The Commentariat -- September 9
I've posted a comments page on Paul Krugman's column on today's Off Times Square. Karen Garcia & I have commented.
"You should pass it right away." President Obama speaks about jobs legislation to a joint session of Congress:
... Here's the prepared text of President Obama's speech. ...
... Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Faced with a stalling economy, a hostile Congress and a disenchanted public, President Obama challenged lawmakers in a blunt address Thursday evening to enact a sweeping package of tax cuts and new spending designed to revive the stagnant job market.... Though Mr. Obama’s proposals were widely expected — an extension and expansion of the cut in payroll taxes; new spending on schools and public works projects; and an overhaul of unemployment insurance — the overall package was considerably larger than expected, with an estimated $447 billion in stimulus money." ...
... Ezra Klein has a brief overview of what's in the "American Jobs Act," the proposed bill President Obama is sending to Congress.
... Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times: "The centerpiece of President Obama’s job-creation plan, a proposal to further reduce Social Security taxes, is emblematic of a package of modest measures that some economists describe as helpful but not sufficient to lift the economy from its malaise."
"The Peasants Are Revolting." (CW: I'm seeing a double entendre there.) Paul Krugman, in a blogpost: "I don’t want to wax all sentimental about the genius of the common man. But the fact is that both the origins of this crisis and its perpetuation overwhelmingly reflect the errors of the very people now lamenting the annoyances of democracy that keep them from imposing their preferred policies." ...
... As if determined to prove themselves stupid & Krugman right, Peter Wallsten of the Washington Post reports, "More than two dozen senators (CW: the usual suspects) from both parties met privately this week to revive hopes of a grand debt-cutting bargain — exploring how to push the newly formed debt “supercommittee” to find far more than its assigned goal of $1.5 trillion in deficit reductions.... [President] Obama, too, is expected to press the [deficit reduction super-]committee to exceed its deficit-reduction goal. In his speech Thursday night, he called on Congress to increase the supercommittee’s deficit-cutting goals to cover the costs of his jobs plan."
When Idiots Collide. John Amato of Crooks & Liars: Rick Santelli, Teabagger Hero, and Tom Friedman, Nobody's Hero, get into a tiff, & Santelli call each other "idiotic." "This," writes Amato, "is what you get when you put two Villagers together on one screen":
Right Wing World
The bloodthirsty crowd at the Republic debate cheers when NBC News's Brian Williams asks Rick Perry about Texas's record number of executions that have taken place during his tenure as governor:
Steve Benen: "The governor balks when presented with evidence on evolution, abstinence education, and climate change, but embraces without question the notion that everyone he’s killed in Texas was 100% guilty. The scientific process, he apparently believes, is unreliable, while the state criminal justice system is infallible. Intellectually, morally, and politically, this isn’t just wrong; it’s scary. The fact that Republicans in the audience found this worthy of hearty applause points to a party that’s bankrupt in more ways than one." ...
... Marcy Wheeler: "Brian Williams, who otherwise did a decent job as moderator, failed miserably here. How do you ask this question and not mention Cameron Todd Willingham? Not only did Governor Perry deny Willingham’s appeal for clemency even though an expert arson investigator had rebutted all the solid evidence in the case, Perry fired investigators who were about to provide Willingham’s innocence." ...
... Pro-Life Death Orgy. Glenn Greenwald: "That this death-cheering comes from a party that relentlessly touts itself as 'pro-life' and derides the other as The Party of Death -- and loves to condemn Islam (in contrast to its war-loving self) as a death-glorifying cult -- only adds a layer of dark irony."
Julie Rovner of NPR: wingers oppose federal funding of contraceptive: too expensive, frivolous, an affront to God, etc."