AP - A weakening but still dangerous Hurricane Earl steamed toward the gray-shingled cottages and fishing villages of Cape Cod on Friday, disrupting people's vacations on the unofficial final weekend of the short New England summer.
AP - Unemployment is stuck at high levels even though some companies are hiring. The problem, government data show, is that too few jobs are being created for the growing number of people looking for work.
AP - A suicide bombing claimed by the Pakistani Taliban killed at least 43 Shiite Muslims at a procession in southwest Pakistan on Friday. The assault sharply drove up the toll of sectarian assaults in a country battered by massive flooding.
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A major earthquake hit New Zealand's second biggest city Christchurch early on Saturday, bringing down power lines, ripping up roads and wrecking building facades, but authorities reported no deaths.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday he would outline new measures next week to boost the U.S. economy, but analysts were skeptical he would be able to deliver a big enough package to lift growth significantly.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Concerns over Israeli access to BlackBerry data, and the use of the device by the United States to spy on the United Arab Emirates are behind the Gulf state's moves to curb the smartphone, Dubai's police chief said.
HYANNIS, Massachusetts (Reuters) - A weakened but still dangerous Hurricane Earl churned up the U.S. eastern seaboard toward New England and Canada on Friday after dealing North Carolina's coast only a glancing blow.
Longtime Maryland Sen. Ulysses Currie, one of the most powerful and popular figures in the General Assembly, was indicted Wednesday on charges that he took more than $245,000 in bribes to use his position and influence to do favors for a grocery chain.
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, the Texas Democrat who broke scholarship eligibility rules set by a black lawmakers group by awarding about $31,000 to her relatives and an aide's children, said Wednesday she didn't shortchange others to benefit her own family.
The list includes the talk radio host who called a female senator a "prostitute" for cutting a deal to benefit her state, the male challenger who referred to his female rival "attractive" and "probably a good mother," and the TV host who noted that the candidate's wife looked like an angry woman.
Ben Bernanke told economists and central bankers at a meeting in Jackson Hole that the Federal Reserve would resume “unconventional measures” if the economy deteriorated again.
The Basics
The “Public Option” Debate:
I agree 100% with Bob Herbert’s August 17, 2009 New York Times article, that without the option of buying your insurance from a government plan, the insurance companies stand to make a windfall with the mandatory requirement for everyone to buy insurance. With a massive increase in customers and no incentive to lower prices, what could be better for them? As Obama has pointed out, the Republican’s argument that the “public option” will drive the insurance companies out of business is inherently contradictory. If a government plan is fundamentally too inefficient then the insurance companies have nothing to worry about. And if it is more efficient than the private sector, then that’s a plus for the American public and people should have that option.
The Republican argument is fundamentally flawed:
If the Republicans are worried that health care reform is bringing socialism to the U.S., then they should also be against Medicare. But in fact they are arguing the opposite. They are trying to scare seniors that they will lose benefits if the reform is passed. They are tacitly acknowledging the public wants socialized medicine (e.g. Medicare), but hoping nobody notes the inconsistency of their argument. Although I’m not sure I agree with his interviewing techniques, Lawrence O’Donnell in his interview with Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), makes it really obvious that the Republicans are very afraid of exposing this contradiction. Below is a clip from the interview:
Obama Is Outsmarting Everyone?
It is interesting that at the same time that the White House has indicated that they may have to try to pass the bill without Republican support, they are also saying that the “public option” is not a necessary component of the bill. On the surface he looks conciliatory, ready to cave in to the Republicans. But in actuality, he is purposefully enraging the “left”, leaving them to do the dirty work of fighting to push through a bill supported by Democrats only.
The administration is now floating the idea of sending 2 bills to the senate, the less controversial part by normal means, and the “public option” and other controversial measures by “budget reconciliation”. Obama may very well get the bill he wants and make the Republicans look bad at the same time. We will soon see.
This is a meeting with Rep. Mike Castle, a Delaware moderate Republican. The whole thing leaves me a bit speechless. I’m tempted to draw conclusions about the basic psychological functions of humans. We all believe something because everyone else believes it. I have to admit that I was drawn into it myself, thinking that there must be something to this. But in fact there is no basis at all to the whole “Birther” movement, just read here. Also, here is a link that Ben Smith provides, which is where I originally found this video.
A thank you to the TPM website that found this article buried in the New York Times. Here is a reprint of the relevant paragraph.
The national telephone survey, which was conducted from June 12 to 16, found that 72 percent of those questioned supported a government-administered insurance plan — something like Medicare for those under [...]
The Obama administration’s recent push into the Helmand district of Afghanistan is a commendable improvement over the Bush administration’s emphasis on fighting only and ignoring the development of the country. Obama’s shift away from eradication as the principal way to control the drug trade is also moving in the right direction.
However, I think Obama, who [...]
Thought I’d pass on this article about a potential improvement in cancer treatment. The technique uses bacteria to deliver drugs directly to the targeted cancer cells.
This report supports the case that unemployment is cyclical, not structural.
The unemployment rate edged up to 9.6 percent in August as the economy shed 54,000 jobs. The decline was entirely attributable to the loss of 114,000 temporary Census jobs. Excluding these jobs, the economy created 60,000 jobs. With job growth for the prior two months revised up by 123,000, excluding the Census jobs, the August pace is roughly even with June and July.
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