Galt'd!

Apparently it's ok to send Americans to fight and die in a war built on lies, but it's not ok for them to pay higher taxes.

Galt!

Rewarding Bad Behavior

Invent bullshit legal theories, get published in the WSJ! Money quote:

The first thing any lawyer will do is tell his clients to shut up. The KSMs or Abu Zubaydahs of the future will respond to no verbal questioning or trickery -- which is precisely why the Bush administration felt compelled to use more coercive measures in the first place.

This from the guy who was one of the principal actors in authorizing torture. John Yoo should be locked up in jail for the harm he's caused (maybe waterboarded, which he wouldn't consider torture, for kicks). Instead, conservative institutions give him a louder megaphone from which he can spew his bile. Somebody please prosecute this assclown.

Off to a Good Start

I know my expectations have been warped over the past eight years, but this is common sense, good law:

President Obama signed his first bill into law on Thursday, approving equal-pay legislation that he said would “send a clear message that making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody.”

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is long overdue. After the Supreme Court refused to hear the Ledbetter v. Goodyear case on standing - no politics involved there - Senate Republicans killed the bill in 2008.

Elections have consequences.

Republicans Jump, Hi-Five Shark

Sounds like an Onion headline:

Republicans Irate of Expansion of Republican-Approved Program

Off to a Good Start

One of President Barack Obama's first acts Tuesday was to put the brakes on all pending regulations that the Bush administration tried to push through in its waning days.

The order went out shortly after Obama was inaugurated president, in a memorandum signed by new White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

Mmm, tasty hope.

Wingnut Droppings

In response to the headline "History Will Remember Bush Well" from the WSJ, my girlfriend writes:

Do you ever wonder how the Wall Street Journal manages to inhabit an alternate universe, and yet cross over and leave its droppings in ours on such a regular basis? Someone should alert NASA that this is actually possible

I do, but can only handle the stupid for a short amount of time before it my mind explodes.

One Last Pony

Thanks, Bush.

What will we use for Obama? A bicycle?

The Stimulus Plan

Ambinder has the summary.

Run Hank Paulson Out of Town

The U.S. government is close to committing billions in additional aid to Bank of America Corp. as the nation's largest bank by assets tries to digest its Jan. 1 acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co., according to people familiar with the situation.

[...]

Any possible arrangement might protect Bank of America from losses on Merrill's bad assets. There would be a cap on the amount of losses the bank would have to absorb with the federal government being on the hook for the remainder, according to one person familiar with the matter.

[...]

The talks with Bank of America were driven by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, people familiar with the matter said, because he was concerned that without help the deal wouldn't close, leaving Merrill adrift. The merger did close Jan. 1 with the understanding the two sides would hammer out a plan, said a person familiar with the talks.

Hank is working for the bankers, not the taxpayers.

Tail Wags Dog

This has to stop:

“I said, ‘Get me President Bush on the phone,’ ” Mr. Olmert said in a speech in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, according to The Associated Press. “They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn’t care: ‘I need to talk to him now,’ ” Mr. Olmert continued. “He got off the podium and spoke to me.”

Israel opposed the resolution, which called for a halt to the fighting in Gaza, because the government said it did not provide for Israel’s security. It passed 14 to 0, with the United States abstaining.

Mr. Olmert claimed that once he made his case to Mr. Bush, the president called Ms. Rice and told her to abstain. “She was left pretty embarrassed,” Mr. Olmert said, according to The A.P.

U.S. and Israeli interests are not one and the same.