Yearly Archives: 2008

Less than 100 to Go

Posted on October 12, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Less than 100 days to go before the inauguration, and in anticipation I've moved my countdown clock from the very bottom of the blog, where it has rested for years, up to the top so that it may enjoy a moment in the sun before its retirement.

Inaugurations are at 12 noon on January 20th of the year following the November election. If you are wondering why the clock shows what seems to be an extra hour, I think it is because this counter cleverly includes the extra hour for the move off Daylight Savings Time, the last Sunday in October, when we gain an hour (“Spring forward, Fall back”).

Posted in Politics: US: GW Bush Scandals | Comments Off

Google’s Time Machine

Posted on October 11, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Goole has a Time Machine. Search the web as it was in January 2001.

Posted in Internet | 1 Comment

OK, This I Don’t Like

Posted on October 11, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

In Evidence that we should freak out, episode I, RC3 points me to Grain piling up in Canadian ports | FP Passport:

Still think the global credit crunch is all about the TED spread and collateralized debt obligations? Think harder. Export-bound grain has started piling up in Canada as sellers have begun refusing to trust the credit lines and financial institutions linked to their foreign buyers.

The problem is that Canada's export cargoes don't get loaded until buyers can prove their ability to pay — proof that has been increasingly hard to come by in the wake of bank defaults and shrinking credit markets worldwide. Unable to get credit lines, many buyers have left the grain market, generating big losses for Canadian shippers. Add to this the greater costs that shippers now shoulder because of delayed payments, and the picture starts looking pretty bleak.

Krugman is right (again): if the IMF crowd can't pull something fierce-looking out of the hat this weekend, next week is going to be a real shocker.

(But I find Evidence that we should freak out, episode II much less convincing. That sounds more like an investment opportunity than a looming disaster.)

Posted in Econ & Money | 2 Comments

Video: Taddeo Smacks Down Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on Social Security

Posted on October 11, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Thanks to Eyeonileana (FL-18: Annette Taddeo instructs incumbent on Social Security) for the link to this video:

I wish everyone in the 18th Congressional District could see this: Democrats are sometimes accused, occasionally even with justice, of fear-mongering on Social Security. But with this incumbent it's all true: she really does support 50% privatization — and if she'd had her way, in the future people who depend on Social Security would be very very vulnerable.

Posted in Politics: FL-18 | Comments Off

Panel Says Palin Abused Power in Troopergate

Posted on October 10, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Washington Post, Alaska Legislative Probe Finds Palin Misused Power
NYT, Panel Finds Palin Abused Authority in Firing State Official
Full text of the Alaska Legislature's report (pdf, 263 pages)

Now does he dump her from the ticket? I'm guessing he doesn't.

Posted in Politics: The Party of Sleaze | 2 Comments

Friday McBush/McSame Bashing

Posted on October 10, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

News about the Hate Talk Express.

Friday

ArchPundit, Good on LaHood — retiring GOP Congressman slams Palin
- Bob Geiger, GOP Leaders Abandoning McCain: “Who Is John McCain?”
HuffPo, Obama Called “Traitor” Again At McCain Rally
- TPM, Anti-Obama Fury Spills Over Into Down-Ticket Contests: 'Bomb Obama'
HuffPo, Congressional Republicans Have No Opinion On McCain Mortgage Plan
Crooks & Liars, This is what the hate from Right wing talk radio, bloggers and FOX News creates
Political Animal, Hate, fear, and ignorance
Jonathan Adler, Volokh, “McCain 2 Old”:
TPM, Which Is It? (Palin's stories on Troopergate)
Political Animal, They know no limits, they have no shame
- TPM, Crockodile Tears (from McCain camp about the hate they are whipping up)
- Joe Klein, Swampland, Better to Be…
Political Animal, Troopergate endgame
David Weinberg, Joho the Blog, Obama on McCain on buying up bad mortgages
Political Animal, Temper, Temper
knagenga, mlive.com, Former governor Milliken backs away from McCain

Thursday

David Neiwert, Orcinus, Sarah Palin's dalliances with Wasilla's own extremists
Boing-boing, If It Walks Like A Duck and Talks Like a Duck Dept: The McCain-Palin Mob
Serge F. Kovaleski, NYT, In Dozens of Calls, Palins and Aides Pressed for Trooper's Removal
McCain questioner complains of McCain's condescension
Kenneth P. Vogel, Politico, McCain didn't report ties to Contra group
CNN, Poll: 47 percent concerned McCain wouldn't finish first term
HuffPo, McCain Co-Chair Calls Obama “A Guy Of The Street,” Raises Drug Use
Greg Sargent, TPM Election Central, McCain Supporter Rants About 'Hooligan' Obama And 'Socialist' Takeover — And McCain Agrees
ThinkProgress, Keating to McCain in 1986: ‘I’m yours til death do us part.’
Crooks & Liars, McCain Media's Collective Yawn At McCain's Big “News”
Romanesko, What NYT's Brooks really thinks about Palin
Crooks & Liars, The Palin-McCain Mob
Kevin Drum, Sarah's Airplane & Sarah Palin's Foreign Policy Cred
TPM, The Cowardice Issue
AFL-CIO NOW Blog, McCain’s Claims on Veterans’ Issues Don’t Match Reality
The Buzz, Obama ad aims to make McCain look shady
DeLong, Can't Anybody Play This Game? The McCain Campaign Defies Belief
Tech for Obama
TPM Presents a Collection of John McCain's Worst Attacks… McCain's World of Sleaze
Political Animal,
- McCain hands Obama a target
- A lesson in contrasts
- McCain's mortgage plan draws fire
- The company they keep
- Baiting McCain
- Should Cindy McCain be fair game?
Crooks & Liars, John McCain lowers himself into the Ayers bathwater with Sean Hannity
TPM, Real Piece of Work (Todd Palin)
- TalkLeft, Late Night: Poor, Poor Pitiful Me
Obama Blog, “The Record,”, McCain’s Disastrous Mortgage Bailout Pulverized Around Nation
- McCain mortgage plan shifts costs to taxpayers
Obama Ad, Tested

Wednesday

Obama Ad, Taketh
Crooks & Liars, Nina Easton: John McCain Sank the Free Market Republican Ship Last Night
South Florida Daily Blog, “Off With His Head”
TPM, Truth in Advertising
Political Animal, McCain's bin Laden vow
Political Animal, The measure of mendacity
Jackie Calmes, NYT, Taxpayers, Not Lenders, Would Bear Costs of McCain’s Mortgage Proposal
- DeLong, John McCain's New Mortgage Plan Is Worse than I Had Imagined Possibly, Even Given What I Know About John McCain
Boing-Boing, Note to McCain: Overhead projector is not a planetarium projector
Mary Jacoby, WSJ, McCain Supporter Had Own Ties to Radical Protesters
Political Animal, The septuagenarian issue
Obama TV Ad: 'Country I Believe In'
Brave New Films, John McCain's Rage is a National Security Concern
Eric B., Michigan Liberal, State GOP bleeding internally over McCain early pullout
Political Animal, Again?
HuffPo, McCain's Trumpets Endorsement From Figure Of Foundation That Established Ayers Board
Jeffrey Feldman, Frameshop: The McCain-isms that Lost the Debate, If Not the Election
AmericaBlog, McCain taking “energy” supplement also used for Alzheimer's and dementia
WashPo, New Anti-McCain Spot Appeals to Veterans
Mary Hershberger, Investigating John McCain’s Tragedy at Sea
David Weinberger, Joho the Blog, That one

Tuesday

Bob Geiger, Vets Group Gives McCain Failing Grade On Supporting Troops
HuffPo, Palin Attacks Biden While He's At Mother-In-Law's Funeral
Jack Turner, Jack & Jill, Palin Supporters Hurl Obscenities At Media. Tell Black Sound Man, “Sit down, boy!” McCain-Palin, Unfit To Lead
- When Their Supporters Call Obama A Terrorist And Demand His Assassination, McCain And Palin Remain Silent
David Neiwert, Sarah Palin And The AIP: Not So Fast With The Exonerations, Please
The Company He Keeps
- Huffington Post: Why McCain's Time With Council Of World Freedom Matters
- AP: McCain linked to private group in Iran-Contra case
- Politico: Dems hope Singlaub is McCain's Ayers
Obama Ad, The Subject
Political Animal, Crushing an invaluable brand
wasillaproject, Sarah Palin: The rape kit controversy
Reuters, Maverick family to McCain: No way are you one of us!

Monday

Joe Klein, Swampland (TIME), Embarracuda
Firedoglake, Sarah Palin and the incredible disappearing accent
TalkLeft, Palin Ignores Supporter Who Yells “Kill Him” After She Insults Obama
- (Tue) HuffPo, Obama Hatred On Display Again At Palin Rally, Supporter Screams “Treason!”
James Fallows, The Atlantic, Our capacity for self-government
nhavey, The McSame Trillogy
- McSame Burger
- Designer McSame
- McSame Frame
FactCheck, McCain-Palin ad distorts Obama's remark on Afghanistan and support for troop-funding bills.
Kathryn Lofton, John McCain: No God But Country
Crooks & Liars, McCain’s Macaca Moment
Political Animal, Touchy and angry]
- Talkleft, McCain: Erratic, Angry And Desperate
- Political Animal, McCain inexplicably blames Obama for market fall
- John Aravosis, AmericaBlog, McCain does nothing as supporter calls Obama a “terrorist”. Video
TPM, Who They Are, What They're About
Kos, Mocha
Political Animal, Context matters
TMP, Appealing to Our Lesser Selves
Campaign Silo, Obama Has Double-Digit Lead In Virginia
Talk to Action, Palin's Churches and the Third Wave series
- Links to Information and Documentaries on Palin's Churches
McCain reneges on his confession of guilt in the Keating 5 scandal
- Kos, John McCain Lies About Keating Five
- Poltico, Engaging on Keating bensmith/1008/Engaging_on_ Keating.html
- TPM, Flashback: Lawyer Defending McCain On Keating Five: 'We Lost The McCain I Knew'
- Crooks & Liars, Campaign Now Claims McCain's Admitted Keating Five Wrongdoing a Smear
- HuffPo, McCain Counsel Calls Keating Investigation A Political Hit Job
- Tim Dickinson, Rollng Stone, McCain on Keating
- HuffPo, Flashback: McCain's Presidential Ambitions Raised In Keating Hearing
Emptywheel, New Proof On Longtime McCain Lie About Threatening Official
Orcinus, Palling with extremists, indeed
Politico, Taxes show Palins' Joe Six-Pack lifestyle (“The Palins passed up the opportunity to direct $12 from their 2006 and 2007 taxes to the presidential public financing system through which the McCain-Palin campaign received $84.1 million for the general election”)
WSJ, McCain Plans Federal Health Cuts (“John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid”)
Political Animal, The company that he keeps & Guilt by guilt
AFL-CIO NOW Blog, Republican Dirty Tricks, Secret Purges Aimed at Suppressing Votes
Have you visited KeatingEconomics.com?
Retired Generals of the Israeli Defense Forces and high-ranking Mossad officials on Barack Obama…
LAT, Mishaps mark John McCain's record as naval aviator

McCain was on his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam when a surface-to-air missile struck his A-4 attack jet. He was flying 3,000 feet above Hanoi.

A then-secret report issued in 1967 by McCain's squadron said the aviators had learned to stay at an altitude of 4,000 to 10,000 feet in heavy surface-to-air missile environments and look for approaching missiles.

Sunday

Jon Meacham, NewsWeek, The Palin Problem
DNC Web Ad, Negative Attack Ads
Zappatero, Square State, A Few Questions For Sarah Palin
This issue has legs. Jack Bogdanski, There's no debate: Palins owe thousands in back taxes
- MyDD, Tax Profs: Palin Owes Thousands in Back Taxes
- NYT, Caucus Blog Questions Linger About Palin Taxes
- WSJ, Reimbursements Raise Tax Issues for Palin
Ari Sunday, Remember How Sarah Palin Supported Divestment From Sudan?

Saturday

Obama Ad, Keating Economics: John McCain and a Financial Crisis
- There's also the 13 minute version
Kos, Polls,
Political Animal, Yes, Palin can get worse & Cheney's heir
Eye on Miami, Palin/ Tillerson 2012 … by gimleteye
TalkLeft, McCain and Palin: Palin Is the Greater Threat
South Florida Daily Blog, McCain's Latin Experience
Legendary Bluegrass Artist Ralph Stanley Endorses Barack Obama
Political Animal, Obama tackles McCain's 'radical' healthcare plan
TPM, Desperate
- Political Animal, Troopergate desperation
Obama Ad, Job Loss: The Price of More of the Same
WashPo details upcoming McCain Mud-throwing campaign
Saturday Cartoons

Friday

HuffPo, Palin Smears Obama With Year-Old Discredited Attack
Top Ten McClain clips of last week from the Issue Alliance.
- McSexist Says Town Hall 'Emotional' Because It's All Women (Town Hall; Denver, CO 10/02/08)
- McCain: ‘We Need A President Who Will Always Tell The American People The Truth’ (Rally; Columbus, OH 09/29/08)
- Psst, Who's Gonna Tell McCain Hugo Chavez Isn't A Middle Eastern Leader? (Roundtable; Des Moines, IA 09/30/08)
- McCain Praises Truman For ‘Stay[ing] The Course’ (Speech; Independence, MO 10/01/08)
- McCain: There Will Be ‘New Rules’ To ‘Shrink, Sell And Clean House At Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac’ (Speech; Independence, MO 10/01/08)
- McCain Blames Financial Crisis On ‘Failure Of Oversight’ (Town Hall Meeting; Denver, CO 10/02/08)
- But McCain Says People Are Rightly Cynical Because ‘We Want Government Least Involved In Our Lives’ (Town Hall; Denver, CO 10/02/08)
- On Day of Bailout Vote in House, McCain Says A Leader Shouldn't ‘Phone It In’ (Rally; Columbus, OH 09/29/08)
- McCain Bashes The Media vs. McCain Lets The Media Off The Hook (Town Hall; Denver, CO 10/02/08) vs. (Town Hall; Denver, CO 10/02/08)
Obama (Web-only) Ad, 477
TPM, Palin Out Of The Loop On Decision To Pull Out Of Michigan
From Patriotboy:
Crooks & Liars, Will McCain hide Palin from the media for the rest of the race?
TalkLeft, McCain Abandons Promise to Run Respectful Campaign
- TMP, McCain Campaign's Ad Spending Now Nearly 100 Percent Devoted To Attack Ads
Jack Balkin, Balkinization, Palin becomes irrelevant; McCain prepares his endgame
Crooks & Liars, Does John McCain’s Campaign Own VotefortheMILF.com?
Dave Neiwert, Orcinus, Sarah's scary answer to that question
Political Animal, All negative, all the time
David Post, Vokokh Conspiracy, The Debate
Crooks & Liars, VP Debate: The night’s most powerful moment
Political Animal, Pre-surge levels
Obama Ad, Can't Explain
Gary Farber, Amygdalag, THEIR MOVIE CHOICES SAY IT
Sarah Palin Winks At America
- Kitty Burns Florey, Slate, Diagramming Sarah

Posted in Politics: McCain | Comments Off