Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Points of Interest

Reads:

Rocky start for Huntsman campaign.
“So far today, Huntsman campaign has gotten his name, phone number & address wrong. That’s a rough day in first grade.”
Rocky start for Gingrich campaign continues.
"People familiar with Gingrich's campaign spending say his fundraising has been weak since he launched his bid and that he has racked up large travel bills. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk openly about campaign inner workings."
"With Friends Like These"
"But we already know how many in the New Democrat coalition feel about an independent board to help reduce Medicare costs: during health care reform, several signed letters opposing its formation."
Oceanfront property.
"The sea-level is now rising faster along the U.S. Atlantic coast than at any time in the past 2,100 years, and this surge is linked to increasing global temperatures, an international research team reports."
"The Myth of the Lower Marginal Tax Rates"
"Altogether, in years when the top marginal rate was lower than 39.6 percent—the top rate during the 1990s—annual real growth averaged 2.1 percent. In years when the rate was 39.6 percent or higher, real growth averaged 3.8 percent. The pattern is the same regardless of threshold. Take 50 percent, for example. Growth in years when the tax rate was less than 50 percent averaged 2.7 percent. In years with tax rates at or more than 50 percent, growth was 3.7 percent."
Clarence Thomas, meet Abe Fortas.
"If this sounds familiar, it’s because America has seen this movie before. Indeed, the Thomas scandal is little more than a remake of the forty year-old gifting scandal that brought down Justice Abe Fortas. Like Thomas, Fortas liked to associate with wealthy individuals with potential business before his Court. And like Thomas, Fortas took inappropriate gifts from his wealthy benefactors."
"How states are rigging the 2012 election"
"These statutes are not neutral. Their greatest impact will be to reduce turnout among African Americans, Latinos and the young. It is no accident that these groups were key to Barack Obama’s victory in 2008 — or that the laws in question are being enacted in states where Republicans control state governments."

Watch:

What's wrong with the US recovery, in a little over two minutes.

2 comments:

  1. I was all a twitter as it were by the Clarence Thomas thing when this blog post dragged me back to reality.

    http://phenobarbarella.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/don-quixote-meet-clarence-thomas/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yup. Saw that yesterday. I don't quite agree with all of the author's conclusions...even *if* trying to get Thomas removed is an exercise in futility, there is a certain value in highlighting the corruption/conflict of interest.

    ReplyDelete