Team Sassy On the Air!

Check out this piece by the Northwestern University News Network! Not only is it a great example of the positive impact that the Affordable Care Act is having on our communities but also the public policy directory they interview is totally hot!

Gary Olson (Ilsa and Seana's pol sci professor at Moravian) opinion piece

http://articles.mcall.com/2011-04-18/opinion/mc-obama-reelection-olson-yv-0418-20110417_1_bush-era-tax-cuts-president-obama-health-care-public-option

I don't think he's sayin' anything this group hasn't heard before ... but had to share given that his intro pol sci class was very eye-opening for freshman me, and the reason I ended up with the bachelor's degree in political science ...

Oh Snap!

Former Bush Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neill, made the following comparison today:

The people who are threatening not to pass the debt ceiling are our version of al Qaeda terrorists. Really.

Now, O'Neill can't be too sympatico with the extreme right considering that he basically dished a whole bunch of negative things about the Bush White House to Ron Suskind but still. Wow.

In other news, the Onion once again cuts right to the core of an issue in the media with this little piece on Trump.

Possibly Horrifying Findings About Independent Voters

The New Republic has a brief article on their site about independent voters. The subhead of the article, "What if these voters are just a clueless horde?," seems tongue-in-cheek but pretty much summarizes why this is so scary. Money quote: "At a time of economic peril, when one party wants to protect the essential structure of our limited welfare state and the other party seeks to destroy it, most independents, according to this poll, appear to be seduced by the last thing they have heard." Yikes!

Boss Hogg Passes on 2012

Mississippi governor, Haley (Boss Hogg) Barbour has officially declined to run for the GOP nomination for president. That's one less relatively reasonable candidate in that gaggle of crazies.

They Did It. They Really Did It.

House Republicans just voted to abolish Medicare and turn it into a voucher program. There are a ton of other terrible things in that resolution: block granting and cutting Medicaid and food stamps; massive cuts to head start, child care, family planning; and yes, even the elimination of my beloved Social Services Block Grant (it is the glue that keeps the safety net together, don'tcha know).

I actually think they have gone too far this time. This vote better be all that Democrats talk about for the next, what, 19 months?

Oh and, how much of a mistake do we think this audio leak is?

Nate on What Trump Means for GOP

Following up on John's post from yesterday, here's some interesting analysis of what Trump's rise means for the GOP field. This actually came out before Donald reminded everyone of all of his black friends. Key takeaway: if GOP voters are this high on Trump, that's not a good sign for the field.

Expansion?

Sassy Irma: you might have to expand beyond just monitoring Bachmann. Seems like The Donald will keep you busy with the awful and the crazy as well.

Maybe by The Blacks he means to say he's a fan of Bloodshot? Ok, didn't think so.

Higher Ed the next bubble?

Your friendly librarian sharing an interesting article ...

http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/10/peter-thiel-were-in-a-bubble-and-its-not-the-internet-its-higher-education/

I actually originally thought it was going to be about how the current emphasis on *going* to college is "overvalued"* ... but it is more about how the cost of higher ed itself is crazy outta whack.

(*In an era of increased simplicity, I am surprised that there is not more emphasis on growing up to be an artisan, a craftsperson, a farmer, a woodworker ... I keep expecting to see that ... I guess we are still living in an industrial/wealth-prioritizing age ...)

Speaking of Bringing the Heat

Sen. Durbin sent a pretty harsh letter to the CEO of JPMorgan yesterday. While he doesn't seem to actually tell him to "stop whining," as the Trib says, he directly calls the bank out for complaining while making solid profits while the country still recovers from a collapse the bank helped cause. Good stuff!

Obama Brings the Heat

Okay! Mr. President went right after the Ryan budget plan today in his speech. Check out the Washington Monthly review. Now, let's see how the rest of the press covers the speech.

UPDATE: Paul Krugman liked the speech, too. This might be the most positive he's been about Obama since the election.

This is the only guy who makes me nervous

Though I suspect he'll defer til 2016 if it looks like Obama is a shoo-in.

On the other hand, bring it on.

Please Go on the Attack, Mr. President

And, I'm not talking about Libya. I think that Paul Krugman was absolutely correct in his column today in calling on Obama to start hammering the GOP on their budget proposals instead of immediately giving up concessions in negotiations. I understand that Obama's job of navigating these negotiations to keep the government from shutting down are tricky and I generally give him the benefit of the doubt but the Repugs' proposals are highly unpopular and he should go after them. Urg!

Government Shutdown

I just found out that if the government shuts down my tax return will be delayed. and now i'm pissed.

Protecting Americans from Polar Bears Act

We all know that House Dems only have desperate measures at their disposal right now but at least Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia is infusing his with a bit of humor. He has submitted several amendments for changing the name of the proposed bill that would permanently block the EPAs climate regulations. In addition to the "Protecting Americans from Polar Bears Act," he's proposed "Koch Brothers Appreciation Act," "Oil Producing Economy Capitulation Act," and others.

This Budget Crap is Driving Me Crazy

It appears that we're finally about to get our long-expected government shutdown but not after the GOP successfully delay tactics led to significant cuts. Unless something happens in the 11th hour again, I don't think the Dems will agree to the Repugs' latest "compromise." The GOP's latest plan would fund the Defense Department for the rest of the year but everything else for only another week. Plus, it trims another $12 billion and would "prevent both federal and local funds from being used to pay for abortions" in D.C. I like to call their plan "Bombs Not Moms" but I'm worried that they are kind of winning this debate by loudly offering their "compromises" every couple weeks and pointing at the Senate Dems as blocking the process.

Thankfully, Obama is now trying to get involved. Granted, this will probably make a deal less likely as the House Repugs reflexively argue against anything Barack favors. I'm just worried that the Prez won't slam the GOP like he should for their shenanigans.

Re-Election Campaign Officially Underway!

And it begins. The Obama re-election campaign officially kicked-off this weekend.

My New Hero

For those of you who don't obsessively follow my Facebook posts and thus might have missed it when I posted another one of this guy's talks, meet Hans Rosling. He's an academic who focuses on global health. John will like him because he's Swedish and I think the rest of you will like him because he presents information in a fascinating way. It's educational and entertaining -- perfect for a Friday morning.