Stories to Watch: 8/4/11

Had to reinstall Chrome today. I don't want to talk about it. Now here's the news...


World markets are just super-enthusiastic about the debt limit deal. And by "super-enthusiastic," I mean panic-stricken. Among the problems; "A fear haunting markets is that the United States economy may be heading for a double-dip recession," the NYT reports. Yay for fiscal responsibility!


Paul Krugman to everyone: "I told you so."


Mittens Romney signs a "I hate marriage equality!" pledge. No real surprise here, but worth mentioning. Apparently, the road to the GOP nomination is paved with a bunch of promises to let someone else govern.


Nancy Pelosi states the obvious -- that Republicans don't care squat about deficits, they just want to destroy government. Needless to say, this is the worst thing ever.


The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. And sicker.


For some reason, top birther nutbag Joseph Farah wants to "sit on Obama's birthday cake." I guess that's probably because he's insane.


Finally, Americans agree; the US congress really, really, really, really sucks. I mean historic low, 14% approval sucks [pdf].

Related articles

• Paul Krugman and Ryan Avent Call for Help. It's Not Coming. (delong.typepad.com)
• MARKETS OBLITERATED, DOW DOWN 512, EVERYONE FREAKING OUT: Here's What You Need To Know (SPY, EWI, QQQQ, TLT, UUP, GLD) (businessinsider.com)
• McConnell On Obama's Birthday (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)
• Stocks Down Over 4% in Global Sell-Off - NYTimes.com (opsudwinger.wordpress.com)

Stories to Watch: 6/9/11

Yesterday, it was pushing 100 degrees. Today, I doubt if it cracked 60. This is totally normal, right? Now here's the news...


Response to the Gingrich campaign's crackup is positively Weinerian.


And Rep. Weiner says he has no plans to resign. I say leave it up to his constituents, who are mostly supportive.


The White House is considering a payroll tax break for employers as an economic stimulus. I wouldn't spend a lot of time waiting for supply-side measures to work.


Mittens stands by his weak acceptance of climate reality. Needless to say, this is the worst thing ever.


Meanwhile, Rick Santorum demonstrates the politically correct way to talk about global warming -- it's a big conspiracy by communists to put fluoride in our drinking water and rob us of our purity of essence. Or something like that. Honestly, all wingnut rants sound the same to me.


Sarah Palin's big new movie's coming out! Let's hope it does half as well as Atlas Shrugged. I can't wait for the reviews.


Alabama ramps up the anti-immigrant fervor to 11. Seriously, this is insane. It makes it a crime for a cab driver to pick up an illegal. No, really.


Herman Cain is just a jerk.


I'll be out most of the day tomorrow, so the blogs won't be updated. I'll probably manage to fire off a headline or two, though.

Related articles

• Herman Cain Takes Issue With Romney's Obama Prank (huffingtonpost.com)
• Newt Gingrich's campaign implodes. Enter Rick Perry? (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
• Campaign Death Watch: Newt Gingrich's campaign staff resigns (sfgate.com)
• Mitt Romney in Big Trouble for Talkin' Science [2012] (gawker.com)

Stories to Watch: 5/7/11

 Forecast for the upcoming week; rain. Then some rain. With rain on top. I comfort myself with the knowledge that any forecast more than 48 hours out is just guesswork. Now here's the news...


Contrary to what all the rightwing sadists have been saying, the Bush administration's reliance on torture almost certainly delayed bringing down Osama bin Laden.


President Obama says that green energy means jobs -- mostly because everyone in the world is jumping on the bandwagon and the US is in danger of being left behind, hugging old, obsolete technology. "I don't want other countries to win the competition..." he says. "I want American to win that competition." Needless to say, this is the worst thing ever.


It's going to be a pleasure to watch Rick Santorum lose almost as badly as he deserves to.


For the fourteen-bazillionth time: more drilling won't lower gas prices. That is simply a fact. Whether you like that fact or not is irrelevant.


Remember that Kloppenburg/Prosser recount in Wisconsin? Yeah, Waukesha County continues to be a freakin' mess, electorally. If those people reelect Kathy Nickolaus, they're either rewarding corruption or rank incompetence.


Finally and still in Wisconsin news: although Gov. Walker and Republicans deny that they're efforts are about busting unions, broken unions would undoubtedly be the result.

Related articles

• Wisconsin: Prosser ahead by 7316 votes in final canvass (americablog.com)
• Wisconsin Court Election Update: Kloppenburg Seeks Open Records Request from Waukesha County (news.firedoglake.com)
• Kloppenburg team begins review of Waukesha County voting records - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (news.google.com)
• Waukesha County Clerk Finds Votes for Brookfield on Her PC, Adds Over 7,500 Votes to Prosser's Total (news.firedoglake.com)