Yellow Hibiscus Commentary

The GOP's bad old ideas

Michael Lind — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:20:00 GMT

Bomb Iran and privatize Social Security. Really? That's all you've got?

Yes, the 9/11 trial should be held in New York

Joe Conason — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:09:00 GMT

Mayor Bloomberg's flip-flop embarrassed the Obama administration and himself. He was right the first time

Shorter upcoming Obama/GOP health summit

vastleft — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:56:00 GMT

News of tomorrow... today! Obama: My plan is definitely crappy, cruel, and corporatist enough. Well if it isn't, please tell me how to make it worse. GOP: Sorry, no matter how much worse you make it, it's just not going to be bad enough. But please keep trying! Unison: The American people want a bipartisan solution. Maybe today puts us on track to have a plan that's crappy, cruel, and corporatist enough. The American public deserves no less!

Dr. Margaret Flowers at CATO

DCblogger — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:33:15 GMT

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:33:15 GMT http://xfruits.com/yhblogger/?id=77049&clic=493433384&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.correntewire.com%2Fdr_margaret_flowers_cato

PHIMG Coalition

DCblogger — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:17:04 GMT

a coalition of NYC-based activists working for REAL health care reform. PHIMG was formed to shine a spotlight on the underlying cause of our health care crisis: private insurers.

Chomsky On The Teabaggers

basement angel — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:30:33 GMT

Chomsky talks about how the teabaggers are people who need answers for what's gone wrong in their life and how the corporate entities funding their activities are giving them answers - crazy answers, but answers nonetheless. Rather than embed the video directly, I'm linking to page where I found it, courtesy of Avedon, Progressive Alaska. I'm doing that because I want you to see the poll in the upper right hand corner: Which Word More Accurately Defines Sarah Palin To You? Your choices are "saint" or "slut". And this from a site that describes itself as "progressive". Chomsky's answer is good. Now here's the page: http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/20...

PNHP: Where do we go from here

DCblogger — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:51:25 GMT

Videos from "Where Do We Go From Here" presented by PNHP at Beth Israel Medical Center on January 19, 2010. Part One Donna Smith, Katie Robbins, Christopher, Blair and Dr. Len Rodberg speak at the panel Part 2 Donna Smith, Katie Robbins, Christopher, Blair and Dr. Len Rodberg speak at the panel Part 3 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

"Mistakeholders"

lambert — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:09:36 GMT

Haw.

Rent-seeking and a transaction tax

lambert — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:31:41 GMT

Prudent Bear: Rent-seeking is another current problem of Wall Street, not addressed by Volcker. This takes many forms, and has resulted from computerization and from the endless proliferation of derivative instruments. Basically, Wall Street houses, by their substantial market share in trading businesses, acquire insider information about money flows, and then profit by trading on this information. Traders have always done this, of course, and there is no sensible way of making it illegal. In addition genuine “crony capitalism” insider information about future finances and future government actions is as available as it always has been, but with larger trading volumes and fewer inhibitions is more usable without technically contravening insider treading legislation. Thus insider trading, almost all of it technically legal, has acquired an enormously magnified profit potential. This is the principal reason for Wall Street’s greater share of the economy; the genuine value added to third parties from “hedging” or liquidity” is only a tiny fraction of the rents Wall Street can extract from these markets.

The writing's on the hand

vastleft — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:11:16 GMT

What Violet said. The brainless "progressive" flap about Sarah Palin writing some notes on her hand is some weird embodiment of what Somerby calls "the cult of the offhand comment." If anyone was worried that our politics wasn't going to keep getting dumber at a pace that makes Moore's Law pale in comparison, have no fear. Note:

Susie's back up

lambert — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:23:28 GMT

After two days of tech troubles.

MMT on deficits

lambert — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:21:11 GMT

MMT (Modern Monetary Theory, or "chartalism")*. BillyBlog: But the point is that the Bush deficits are immaterial to judging whether the Obama deficits are sustainable or whether the Obama administration has “more” or “less” fiscal space. What defines the amount of fiscal space is not the past fiscal position – surplus or deficit – but the extent to which there are underutilised real resources that can be brought back into production.

When communities "choose life"

David Sirota — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:20:00 GMT

Oregon rejected the anti-tax zealots and voted for tax increases. Colorado Springs wasn't so lucky

Does the Taliban want to talk peace with the U.S.?

Joe Conason — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:20:00 GMT

A team of ex-Taliban officials is quietly promoting negotiations -- and say their old comrades would dump al- Qaida

13 black truths

Elon James White — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:50:00 GMT

It's the 21st century, folks. You really ought to know this stuff

There is job hysteria for a reason

Digby — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:05:00 GMT

Not everyone can afford to "ride out" the slump, as they're being instructed to do by some employed pundits

Who's killing financial reform?

Robert Reich — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:05:00 GMT

Call me old-fashioned, but I thought Congress was in charge of passing legislation, not Wall Street

Republicans revive a debate they lost, badly

Joe Conason — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:05:00 GMT

Privatizing Social Security is again on the GOP agenda -- a political mistake that worried Democrats should welcome

Pakistan bombing reveals U.S. troops in-country

Juan Cole — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:05:00 GMT

Three dead Americans in Pakistani uniforms contradict claims that no U.S. ground forces are operating in borders

The deficit blame game

Gene Lyons — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:20:00 GMT

Millions of voters believe the GOP line about Obama's runaway spending. It's up to him to set the record straight