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LIGHTNING ROUND: I PREFER MY TEA LOOSE-LEAF.
- President Obama has requested $83.4 billion to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through September 30, although the administration was quick to note that this was not a reestablishment of the Bush administration's practice of omitting war funding from the budget in favor of making repeated "supplemental" requests. California Rep. Lynn Woolsey has come out against the request, although I don't see any evidence of the bait-and-switch she implies is happening.
- As this Politico piece details, the party's over for taking principled stands against receiving federal stimulus dollars. But in an effort to criticize the Gates budget that supposedly "cuts" Defense spending, Sen. Saxby Chambliss reminds us that government spending via the military is always efficient, economically stimulative, and downright desirable. (The budget actually represents an overall 4 percent increase in military spending.) Finally, Chris Good asks whether stimulus dollars will actually be used to shore up badly dilapidated infrastructure.
- I know Barack Obama sees "glimmers of hope" for economic recovery, but this Time editorial that boldly proclaims "the great banking crisis of 2008 is over" ought to be sealed in a time capsule. We'll laugh about it someday -- when we stop crying.
- I tell you, I'm really looking forward to watching these astroturf "tea parties" (or is it "tea bag parties?") unfold on April 15. I especially like that Fox News is openly shilling for these protests because they can't quite come to grips with the fact that there is no "popular wave" supporting them, and that many House Republicans are helpfully tying themselves and their party to this nonsense. But like Steve Benen, I'd really like to know what on earth these people are protesting, exactly.
- Let it be known that not only is Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) a bargain-basement McCarthyist for claiming to know that there are 17 socialists currently serving in the U.S. House, but that he is also a coward if he refuses to name names. Glenn Thrush, meanwhile, thinks he might know who Bachus talking about.
- Remainders: The Gates Defense budget gets a high-profile supporter; Olympia Snowe makes a big signal toward substantive health care reform; Rep. Paul "magical unicorn budget" Ryan has no idea what progressive taxation means; Ramesh Ponnuru, like most conservatives, apparently believes Barack Obama wants to expand the government for its own sake; and honorary degrees are pretty silly, but would it kill ASU to have a standard for distributing them other than "and ye shall hail from Arizona?"
--Mori Dinauer
COMMENTS (9)
Spencer Bachus is the ranking Republican member of the House Financial Services Committe, which has principal jurisdiction over matters relating to the financial crisis and the reform of the financial sector - not a trivial task. If Glenn Trush is right, one of the people Bachus is implicitly calling a socialist is the chairman of the committee, Barney Frank. If Bachus thinks this, he is of course mistaken. But he means it as a grave accusation. What does this imply for the possibility of collegial relations between the two parties on the committee?
Posted by: KH | April 10, 2009 6:26 PM
Do Republicans even get the double entendre about teabagging, or are they just clueless?
Posted by: John in Nashville | April 10, 2009 6:33 PM
You mean my favorite movie of all time.
Posted by: runescape power leveling | April 10, 2009 9:48 PM
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Deflation hits Ireland
Ireland's consumer prices fell 2.6 per cent in March from a year ago, the sharpest rate of deflation since 1933, when the world was struggling through the Great Depression, official figures showed yesterday.
The March rate accelerated from an annual deflation rate of 1.7 per cent in February, the Central Statistics Office said. The report said there was no change in prices from February to March, which are now at August 2007 levels.
Ireland's deflation began in January and reflects the country's sudden fall into a deep recession.
The country last suffered from deflation in 1960.
Although lower prices can help spending and exports, deflation can be damaging for an economy if prices enter a downward spiral - consumers hold off buying items on expectations they will become cheaper, pushing retailers to cut prices to encourage spending, and so on.
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, when announcing an emergency budget on Wednesday to trim 3.25 billion ($7.32 billion) from Ireland's ballooning deficit, said the Government expected deflation to average 4 per cent in 2009.
Posted by: raivo pommer | April 11, 2009 7:39 AM
It's clear, they are protesting not being in power.
Posted by: Anthony Damiani | April 11, 2009 6:44 PM
Dennis Kucinich's views are essentially those of a European democratic socialist. There are a handfull of others in Congress also.
So what't the big deal? Why are we horrifed at the word socialism? We could use some democratic socialism in this country.
Posted by: ColinLaney | April 12, 2009 11:46 AM
(corrected text)
Dennis Kucinich's views are essentially those of a European democratic socialist. There are a handfull of others in Congress also.
So what's the big deal? Why are we horrifed at the word socialism? We could use some democratic socialism in this country.
Posted by: ColinLaney | April 12, 2009 11:49 AM
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