tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61438522024-03-13T20:47:49.958-07:00Schmog BlogA few musings, observations, commentsValley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.comBlogger358125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-56095836405443635262011-11-21T12:31:00.000-08:002011-11-21T12:31:46.190-08:00"Failure" of the Super Committee??This concept has been kicked around for a few days, but TPM boils it down nicely -- if Congress were to do nothing, then deficits would go WAY down. Now, that's different than what a specific desired policy outcome might be -- for instance, payroll taxes go up in 2012 and Medicare payments to doctors go down -- but defense cuts are triggered and the Bush tax cuts would expire at end of 2012Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-69128911303982636822011-11-20T21:04:00.000-08:002011-11-20T21:05:43.981-08:00Lobbyist memo details how to attack OWSMemo from banking lobbyist offering specific tactics to attack OWS. Can you say #motivation?Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-12655817513265429902011-11-20T08:13:00.000-08:002011-11-20T08:13:21.046-08:00Who are lawmakers making pledges to?This is so true. Who is Grover Norquist anyway and why does he have such a hold on one of the two major parties in the United States?Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-21473813659000113932011-11-19T20:02:00.000-08:002011-11-19T20:02:14.563-08:00Why are we still in Afghanistan?Why are we still in Afghanistan?Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-32287333144700642152011-11-19T13:17:00.000-08:002011-11-19T13:17:59.224-08:00Police crossing the linePolice yesterday pepper sprayed a SITTING group of protesters at UC Davis. As Kevin Drum says, don't watch unless you have a fairly strong stomach for casual brutality.
Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-27684118106109766732011-09-21T21:35:00.000-07:002011-09-21T21:35:29.973-07:00Elizabeth Warren - the voice of reasonEvery time I listen to Elizabeth Warren I think she's one of the few who crystallizes the social contract essential to a free and democratic society.Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-78306363696118263152011-09-02T21:45:00.000-07:002011-09-02T21:45:38.083-07:00Why we need a jobs billExplained plainly by Robert Reich.Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-51401108808778826132011-09-02T15:45:00.000-07:002011-09-02T15:48:56.094-07:00Obama pulls proposed EPA ozone standard regsI have to say this is quite depressing. I thought I had hit the bottom of my disappointment with e debt ceiling deal but this is just ridiculous. What is he going to stand for? Jobs? Environment? Real tax reform? Labor? Guantanamo? Financial reform and accountability? Defense/wars? It is like the health care bill took everything out of the white house. Here is another really good articleValley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-88214021633892539952011-08-08T22:13:00.000-07:002011-08-08T22:13:54.390-07:00Standard & Poor's and its U.S. debt downgradeAs most of you know the ratings agency Standard & Poor's recently lowered its rating of U.S. Treasury debt from AAA to AA+. I've read a lot of pieces talking about why S&P should or shouldn't be listened to, but Nate Silver's view is one I found particularly interesting. The pull quote from it is his judgment on the matter, but if you have the slightest bit of wonkination Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-88688417134894211302011-07-31T19:37:00.000-07:002011-07-31T20:09:21.348-07:00Debt deal madnessIntellectually I know politicians have a complete lack of awareness about the impact of their decisions on real, working people - or people who are unemployed but trying to get a job. But sometimes the callousness of what comes out of the government just slices through to the bone.
But it appeared Obama's proposal to extend the current payroll tax holiday beyond the end of 2011 would not Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-20855326898587556682011-07-17T21:33:00.000-07:002011-07-17T21:33:39.207-07:00Meet the PressToday's lineup should have produced an interesting discussion about what's going on with the debt, with a lineup of Dick Durbin and Jim DeMint. Instead I found it extremely disappointing that David Gregory appeared to go out of his way to equalize the nonsensical talking points being made by Jim DeMint. Durbin's a pretty savvy press guy, he was running circles around DeMint. Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-25679670405319278592011-07-17T20:45:00.000-07:002011-07-17T20:45:43.804-07:00Don't underestimate Michelle BachmannSlick looking ad, well produced -- saying she won't vote to increase the debt ceiling. Makes me think Mitt, who condemned the "Family Leader"pledge that Bachmann signed, ain't all that horrific.Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-63878697158742942592011-05-16T12:58:00.000-07:002011-05-16T12:58:27.997-07:00Laides and Gentleman, Your 2012 GOP LINEUP!!!!!After Trump dropping out, who's officially in so far -- Newt, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney.... am I missing anyone?Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-34018045867805254272011-05-16T12:53:00.000-07:002011-05-16T12:54:17.682-07:00WWRD (What Would Reagan Do)From the article, referring to what Reagan said about the debt limit:
Reagan wrote: “The full consequences of a default – or even the serious prospect of default – by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate. Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and the value of the dollar.”Via Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-10929305445733182852011-05-15T21:11:00.001-07:002011-05-15T21:11:12.182-07:00Just what I was thinkingJoe Klein crystallized exactly what I was thinking.Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-2813157400449088822011-05-01T21:41:00.001-07:002011-05-01T21:41:14.156-07:00I salute you, Mr. PresidentValley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-71503700623120626802011-04-14T13:57:00.001-07:002011-04-14T13:57:37.532-07:00Today's thoughtI miss Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the House.Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-21481484265222660592011-04-14T13:51:00.000-07:002011-04-14T13:51:53.688-07:00This photo is priceless. Via TPM headlining a story about how the budget bill needed 40 Democratic votes to pass.
Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-80199363208333542312011-04-12T12:43:00.000-07:002011-04-12T12:43:23.983-07:00Summary of Budget CutsPolitico has a summary of the recent budget cuts. It's pretty brutal. If you want to have an unfiltered opinion on what the cuts do, look at John Cole's analysis (via Steve Benen).Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-84452388770109960122011-04-12T12:35:00.001-07:002011-04-12T12:35:30.716-07:00Budget Cuts - in Chart FormEzra Klein lays out the recently agreed to budget cuts in a helpful chart.Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-54511096400515807992011-04-11T15:35:00.000-07:002011-04-11T15:35:09.056-07:00What the 2012 election is aboutVery funny.Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-14131069604115673242011-04-10T22:01:00.000-07:002011-04-10T22:01:41.680-07:00I thought the GOP didn't like welfareI was just wondering - if Paul Ryan's plan is to have Medicare give people money to buy private insurance, is that corporate welfare?Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-27543404379837005832011-04-09T22:12:00.000-07:002011-04-09T22:12:32.640-07:00The Cost of War to the U.S.This can be broken all the way down to the congressional district level; it also includes an informative calculation of various trade offs (admittedly from a lefty POV, but you get the point).Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-52617556797367703322011-04-09T18:06:00.000-07:002011-04-09T18:06:55.178-07:00Hope for our troops to come homeWhen people are being killed in Afghanistan because some nutjob in Florida burned a copy of the Koran, I think that no amount of military presence can "fix" the situation in Afghanistan and that it's now time for our troops to leave, or at least we need to consider a major change in how we address the region. I have supported the war in Afghanistan from the time it began - not Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143852.post-31139600529477825862011-04-09T17:31:00.000-07:002011-04-09T17:31:14.055-07:00Budget DealThere's been a lot written about the budget deal that the President & Congress reached last night. I'm not really sure I can add much else, except to point to Robert Reich's commentary on how the Democrats managed to actually move backwards from the GOP's initial offer of $32 billion in cuts to wind up at over $38 billion in cuts. Who was the lead negotiator for the Dems again....Valley Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408884651975955897noreply@blogger.com0