear weapons, was delivering another whack, this one for Barack Obama, to the back side of Mitt Romney surrogate John Sununu backing away from his gaffe about the General?s endorsement.
It?s long past time for one of their own to call out the G.O.P. on racism over Obama.

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NBC's Gregory Helps GOP Governors Take Credit For
Job Recoveries That Began Before They Came To Office

post from Media Matters for America - Latest Items on 28 October 2012 05:53:54 AM. © Media Matters for America - Latest Items

Meet the Press host David Gregory helped Republican Governors Scott Walker (WI) and John Kasich (OH) take undeserved credit for the job recoveries in their states. In separate Meet the Press interviews, both governors took credit for an increase in jobs during their term, but Gregory did not point out that jobs were already on the upswing before either of them came into office.

Gregory Allows Kasich And Walker To Take Credit For Turning Around Job Losses In Their States

Gregory Let Kasich Claim That After Losing Jobs For Years, Ohio Is "Up 112,000 Jobs" Since Kasich Took Office. Gregory quoted Mitt Romney saying that unemployment is still high in Ohio. Kasich responded by claiming that "over the last four years, we had lost 400,000 jobs. And since January of '11, we're up 112,000 jobs." Kasich took office on January 10, 2011. From Meet the Press:

GREGORY: Let me ask you about unemployment because, as you know, whoever is responsible for the success in Ohio, Governor Romney doesn't seem very impressed. This is what he said speaking earlier this month to the Columbus Dispatch review board -- editorial board. 'I don't think 7.2 percent unemployment is something to write home about and celebrate.' That was before it was at 7.0. 'And if you consider the 200 [thousand] plus people who've dropped out of the work force in Ohio, the real number is closer to 10 percent. I don't find people here thinking happy days are here again.' What about unemployment nationally? What should we expect under a President Romney, if it comes to that?
KASICH: Well, look. First of all, in terms of the unemployment numbers and who's in and who's out, I mean, I'm always concerned about what those numbers really mean. But what I do know is over the last four years, we had lost 400,000 jobs. And since January of '11, we're up 112,000 jobs. [NBC, Meet the Press, 10/28/12]

Gregory Let Walker Suggest That Because Of His Policies, Wisconsin Went From 9.2 Percent Unemployment To 7.3 Percent Unemployment. Asked by Gregory whether the federal government should enact some tax increases to cut deficits, Walker touted tax cuts in his state and suggested that they resulted in a decrease in unemployment from 9.2 percent unemployment to 7.3 percent unemployment:

WALKER: In Wisconsin's case, like Kasich and others did around the country, we lowered the overall tax burden. In fact, we lowered property taxes for the first time in 12 years. Our overall burden went down, and revenues went up. Why? Because we've promoted more growth. We went from a few years ago, having 9.2 percent unemployment down to 7.3 percent today. We went from losing hundreds of thousands of jobs to gaining jobs out there. Why? Because you've got to have a pro-growth agenda out there. When you do, that will help Washington grow in the right direction. That will put more people to work, and when more people are working, that'll help us balance the economy as well. [NBC, Meet the Press, 10/28/12]

But Unemployment Was Decreasing In Ohio And Michigan Well Before The GOP Took Over Governorships

Ohio Unemployment Rate Had Been Falling The Entire Year Before Kasich Took Office. The unemployment rate in Ohio had been falling the entire year leading up to Kasich's inauguration as governor in January 2011 after it had peaked at 10.6 percent in late 2009. The unemployment rate in the state declined throughout 2010 and by September 2012 had dropped to its lowest level since before President Obama was elected. From the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics:

ohio unemployment

[U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, accessed 10/28/12, via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis]

Wisconsin Unemployment Rate Was Also Falling The Entire Year Before Walker Took Office. Likewise, the unemployment rate in Wisconsin reached its peak of 9.2 percent in January 2010 and then fell for the rest of the year leading up to Walker's inauguration as governor in January 2011. By September 2012 the unemployment rate was at 7.3 percent, 0.1 percent more than it was when Obama took office. From the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics:

Wisconsin unemployment