From the "Save the date" file.

From We Are Washington...

On April 6th 2011, community groups, teachers, students, immigrants, and faith leaders are turning up the heat. We are demanding that the budget is not balanced on the backs of people, that corporate tax loopholes are closed, and that Washington State lawmakers prioritize racial and economic equity.

We begin at NOON on Wednesday, April 6 at the Capitol Theater (206 5th AVE SE ) in Olympia. Sign up online for more information, or call Jill Mangaliman (206)805-6678.

(Other) Washington Watch.

Andrew Calkins tracks freshman Republican Jaime Herrera's 'move' since her move to the other Washington...

...by joining other freshman in Congress like Huelskamp and Adams—who are closely aligned with the Tea Party—Herrera has moved away from the moderate position she maintained during her campaign, when she sought to cast herself apart from the Tea Party.

Of course, Herrera may not have 'moved' at all. It's just possible, I suppose, that she was lying to the voters last year.

She is, after all, a Republican.

Either way, she's not, apparently, the Republican the folks in the Third voted for.

Gambling? In Casablanca?

Paul B. Farrell "exposes" one of America's worst kept secrets at Market Watch...

Yes the GOP, the party of big business and billionaires, secretly hates democracy, it’s too inefficient for the rich class.

Surprise, surprise.

Chart of the day.

Another clue to where the money went, via Dave Johnson...


Yep, for most Americans, that "piece of the rock" is a grain of sand buried under the pebbles at the foot of the rock.

I can't say it's been the best year...

...of my now officially lengthy life, but I figure any guy who gets to celebrate his 60th birthday with a cake baked by his still healthy and independent mom is a pretty lucky guy.

Some neat news in a birthday call from my eldest son, The Roadie, too. He's stage managing Willie Nelson's show on the Country Throwdown tour this year. Kind of a bummer that they won't be stopping anywhere near here, but one degree of separation puts me as close to Willie's bus as I'll likely ever get.

Meanwhile, the BBBUL is out rounding up some kind of birthday treat, so the day promises to get better and better.

60? Wow. How'd that happen?

Señor Hannity?

Jason Easley...

Interestingly Sean Hannity claims to have been born in 1961, and he wants us to assume that he was born in the United States, but I can find no copy of Sean Hannity’s birth certificate anywhere on the Internet. Sean Hannity’s Fox News bio makes no mention of when of where he was born. Hannity claims to have grown up in New York state, but as we know illegal immigrants flood into New York on a daily basis.

Elsewhere...

Donald Trump is trying to conceal the fact that he was never born...

Glass houses and all that.

From the "Me too" file.

Tom Levenson, on Walker & Co.'s defiance of the Wisconsin courts…

...I’ll say to all those right bloggers who maunder on about Obamacare or the Libyan attacks or birth certificates or whatever, if you wish to invoke the words “rule of law” you better have something to say here.

Gotta give them time, I guess, but my bet is on crickets.

Me too.

And mine too, too...

What a difference a month makes.

Think Progress busts Biggert…

Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL), February 25, 2010

“Where are the jobs?”

Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL), March 29, 2010

I would urge my colleagues to support — oppose this amendment. And stop talking about jobs...

I guess her kids finally found work last week.

A Public Service Announcement…

…from Brad DeLong...

Friends Really Do Not Let Friends Ever Support the Republican Party

Never ever.

I try to dissuade casual aquaintances, too.

Wonder where the money went?

The rich lady's site, via Greenwald at Salon…

Despite high unemployment and a largely languishing real estate market, U.S. businesses are more profitable than ever, according to federal figures released on Friday.

U.S. corporate profits hit an all-time high at the end of 2010, with financial firms showing some of the biggest gains, data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis show. Corporations reported an annualized $1.68 trillion in profit in the fourth quarter. The previous record, without being adjusted for inflation, was $1.65 trillion in the third quarter of 2006.

Many of the nation's preeminent companies have posted massive increases in profits this year. General Electric posted worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, while profits at JPMorgan Chase were up 47 percent to $4.8 billion.

.Remember when "company" was synonymous with "employer"? Where are the jobs?

From the "Signs of the apocalypse" file.

The times, they have changed...



Hat tip to For The Sake Of The Song. If you like the kind of music that shows up in my random tens, you should get to know FTSOTS.

Tune time.

The usual random ten with the usual dose of the unusual...

Bad News Brown - Reign
Tim O'Brien - Oxford Town
Bert Jansch - First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Uncle Tupelo - Looking For A Way Out
Mollie O'Brien & Rich Moore - Don't Bother Me
George Jones - A Girl I Used To Know
Dave Van Ronk - Subterranean Homesick Blues
Drive By Truckers - Daddy Needs A Drink
Solomon Burke - Stupidity
Robert Crumb & The Cheap Suit Serenaders - Hula Melody

"None of the above"…

...would have been my honest answer to most of the questions, but I tried to get in the spirit of the thing and I can't quibble much with the result...

My Liberal Identity

You are a Social Justice Crusader, also known as a rights activist. You believe in equality, fairness, and preventing neo-Confederate conservative troglodytes from rolling back fifty years of civil rights gains.

Take the quiz at
About.com Political Humor

Hat tip to Angry Black Lady.

No permission required…

…around here for the truth. Ken at Popehat begs our indulgence, which is his without asking...

Allow me a sweeping generalization: nobody ever said anything worthwhile after beginning “I know this isn’t politically correct, but . . .” or “I’m not racist, but” or “I have nothing against gays/blacks/Asians/Muslims/ whatever, but...”

Nobody. Ever.

The questions just keep coming.

Stephen Suh ponders the notorious "Tony Hill" letter touted by Republicans in the Arizona legislature and wonders...

It's extremely racist, a textbook example of how conservatives/racists - should we use separate words to describe them anymore?

Sounds like a question for the Department of Redundancy Department.

From the "Cunning plan" file.

maha deduces that the Republican jobs program...

… is, apparently, restricting access to abortion. Maybe they think this will increase jobs in the daycare industry

Or maybe they don't think at all.

I think...

From the "Since you asked…" file.

JollyRoger inquires...

Have You Ever Asked Yourself, “Texas-WTF?”

Since you asked, oh yeah.

Lots.

But damn, I d0 love the music.

Map of the day...

...the Sun never sets edition, via Maddow Blog...

Yep, it clicks a bit bigger.

The truth is out there.

Sally Kohn shares some...

I’m not weighing in here on whether the military action required congressional approval or oversight. My point is, Obama could have brought a resolution to Congress on a silver platter, and Republicans would be all over the news complaining it should have been gold.

They just hate him.

Stephen Squibb has some more...

It has frequently been said that in this country we have socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor. What the case of the NFL demonstrates so clearly is that what we have, in fact, is whatever the rich want whenever they want it. And whatever they want always gets the same name, free market capitalism, regardless.

Not that most folks are looking, or listening, but I stubbornly cling to the notion that where there's truth, there's hope. As long as we can name the lies, we can fight them. That's my hope, anyway.

Liar, fool or tool?

Pete Holmes dissects Rob McKenna's role in an anti-ACA lawsuit, you decide.

And, yes, all of the above is an option.

If it's not one thing...

DougJ…

When it’s not “who would you rather have a beer with” it’s “quien es mas macho”.

As usual, Gilda was right...

Chart of the day.

Yep, it'll click a bit bigger.
Hat tip to Mr. Natural, who's got a pretty good idea where the money went.

Good questions…

…abound. Here's a couple. Over at Crooks & Liars, Heather wonders...

How many teachers' salaries or years of funding NPR does launching a Tomahawk missle cost us?

Several, I'm sure, of each. Elsewhere, Republican consultant Pat Griffin answers a query with a question...

What can I say about Newt Gingrich today that his ex-wives have not already said?

Perhaps he'll think of something tomorrow.

Analogy of the day.

Bill Maher, via Crooks & Liars…

Governing this country with Republicans is like rooming with a meth addict.

You want to address real life problems like when the rent is due and they’re saying “How can you even think of that stuff when there’s police scanner voices coming out of the air conditioning unit?”

Yep. That's why I keep saying that...

You've heard all the heavy bands...

...now it's time for random morning maniac music...

The Bottom Up Blues Gang - Ain't Nobody's Business
Roger Miller - Husbands And Wives
The Isley Brothers - Twist And Shout
Sam Cooke - Wonderful World
Johnny Cash - Desperado
Arthur Conley - Funky Street
Waylon Jennings - What's Left Of Me
She And Him - You Really Got A Hold On Me
James & Bobby Purify - I'm Your Puppet
Donovan - Josie

Inch by inch, row by row...

The University of Chicago's General Social Survey for 2010 is complete, and…

...despite efforts to block same-sex marriage in states across the country, more Americans support same-sex marriage than oppose it.

And it's getting better all the time...

Good question…

…from Brad DeLong.

Why isn't 9% unemployment a political emergency?

A bunch of reasons, I suppose, but for starters consider that there's no PAC for the unemployed.

Quote of the day.

Vice President Joe Biden…

We absolutely, positively need collective bargaining.

Without a doubt.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

Off to slice 60 pounds of corned beef and serve it up with cabbage, carrots and spuds. I'm working a long one at the perfect tavern, so the green beer and whiskey will have to wait a while, but there was substantial Guinness involved in cooking the brisket. If you find yourself anywhere nearby, come in for the best St. Pat's party in Shoreline.

Wherever you may be, have a great day and a better night.

And remember - if someone recommends a cab ride home, they're probably right.

Wonder where the money went?

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), sponsor of the Fairness in Taxation Act, has an idea...

In the United States today, the richest 1 percent owns 34 percent of our nation’s wealth—that’s more than the entire bottom 90 percent who own just 29 percent of the country’s wealth. And the top one-hundredth of 1 percent now makes an average of $27 million per household per year. The average income for the bottom 90 percent of Americans? $31,244. It’s time for millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.

Past time, but better late than never, and better now than later.

Map of the day.

Via Chris Demeur...



I don't understand enough about the nature and effect of rads to know how bad this actually is, but I can't imagine it's good.

I know that the First Amendment...

…doesn't specifically mention Governors, but this still sounds outrageous, not to mention illegal...

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) is a public official accountable to taxpayers. But he is demanding a news blackout tomorrow when he releases the state’s budget plan. Kasich has forbidden reporters to broadcast any videos, photos or audio recordings during or after his afternoon budget briefing for the press.

The Ohio press corps should show up with every recording device they can find and force him to try to enforce that demand.

From the "Me too" file.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai...

"On behalf of you and the Afghan people, today I would like to respectfully, and not arrogantly, ask Nato and the US forces to stop their operations in our land."

Me too.

I just knew…

…he should'a checked with the boss first. Via The Caucus…

P.J. Crowley, the state department spokesman, stepped down Sunday after saying publicly that treatment of Wikileaks suspect Pfc. Bradley Manning in military detention has been “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.”

It's hard to imagine that Crowley, a retired military officer with years of State Department experience, wouldn't know that his comments were, in effect, the opening lines of his resignation. It's easy to understand, too, why Crowley, because of that very experience, might be compelled to speak out when the institutions he has served so long are being served so poorly by their actions.

Going out with the truth on your lips isn't the worst way to go.

Don't know much about…

…history. Via Political Wire…

"You're the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord."

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), quoted by the Boston Herald, while speaking in New Hampshire.

Doesn't know much about much, actually. Doesn't even want to, apparently.

I suppose I'm the last one…

…in blogtopia (™ Skippy) to post this graphic from the Center For American Progress, but if you're wondering where the money went, it's chock full of hints…


(Of course, you can click it a bunch bigger if you haven't seen it everywhere.)

You push the first valve down...

...the music goes round and round and comes out random...

Pete Townshend - Girl From The North Country
The Lovin' Spoonful - Me About You
Patty Griffin - The Best Is Yet To Come
Justin Townes Earle - Your Biscuits Are Big Enough For Me
Whiskeytown - 16 Days
Tim O'Brien - You Are My Flower
Kris Kristofferson - The Taker
Johnny Winter - You'll Be The Death Of Me
Uncle Dave Macon - Farm Relief
Neil Young - Sugar Mountain

Marquee of the day.

The Orpheum Theatre in Madison, WI, via Angry Black Lady…

Wonder where the money went?

Another hint from Obsidian Wings...



Seems like some folks take too much and some folks give too little. What do you suppose the chances are that some folks are the same folks?

Quote of the day.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley...

"What’s being done to Bradley Manning by my colleagues at the Department of Defense is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid."

I'm guessing he didn't run that by the boss first.

Wonder where the money went?

Maddow Blog offers a clue...



Nope, it's not gone. Nice to know it's still there, I suppose, but I wish we had a bit more of it down here.

Worth taking note of when the problem started, too.

Good news from Olympia…

…via the AFL-CIO NOW blog...

Legislation before the Washington State Legislature—pushed by multinational corporations and the notorious billionaire Koch brothers—urging Congress to pass the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has died without a vote in the state Senate.

That's good. Even better…

Sen. Maralyn Chase (D-Shoreline) led opposition to SJM 8006 within the state Senate, and strong grassroots pressure was coordinated by the Washington Fair Trade Coalition (WFTC) and its member groups, including the Washington State Labor Council.

Yep, that's my own personal State Senator watching out for working folks again. Thanks, Maralyn!

From the "Why not Washington?" file.

Via Politico...

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a death penalty ban into law on Wednesday, making Illinois the 16th state to end capital punishment.

Why not Washington?

From the "Do the right thing" file.

Like I always say sometimes, you can't have a serious discussion about budget problems without talking about revenue solutions. Chuck Schumer gets serious…

"I noted with interest last week's Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, the most popular proposal to reduce the deficit out of 23 options surveyed was a tax -- a surtax -- on millionaires and billionaires. It's not only a popular thing to do, it's the right thing to do."

Easier said and all that, but this important message from an important voice is a step in the right direction.

Wonder where the money went?

It's there. All there ever was and more. You may not be getting any of it, but it's there. Harold Myerson...

Productivity increased 5.2 percent from the recovery's start in mid-2009 to the end of 2010, he found, but wages rose by a minuscule 0.3 percent. That means just 6 percent of productivity gains have gone to our newly more-productive workers.

Where is the other 94 percent going? To profits, which have been increasing at a record clip for the past three quarters. To funds on the corporations' balance sheets, which the Federal Reserve calculates at nearly $2 trillion. To shareholders. To the companies' stock buybacks.

We're not broke, but something's broken.

Funny…

…but funny 'ha-ha' or funny 'hmm…'? Undeniable Liberal posts, I swipe, you decide...

From the "Don't panic" file.

“The U.S. government is not broke,” said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy for Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York. “There’s no evidence that the market is treating the U.S. government like it’s broke.”

There's money. Plenty of it. I don't have any, and you probably don't have much, but there's plenty.

The problem isn't what there is, but where it is.

Hat tip to digby.

It's simple.

It's not easy, but it's simple. Brad DeLong...

If we simply stopped electing Republicans--if we simply elected presidents who would choose policies designed by the technocrats of the Clinton and Obama administrations and elected senators and representatives who voted for them--we would be absolutely fine.

We know what to do. We've done it before.

We have to decide to do it again. That's the hard part. First of all…

The truth is out there.

Here's some. Michael Moore...

“America is not broke. Contrary to what those in power would like you to believe so that you’ll give up your pension, cut your wages and settle for the life your great grandparents had. America is not broke. Not by a long shot. The country is awash in wealth and cash. It’s just that it is not in your hands.”

Too many of us fall into the trap of believing that because so many of us are so broke that the country itself has fallen on hard times. Ain't so.

Boehner Boner of the day.

Via Joel Connelly...

House Speaker John Boehner has blocked a request by West Virginia senators to allow the remains of the last American veteran of World War I to lie in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

How do you suppose he figures this could possibly work out well for him?

Hey, hey, we're the...

...random ten.

The Monkees - Circle Sky
Hank Williams - Why Don't You Love Me Like You Used To Do
Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle
Suzanne Vega - Cassidy
Emmylou Harris - Little Bird
The Gibson Brothers - I'll Love Nobody But You
Kathy Mattea - Love At The Five & Dime
The Byrds - You Don't Miss Your Water
Rob Wasserman & Lou Reed - One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
The Grateful Dead - Uncle John's Band

Signs of the times.

Via Chris Bowers...



Yep, remember in November. Every November. Everywhere...

It's hard, sometimes…

…to keep things on a 'family-friendly' basis around here, because of things like this...

In his opening statement, [Defense Secretary] Gates fervently appealed for funds requested by Gen. David Petraeus for equipment to protect troops in Afghanistan. The money has been held up because it would come from a project benefiting a major contributor to the committee chairman, Bill Young (R-Fla.).

Young's been paid $80,000 to care more about the production rate of surplus Humvees than soldier's lives. Nothing family-friendly about that, or about my reaction.

I suppose it's a good thing I'll likely never meet Rep. Young. I'd have to use my PTSD defense at the subsequent assault trial, and I'm saving that in case I ever encounter the Phelps gang outside a cemetary.

Quote of the day.

David Goldstein, cub reporter, talks to an anonymous 'Republican operative' about AG and gubernatorial wanna-be Rob McKenna and gets this...

"Attorney general is the politically easiest job in the world. He's been doing press conferences with McGruff the Crime Dog for the past seven years."

Clever, and not really harsh. If I came up with that one, I'd want credit. I wonder what our 'operative' is afraid of.

If you were wondering why unions would be (and you should be) afraid of Governor McKenna, Goldy's got the goods.

Huckl...erm...Huckabee: Stupid or lying?

Yes.

A reminder…

…from Dave Johnson…

Every time you hear them talk about the need for budget cuts remember they just passed more huge tax cuts for the rich.

Just as surely as these are the worst of times for some of us, they're the best of times for others. Talking about budget problems without talking about revenue solutions is class war, plain and simple.