The Republic of T.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for June 30th through July 1st:

• Failure at the G-20 –
• Defining Values — if a Democrat votes against exstending unemployment insurance, on what possible basis can they identify as Democrats? –
• BP: Beyond Prosecution –
• Regulators Made Sure Goldman Sachs Got All of its Bailout Money –
• Editorial: Who Will Fight for the Unemployed? –
• Money isn’t real — but people are. Why do our leaders think the opposite? –
• Unhinged on the right –

Every time I write one of these posts, I think — or, rather, I hope — it will be the last one. Maybe that’s because I harbor two apparently unrealistic hopes: (1) that no more children will be hurt, abused, or killed by the people who are supposed to care for them, and (2) that people will stop putting our parenting in the same category as people who do hurt, abuse, and kill their own children.

Like I said, these are unrealistic hopes. Maybe someday the reality of child abuse will be like a nightmare that fades from memory and into the distant past. But not today. And maybe someday, people will stop calling all that we do as parents — from making dinner to helping with homework, etc. — as abuse, because it’s part of being a parent, and because We’re doing it. Maybe someday. But not today

Certainly not with Pride season upon us, when the AFA finds out there’s a kid kicking off a pride parade.

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Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for June 24th through June 25th:

• Your Lousy Congress –
• The world wasn’t better in the past — but I was. –
• The Other Offshore Disaster –
• Arbitrary and Capricious, Indeed –
• Sucking the Teat –
• Sen. Stabenow: Republicans “willing to take the people of this country down with them” –
• America Detached from War –
• Ritual Sacrifice Failure — GOP getting squeezed by owners on both ends –
• The GOP has forgiven Joe Barton, but here are six reasons not to forget him –
• Michael Tomasky: Are Republicans putting elections ahead of economy? –

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for June 24th from 01:00 to 14:28:

• The American Right’s Credibility Problem –
• Ayn Rand Fan Rails Against “Parasites” While Taking a Million Bucks in Government Subsidies –
• Eric Cantor is right: Joe Barton isn’t the issue –
• Robert Koehler: Beyond Petroleum –
• Trusting Galt — Ron Paul says suspicion of BP is misplaced and congress should just let them do their own thing. –
• BP and Sado-Messochism –
• Robert Creamer: Evidence Arizona Immigration Law May Be Fatal Mistake for GOP –
• We've got a long way to go, baby… ranking the US health care system –
• Why the BP Disaster Threatens to Expose Fox News’ Insanity to Its Right-Wing Audience –
• Editorial: Serial Apologies, No Contrition –

American Conservatives from Joe Barton to Rand Paul and Sarah Palin have expressed outrage that the President Obama would use the the power of his office to hold BP accountable to the residents of the Gulf Coast. They are outraged because they believe this is something the government should not do: help Americans who are out-matched by corporate wealth, power and influence get some measure of justice.

Conservatives haven’t quite reduced government to “the size where we can drown it in the bathtub”. Not yet, but they keep trying because they believe government shouldn’t do what people cannot do themselves. So, if only to see what kind of world they have in mind, it’s worth looking at what happens when government doesn’t act to hold corporations accountable and protect people from the consequences of corporate negligence or malfeasance, and what happens when it can’t.

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Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for June 23rd from 12:24 to 19:06:

• Bob Cesca: The Rise of Haley Barbour as the New Republican Idiot –
• Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse: Protecting Our Government From Corporate Influence –
• Behind BP Disaster: Multinational wiith Dismal Safety Record –
• Cynthia Boaz: On the Moral Depravity of Capitalism in 21 Tweets. –
• Listen to these financial Wizards of Oz and prepare for another disaster –
• Joe Barton’s perverted shame. –
• The BP Party: GOP Stands Behind Congressman Who Apologized to BP –
• Jeff Madrick: BP Lesson: Big Government Myths Are Undermining America's Future –

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for June 21st through June 23rd:

• The Dead Hand of Ronald Reagan Rises in the Gulf –
• The re-Gilded Age –
• Why the Tea Party is Good for America –
• Sarah Palin: livin’ on a prayer –
• It’s Not You; It’s Me –
• Vegetarians Happier Than Meat-Eaters –
• Is BP Burning Endangered Sea Turtles Alive? –
• Why BP’s Dumb Investors Need to Stop Crying –
• Op-Ed Columnist: When Greatness Slips Away –
• Missing the deficit opportunity –

Ed. Note: Since this piece was written, Barton (or a Barton aide) has tweeted and deleted a “retraction of the retraction” of the original apology.

Andrew Reinbach is right. Deservedly or not, the political gods continue to smile on the Democrats, gifting them with an opposition so predictable and caricatured — from punishing the unemployed, to defending Wall Street — that they seem to be straight out of central casting. Now, the GOP has morphed into The Party of BP. After Rep. Joe Barton’s apology to BP, you’d think they would worry about being cast as “The Party of BP.” Instead, they’re actually embracing the role.

David Broder says that Barton’s comments only “highlight the GOP’s propensity for gaffes.” He wishes. Broder may yet earn a nomination for the Peggy Noonan Award for Sanity in Conservative Commentary. But here’s the thing. Barton just stuck to the script. He only said what 114 of his fellow caucus members, and other conservatives already believe. In fact, Barton is starting to gain supporters.

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GO(B)P, originally uploaded by TerranceDC.

A little over the top? With all the BP apologists in the GOP caucus — from Joe Barton to Michelle Bachmann and the Republican Study Committee — I don’t think so. I whipped this up for a project at the day job. It’s a remix of Noah Scanlin’s fine work.

The unemployment crisis is startling to looking a lot like the gusher in the Gulf, except that where there may not be much political leaders can do about that, there are things that can be done about unemployment. The difference is that they are choosing not to do anything about it. Just as the spread of the oil from the Gulf may have long-term consequences, and leave permanent damage, so will the jobs deficit Washington has determined not to do anything about. That’s not just bad policy. It’s pathetic politics.

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Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for June 11th through June 16th:

• The Very Angry Tea Party –
• The Very Angry Tea Party –
• The Very Angry Tea Party –
• When will Tony Hayward lose his job? A Slate poll. –
• When will Tony Hayward lose his job? A Slate poll. –

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. George W. Bush might have been slightly better president if he’d listened to the women in his family. That’s become even more evident, now that he’s safely out of office, and some of the women in the family are more free to speak their minds.

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Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for June 10th from 01:40 to 13:38:

• Olbermann: ‘Cartoon-like’ Tea Partier’s win really a loss for GOP –
• Lewis Black’s spill solution: Declare war, invade BP –
• Take Action: No More Gambling With Taxpayer Money! –
• When will Tony Hayward lose his job? A Slate poll. –
• George Will Should Follow Helen Thomas –
• Study: Children of Lesbians Better Off –
• Former Bush Official Josh Bolten Advising BP On How To “Defend Its Interests” And Restore Its Reputation –
• Daily Show: Female Politicians Have Been Waiting a Long Time to Save the U.S. From Stupid Men –
• The BP Disaster Marks the End of the Age of Arrogance About the Environment … Can We Change? –
• Stewart Acuff: Utilities Are a Public Good and Should Be Owned By the Public –

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for June 5th through June 9th:

• Republican welfare –
• Bob Cesca: Sarah Palin Demands Hardball Regulations and a Takeover of BP –
• Are the 10 Commandments really the basis for U.S. laws? –
• Laura Flanders: The F Word: Bubba Goes to Arkansas –
• Mormon Church Fined In Connection With Anti-Gay Marriage Campaign – CBS News –
• "We May Disagree, But Our Future is Common" –
• Americans Have Worse Opinion of Tea Parties Than Ever Before –
• The economy or the deficit –
• The dumbing down of Carly Fiorina – Apparently, you have to pretend to be ignorant of science to win a Republican primary these days –
• What Emergencies? Fear of Deficits Leads Congress to Punt –

• #afn10 Dave Niewert – Beck promoted book of former Hitler supporter. Refused to apologize for it. #
• #afn10 Rucker – An organized response can make right "own" or "disown" Beck-like extremists. #
• #afn10 James Rucker – goal was to make Fox "own" Beck, inform mainstream advertisers. #
• #afn10 Atlas – extremists/militias now joining "sore loser voters" #
• #afn10 TeaParty Atlas – Extension of movement conservatism. Not "out of nowhere" #
• #afn10 TeaParty Atlas – "whiplash politics" set in immediately after election. #
• #afn10 John Amato – is the "fever swamp" America's future now? #
• #afn10 John Atlas – After close 2000 election right order US AG to indict ACORN for voter fraud. #
• #afn10 John Atlas – ACORN turned local group into national assoc. That could chnage fed policy. #
• #afn10 John Atlas – in less than two years ACORN died after 40 years of anti-poverty activism. #
• #afn10 TeaParty Digby – TP's extremists led by some very powerful, wealthy people. #
• #afn10 TeaParty Digby – Media confused by TPs. Became convinced that this was "real America" speaking. Starting to break down. #
• #afn10 Tea Party Digby – TP's came about thru astroturfing from top down. Grassroots powered by Fox. #
• #afn10 Tea Party Digby – right wing noise machine has power over media that media isn't even aware of. #
• #afn10 Tea Party Beck has mentioned "revolution" on 85 episodes since coming to Fox. #
• #afn10 Zaitchik – Beck took hold of tea party and made it a home for conservtives w/o a tendency to "think through" etc. #
• #afn10 Tea Party Zaitchik – Beck reahes over 30 million Americans. Television is a small sliver of Beck's business. #
• #afn10 Tea Party – Alexander Zaitchik – The "Fever Swamp" Buckley criticized has become mainstream conservatism. #

Like any parents, we want the best possible future for our children, and we’re doing all we can to prepare them to attain it as our parents did for us. Being the grandson of sharecroppers and the son of 1st generation Polish immigrants, to us that means getting an education, being able to land a “good job” with the possibility of moving up the economic ladder. But the current rate of long-term joblessness, and Washington’s apparent lack of political will to remedy it make me wonder if our elected officials see long-term unemployment as a crisis to be averted or “the new normal” — a “correction” that must simply be accepted.

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• #afn10 Karen Nussbaum – If we don't struggle to reach the hearts and minds of working people, we lose. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum the place to address the tea party is not with leadership. The way to address the tea party is person to person. #
• #afn10 People want to see effective government. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – Message "Corporations have too much power and they're ruining our economy. Here's how we're going to stop that." #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – People want to know how you're going to solve the problems, not just that you're for solving them. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – People really don't care about how the system works or doesn't, they just want to to work. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – Bipartisanship doesn't spontaneously come up when talking to people about crisis. #
• #afn10 Westen – No consequences from the left for WH, Dems, etc. #
• #afn10 Westen – We need a left flank that gets active, and it's been too silent. #
• #afn10 Westen – Progressive have been too silent when the W/H announces things like offshore drilling while talking climate change. #
• #afn10 Mursull – House passed more progressive legislation than any Congress since New Deal. #
• #afn10 Mursull – We need to hear "These guys drove the economy into a ditch" and we won't let that happen again. #
• #afn10 Mursull – AZ + Tea Baggers = "Oh my God. These people don't think I'm an American." #
• #afn10 Mursull – Opportunity to define not just the alignment of political values but alignment of identities. #
• #afn10 Mursull – 18 States considering AZ style laws – What does that say to someone like me. #
• #afn10 Mursull – Add insult to injury every time someone says "I want my country back." #
• #afn10 Mursull – It's going to be very hard in next 20 years for progressive to win w/o figuring out Latino issues. #
• #afn10 Mursull – If we don't take this opportunity, we are missing opportunity of a lifetime w/Latino voters. #
• #afn10 Mursull – Are progressives doing the job to affirm that Latino identity is in line with progressive identity. #
• #afn10 Mursull – Since 2008, there's been a hold-out for hope. Question is whether they will engage or not. #
• #afn10 Mursull – 2008 was the first time we registered more Democratic Latino voters. #
• #afn10 Mursull – Latino frustration is "all oveer the place." #
• #afn10 Jorge Mursull – insight on Latino community, start w/job loss, etc. and add the most egregious anti-immigrant actions in my life. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – Backed up with a movement and political leaders who will lead, they can tip our way. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – It's less scary to go after corporations, wall street, etc. if you're on your own. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – Working class is at the tipping point. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – People are looking for an alternative to the status quo. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – When we're at the front door, Glenn Beck is on the TV in the living room, but people listen. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – white working class moderates are open to understanding how status quo benefits big corporation. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – right wing talking points take hold in a vacuum. #
• #afn10 Nussbaum – Think of the political spectrum as a mobius strip – very fluid. #
• #afn10 Karen Nussbaum – talking to non-unionized, working class whites can make them winnable #
• #afn10 Westen – Never let attacks go unanswered. #
• #afn10 If you throw a bipartisan party and no one comes, don't throw another one. #
• #afn10 Westen – Tell the story of how we got in this mess our you'll own it. #
• #afn10 Westen – Following the CW when by taking right works against us. #
• #afn10 Westen – No one will talk about stocking racial fears of day when whites are minority, when data shows it's best to talk about it. #
• #afn10 Westen – No one answers conservative counter-narratives, on cause of recession, health care, and government. #
• #afn10 Westen – Seems like the bailout happened in a week. Why exchanges take 3 years I don't know. #
• #afn10 Westen – You can explain why def. spending is necessary in 15 sec. Need to do it over and over gain. #
• #afn10 Westen – FDR called the depression the conservative depression or republican depression. #
• #afn10 Westen – WH doens't tell us why economy is down, why deficit spending is needed, offer an alt. narrative on gov't. #
• #afn10 Drew Westen – "Despite talk of accountability, no one is fired" 1 auto executive and MMS head. #
• #afn10 Lake – The public is frustrated but listening. The people who answer that frustration and present an agenda w/answers win in Nov. #
• #afn10 Lake – strong support for more progressive tax system. #
• #afn10 Lake – CEOs get bailed out but still cost jobs and ship them overseas. #
• #afn10 Lake – number one priority for Americans, end the benefits for moving jobs overseas. #
• #afn10 56% blue collar men negative about direction of the country #
• #afn10 Lake – Dissatisfaction with Congress is starting to have a partisan edge that is not in our favor. #
• #afn10 Lake – Voters have not yet closed the door. Still looking for the change they voted for. will try to force again this Nov. #
• #afn10 Lake – There is a serious economic message that could be had by either side. #
• #afn10 only 10% believe they have benefited from economic policies. #
• #afn10 Lake 62% sa large banks have benefited from economic policies #
• #afn10 27% report having lost health insurance. #
• #afn10 43% of Americans report reduced wages #
• #afn 38% of Americans say someone close to them has lost a job #
• #afn10 only 18% of Americans think things are getting better at the local level #
• #afn10 Voters overall are negative on the direction of the country – Overwhelmingly w/blue-collar workeres. #
• #afn10 Voters still want change and a progressive new direction more than the satus quo. #
• #afn10 Celinda Lake – It's not just jobs anger, but "paycheck anger" as well. #
• #afn10 Celinda Lake "Voters are upset with the direction of the country and the state of the economy." #
• #afn10 "Workning Class Anger: Does It Swing Right Or Left?" – the pols and pollsters speak. #
• Arlene Holt Baker "Working people are at a crossroads. They can swing towards left wing progressivism or right wing conservatism. #

I’ve never considered myself a “professional blogger.” That’s mainly because I’ve never come close to making my living off my humble blog. So, I’m light years away from being in the same set as those who have, like Markos and Aravosis, just to name a couple of political bloggers who come to mind. Nor can I claim to have built a personal media empire a’la Josh Marshall. Nor have I ever counted myself among the “Haves” of the blogosphere, as defined by the New York Magazine article a few years back.

Nor can I count myself among the bloggers who have hitched their blogging stars to various media outlets — Sullivan (The Atlantic), Klein, and Yglesias (ThinkProgress) come to mind, now joined by Nate Sliver who’s taking FiveThirtyEight to the new York Times.

I’m not even sure what professional bloggerdom feels like, but I’ve always been pretty sure wherever I’m at ain’t it.

Then I read Chris Bowers’ eulogy for the amateur blogosphere.

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Like tea party activists and some of their fellow conservatives, Congress’ reckless inattention to the deficit makes me concerned for my children’s future and the kind of economy they will inherit if indifference continues. It’s not because Congress is spending too much. It’s because Congress is investing far too little where it’s needed most, to do what the private sector can’t right now — create jobs. The alternative is long-term unemployment, for a long, long time — and all its attendant consequences.

When I look at the current reality of long-term unemployment and the appalling failure of our elected officials to do anything about it — despite having ready options that might begin to offer some relief — I fear I’m looking at my children’s’ future, and that of millions of our children. As parent who’s already doing all I can, I’m asking: Why doesn’t somebody do something?

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Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for June 2nd through June 3rd:

• Tomgram: William Astore, Washington’s Compulsive Gambling –
• Long-term unemployment –
• BP Oil Spill: A Slippery Slope to FEMA Detention Camps? –
• Editorial: Reckoning of the Gulf Oil Spill –
• Are Compassion and Community Evil? –