Daily Roundup

Fri 7/31 Roundup: Normal Polling, Tehran Protests, Barack's Birthday

- Politico tells it how it is: Obama's poll numbers are at normal levels.

- GDP growth (shrinkage) numbers for the second quarter come out today.  Obama braces for impact. 

- Hope you weren't holding your breath: Baucus says no health care bill from Finance until after recess.

- A report released yesterday by NY AG Andrew Cuomo says thousands of bankers were paid millions of dollars in bonuses last year, even after their firms had taken cash from the government.

- Paul Krugman sees general misinformation as a huge hurdle to health care reform.

- Thousands returned to the Tehran streets on Thursday, to mourn those lost forty days ago in the initial uprising.

- Stanley McChrystal has big ideas about how to shift strategy in Afghanistan.  He may be asking for more troops.

- Barack's birthday is coming up.  What do you get for the man who already has a nuclear arsenal?

- Last, the Daily Show reports on a poor Larchmont man who can't sell his house:

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Wed 7/29 Roundup: Seeing Bottom, Bike Cell Chargers, Lou Dobbs: Bigot

- Sonia Sotomayor cleared the Judiciary Committee.  Lindsay Graham was the only Republican to support her.

- The housing crash may be beginning to end.

- Felix Salmon isn't ready to be optimistic yet.

- David Leonhardt argues for the importance of establishing a health care tax.

- Ezra Klein's latest in the WaPo on health care.  He speaks out in favor of, among other things, Senator Wyden's Free Choice Act.

- The CBO says good things about the Senate's forthcoming healthcare bill.

- Sarah Palin may be going into radio. She'll do great alongside Rush and Imus. 

- Two students in Kenya have built a small, cheap device from junkyard scraps that allows people to charge their mobile phones using their bicycles.

- Roger Simon tells you the 21 things you can't say to Barack Obama.

- Last, as if we needed more evidence that Lou Dobbs is a bigot who shouldn't be on television, Rachel Maddow asks some tough questions:


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Tue 7/28 Roundup: Dems <3 Latinos, Swat, Juggling Skills

- While GOP Senators on the Judiciary Committee will vote against Sonia Sotomayor today, the Chair of the DNC will be addressing the NCLR Conference in Spanish.  Politico is right to see this as a big day for Dems among Latinos.

- The WaPo reports that the government's campaign to keep people in their homes has been less successful than it might have been, because lenders have an incentive to foreclose.

- Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi has called on his followers to flood the streets during a festival next week.

- President Obama opened the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialgogue yesterday here in Washington. There's a palpable sense that the fate of the world economy rests on US-China cooperation.

- Hundreds of thousands have returned to their homes in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, but the wealthy landowners are still staying away.

- President Obama put his juggling skills to work in convincing FIFA to bring the World Cup back to the US in the next decade.  Now there's an initiative I can really get behind.

- Last, more of these "birthers." A guy wanders the Hill, asking Congresspeople if they believe their president is an American citizen:

Mon 7/27 Roundup: Subsidies, Stormy August, Strategic Dialogue

- The NYT writes that the question of subsidies is central to the health care debate. Will the proposed plans be affordable for currently uninsured middle and lower-middle income families, even with the subsidy?

- Nancy Pelosi is confident her bill will win.

- The Politico squad is forecasting a stormy August, with a high chance of health care debate.

- David Leonhardt has a must-read asking how doctors can be best compensated.

- So does Ezra Klein on the tortured politics of health care.

- Krugman beats back those who see free markets as the only fix for health care.

- The U.S. government is on its way to owning a third of Citigroup.

- Our stupid immigration system is scaring away many of the most qualified people in our economy.

- Secretaries Clinton and Geithner co-author an op-ed describing a new approach to China.

- The Times Mag has a long profile of Valerie Jarrett.

Do you, dear reader, have any thoughts on this new format?  Is it better? Worse? Easier to read? Harder?  An essential part of your morning?  Totally useless? I'd greatly appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

- And last, President Obama speaking on the new approach to China:

Fri 7/24 Roundup: Health Care, Dow 9000, New Jersey Corruption

Pelosi- The pressure is still on health care, as President Obama is getting some serious pushback from his friends on the hill.

- Nancy Pelosi would rather not have a deadline in August, and would rather not abide by the deals President Obama laid out with the health care industry.

- Even as Obama runs into trouble here in the US, his presidency is helping views of America overseas.

- The Dow topped 9,000 for the first time since January.

- A massive corruption investigation in New Jersey closed on its targets yesterday, as 44 individuals were arrested, including three mayors, two state assemblymen, and five rabbis!

- Lindsay Graham is supporting Sonia Sotomayor, and not supporting the crazy right wing.

- The latest from Nico on Iran: members of Ahmadinejad's cabinet walked out on him in protest.

- As Sarah Palin approaches departure, she manages to become even less popular.

- Simon has an op-ed published by British think tank Demos as part of the new Open Left project. I dare say it's a must-read.

- Last, continuing with our "birthers" theme, here's Jon Stewart going to town:

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Thu 7/23 Roundup: Presser, Unconstitutionality, Matthews on the Warpath

Obama- President Obama gave a major press conference last night, spending the vast majority of his time defending and promoting health care reform.

- The WaPo's Fred Hiatt interviewed President Obama about health care reform.  Worth your time.

- Karen Tumulty thinks Congress is still sure to miss Obama's deadline.

- Mike Tomasky was not sold on Obama's health care pitch.

- Massachusetts is considering dropping health care coverage of legal immigrants to make up a budget shortfall.  This is, um, unconstitutional.

- Drop by our offices around noon today for a presentation of Simon's Dawn of a New Politics presentation.

- Jake broke down the analysis of Ben Bernanke's recent statement.

- Be sure to keep up with Nico Pitney's coverage of the ongoing uprising in Iran.

- Last, it's almost painful to watch Chris Matthews rip Rep. John Campbell to shreds over this "birther" nonsense:

Wed 7/22 Roundup: Obama Presser, Demos, Steele Shamed

- President Obama will give a major press conference this evening, and the NY Times says he's at a pivotal moment, with health care in the balance and the nation still troubled by the economy.

- The NYT's David Leonhardt says the big challenge to passing health care is answering the question the country is asking: "What's in it for me?"

- James Purnell has launched a new project at Demos, a British think tank, which will ask what it means to be on the left today.  Keep an eye out for a contribution from Simon in the coming days!

- Despite the recession, the flow of immigrants into and out of the country from Mexico has been mostly stable.

- A pilot program at a school in Chinatown, New York is employing technology to move education into the 21st century.  Laptop in every backpack, anyone?

- CQ is being sold to Roll Call.  No layoffs for now.

- In a small victory for the Administration, the Senate voted to kill the F-22.  More money for relevant military technology!

- Pakistan is unhappy with the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, claiming it's pushing Taliban militants over the border.

- Michael Moynihan writes on the blog today that the use of trade policy, specifically tariffs, is not the best way to get countries to reduce emissions.

- A proposed power-transfer compromise in Honduras was rejected by the de facto government.

- Last, Michael Steele gets embarrassed on CNN:

Tue, 7/21 Roundup: Health Care on Tap, Breaking and Entering, Mouthpiece Theatre

Health- The big story today is still health care.  The NYT and WSJ say Dems are ready to compromise.  The WaPo says the GOP is on the attack.

- Obama has summoned the bloggers to the cause of health care!  I'm coming, Mr. President!

- Howard Fineman sees mostly challenges for health care in coming months.

- Mike Tomasky looks at the role of centrists in the health care debate.

- NDN Fellows Morley Winograd and Mike Hais have a tee-rific op-ed in today's Roll Call, showing how the health care debate is shaped by generational lines.

- Jorge Castaneda and Tamar Jacoby have an op-ed in the WaPo arguing for the need for a single, comprehensive immigration reform bill.

- California is saved.  In a shrunken state.

- A Harvard professor was arrested for trying to break into his own house.

- Last, the gentlemen of the Washington Post offer Mouthpiece Theatre:

Mon 7/20 Roundup: Obama's Challenges, Healthcare Zero Hour, Gorilla Glue

- The WaPo has a big above-the-fold feature this morning on new polling that shows President Barack Obama has lost some of his support on key issues.  Less than half of Americans approve of the way he's handling health care. He enjoys a 59% overall approval rating-- his first dip below 60%, though still high.

- He's still doing well in Michigan.

- Two editors from Reason see President Obama headed toward a Carter-style train wreck.

- Rick Hertzberg looks back at Carter's malaise speech.

- Matt Bai calls Obama "the shuffle president," for the way he's taking on everything at once.  Appropriate for the age, but politically risky, too.

- Frank Rich on the Sotomayor hearings: Will we look back on these as the final death rattle of ancien-regime conservatism?

- Charles Blow is confused by the GOP's utter disregard and disinterest in America's non-whites.

- In Newsweek, Ted Kennedy makes a powerful case for universal health care.

- A big bipartisan group of Governors are uneasy about the health care plan as it is emerging from Congress.

- John Cohn says we'll find out soon if Dems have what it takes to pass health care.

- CQ says this is a pivotal week for health care.

- According to the FT, the next major global brand will probably emerge from Asia. 

- Laura Rozen has the story that Obama's meeting in Saudi Arabia was a total loss for the U.S.

- Fareed Zakaria sees Rwanda and its leader, Paul Kagame, as a model for Africa.

- Simon says we need new language to talk about our deteriorating economy.

- Rob Shapiro has a good quote in a HuffPo piece on the IMF and its projections for our economy.

- The Gorilla Glue Company does not advocate the gluing of President Obama to his chair with their product.

- Unemployed?  Move to DC! We've got jobs.  And I'll be your friend.

- Senator Leahy asks Republicans to stop the racial politics.

 

 

Fri 7/17 Roundup: Tear Gas in Iran, Saving Healthcare, Giant Blob of Goo

Tear Gas- Security forces fired tear gas at a demonstration in Iran.  At the event, former president Rafsanjani spoke out against the government's handling of the uprising.  It was Mir Hussein Mousavi's first public appearance in weeks.

- The Director of the CBO issued a gloomy statement about the prospects for health care reform.

- Ezra Klein says Ron Wyden's Free Choice Act could save health care reform.

- Bank of America made a $3.2 billion profit.  Citigroup pulled in $4.3 billion.  Back to business as usual?

- Yes indeed, says Paul Krugman. Goldman Sachs and friends are good at what they do.  And what they do is bad for America.  And we're going back to the system that killed us in the first place.

- President Obama gave a powerful speech before the NAACP yesterday.  He concluded:

One hundred years from now, on the 200th anniversary of the NAACP, let it be said that this generation did its part; that we too ran the race; that full of the faith that our dark past has taught us, full of the hope that the present has brought us, we faced, in our own lives and all across this nation, the rising sun of a new day begun.

- Two bombs in Jakarta killed at least eight.

- Kids are getting high on hot Cheetos, creating a nutritional and janitorial nightmare.

- Last, there is a giant blob of goo floating off the coast of Alaska.  Nobody knows what it is. Guesses?:

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