Evil or Stupid

Krugman:

The Obama-Keynes Mystery - NYTimes.com:

"I’m not alone in marveling at the extent to which Obama has thrown his rhetorical weight behind anti-Keynesian economics; Ryan Avent is equally amazed, as are many others. And now he’s endorsing the structural unemployment story too.

To those defending Obama on the grounds that he’s saying what he has to politically, I have two answers. First, words matter — as people who rallied around Obama in the first place because of his eloquence should know. Yes, he has to make compromises on policy grounds — but that doesn’t mean he has to adopt the right’s rhetoric and arguments. The effect of his intellectual capitulation is that we now have only one side in the national argument.

Second, since Obama keeps talking nonsense about economics, at what point do we stop giving him credit for actually knowing better? Maybe at some point we have to accept that he believes what he’s saying."

No, We Can’t? Or Won’t? - NYTimes.com

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Digby

Hullabaloo:

"Everyone's always trying to figure out what Barack Obama really wants. But it's not a mystery. He's been clear about it from the very beginning. What people have to face is the fact that he is a rigid leader who refuses to change course in the face of changing circumstances. Perhaps that's a strength at times. But in this one, it's a tragic weakness. We have over 9% official unemployment and probably double that in reality. The housing sector is still dead. Growth is anemic and very possibly about to go south. His grand bargain vision from 2009 was always anathema to the liberal project. Today it is destructive on an entirely different level."

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Richard (RJ) Eskow: A President On the Verge of a Political Breakdown:

"Yet instead of pushing for the spending that's needed, the President keeps reinforcing Republican arguments instead. According to the AP he told reporters in the Rose Garden that 'uncertainty over whether lawmakers will raise the nation's debt limit is keeping businesses from hiring.' (What was keeping them from hiring before that?) Economic advisor Austan Goolsbee evaded the issue of badly-needed stimulus funding as well as anyone could - that is, not very well at all - while repeating that ill-advised 'business confidence' mantra."

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Daily Kos: President Obama and the New Deal:

"In the past week, we witnessed the truly astonishing spectacle of a wide array of Democratic Congressional leaders feeling it necessary to stand up to a Democratic President in order to defend the programs and values that have defined the Democratic Party since the Great Depression. Just think about that. And now some consider it a victory that there probably won't be any immediate cuts to Social Security, even though there will be a trillion or more in overall budget cuts, without any major increases in revenue. And cutting Social Security is now safe to discuss on both sides of the aisle. To use digby's own comparison, only Nixon could go to China; and while Reagan and the Bushes did not even seriously try, a Democratic president may be opening the door to the dismantling of the New Deal."

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With Entitlements on the Table, Obama Plans to Go Big on a Budget Deal | The Nation:

"Even still, it’s extremely disheartening; it demonstrates that, as always, Obama is willing to cater to the center-right in a huge way (entitlement cuts) for the sake of a small political advantage.

Moreover, this proposal is further evidence that the debt ceiling negotiations were an intentional decision on Obama’s part. The president genuinely believes in deficit reduction, and chose to use the debt ceiling as an opportunity to cut spending with significant bipartisan cover. Obama hasn’t been fooled into these negotiations, nor is he playing rope-a-dope or a complex game of 11-dimensional chess. This is what he wants."

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Obama's Political, Economic Advisers Say Jobless Rate Won't Matter in 2012 | MyFDL:

"Now the people who helped Obama defraud voters by channeling everyone’s hope for change have convinced themselves he won the election because they’re political geniuses.

The lastest example of this delusion is Obama’s senior campaign adviser, David Plouffe, who confidently told Bloomberg that going into the 2012 elections with over 8 percent unemployment and no meaningful jobs programs will not hurt Obama’s chances for reelection:"

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If the drinking game is 'How many Bush/Rove talking points can the Obama administration parrot and enact' then our country is headed towards alcohol poisoning.

Panetta makes 9/11 gaffe in Iraq | The Raw Story

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Utta Butta Solo

Lot's to say about the impending Grand Screw about to come down on our collective heads by Obama, Republicans and Democrats. But....

DAMN, this was incredible. Marry me, Hope Solo.

Wambach, Solo key dramatic US win over Brazil:

"The Americans are moving on to the semifinals after one of the most riveting games in the history of the Women's World Cup — beating Brazil 5-3 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie.

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U.S. Women Beat Brazil After Stunning Goal At Women's World Cup (VIDEO)

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Then there's this just for kicks.

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DBT Week in Review - 7/8/11

DBT!

Scroll to the bottom of the page for the audio link.

Alabama Arts Radio:

"Folklorist Deborah Boykin interviews musician Patterson Hood about the Drive-By Truckers' (DBT) upcoming appearance at the W.C. Handy Festival sponsored by the Alabama Folklife Association. A native of Florence, Hood talks about the influence of the area on his songwriting and discusses growing up as a second generation musician in Muscle Shoals. He describes the evolution of the DBT and his long partnership with fellow Trucker Mike Cooley and gives his thoughts on the future of music in the Shoals."

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DBT opening for Bob Dylan and Leon Russell.

At Merriweather Post Pavilion - Bob Dylan and his Band - Tickets - Merriweather Post Pavilion - Columbia, MD - August 16th, 2011 Ticketfly

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Swampland:Drive-By Truckers To Headline 2011 W.C. Handy Festival in Florence, AL

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Centro-matic included, too.

The 20 Best Albums of 2011 (So Far) - Max Blau :: Blogs :: List of the Day :: Paste

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They'll do anything for a song.

allAfrica.com: Namibia: Drive-By Truckers Testify in Teacher's Murder Trial:

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Patterson Hood

Very cool project Patterson is co-producing.

The Taxicab Verses: Bringing together musicians from Accra, Ghana & Athens, Ga. -- IndieGoGo

The Taxicab Verses on Facebook.

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In Waverly, AL

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Audra Brown

In the first video Audra discusses her rock stage performance. She sang Zip City... with the Truckers.

Snagglepus - Audra Brown -- WREG

Snagglepus - Web Exclusive -- WREG

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Muscle Shoals Sound

Steve Cropper Taps B.B. King, Steve Winwood for 5 Royales Tribute Album | Billboard.com:

"The album was cut it in two days with four of the singers recorded live with the band of Cropper, bassist David Hood, keyboardist Spooner Oldham, drummers Steve Ferrone and Steve Jordan and saxophonists Neal Sugarman and Jon Tiven."

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The Leaning Man | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL

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Music

Gillian Welch performs at the Warfield with first album in eight years

Spotify Set to Launch in U.S.

The Steely Dan Dictionary

Radiohead ventures into Chinese social media

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Shivved

Jesus fucking Christ, for the sake of liberalism and this country, Ronald Wilson Obama must not be elected to another term.

Unbelievable.

Obama puts Social Security, Medicare cuts on the table | The Raw Story

Miles Mogulescu: Republicans and Obama are Like Thelma and Louise Racing Toward the Cliff:

"I wish I could see an exit from this theater before the movie ends in disaster."

And nobody gives a damn....

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Forever Scammed

Gonna be a 'What Atrios Says' kinda day.

Eschaton: No We Can't:

"No We Can't
Not a new observation, but I do continue to be amazed that in the greatest fucking country in the history of the universe our elite classes have basically decided that things suck and there's nothing to be done.

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Eschaton: Elite Fail:

"Elite Fail
Unemployment is at 9.1% and everybody in Washington is desperately trying to figure out how to increase taxes and cut spending. Maybe it's opposite year and somebody forgot to tell me.

And, yes, in normal times there are tax increases I'd get behind and I'm sure reasonable spending cuts exist (though whether they're being considered is another question), but the point is that the fact that we're having this conversation at all is insane. Jobs bill jobs bill jobs bill jobs bill jobs bill...."

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This is what we dirty fucking hippies have been pointing out for 30 years...

Daily Kos: GOP Has Been Openly Scamming Dems for 30 Years Now:

"The neo-conservative is willing to leave those problems to be coped with by liberal interregnums. He wants to shape the future, and will leave it up to his opponents to tidy up afterwards. (emphasis added)

And the GOP has been pulling this scam ever since. As Bloomberg News reported even before Obama had won the election, the bond markets were poised to start insisting on cuts to social spending in order to protect the bond traders themselves. This, of course, was just a repeat of the scam that was pulled on Bill Clinton when he took office:"

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This is what we dirty fucking hippies have been pointing...

The Annotated Frank Rich - The President’s Failure to Demand a Reckoning From the Moneyed Interests Who Brought the Economy Down -- New York Magazine:

"The president’s failure to demand a reckoning from the moneyed interests who brought the economy down has cursed his first term, and could prevent a second."

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It isn't pragmatic to parrot and propagate the Republican bullshit puke machine. Obama is pushing every Republican policy and talking point out there.

Think about it. We'll go an entire term without a single Democratic/Liberal/Progressive piece of legislation being passed.

Barack Herbert Hoover Obama - NYTimes.com:

"Yep, the false government-family equivalence, the myth of expansionary austerity, and the confidence fairy, all in just two sentences.

Read this and this to see why he’s wrong. This is truly a tragedy: the great progressive hope (well, I did warn people) is falling all over himself to endorse right-wing economic fallacies."

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Jeff Sessions. Major League Asshole.

Jeff Sessions: Saying Millionaires Should Share Pain Is 'Rather Pathetic'

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Don't drink and purchase puppies.

NYC pet stores ban drunk people from purchasing puppies | The Raw Story:

"'We have to tell them to come back the next day and most of the time they never come back,' Jacoby said. 'Most of the time it happens around holidays — St. Patrick's Day or Gay Pride.'"

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Bars and Farms

I'm a bit surprised how many I've visited.

150 Best Bars in America | The Daily Meal

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Well played, Georgia. Well played.

Ga’s farm-labor crisis playing out as planned | Jay Bookman:

Thanks to the resulting labor shortage, Georgia farmers have been forced to leave millions of dollars’ worth of blueberries, onions, melons and other crops unharvested and rotting in the fields. It has also put state officials into something of a panic at the damage they’ve done to Georgia’s largest industry."

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Meet the farmer next door

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Why liberal arts matter - CNN.com

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Happy Fourth

Happy Fourth to y'all.

Good doggie:

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DBT Week in Review - 7/1/11

DBT!

Drive-By Truckers at The Grand Opening of the Georgia Theatre in Athens, GA - Rock 'N' Raffle - Benefiting Nuci's Space

Y'ALL (Note Patterson Hood)

Patagonia Music Benefit Tracks for the Environment

Jambands.com - Need We Say More? > Reviews > Shows > Drive-By Truckers, The Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ - 6/11

Find the DBT reference and be sure to read the footnote:

Chuck Klosterman on Led Zeppelin's last stand - Grantland

Find the Patterson:

Video: Deer Tick Channels the Band's Inner Grunge to Play Nirvana - NYTimes.com

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Centro-matic

Will Johnson, Man Of Many Bands, Embraces Discomfort : NPR

HERE’S ONE FOR THE TALKERS Centro-matic on Blurt Online

This song should be on all the radio stations:

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Booker T. Jones

Videos Posted by Anti Records: Booker T. Jones - " Progress" [HD]

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Music

Hillbillionaire | CAA:

"Most people make mix tapes. Warren Hellman throws a music festival."

Tom Petty reportedly issuing cease and desist letter to Bachmann�|�Raw Replay

Dangerous Minds: London Calling Deconstructed

How Much Does It Cost To Make A Hit Song? : Planet Money : NPR

Top 10 Nostalgic 90s Songs (VIDEO)

Colbert plays rock star, with Jack White as guide

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The Grand Screw

And yet another cave.

Federal Reserve Raises Swipe Fee Cap In Victory For Wall Street

The epic deficit (lie) cave is coming very soon.

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Digby is easily one of the smartest people on the internet:

Hullabaloo:

"From his press conference today, it would appear that the president's negotiating strategy really is to give Republicans huge cuts in spending (and 'make his base give him a hard time') and then shame them into 'meeting him halfway' by agreeing to mildly raise taxes on some luxury items like corporate jet travel. (Luckily, he reassured the nervous CEOs by saying 'you'll still be able to ride on your corporate jet, you'll just have to pay a little more' so hopefully they won't have a fit.)That's what constitutes shared sacrifice and fiscal responsibility. Good to know."

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When all is said and done, the Democrats will be responsible.

Ethan Rome: Don't Default on the American Dream: Democrats Should Hold the Line in Debt Limit Talks:

"Democrats have to resist the Republican plan to destroy Medicaid as fiercely as they are fighting the Republican proposal to end Medicare as we know it. They shouldn't cave in on this issue. That would be devastating for people and for the political fortunes of Democrats."

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Proposed Budget Cuts To Medicaid Could Kill Jobs And Short-Change Seniors

Despite Pleas From Advocacy Organizations, White House Cuts Likely To Affect Spending That Helps The Poor | Crooks and Liars:

"So the leaders of a bunch of civic, policy and religious organizations -- you know, the ones no one in the White House pays attention to because they're a bunch of do-gooder whiners and they'll have to vote for Democrats, anyway -- are asking the administration and Congressional leaders to please stop hurting poor people with their budget cuts:"

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At least there some sweetness in the hit News Corp took on this one.

News Corp sells Myspace, ending six-year saga - Yahoo! News

Daily Kos: HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa! (UPDATED x2 with Flashbacks and Justin Timberlake!)

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Snakes

Here's how our ruling elites behave when they think no-one is watching.

Clinton and Paul Ryan kissing each other's ass and discussing the need to end Medicare.

We are ruled by truly awful people.

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What Krugman says...

Debt Limit Stakes - NYTimes.com:

"Think about it. There’s a significant chance that failing to raise the debt limit could provoke a renewed financial crisis — and Republicans would rather take that chance than allow a reduction in tax breaks on corporate jets.

What this says to me is that Obama cannot, must not, concede here. If he does, he’s signaling that the GOP can extract even the most outrageous demands; he’s setting himself up for endless blackmail. A line has to be drawn somewhere; it should have been drawn last fall; but to concede now would effectively mean the end of the presidency."

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AMERICAblog News: Honey I shrunk my negotiating position in the deficit talks:

"So basically, the Republicans keep saying 'no' and the White House keeps offering them more and more cuts to programs, and fewer and fewer tax increases, while the Republicans simply keep saying 'no.'

Heck of a negotiation. The White House is simply negotiating with itself at this point. Lowering its bid, lower and lower, while the GOP does nothing. Guaranteeing that any final deal that is reached starts at a point so low that we're screwed no matter what the details.

Now, I'm sure the White House thinks it's going to win the battle by showing the American people how earnest the President has been in these talks, while the Republicans have been intransigent. Yeah, fat chance. That is all a matter of spin. And the White House folks, and Dems generally, don't spin very well. They need to hire someone who does, and empower them to win, rather than tying their hands in a never-ending desire to be nice to people who want to destroy you."

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No one could have predicted....

Financial Reform Destined To Fail, Top Federal Reserve Official Says:

"For Hoenig though, the choice is clear when it comes to what to do with the financial institutions that caused the most punishing downturn since the Great Depression: break them up into pieces that regulators can understand and provide a backstop to entities engaged in the so-called real economy -- but allow those dabbling in more risk-laden activities to fail.

The Obama administration and Congress chose the alternate route in passing the Dodd-Frank financial regulation law. To Hoenig, they made a mistake.

'Following this financial crisis, Congress and the administration turned to the work of repair and reform,' he said during a Monday speech in Washington. 'Once again, the American public got the standard remedies -- more and increasingly complex regulation and supervision.'

'The Dodd-Frank reforms have all been introduced before, but financial markets skirted them,' he continued. 'Supervisory authority existed, but it was used lightly because of political pressure and the misperceptions that free markets, with generous public support, could self-regulate.'"

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Shocking.

After Taking A $10 Billion Bailout, Goldman Sachs Announces It Will Outsource 1,000 Jobs To Singapore | ThinkProgress

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Nice work, NYC'ers.

Glenn Beck and family encounter hostility in NYC - Yahoo! News

Hateful bastard deserves every bit of it. You reap what you sow. Fuck. Him.

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