ZED!

Jane, loving your updates! The other thread was hysterical. ;-)

This is why we need the parliamentary system.. so that Obama can dismiss Congress and the public can select a new one. Is there any constitutional loophole somewhere that allows the president to pack in, say, 5 more Dems? ;-P

OK Digg has been opened on Time So Digg IT!

Asshats. We need to fire every effing one of them, D’s as well as R’s. But the R’s are the bigger problem right now.

The total debt from the Bush 8 years is over $5 trillion, not counting the $2 trillion more of legacy costs of the Iraq/Afghan wars.

Thune up.

Bob in HI

By the time these jokers get through with this thing we’ll probably be petitioning Obama to veto it. I can’t wait to see what all tax cuts are included.

We could ***burn the Senate down tonight and it wouldn’t make a lick of difference in the legislative process.

***a play on Bolton’s remark that if we took the top 10 floors off the UN building it wouldn’t matter….and not an actual conspiracy to commit a violent act

Out here in flyover country,
we have a name for this kind of obstructionism
in a time of national crisis.

It begins with T and ends with reason.

epu’d (but maybe answered in the diary)

Has this bill been released? Where did Tweety get the figures on tax cuts vs spending?

The Republicans acting fiscally conservative after all the debt they borrowed and spent with NO oversight is, at this point laughable, if it wasn’t so horrible.

Senator Thune (R-SD): “This is not bi-partisan. Out of 220 Repugs in Congress, only 2 or 3 will vote for it.

Shorter Senator Thune (R-SD): “Repugs only do failure, and we insist America to do failure too.”

Coburn up now.

Bob in HI

Tom Coburn sounds like Mr. Greenjeans.

Sometimes I wish that was the way! But alas we have the system we and will have to make do!
During the joint conference Obama needs to tell the Repukes that he will visit every Senators state and tell them just how they have obstructed and eviscerated the stimulus bill so we will be falling into a Repuke Depression!

Coburn doesn’t like to be stimulated.

Bob in HI

The filibuster has begun. Get comfortable.

Coburn thinks stimulation will harm people.

Bob in HI

The state of Maine is waiting for money. Our Governor has allotted some of it to balance our budget, because we have no money right now! Hell, we don’t have many jobs either. A woman from Jonesport, Maine called Howie Carr’s show yesterday and told him she was contemplating suicide (I wrote about it on my blog tonight). Nice huh? Meanwhile, the republicans are dragging their asses around the floor like a dog with worms because they want tax cuts rather than money going into the hands of Americans!

Republicans target h1-B visa holders via amendments to prevent US companies receiving the federal bailout money from hiring H-1B visa holders.

Say wha? President Obama is Coburn’s close personal friend? Does Obama know this and does he know how much of a backstabber his friend named Coburn is? Jees.

NOW doing a mortgage mess feature + where the money has gone.

He probably thinks it makes you go blind or something.

I’m kinda hoping that Rahm has a few bits of strategic info in his little black book he can use to Obama’s advantage here. Or perhaps Spitzer’s madame will release her client list right about now…

Oh yeah, didn’t ya know?? A close personal friend, just like Judas was.

That’s actually not too awful an idea. H-1B visas have been used by the corporatocracy to drive down white-collar salaries.

I know Mr. Greenjeans.
Mr. Greenjeans was a friend of mine . . .

OMG is this guy an ass or what, nc doesn’t much better though.

Is there a link to the text of the compromise bill available yet?

I thought dogs dragged ass because their anal glands need to be “expressed”. More correct and a more apt analogy to the Senate.

DUGG

Please follow suite.
ty

Uh oh. Lindsay Graham up now, to argue against an amendment that he hasn’t seen. After 8 years of being oblivious to Congressional process, he is now all of a sudden concerned about it. Complaining about the “broken system.” I guess he doesn’t like it that the Republicans lost so many elections.

Bob in HI

She’s doing an interview on 20/20 I think and her book comes out this week. Lots more here:

She is currently debating publicly releasing her full client list. And what a list–Among the names ABC says it confirmed as clients:

* a vice president of NBC Universal (owned by General Electric)
* the part owner of a Major League Baseball team who “loves Kelsey”
* the CEO of one of the country’s largest private equity firms who met “Cameron” at the Peninsula Hotel
* a major New York real estate developer who, according to the list, “will come to the door wearing women’s panties”
* a partner at the Wall Street law firm Cravath Swaine Moore “looking for a party girl to come fully equipped” and spent a total of $20,000
* an investment banker from Lehman Brothers who saw “Kelsey and Keely together” and later saw “Aria and Skyler at the same time”
* an investment banker at JP Morgan Securities who “loves Brooke” and spent $41,600
* an investment banker at Goldman Sachs who “only wanted all-American girls” and spent $27,000
* a managing director from Merrill Lynch who saw “Lana” using the name “Nataly”
* a managing director from Deutsche Bank “who called about seeing Nataly again”

could be fun. Any congresscritters on the list?

FYI all, Jay Rosen and Glenn Greenwald will be on Moyers tonight.

It might be interesting for citizens to gather around each state’s capital Saturday in protest of the lack of infrastructure spending.

From the last thread, Jane, it would be great to get your graphic above and the Chamber’s Let’s Rebuild America tick list, the Governor’s letter along with the following:

* North America will spend $180 billion on infrastructure each year.
* Europe will spend $205 billion.
* Asia will spend $400 billion.
* And $10 billion will be invested in Africa annually.

All read into the record…

“8:27: Thune: TWO is not bipartisan.”

Heck, just a couple of years ago ago, I remember the rethugs were calling anything that HoJo voted with the rethugs on was bipartisan, ignoring the fact that HoJo didn’t actually have to cross the aisle.. he just kinda lives there permanently.

Waitabloodyfrickinminute. If only 2-3 Repubs will vote for it, why the hell did they amend the bill to make it more palatable for the Repubs??!!? The House error all over again. I hope Diaper Dave does hold it up — or anybody else, for that matter.

It will, just look at Vitter.

has Vitter taken any trips to NY lately? ;-P

Drama Queen sounds like a…a Republican.

“I believe we can survive this”

Well, Linda Lindsey, if the American people fail it’s because you assholes got your tax cuts in there!

Did Deputy Dog Graham just admit to politicizing this RECOVERY bill?? I’m shocked…not that he did that, but that he admitted to it on the Senate floor.

How much eyeliner is Lindsey wearing tonight?

Johanns, loser Sec of Agr under the old Regime.

I’m old enough to remember Mr. Greenjeans. Good call!

/crickets

I just about believe that Reid is a closet Republican.

“Boo-hoo, we are ruining the future”

What a sob queen Johanns is!

Thanks for listening to this so I don’t have to.

I beat Vitter is close personal friends with D. Duke.

Can Paul Krugman please send ever single Senator a copy of “The Return of Depression Economics’?

I also noticed he had panty lines. He must have put on his sexy magical underwear tonight!

closet? What closet?

Thune: “This is the largest transfer of debt in human history.” Count him among the GOP mathematically challenged.

Hey, he knows how high a trillion dollars would be if you stacked ‘em all together. Or something…

Oh boy, Mel Martinez up…this is why Obama is flying into Florida to promote the stimulus bill this weekend.

8:24: Kyl — Will someone please let me see the bill?

Whaaaaat? All this crap dialog and he has not see then bill?

Hmmm–it’s “guyliner”

Don’t tell me Lindsay is a mormon.

I keep thinking about Jim Kramer going nuts because Caterpillar was laying off workers. Of all the companies out there,he said, Caterpillar should be booming, building machinery to rebuild our roads. Now, there’s one company that could easily be saved.

Well, hey, he supported Palin for VP,l yet takes it upon himself to claim that he can’t support the bill b/c Pres Obama said something mean last night.
Call the wahmulance!

As AZ Matt points out, this is the same-old, with an extra twist of bathos and Drama Queen.
Sad.

Mel can’t support it! Oh No! What will we do!?

BRAIN BLEACH!!! — I NEED BRAIN BLEACH!!! NOW!!!!

Wait… Bushco started with a $2 Trillion Clinton surplus. That is a low number i think. Can you support it? Let’s see factor in the 40% equity loss in the stock amrket, the enormous equity losses in property values and the Quadrillion dollars shitpile industry created by trabnches, CDOs and credit default swaps.
Retirement fund lossess are all part of Bushco econics. The quadrillion in paper trading (the shitpile) the banks are trying to get off of their books and onto the taxpayers balance sheet needs quantifying. The terror war cost, ME wars represenr a small part of the economic losses. Calling Ian, Krugman, Roubini and Stiglitz.

Absolutely.

Taliban rep is now addressing the Senate.

Jeff Sessions: McCain is right! We shoud have done McCain wanted to do! He gets his plan from Joe the Plummer.

Sessions: We need the same old shit! It will work this time!

we need to do this now.. preliminary results from the Chinese stimulus that started 2 months ago…

“The structural growth story remains in place, particularly in China. Infrastructure spending is helping to underpin economic resilience and consumer spending is still up on the previous year,” he says.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e172…..fd2ac.html

LOL I know what you mean! *scraping tongue with a snow shovel* Yuck.

Is it just me (and my hearing difficulties) or does McCain sort of whistle when he speaks?

What Digby sez.

mccain is so pissed that he wasn’t included (as were collins, specter and lieberman) in the negotiations.

Am I the only one thinking this is a final episode for the GOP?
Because people don’t often watch non-stop Senate hearings. Yet wouldn’t we like to know the viewership on a Fri night? On a weekend, when people who are worried about losing jobs just may tune in to Your Ongoing Senate Hearings?

I hope my hunch is correct; if so, the GOP is revealing their irrelevance more starkly by the hour.

The articulate Dem senators: Webb and others, have a real chance to keep Obama’s back because it sure seems as if people who’ve never tuned in before are watching now.

Oh why couldn’t McCain be President?

Maybe John, the reason is that the American people didn’t want the same old crapola!

McC: “Americans are tired of partisanship and I’m not voting for this bill because Nancy Pelosi said mean things”

JMcC: Do as I say, not as we did.

I think I missed the McCain plan…did he have one he could describe?

Someone get McCrazy a glass of single malt and the unmarked bottle in Cindy’s medicine cabinet. Ol’ boy isn’t used to having to command time. Hell, I’m surprised he remembers palimentary procedure.

Tells you something about the global economy; much of CAT’s sales are overseas.

NOBODY is buying anything.

CAT is slowing down capital equipment orders, too, and they’re not the only company in that market making the same cuts. Cummins Diesel laid off people this week as well.

These f*ckers are losing their corporate base listening to the dittoheads; the corporate folks all know that they are on a bobsled ride to hell without government spending.

He does do that.

Same old tax cut stuff.

The largest transfer of debt was taking the home equity away from the middle class. More foreclosures on the way.

Pearlstein had another good column today.

Wanted: Personal Economic Trainers. Apply at Capitol.
By Steven Pearlstein
Friday, February 6, 2009; Page D01

palimentary parlimentary

Nice live blogging (seriously)… but umm this entire bunch of clowns is bullshit (seriously).

Reid: “John McCain… (sob!) … my GOOD FRIEND John McCain is a SAINT!!!”

Thank you and DING. And Bingo.

Uh oh. Harry Reid up.

Bob in HI

O THAT plan…thanks

Harry: Johnny Mac and I are bros!

JMcC: “Harry… Harry, I love you, man!!!”

Oh, and as a PS, everyone knows we (the royal we) are full of shit. So did they decide who is going to get the money and how is going to get reamed yet?

Johnny: Love you bro!

The NOW program on that topic is heartbreaking; focus is on Memphis

Yes McStain Reid is one of your water carriers

That is true.

Linsey will be jealous

Roll call!
… but the clerk does not seem to be calling the roll.

Bob in HI

My fucking flashlight would be a better ML than Reid. He just gave a quick, emotional ball-licking to McCain, McC blew him a kiss. Jesus, fuck these fucks!

I’m guessing they think “entitlement reform” is going to be the new NAFTA.

the only question was what was going to be the new nafta.

I disagree, the last thing we need is some fantasy that if Obama is in his 2nd TERM.. AND has 80 votes the democrats can get something done.

Total farce.

So are they supposedly voting on the “compromise” bill?

Bob in HI

This is hysterical… How did exactly we get into Senate slash-fic again?

Remember the last time the WATB republicans had a temper tantrum because Nancy was being mean?…

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/…..is-speech/

The American Taliban are worthless. They should disband to save America!

Jane, thank you fo taking the live blogging on tonight. What a circus that was! Harry the Tame Bear and Johnny the Clown.

Quorum call, but as noted above no actual calling is going on. Somethin’s up.

Maddow!!!

It’s not a whistle when he speaks. It’s the wind blowing between his ears.

hehe, Media looking at McCain now. Did he strike a deal with Palin to be allowed on TV?

Got to wonder about that FT article.

Things are getting dicey in China; they hold a lot of American debt, any assets in American dollars have tanked. Doesn’t matter what their personal savings rate is in RMB if there’s insufficient spending by their government to create jobs, and insufficient American demand to keep their factories humming.

See Wharton on this:

China’s government reported on February 2 that about 20 million of the 130 million Chinese migrants who were working in urban manufacturing jobs have been forced to return to their rural homes. The government news agency, Xinhua, reported on January 6 that 2009 was expected to be a record year for mass protests. The bottom line is that China has to build “a real domestic economy,” says Meyer. The nation can no longer rely on the “the model that worked since 1978.”

Not good.

Could someone enlighten me on what WATB Republican means? Thank you in advance.

I hope it’s because Ted Kennedy is beating the crap out of Reid & McConnell.

WATB = Whiny ass titty babies

Glenzilla on Moyers on now where I’m at.

McCain a day late and a dollar short. Fxck bi-partisan. Get funny man seated and pay-to-play with Susan Collins (if that is possible with her having 6 years to play).

Oh, and spit in Joe LIEBerman’s face.

“These f*ckers are losing their corporate base listening to the dittoheads; the corporate folks all know that they are on a bobsled ride to hell without government spending.”

Just worth repeating like a broken record…and they will take main street down with them.

CA Gov Arnold cut state payroll by over $3 Billion…the REVERSE REPUBLICAN STIMULUS PACKAGE.

Yes, I have Moyers as well and HD – that is the channel flip. Good call.

Lost KO to workin for the dollars and the kids hollarin’

New post up by Jane!

Its been so long since I studied PS but how is the ML chosen?

Oh pleasepleaseplease let it be so. I mean I think this bill’s screwed at this point so I hope it gets held up, I just like the idea of The Lion roaring at those two ninnies.

Wonder if Americans are thinking “and John McCain could have been our President.”

Diaper Dave must have some short-selling planned against the DOW index on Monday morning, because his unanimous consent delay until Monday just killed the market. Someone needs to say that.

And stop calling a haircut! It’s kids’ education, damnit!@

They WILL wait for Kennedy to get there. Bet on that. Only thing that will prevent Kennedy from voting is if they have enough republics, and they very well may not.

Me too. Kennedy is the best. ;-)

Really? Mr. Greenjeans?

It appears Kennedy might have the weekend to get up here because the republicans are claiming unanimous consent and it could hold the vote up until Monday (was said on Maddow’s show tonight).

ooh, big silence .. big important men whispering ..

i look at this cspan feed and wish the senate floor was a game board that i could put my hands under and just scatter all these assholes and the tired stale bullshit game to all the corners of the room ..

btw you and i pay every one of these people to live like kings ..

A sign in the bank in the grocery store here.

WE HAVE BARGAIN PROPERTY FOR SALE

Reid kissing McC’s butt. These freeking people don’t have a clue. This is Anderson Cooper’s quote during Katrina but it was the first thing I thought of as watched Reid extolling the virtues of McCain.

“I haven’t heard that, because, for the last four days, I’ve been seeing dead bodies in the streets here in Mississippi. And to listen to politicians thanking each other and complimenting each other, you know, I got to tell you, there are a lot of people here who are very upset, and very angry, and very frustrated. And when they hear politicians slap – you know, thanking one another, it just, you know, it kind of cuts them the wrong way right now, because literally there was a body on the streets of this town yesterday being eaten by rats because this woman had been laying in the street for 48 hours. And there’s not enough facilities to take her up. Do you get the anger that is out here?”

you go Joan on RM

I just heard that. Great!

Wow that’s so sad. Most of those on the Hill have no freakin’ clue how people are forced to live or die these days, and if they do know, they’re too self-absorbed to give a damn.

New post up, everyone! ;-)

Moyers really good…alot about the press.

It’s like a friend who can’t get over an old sorry boyfriend. Talks about him long after the expiration date. Last night Olbermann ran for maybe a quarter hour a rant about the ex-veep who has left office with a 14% approval rate. And we still have the various takes on sins of the priors. I dearly hoped never to see these disgusting countenances after January 20. But it seems like a prospect in the weathers of the art is to continue beating old drums, just like the fascists do with their tax cut magical elixir cure. Maybe everybody needs the old losers, the way a cheating husband and his mistress might hope for a tolerant wife for stability.

Mr Kurtz, he daid. Move the agenda, I say.

Look, that heart-attack-waiting-to-happen is one of the most dangerous men on the face of the earth; it’s his ability to insinuate himself into key decision-making processes that has made him so dangerous, since he first learned how to do it in the 1970’s.

Iran Contra — remember it? Because those guys were allowed to skip off scott-free and weren’t regularly beaten up as the criminals they were we’re now in these dire straits. Yes. The same criminals came back, broke our country with illegal wars and have again not been punished.

Until Cheney and the rest of his gangster posse are behind bars, spending a few minutes of our time reminding ourselves of their criminality is reasonable.

The same Cheney that said “deficits don’t matter.”

Obviously, the way his party peeps are caviling about deficits, they damned well do.

The only way to stop this GOP crap is to vote out millionairs with connections to the media and lifetime Senators with term limits.

Saw on tv China is in a 50 yr drought.

With Democrats like these, 80 won’t be nearly enough.

That’s Lindsey’s rebel yell. He’s very very good at what he does. He italicized what he calls the president’s ‘oratory’. He said in his way that the president has done the opposite of Lincoln’s promise for charity and an absence of malice. Maybe the president ought to lay a wreath at the grave of Strom Thurmond. Invite Trent Lott, pardon Dickie Scruggs?

Yep, while their pissing around our economy’s dieing.

i dunno much, but i think if this is a survival issue, it’s the issue about whether or not Obi is going to be MINDED, as POTUS, or NOT.

how much of this chit is comin from Rove and Cheney with a large dash of Rush? really. and how is that ANY different when they had their idjit Dumbya front and center stage?

OF COURSE there’s the “non-money”, but that’s ridiculous too. A. it’s borrowed anyway, so it isn’t anyones, really, and B. said “dumbya” was allowed to pack up the treasury while he was packing boxes, equipping new digs and moving there, decimating parts of America he hadn’t quite gotten to yet, playing Master Of The Universe-syle Pugsley Adams in the “pulling heads off of small animals game” , seeing to his interests in the shredding, upholding slaughtering wild life …
well I won’t go on, but he picked up the phone at SOME point and said “Someone call Paulson & tell him to git packin too?”

And that Congress said “OK.”

I’ve been at work – paying my taxes.

So now what?

Goddamned submit button – sorry

They’re voting now. This is on Vitter’s motion for movement?

Been liveblogging it over on Eli’s “Do you really” thread. C’mon over.

My impression is that McCain is the biggest force behind the Republican attempt to throw this stimulus bill in the trash — perhaps simply as revenge for his loss in the presidential race.

The solution is either to revert to a non-Repub supported bill.

Majority rule must succeed and the bill must succeed OR the Republicans must clearly be seen by the public to be obstructing the recovery of the economy. If at all possible this should be pinned specifically on John McCain!

Liebermann will do whatever is necessary to keep himself at the center of attention. I wonder how thrilled Jodie Rell is going to be with all the state aid he has helped strip away.