http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/uD2ANUUv1zk/-Sotomayor-hearings-set-to-begin

All Congress-watching eyes are expected to turn today to the Senate Judiciary Committee, as they begin their consideration of the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. And the Committee, aware of the intense interest, will be live streaming video of the hearing, which they're wisely making available in blog-embeddable format. So that's exciting in itself. They know where the interest lies.

Thinking of popping some popcorn and watching the proceedings? If it's Sotomayor you want to hear from, make sure you get lunch first. And maybe a nap. Because although the hearings are expected to be gaveled into session at 10 a.m., the first order of business is opening statements. From the Senators. Nineteen of them. For up to ten minutes apiece. Plus statements of introduction from home state Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirstin Gillibrand.

That's Washington for you. Three to four hours of opening statements -- plus a lunch break -- before the person you're supposed to be talking about even gets to say anything. And then, once she makes her own opening statement, they'll adjourn for the day. It will take an entire day to "open" things with statements. You want to see someone ask a question? Come back tomorrow.

Meanwhile, some resources:

Interested in embedding the video in your blog? Judiciary Committee Dems have made it easy. Just follow this link, choose your format, and (theoretically) you're good to go. Video clips, highlights, etc. to be made available throughout the day here.

Plenty of good previews circulating online, too. (And if you find any more good ones, throw us a link in the comments.)

Why not start here, with Adam Serwer of TAP?

And perhaps something from Daniel Schuman of the Sunlight Foundation?

Myths vs. Facts, from Ian Millhiser at the Center for American Progress?

And a host of left jabs, hooks and crosses from Media Matters:

• Myths And Falsehoods Surrounding The Sotomayor Nomination

  The media have advanced numerous myths and falsehoods about Sonia Sotomayor. In addition to evaluating these claims on their merits, the media should also consistently report that conservatives were reportedly very clear about their intentions to oppose President Obama's nominee for political purposes, no matter who it was.
  http://mediamatters.org/...
  

• Conservatives Smear Sotomayor As "Racist," "Bigot" Over "Wise Latina" Remarks

  Numerous conservative media figures have misrepresented remarks Judge Sonia Sotomayor made during a speech at Berkeley in 2001 to smear her as a racist and a bigot.
  http://mediamatters.org/...
  

• The "Extraordinary Rebuke" Myth

  In covering the Ricci case, reversing Judge Sonia Sotomayor's decision, media should not promote the myth that the reversal represents a "historic rebuke" or that Sotomayor's Supreme Court reversal rate is "high."
  http://mediamatters.org/...
  

• Boehlert: The Press, Sotomayor And Ricci

  http://mediamatters.org/...
  

• Politico Ignored Roberts, Alito Record In Claiming Ricci "Could Tarnish Sotomayor"

  A Politico article about the Supreme Court's decision in Ricci v. DeStefano promoted the myth that a Supreme Court reversal is unusual. However, the court has reversed more than 60 percent of the federal appeals court cases it considered each year since 2004.
  http://mediamatters.org/...
  

• CQ Ignored Sessions' Previous Call For Speedy Supreme Court Confirmation Process

  CQ Today reported that Sen. Jeff Sessions said Republicans "might throw up procedural roadblocks to delay" Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, but did not note that Sessions reportedly called for fast action on Justice Samuel Alito's confirmation process.
  http://mediamatters.org/...
  

And a particularly interesting alternative viewing option: a partnership between The Uptake -- the excellent Minnesota-based blog who covered the Franken-Coleman court proceedings like no one else -- and Mother Jones

Technology gods willing, we'll be streaming it at Congress Matters, and likely commenting wryly all day. Come on and join in!

UPDATE: We're a go on the technology, and streaming live.

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Brushing aside the criticisms of pundits and politicos, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she plans to jump immediately back into the national political fray — stumping for conservative issues and even Democrats — after she prematurely vacates her elected post at month's end.

The former Republican vice-presidential nominee and heroine to much of the GOP's base said in an interview she views the electorate as embattled and fatigued by nonstop partisanship, and she is eager to campaign for Republicans, independents and even Democrats who share her values on limited government, strong defense and "energy independence."

...

"People are so tired of the partisan stuff — even my own son is not a Republican," said Mrs. Palin, who stunned the political world earlier this month with her decision to step down as governor July 26 with 18 months left in her term.

Both her son, Track, 20, an enlisted soldier serving in Iraq, and her husband, Todd, are registered as "nonpartisan" in Alaska.

...

Mrs. Palin did not name any candidates for whom she might campaign. Indeed, whether the polarizing Alaskan would be welcome on the campaign circuit is an open question. Republicans running in statewide races in Virginia and New Jersey — the only states with gubernatorial races in November — have offered only lukewarm responses when asked whether Mrs. Palin is welcome to campaign there.

"We don't have any plans on having her in" to stump for gubernatorial hopeful Chris Christie, the Associated Press was told by New Jersey Republican Party Chairman Jay Webber late last week. "We're busy working to get Chris Christie elected and telling people about the failed record of [Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat]."

But Texas Gov. Rick Perry has said he would welcome Mrs. Palin at his side in the tight primary fight he faces with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

...

A USA Today-Gallup poll found that her resignation from office bolstered her appeal among Republicans, two-thirds of whom say they want her to remain "a major national political figure."

But 55 percent of independents say they would rather she exit the national stage. She is also unpopular among Democrats. [NOTE: DEMOCRATS ALSO REMARKED ABOUT HOW WET WATER WAS]

...

Meanwhile, Mrs. Palin said the state needs a new ethics policy after another ethics complaint was filed against her. The new complaint, filed Friday with the state personnel board, claims Mrs. Palin has been paid for media interviews, according to the Associated Press.

Mrs. Palin said she hopes the new complaint is "a wake-up call" to Alaskan lawmakers and the public that at new policy is needed.

...

Among the barrage of ethics complaints against Mrs. Palin are many filed by Republican activist Andree McLeod.

"She put personal and partisan political interests before the state of Alaska," Mrs. McLeod told The Washington Times.

...

Another friend turned critic, Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich, said Mrs. Palin worked assiduously with Democrats in the Legislature.

"Her Alaskan Democrat allies stood for rapid government growth, increased government spending and taxing energy to the maximum and definitely did not stand for limited government, spending restraint, strong national defense and energy independence," said Mr. Ruedrich, who described himself as an early mentor to Mrs. Palin.

...

When a photographer prepared to take pictures of the interview, Mrs. Palin, wearing open-toed shoes, said laughingly, "Don't get my toes in the picture — they are green on the bottom."

Indeed they were. She said the marks were grass stains from mowing her lawn the previous day.

(source)

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http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/VpMkL2cW1jc/-This-Week-in-Congress

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2009

On Monday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (16 Bills)

1)     H.R. 1044 - Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Enhancement Act of 2009 (Rep. George Miller - Natural Resources)

2)     H.R. 1442 - To provide for the sale of the Federal Government's reversionary interest in approximately 60 acres of land in Salt Lake City, Utah, originally conveyed to the Mount Olivet Cemetery Association under the Act of January 23, 1909 (Rep. Matheson - Natural Resources)

3)     H.R. 934 - To convey certain submerged lands to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in order to give that territory the same benefits in its submerged lands as Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have in their submerged lands (Rep. Sablan - Natural Resources)

4)     H.R. 2188 - Joint Ventures for Bird Habitat Conservation Act of 2009 (Rep. Kratovil - Natural Resources)

5)     H.R. 129 - To authorize the conveyance of certain National Forest System lands in the Los Padres National Forest in California (Rep. Gallegly - Natural Resources)

6)     H.R. 409 - To provide for the conveyance of certain Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Nevada to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Rep. Heller - Natural Resources)

7)     H.R. 762 - Affirming patent number 27-2005-0081 and its associated land reconfiguration issued by the Bureau of Land Management (Rep. Heller - Natural Resources)

8)     H.R. 402 - To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee, as the "William C. Tallent Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic" (Rep. Duncan - Veterans' Affairs)

9)     H.R. 1037 - Pilot College Work Study Programs for Veterans Act of 2009 (Rep. Herseth Sandlin - Veterans' Affairs)

10)   S.Con.Res. 30 - A concurrent resolution commending the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the occasion of its 125th anniversary (Sen. Schumer - Education and Labor)

11)   H.Con.Res. 123 - Recognizing the historical and national significance of the many contributions of John William Heisman to the sport of football (Rep. Thompson (PA) - Education and Labor)

12)   H.Res. 612 - Expressing the profound sympathies of the House of Representatives for the victims of the tragic Metrorail accident on Monday, June 22, 2009, and for their families, friends, and associates (Rep. Norton - Oversight and Government Reform)

13)   H.Res. 476 - Celebrating the 30th anniversary of June as "Black Music Month" (Rep. Cohen - Oversight and Government Reform)

14)   H.Res. 469 - Honoring the life of Wayman Lawrence Tisdale and expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives on his passing (Rep. Cole - Oversight and Government Reform)

15)   H.Res. 543 - Expressing support for designation of June as "Home Safety Month" (Rep. Halvorson - Energy and Commerce)

16)   H.Res. __ - Expressing the gratitude of the House of Representatives for the service of M. Pope Barrow, Jr. (Rep. Dingell)

TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2009 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:30 a.m. for Morning Hour debate and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.

Suspensions (10 Bills)

1)     H.Res. 607 - Celebrating the Fortieth Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing (Rep. Hall (TX) - Science and Technology)

2)     H.R. 2729 - To authorize the designation of National Environmental Research Parks by the Secretary of Energy (Rep. Lujan - Science and Technology)

3)     H.Con.Res. 156 - Condemning the attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1994 (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen - Foreign Affairs)

4)     H.Res. 538 - Supporting Olympic Day on June 23, 2009, and encouraging the International Olympic Committee to select Chicago, Illinois, as the host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Rep. Schakowsky - Foreign Affairs)

5)     H.Res. 555 - Expressing concern for the well-being of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee and urging the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to release them on humanitarian grounds (Rep. Schiff - Foreign Affairs)

6)     H.R. 1511 - Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2009 (Rep. Smith (NJ) - Foreign Affairs)

7)     H.Res. 519 - Expressing appreciation to the people and Government of Canada for their long history of friendship and cooperation with the people and Government of the United States and congratulating Canada as it celebrates "Canada Day" (Rep. Stupak - Foreign Affairs)

8)     H.R. 1933 - A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act (Rep. Klein - Judiciary)

9)     S.Con.Res. 29 - A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that John Arthur "Jack" Johnson should receive a posthumous pardon for the racially motivated conviction in 1913 that diminished the athletic, cultural, and historic significance of Jack Johnson and unduly tarnished his reputation (Sen. McCain - Judiciary)

10)   H.R. 2632 - Korean War Veterans Recognition Act (Rep. Rangel - Judiciary)

H.R. __ - Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (Rep. Pastor – Appropriations) (Subject to a Rule)

H.R. 3170 - Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2010 (Rep. Serrano – Appropriations) (Subject to a Rule)

* Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

* Motions to go to Conference should they become available.      

* Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Secretary of the Senate:

Convenes: 11:00am

Following the prayer and pledge, the Senate will begin consideration of S.1390, Department of Defense Appropriations bill.

4:30pm the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the nomination of Robert M. Groves to be Director of the Census.

5:30pm cloture vote on the Groves nomination.

Committee events of note:

• Mon., 7/13, 10am. Senate Judiciary Committee. Nomination: Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
• Mon, 7/13, 2pm. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee: Business meeting to continue consideration of Affordable Health Choices Act
• Mon., 7/13, 2:30pm. House Rules Committee: H.R. 1549 - Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009 (Original Jurisdiction Hearing)
• Tue., 7/14, 9am. Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee: Creating a Consumer Financial Protection Agency: A Cornerstone of America’s New Economic Foundation
• Tue., 7/14, 9am. Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance: The Economy and Fraud: Protecting Consumers During Downward Economic Times
• Tue., 7/14, 10am. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee: S.796, Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009 and S.140, Abandoned Mine Reclamation Act of 2009. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
• Tue., 7/14, 2:30pm. Senate Environment & Public Works Committee: Transportation’s Role in Climate Change and Reducing Greenhouse Gases
• Wed., 7/15, 10am. House Financial Services Committee: Banking Industry Perspectives on the Obama Administration’s Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals
• Wed., 7/15, 10am. Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee: Identification Security: Reevaluating the REAL ID Act. Janet A. Napolitano, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security; Jim Douglas, Governor of Vermont
• Wed., 7/15, 2:30pm. Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment: Regulating Hedge Funds and Other Private Investment Pools
• Thu., 7/16, 9am. Senate Budget Committee: The Long-Term Budget Outlook. Dr. Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director, Congressional Budget Office
• Thu., 7/16, 9:30am. Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee: Preserving Homeownership: Progress Needed to Prevent Foreclosures
• Thu. 7/16, 9:30am. Senate Environment & Public Works Committee: Ensuring and Enhancing U.S. Competitiveness while Moving toward a Clean Energy Economy
• Thu., 7/16, 10am. House Financial Services Committee: Community and Consumer Advocates’ Perspectives on the Obama Administration’s Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals
• Thu., 7/16, 10am. Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance: Competition in the Health Care Marketplace
• Thu., 7/16, 2pm. House Armed Services Committee: Prosecuting Law of War Violations: Reforming the Military Commissions Act of 2006
• Fri., 7/17, 10am. House Financial Services Committee:Industry Perspectives on the Obama Administration’s Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals

While all eyes are on the Senate Judiciary Committee as they consider the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, the real committee story this week is what's not on the schedule -- yet. Which normally very active House committees don't appear on the schedule even once?

Education & Labor, Energy & Commerce, and Ways & Means. I've never seen a weekly committee schedule that had literally nothing scheduled for any one of these three. And of course, the three have something special in common right now.

What does that tell you? That tells you that they're clearing the decks for action on the tri-committee health care reform bill, probably getting ready to mark it up as soon as they're able, which means you'll probably see the full text unveiled and introduced within days, if not hours from now.

Meanwhile, the floors of both houses will be tied up in yet another round of pitched battles on appropriations, and the controversy surrounding Dick Cheney's illegal orders to the CIA to cover up some significant portion of what they should have been briefing Congress about continues to roil.

Should be an interesting week, and when it's over, there'll be just three left before the scheduled August recess.

The full schedule -- and I do mean full, despite the absence of the three big committees in the House -- appears below. Try to spend some time looking in on the committees this week. Judiciary will have the big show, but the money game will be in the House health care hearings. Try to keep them in mind.

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http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/cHsLqOiSBRc/-Cheers-and-Jeers:-Monday

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...

PDN is in the Clearinghizzouse

Kossack and recommended-diary favorite Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse grew up in New York, and has lived in Wisconsin, Indiana and, since 1986, California. "I've been politically active with environmental and social justice issues ever since I organized my first protest against a bully in elementary school. It was after I was arrested, facing marijuana charges, and suspended from high school at 15 that I decided that I’d be a juvenile justice lawyer. (I was innocent, of course!)" After clerking for the Chief Justice of a state supreme court, PDNC switched to water and environmental law, and she now blogs mostly on environmental, human rights, politics and legal issues.

This morning she faces the grilling of her career in the latest installment of our carbon-neutral (if you don't count all the exhaling) interview series, Yes, We're All Staring At YOU!

Cheers and Jeers: How long have you been blogging and what originally brought you to Daily Kos?
Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse: I started blogging in 2005. My moniker is the name of my old website, which posted news stories missed or minimalized by the megamedia, similar to the Overnight News Digest (OND), and blogged mostly politics. In 2006, my blogging focused on the multitude of Bush's illegal acts and lies so I felt right at home politically when I posted my first diary in January and was both happy and intimidated a bit when all these comments were posted. I really should have lurked for a while. I was---and remain---attracted by the boldness and acuity of the writing and vision fostered by community and humor.

You, Meteor Blades and Land of Enchantment recently concluded your first DK GreenRoots Week. What was your goal with it, and was it a success?
My idea for DK GreenRoots week was to try to highlight the  interrelationship between environmental issues and health care, family, economy, jobs, labor, poverty, equal justice, human rights, political stability, national security and war. With Obama in the White House, I wanted to show that we have the tools at Daily Kos to organize eco advocacy, including drafting legislative proposals so that we are part of the debate with our ideas on the table rather than rearguard action after minds are cemented in some ill-advised approach that does not consider sustainable reforms.

It was a tremendous success. Each of the 64 diarists wrote phenomenal diaries---a total of 80 diaries were posted---that trumped any publications. In addition, eco week introduced a new eco-bloggers advocacy group, DK GreenRoots, which now has 369 members.

DK GreenRoots is being set up with a structure of tools to assist communication and implementation of collaboration projects, working groups, group diaries and discussions. When Meteor Blades returns from vacation, we will open a private forum for GreenRoots; and, then we will open a GreenRoots website around Labor Day.

Members of DK GreenRoots are already discussing several eco projects or campaigns, and an award-winning producer contacted us to discuss a collaborative project where our OND eco news and DK GreenRoots writings are used for eco-educational purposes in communication mediums. This started me thinking: Why can't we do similar projects? We have the talent here to create videos, even basic text videos with pictures for both proactive and defensive advocacy on all political issues. We discussed this the other night in OND, and some are interested.  

Can people still join the GreenRoots?
Yes, anyone may join GreenRoots! If you're not familiar with GreenRoots, Meteor Blades provided a nice overview:

[DK GreenRoots] will be our workroom where activists and other interested participants interconnect, inform each other, encourage the writing and cross-posting of diaries, teach research techniques, initiate short- and long-term working groups, develop special projects, hone our persuasive skills, plan political action, and draft legislation.

In your opinion, what's the best part about the climate bill that recently passed the House, and what's the worst part about it?
I think the worst aspect of this measure is the same ol' process and approach of pre-compromise that limits the parameters of substance. Democrats need to focus on implementing our ideas that generally are supported by most Americans. Let the GOP whine---they will no matter what we do.

What kind of music makes you feel invincible to the GOP horde?
I love a variety of music.  If I'm feeling down or frustrated with GOP BS, recharging is easy by turning up the volume on the likes of Joe Cocker, Buffy St. Marie, Stevie Ray Vaughan or U2.

What's the one book every Kossack must read?
The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing From Crisis to Sustainability by James Gustave Speth. He discusses how capitalism is inherently destructive to a sustainable environment, community and popular democracy and explains why environmental advocates have made great strides yet still failed to stop all the crises we now face.

Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse on the wall, who's the battiest Republican of them all?
The easy answer is that Palin is bat-shit crazy, but she's more of a joke than a problem. I think Cheney is the battiest, complete with his secretive obsessions lurking in his undisclosed caves while he runs a shadow government, pulling strings like a puppeteer. I hope that groups like DK's own Bloggers Against Torture (BAT) succeed in convincing Holder to fit Cheney with a nice orange jumpsuit. Recent news suggests we're inching closer to at least investigations.  

Finish this sentence: In the kitchen I make a mean...
Home-made pizza, garden zucchini casserole, cheese ravioli, Frozen Chocolate Mousse Torte and Lemon Meringue Pie. My mom taught me to cook meals from scratch using fresh, organic ingredients. Cooking her recipes is one way to keep in touch now that she's gone. Guess right now I'm in the mood for some Italian food.

As a Californian, what would you do about your state's economic implosion?
Anyone up for another gubernatorial recall?

No waffling here: dogs or cats?
Heh. Lawyers live to waffle. Dogs and cats...and lizards and birds and all critters (except spiders).

I have one question left, but I just noticed that I missed one of the neighbor's stargazer lilies when I was out weed whacking. Please ask and answer the final question yourself...

When is the next eco week at DK?
We may have more eco days rather than a full week, like a 3-day blogging eco. BUT, we are now creating a GreenRoots weekly series, just like Top Comments and the other regular series, where DK GreenRoots members will post 2 or 3 times a week one of those outstanding diaries that everyone loved during eco week. Our series starts July 19th, leading off with our incredible Devilstower!

Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

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http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/_O7EzH980dM/-Your-Abbreviated-Pundit-Round-up

Monday punditizing, and here's Sat and Sun if you slept through the weekend.

Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Sen. John Ensign caused his own problems. And as word emerged Thursday that the senator's wealthy parents gave his mistress and her family $96,000 after they'd heard he'd been having an affair with his best friend's wife, Nevadans who have viewed John Ensign as a decent man and appropriate representative began to feel like villagers under an artillery barrage, cringing as they wait to see when and where the next shell will fall.

He needs to straighten out and fly right. Okay, that's been dealt with. Next we tackle and solve health reform, Middle East peace, and the US deficit.

NY Times:

In mid-spring, as the country grew alarmed over the swine flu, Ms. Palin skipped a briefing for administration officials on the outbreak by her chief medical officer, Dr. Jay C. Butler. A spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, noted that the teleconference took place about a month before the first case of the flu was reported in Alaska and that at the time the governor was meeting with top staff on the issue of federal stimulus funds. Since then, the state has had 122 confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu.

Dr. Butler said he resigned his post in June in part because the administration asked one of his highly regarded division heads, the state public health director, Beverly Wooley, to resign. "I felt that it was not a good time to be downsizing," said Dr. Butler, who is now working on a swine flu vaccination at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Butler said the governor’s office apparently deemed Ms. Wooley insufficiently supportive of the parental consent bill backed by Ms. Palin.

Ms. Leighow would only say, inexplicably, that Ms. Wooley had been terminated by the health department, not the governor.

Skipped a briefing? Who is she, George Bush? Disgraceful. And disqualifying for leadership if she can't manage to schedule important events.

Paul Krugman:

Now, it’s bad enough to be jobless for a few weeks; it’s much worse being unemployed for months or years. Yet that’s exactly what will happen to millions of Americans if the average forecast is right — which means that many of the unemployed will lose their savings, their homes and more.

Ross Douthat:

We’re passing through the worst economic dislocation of the past 80 years. Our politics are polarized; our institutions gridlocked. The governing party is mistrusted, the minority party despised.

Yet there’s remarkably little radical thinking taking place. The Republican Party is retrenching, falling back on Reagan-era verities. His promises of post-partisan change notwithstanding, Barack Obama’s agenda looks like the same old Democratic laundry list, rewritten in a sleeker, Internet-era font.

Robert J. Samuelson: I'm gonna have a stroke. Big government is back, and I'll be damned if I'll let that pass. I don't care how necessary or effective it is. I'm right! I'm right!! Hello? Is this on?

EJ Dionne:

This week's hearings on Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court represent the opening skirmish in a long-term struggle to challenge the escalating activism of an increasingly conservative judiciary.

Peter Winn:

Had I known in the spring of 1973 that this hesitant freshman from the Bronx would be nominated to the Supreme Court 36 years later, I would have taken detailed notes on our conversations and filed them away in anticipation. Unfortunately, all I have are my memories. But Sonia made a strong impression. She was not the best student I taught in my seven years at Princeton -- though she certainly was high on the list -- but she was the one who took greatest advantage of the opportunities there and emerged most transformed by her experience.

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http://xkcd.com/609/

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http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/yKbRW6eggqw/-Open-Thread-and-Diary-Rescue

Tonight's rescue brought to you by a synthetic cubist, mem from somerville, noddem, sunspark says, vcmvo2 and YatPundit, with srkp23 editing.

• Might you be interested in Citizen Wealth? Hear intrepidliberal discuss it with The Ultimate Organizer: An Interview With ACORN's Founder Wade Rathke. (mem from somerville)
• jtraynor wants you to meet the blue in Blue in A Progressive on the Force. (mem from somerville)
• Rusty5329 writes about his first day as an abortion clinic escort in "I Meet the Anti's". (vcmvo2)
• In a densely informative diary, FrankCornish compares The Lesson of Munich and the Lesson of Mossadegh. (a synthetic cubist)
• dancewater focuses on those who are "missing" in Iraq, and how that came to be, in WWB: the disappeared. (vcmvo2)
• Shocko from Seattle discusses the trials and tribulations of Japanese Beetles in Spray, baby, spray: an organic gardening thread. (YatPundit)
• Take a stroll off the beaten path with a vintage dem and hear some vintage music in your head that does Not Fade Away...Quiet Reverence In a Bean Field In Northern Iowa. (mem from somerville)
• Wayne A Schneider give us his best Don McLean impression with the song, Republicans Lie. (YatPundit)
• In It's the Criminality, Stupid, arendt proposes a new political faction: "law-and-order Democrats." (a synthetic cubist)
• sharistuff takes a down home and personal look at the effects of the recession in Laying Off Again, Too Small Not to Fail in America. (sunspark says)
• In a Road Trip Photo Diary, john de herrera shares insights on sales and human nature. (a synthetic cubist)
• DParker reminds us of a crucial and famous case in Great moments in criminal defense: Leopold and Loeb. (mem from somerville)
• Two Roads shares another thorough presentation addressing the infinite possibilities that may exist out there in Saturday Night Uforia: Anatomy of an Explanation, Astronomical (Part 1) (noddem)

jotter serves up yesterday's High Impact Diaries: July 11, 2009 and last Week's High Impact Diaries: July 4-10, 2009.

virgomusic brings Top Comments - Gunk of Ages Edition.

If you enjoy Diary Rescue, please consider joining the Rescue Rangers. It's a great way to become more involved with the Daily Kos community. Did we mention it's rewarding and fun? To volunteer or learn more, please contact us (don't forget to tell us your screen name) at: dkos.rescuerangers@gmail.com

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has pancreatic cancer and the illness is life-threatening, South Korean broadcaster YTN said on Monday based on information gathered by Chinese and South Korean intelligence sources.

Kim's health is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the reclusive communist state. Kim, 67, was widely thought to have suffered a stroke last year, but there has never been official confirmation.

Kim's health raises questions about succession in Asia's only communist dynasty and who will control its nuclear weapons programs.

The North conducted its second nuclear test on May 25, which was met by U.N. sanctions aimed at cutting off the impoverished state's lucrative arms trade and one of its few sources of hard cash.

South Korean officials have said the North's recent military grandstanding that also included missiles launches and threats to attack the South is linked to efforts to pave the way for Kim's youngest son to take over.

Kim took power in 1994 when his father died at the age of 82. He assumed the title of general secretary of the Workers' Party and chairman of the National Defense Commission, but has never taken the title of president.

(source)

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http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/ldgArApLkLg/-The-cost-of-no-public-option

There's a lot of arguing about the cost of the public option. The plan put forward by the HELP committee, is expected to cost $600 billion. The numbers (plucked from extremely well researched thin air) by the GOP insist the final number will be well above a trillion.

But what does it cost us to not have a public option?

Some of the costs of not having a public option are simple to calculate, but immeasurable in value. Infant mortality rates in the United States are 6.37 deaths/1,000 live births.  A sampling of other industrialized nations with public health care finds the United Kingdom at 5.01 deaths / 1,000 live births. Canada at 4.63. France at 3.41. If the United States infant mortality matched that of the United Kingdom, just under 6,000 fewer infants would have died in the United States last year. If we could match France around 13,000 fewer infants would have died.

Let's move to the other end of the spectrum. As of 2009, life expectancy in the United States is 78.11 years. Which sounds pretty good, until you realize it puts us one slot above Albania. For the United Kingdom, this number is 79.01 years. For France it's 80.98. For Canada, 81.23.  for the United States, that means about 270,000,000 years lost compared just to the slightly better numbers of the UK. 936,000,000 years lost compared to Canada. Want to stick a monetary value on it? Say that just a fourth of these Americans in their golden years are pulling down 20 hours a week and getting minimum wage to wave you into the local big box or bag your groceries. That's $442 billion worth of time lost compared to the UK. About $1.5 trillion lost if those workers had lived as long as Canadians.

There are good things to be said about the American system. When you're in an American hospital, a very good level of immediate care makes you more likely to survive the immediate aftermath of a health crisis. Just had a heart attack? Hug that cardiac care unit close and you're 20% more likely to hang around than your neighbor to the north. However, a low quality of long term and follow up care erodes that difference over the course of a year. Sorry.

But those are only a few of the direct effects of the cost of health care that's distributed by wealth rather than need. There are indirect effects that are equally dramatic.

Millions of Americans are in what's called "job lock." They can't leave their jobs because they feel they can't get the same health insurance benefits on their own or at the next job. A new poll by NPR News, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government shows that one out of four Americans has experienced job lock, in the last couple of years, or someone in their immediate family has. That's despite legislation enacted six years ago to deal with the problem.

Having health care that, for most Americans, continues to be directly tied to their employment has one very clear cost: it makes people less likely to voluntarily leave their current job. Sure, COBRA is now available, but the cost of continuing health insurance on your own is enough to make it of questionable value. The complex and highly variable nature of coverage makes it almost impossible for the average consumer to tell which, if any, insurance plan available to them represents a reasonable deal. Many Americans decide to stick with "the devil they know" rather than face rising costs, the uncertainty of acceptance, and the fear related to going it on your own.

Describing something as complex as losses to the economy caused by job lock is difficult. A precise answer is likely out of reach for even the most detailed computer model. However, the scale of the problem is easily demonstrated with a very simple equation.  

Wait! Don't run away. Yes, I did say equation and there are a few symbols lurking just ahead, but there's nothing here more complex than multiplication. And it'll be worth it. Trust me.

Here's that equation. W * L * E * S * V = N

Look like nonsense?  Let's fill in the letters.

W = the total number of workers in the United States. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, that number is right around 155 million.

L = the number of people who would leave their current jobs if employer-specific health insurance was not an issue. The NPR value cited above is at the low end of numerous studies from the early 1990s through 2008 that have put this number from around 25% to as high as 50%. Let's assume that a lot of folks claiming they'd be out that door if only they could be sure of health care are daydreaming and use the lower value.

E = the percentage of people who, after leaving their current jobs, we would attempt to become entrepreneurs and start new businesses. The rate of US workers engaged in entrepreneurial activity has fallen recently, due mostly to exactly this issue. With an average policy running $12,000 a year, many people who would ordinarily try to launch something new, instead move to another position with some portion of the health care cost provided. As of 2008, the "entrepreneurial index" -- those people who when switching jobs decided to start their own business -- was around 10%.

S = the percentage of entrepreneurs who successfully launch a new business. Depending on the study, the percentage of new small business that hold on for at least five years is somewhere between 30% and 50%.

V = the value generated by the average successful entrepreneur.  This is a tough number to figure, as businesses can add value to an economy in a variety of ways. Does that new service or product enable some other business to expand? What about the experience that workers get before moving on to another job? Raising property values near an active office. And, of course, salaries paid out to employees. As a starter number, let's use $100,000 per year. Don't worry, we can change it later.

So what does that give us?  Well, 25% of 155 million is 38.8 million people swapping jobs. 10% of that is 3.88 million people trying to start up new businesses. If just 30% of those are successful, that's 1.16 million new businesses in the United States -- which is a pretty amazing number all on its own. Job lock is costing us a million new businesses, maybe even a million new businesses a year. And if each of those business contributes $100K to the overall economy, that's a boost of $116 billion a year. If each of those new businesses employed 5 people, it would replace all the jobs lost in 2009. And 2008.

'N,' the "No Public Plan" cost, the cost of the job lock created by health care insurance provided mostly through employers, is $116 billion per year. Use the same 10 year period that the health care plan costs are predicated on, and that's over a trillion bucks.

The trillion dollar job lock tax. That's what we pay now for not having a public option.

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http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/CpOhfxC9sZM/-When-East-meets-West

There is a widespread consensus among most climate researchers and scientific organizations that the planet is warming due to greenhouse gas emissions mostly produced by human activity. But when it comes to what we should do about it, there is nothing like a consensus. The methods that do exist can be divided into two broad categories: reducing emissions by making it them 1) expensive or 2) obsolete. Past experience suggests that in the end, obsolete will be the most effective solution, and the synthesis of government, science, and good old fashioned capitalism is the best bet to make it possible.

It wasn't that long ago when the same political party now convinced government spending is reckless or evil -- unless it involves tax cuts for billionaires or killing people -- presided over one of the greatest counterexamples to their thesis:

At 12:47 Louie Jacobs, who was Central Pacific telegrapher at the end of track ticked out this message. "Almost ready. Hats off: prayer is being offered." ... and all over the country groups of people gathered in telegraph offices to hear the bulletins ... At Washington, D. C. a ball was suspended outside the capitol building which was detached and dropped at the first tap of the hammer at Promontory. Wires were extended to the bell in the capitol dome and each tap of the hammer more than 2000 miles away was repeated on the great bell.

And with those ceremonial hammer blows on May 10, 1869 in the rugged high desert of Promontory Point, Utah, America was connected from sea to shining sea via the first transcontinental railroad. It was the culmination of decades of cooperation between government agencies and railroad companies, the present day equivalent of trillions of dollars invested, and the subject of bitter controversy every hard won step of the way.

Some worried the financial burden alone would wreck the US economy, or threaten the delicate pre Civil War balance between the agrarian South and industrial North. A number of naysayers said the railroad would never work; snow and ice would leave goods and passengers stranded in the wilderness. Indians would raid the freight and scalp the riders. Others opined it would work too well and put thousands of stage coach operators and merchant ships out of business. The railroads were corrupt and that graft was being spread to the government, it invited unwelcome immigrants, conscript labor in most cases. The whole thing was all a giant rip off of the American taxpayer ... and on and on. The skeptics were mostly sincere, some of their arguments sound, a few tragic predictions even came to pass, but in general they could not have been more wrong.

Far from ruining the nation, transcontinental railroads were a major factor in forging the country we know today. The demand for steel and timber alone alone fueled an enormous economic boom in mills and coal mines. Goods and people soon moved back and forth in days instead of weeks, the cost to ship materials subsequently dropped, and the average standard of living skyrocketed. Energy and steel tycoons rose to great wealth and funded schools, hospitals, and observatories. Universities created and then expanded engineering and science departments to meet the demand, newly minted professionals trained in those fields rolled off the academic assembly line like steam engines and rail ties to usher in an era of innovation. The telephone, phonograph, electric lights, anesthetics, and Kodak film; the fruits of labs and research facilities, from Menlo Park to Mount Wilson, soon escorted the growing United States out of the Wild West and onto the world stage as a global, technological super-power.  

We the People partnering up with the best the academic and private sectors have to offer to meet great challenges, it’s the tried and true American way from Kitty Hawk to Mare Tranquillitatis and back to Silicon Valley. It's a big part of what made us a great nation. While we have used that home-grown ingenuity for war and peace, looking back over the last 150 years, it’s hard to argue with the results. And as fate would have it, today we have an opportunity to continue that legacy, in peace, whether it's building a future in space or rebuilding another on earth with alternative energy and green technology. Just as so many times in the past there are a lot of good, mutually inclusive reasons to do it. And sadly, just as then, there is no scarcity of no-can-do skeptics who say we cannot, or should not, do great things again.

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WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has ordered his national security team to investigate reports that U.S. allies were responsible for the deaths of as many as 2,000 Taliban prisoners of war during the opening days of the war in Afghanistan.

Obama told CNN in an interview that aired Sunday that he doesn't know how the U.S.-allied Northern Alliance behaved in November 2001, but he wants a full accounting before deciding how to move forward.

"I think that, you know, there are responsibilities that all nations have even in war," Obama said during an interview at the end of a six-day trip to Russia, Italy and Ghana.

"And if it appears that our conduct in some way supported violations of the laws of war, then I think that, you know, we have to know about that."

Were they killed by U.S.-backed forces?
The president's comments seem to reverse officials' statements from Friday, when they said they had no grounds to investigate the 2001 deaths of Taliban prisoners of war who human rights groups allege were killed by U.S.-backed forces.

Reacting to the interview, Physicians for Human Rights hailed Obama's decision.

"President Obama is right to say that U.S. and Afghan violations of the laws of war must be investigated," said Nathaniel Raymond, a Physicians for Human Rights researcher. "If the Obama administration finds that criminal wrongdoing occurred in this case, those responsible — whether American or Afghan officials — must be prosecuted."

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• His wife, Jenny, stepped to his defense for the first time.

• State law enforcement officials found Sanford broke no laws. Absent that, state law makes it difficult to remove a governor.

• South Carolina’s Republican leadership refused to ask Sanford. Meanwhile, lawmakers — in part because of wrangling over the 2010 governor’s race — could not coordinate a push to force Sanford to resign.

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The poster is clear:
1. Another upheavel (HamAse) is on its way.
2. Our Rande-vous Fri 26 Tir 1388 (17 July 2009).
A. Rafsanjani leading coming week's Friday prayer at Tehran university
3. Green wave ARISE, the promised day is coming.
4. With S Mohamad Khatami & Mir H Mousavi in attendance.
5. Attentions all friends awaiting demonstration and gathering of miliions.
Analysis: This gathering can only happen as a counter-coup! If millions arise the Khamenei-AhmadiNejad coup cannot stop this from happening. Unless this is a not-so-funny joke?!

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http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/iMWxRuqzRSg/-Toughest-Road-in-Election-2010-Is-Through-the-Governors-Mansion

For most folks on the left, consuming political opinion polling data has been a much less enjoyable exercise in 2009 than it has been for the past few cycles.

Call it the soft bigotry of high expectations--when you win everything not nailed down for four consecutive years, you begin to experience a deep sense of dread with every race where a double-digit lead is not present. Being down in a race brings nothing short of absolute panic.

The fact of the matter is that voter pessimism is translating to less than enviable numbers for many Democratic incumbents as we head into the 2010 election cycle. There is an inherent logic to that, of course. If voters are angry with "the guy in the office", you are more likely to feel the wrath if you actually ARE the guy in the office.

Nowhere is this voter antipathy being felt more acutely than among the nation's governors. 2009 polling data for our Democratic governors has been less than robust, as you can see from the following examples (source for polling data is here):

General Election Trial Heats: Democratic Governors

The above list, by the way, does not include Wisconsin, because the two recent polls here (ours and PPP's) had widely disparate results. The Democratic incumbent, Jim Doyle, is either up by several or down by several, depending on your pollster.

It is a roll call of close races and deficits that is sobering, to be sure. It is also fairly understandable.

Check out the following headlines from recent newspapers across the country:

• "Budget ills invite debate over cuts, taxes"--Dayton (OH) Daily News
• "Budget panel told state is headed for cliff"--The Colorado Statesman
• "Rendell plans 13% cut in higher-education budget"--The Philadelphia Inquirer
• "Officials warn: Cuts would be dead-serious for zoos"--The Boston Herald
• "Md. Starts Fiscal Year $700 Million in Red"--The Washington Post
• "Job-training program a victim of budget battle"--The Connecticut Post

...and the list goes on and on.

If you are the chief executive of just about any American state at this moment, there are simply no good choices. At this point, it is down to deciding what tax to raise amid a deluge of wailing and shouting, or deciding which essential program is going to be cut beyond recognition.

There is virtually nothing to be done that it is not going to result in hard feelings and political peril. Such are the times that we live in and they govern in.

Despite that, there are two things to remember about all of this, at least from the standpoint of cold political analysis:

1. This is not solely a Democratic problem

The traditional media, and even a handful of Democratic commentators (the intellectual descendants of Eeyore, in most cases), seem intent on flogging the "2010 will be a GOP comeback year" scenario for all that it is worth.

While it is reasonable to conclude that it is unlikely for Democrats to have a third dominant cycle in a row, a lot of the doomsday scenarios are probably equally overblown.

For one thing, any growing discontent with the Democratic Party, and there certainly seems to be some, has not been countered by an increase in public esteem for the GOP. Instead, when you look at the Daily Kos/Research 2000 State of the Nation Tracking Poll trends from January to the present, you will see that the public opinion of the GOP has trended even lower than that of the Democratic Party:

Furthermore, it is not as if Republican Governors are beloved while their Democratic counterparts are reviled. Many Republican governors are also seeing their lowest job approval ratings in their statehouse tenures. Again, there is nothing surprising in any of this. They are also the ones making ugly decisions, and their esteem in the eyes of voters will suffer predictably.

As you can see below, the GOP is in mearly as much danger of losing governorships as the Democrats are. The absence of endangered incumbents (all of the polls below are open seat races) is owed to the fact that most of the GOP's governors were either the casualties of term limits or (like Pawlenty and Palin) early retirements:

General Election Trial Heats: Republican Governors

And that doesn't even count Nevada Republican Jim Gibbons, who (inexplicably) is planning on running for re-election with a 10% job approval rating.

2. With Time on The Clock, Circumstances Are Very Fluid

The mountain of polling data above, for both parties, should be accompanied with one monstrous caveat--Nobody wins an election in July of the off-year. There is a lot that can change between now and November of 2010.

On balance, that is probably good news for the Democrats. If the economy improves substantially in that time frame, the Democrats are liable to engage in the lions share of the credit-taking. Of course, the converse is also true--if the economy is worse or stagnant, voter patience may well run out. Most analysis suggests that the former is slightly more likely than the latter, with at least some recovery underway by the end of 2010.

Also, polling data right now in many of these races is predicated on voter sentiment towards the incumbent party. The challenger is still, in most cases, an undefined quantity. As challengers become known (via primaries and candidate entrances and exits), the polls are liable to change.

New Jersey may be an instructive example here. In March, Republican nominee Chris Christie had a fifteen-point lead over incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine, according to Rasmussen. Corzine was, without question, being weighted down by grumpiness over the state of his state.

As the campaign has lurched forward, the lead has receded. One theory as to WHY it has receded is this: the challenger is now being defined. It is no longer "the governor whose state is in a budget stalemate over how much to cut" versus "the new guy". It is Jon Corzine versus Chris Christie, who now has more eyes on him as he explains what HE would do if he were in this position. As he does so, his once sizeable lead over the incumbent has shrunk noticeably: down to seven points (46-39) in the latest Rasmussen Poll.

This could be mimicked in places like Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, and Massachusetts.

The bottom line is this: governors, because of their unloved role as hatchet-men in the current political/economic climate, are going to take their lumps. The tenor of the times would seem to demand at least one or two political careers on a stick.

Premature projections of absolute disaster, however, are probably errant.

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Republican Women Federated of Simi Valley announced Palin was scheduled to speak to the group's private gala on Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. The event — reporters will not be allowed to attend — will take place in an airplane hangar that houses a retired presidential aircraft Air Force One and will stir more questions about he curious resignation.

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