Credit card companies are not our friends TIME magazine shows how they try and squeeze fees and fines out of you like they're trying to get blood from a turnip. Here's how ludicrous it's getting: "What's next? Card companies are weighing a fee for people who pay their balance every month, says [Credit.com's Adam] Levin. Watch out for that one."
He just cannot learn to shut up Rep. Chris Abu-Ghraib-Was-A-"Sex-Ring" Shays (R-CT) on the Iraq War: "In my judgment we should have gone in sooner but not for weapons of mass destruction."
Fighting back Yesterday, the Dems spent nearly $12 million on 32 races. See our rundown of the big buys here.
Corruption watch DHS decides to extend contract wtih 'hookergate' limo agency. I guess Duke and his pals still have some juice.
Stealing another election No doubt this is the first of many GOP voter suppression operations to be revealed in this cycle.
FBI to question remaining dwarfs? Rep. Weldon (R-PA) reveals secret source -- an unidentified man at a gym named "Grumpy" -- who says Weldon's opponents are behind the DOJ corruption investigation that recently led to multiple FBI raids in two states.
He must think it's worth it. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis has spent almost $800,000 of campaign dollars to the lawyers defending him in the ever-expanding Duke Cunningham investigation. Good he's not in charge of where money gets spent or anything. Oh... Wait...
Corruption watch I really don't think 'I can't talk about it' plays well in a close fought election, does it?
Republican U.S. Senate nominee Bob Corker said Wednesday he was forbidden from talking about a settlement in a lawsuit that challenged how a city conservation easement became an access road to commercial property his company sold while he was mayor.
"We are not even allowed" to talk about it, Corker said, citing a deal between "number of parties that have been involved" as plaintiffs and defendants.
The agreement in the three-year environmental lawsuit has extended the mystery for voters in his race against Democratic U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. of Memphis. The Democrat's campaign seized on the issue Wednesday.
"It was public land belonging to the people of Chattanooga and Tennessee. They deserve to know if Bob Corker destroyed it to make millions and then wrote a check to avoid having to tell the truth about it in a deposition," Ford campaign spokesman Tom Lee said.
But don't worry. Corker insists the need for secrecy is "absolutely" not political.
More election dirty tricks…keep brown people away from the polls… Recovering Liberal
Satisfying verdicts. Wal-Mart got stung by a state jury last Thursday for breaking state labor laws---y'know, unreasonable looney liberal concepts like rest breaks and getting paid for all the hours you work. Says Chris Kofinis, a spokesman for WakeUpWalMart.com: "I think it reinforces that this company's sweatshop mindset is a serious problem, both legally and morally." Which reminds me: don't forget that Barbie's Dream Mariana Islands Slave Factory is on sale for just $23.97. Aisle twelve.
Sicko corruption watch Let's return to a point that to some of you will be old news, but is still worth restating. TPM Reader RT does the honors ...
What no one seems to want to report is that Tom DeLay promised the garment industry in the Marianna Islands that the government would stay out of their sweat-shop affairs. DeLay got Abramhoff to get Mehlman to make sure the right guys were in control. That’s because the garment industry of the Islands had basically kidnapped Asian woman who paid a price to get to the United States for work. Since the Marianna’s are a US commonwealth, the garment industry can technically put “Made in the USA” labels on their products, but in reality, the garments are made in mediocre-paying sweat shops by captive labor who are also forced into prostitution and also forced to get abortions if they get pregnant. This is what DeLay, Mehlman, Abramhoff and company were getting paid to protect. Let’s get that story out, please.
All true. A hideously sordid tale.
And then there's this Rep. Sweeney on a Abramoff junket to the Marianas: You Call This a Sweatshop? I've Seen Worse in New York.
Middle class squeeze Courtesy of McClatchy, here's a nice graphic that explains why most people aren't very impressed by the past five years of economic expansion. It's because they're not seeing it themselves:
Through September, the growth in hourly wages was flat or negative for 27 of the previous 29 months, according to Labor Department data....Workers are barely keeping up. Health care, wages and energy prices are consumers' top three economic concerns, according to a Gallup poll in September.
"That has to do with things like stagnant wages, fears of jobs being outsourced, income security. These are on people's minds, particularly in lower- and middle-income areas," said Dennis Jacobe, chief economist in Charlotte, N.C., for Gallup.
"I think it's quite clear to people that their paychecks are being squeezed when they try to meet their family budgets," said Jared Bernstein, the chief economist for the liberal Economic Policy Institute in Washington. "There's a disconnect between overall economic performance and paychecks of working families."
And this is all happening when the broad economy is chugging along pretty nicely. What's going to happen when there's a downturn?
Guru of goalpost-movers. Just so we have a record we can look back on, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman said that the "next [three] [six] [nine] months" in Iraq would be the most crucial in November, 2003 (35 months ago)...June, 2004 (28 months ago)...October, 2004 (24 months ago)...November, 2004 (23 months ago)...September, 2005 (13 months ago)...December, 2005 (10 months ago)...January, 2006 (9 months ago)...March, 2006 (7 months ago)...April, 2006 (6 months ago)...and May, 2006 (5 months ago). And he still has a key to the executive washroom. Astounding.
Even Laura kills! "The Democrats and the American media have agreed not to mention her depraved indifference." Pickles ran a stop sign, killed a man and the cops failed to test her for alcohol. She killed the most popular boy in school, her old botfriend, and the cops never bothered to test her? It's a good thing she wasn't black, and driving with a cracked taillight.
Compassionate conservatism in action. Well, it's been a year since Congress's gift to banks and credit card companies---aka the "Bankruptcy's For Sissies" bill---went into effect, and the Jedi Knights at the Center for American Progress have issued their reality-based conclusion on how it's (not) working:
One thing the new law hasn't done: helped anyone get out of debt. According to a report by American Progress and SEIU, "middle class families are struggling to pay for a home, health insurance, transportation and their children's college education due to a weak labor market and sharply higher prices." As a result, "middle class families are borrowing record amounts of money." Fewer middle class Americans are prepared to deal with a layoff or a medical emergency. The new bankruptcy law makes it harder for middle-class Americans who go through hardship to get back on their feet.
Memo to Speaker Pelosi: Call me---I think I have an idea for what you should do during your 101st hour.
Bad omen for bad religion. A gaggle of prominent religious-right leaders tried to sell tickets and fill an arena with the faithful Monday to rally them to turn out and vote for Republican'ts in November. But the RSVPs were so bad that they ended up moving to a wee bitty church and giving out tickets for free. Bad month for God to go on sabbatical, eh guys?
The Defense Secretary we have, not the Defense Secretary we wish to have. Donald Rumsfeld just had to remind We The Sheeple yesterday that the terror threat to America is imminent and should be taken seriously. This from a leader of the party that didn't fulfill the action steps of the 9/11 Commission report, but did think it was a swell idea to slash anti-terrorism funding from areas that need it most so it could beef up defenses around the World's Largest Ball of Twine. Does he know what he's talking about? Heaven's, no. Is it because his underwear's too tightly wrapped around his head? Gosh, yes.
The Big Dump. On October 19, 1987---on Ronald Reagan's watch---stocks plunged 508 points amid panicky selling. The percentage decline was actually worse than the crash of 1929. Meanwhile, yesterday the Dow Industrials briefly flirted with the "magical" (Paula Zahn's silly word last night) 12,000 mark. Of course, adjusting for inflation it should be over 14,000 by now. But don't tell Paula...she might put on her frumpy frowny face and be alllll sad.
The stench of desperation We've had a lot of fun watching the ongoing Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly feud. Keith has not spared either Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News or The New York Post in their determined cheerleading for the Bush Administration.
But this latest riposte from Murdoch's NY Post has a serious stench of desperation to it. Not able to address him on facts, Page Six has opted to smearing Keith on his sheer manliness. I mean, how laughably pathetic and transparent can you be?
First, there was the saga of "KarmaBites" , the allegedly 30-something Cuban hottie who claimed that Keith was (gasp!) bad in bed and hightailed it out of the hotel room as quickly as possible, leaving her with no other recourse than to create a website (interestingly, accessible by invitation only) denouncing his skills in the boudoir. I'll refrain from using the old adage about getting the milk for free with Karma–after all, she agreed to meet the guy in a hotel room for a tryst. There's a term for people like this, but of course, the NY Post makes Keith out to be the cad.
Apparently, not enough people took that story seriously. Can you blame them? So now–according to Page Six–Keith not only has limited skills in the bedroom, but he requires pharmaceutical assistance to get there in the first place. Their evidence? Cialis advertises on MSNBC during Countdown. I'm not joking.
I can't bring myself to watch Fox News long enough to know whether there are Cialis ads (although Skin The Fox does have a list of sponsors, which includes a pharmaceutical company). But I have yet to watch a Monday Night Football game or Superbowl that doesn't include a Viagra ad or two. Is Murdoch suggesting that the NFL and its commentators can't get it up too?
"Yeah, Michael Steele, y'all..He cares about Jesus"
-- Don King, (R-Manslaughter) endorsing Michael Steele for the Senate, Link
Here's the story of another member of Congress who went to the floor of the House on Abramoff's behalf to denounce a teenager filipino girl who was held captive as a sex slave on the islands. This stuff isn't just about misfiled disclosures and skyboxes. It's real dark.
5 stages of Republican scandal:
1. "I have not been informed of any investigation or that I am a target"
2. "I am cooperating fully, but this whole thing is a political ploy by the Democrats"
3. "I'm SHOCKED by the mistakes made by my subordinates"
4. "I'm deeply sorry for letting down my friends and family. I now recognize that I am an alcoholic. I will be entering rehab immediately, so I have no time for questions"
5. "Can I serve my time at Eglin Federal Penitentiary (aka Club Fed)?"
And we'll add Step 6, after time served: "I'm proud to accept this position on the [Big Fat Corporation] board of directors, and please also buy lots of copies of my new book." Ain't life grand?
If you're keeping score at home Republican List of Corruption is a great reference for keeping up with Republican indictments and convictions. It's a long read!