Today's edition of quick hits:
* Where's Isaac? Just South of the Dominican Republic, headed west towards the Gulf.
* Shootings in Chicago: "Nineteen people were wounded in at least seven shootings within eight hours overnight Thursday in Chicago, police said."
* Shootings in Mexico City: "The Mexican Navy says federal police shot at a vehicle carrying two U.S. government employees after the vehicle came under attack from unidentified gunmen."
* Shootings in New York: "A clothing designer who had been fired from a Midtown Manhattan company shot and killed a former co-worker in the shadow of the Empire State Building on Friday morning and was then killed by the police, in a hail of gunfire in which nine bystanders were hurt, the authorities said."
* Rush Limbaugh blamed the shooting on President Obama's rhetoric. No one ever accused Limbaugh of being the sharpest crayon in the box.
* Pakistan: "U.S. drones fired missiles at three hideouts in a key militant sanctuary close to the Afghan border Friday, killing 18 suspected insurgents in the latest of a series of strikes conducted this week despite protests from Islamabad, Pakistani intelligence officials said."
* Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wrote a letter to a House Republican this week, saying "he thinks the Fed can do more to bolster the economic recovery and help reduce unemployment." I wish he would.
* U.S dependence on foreign oil has dropped to its lowest level in nearly two decades.
* As Niall Ferguson continues to defend the demonstrable falsehoods he published in his Newsweek cover story, Matthew O'Brien once again sets the record straight, and connects Ferguson's errors of fact and judgment to "the post-fact world."
* Adam Serwer has a beautiful piece on why Mitt Romney's birther "joke" wasn't funny. The Obama campaign's Ben LaBolt added, "Romney's decision to directly enlist himself in the birther movement should give pause to any rational voter across America."
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Leave a Comment:
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wrote a letter to a House Republican this week, saying "he thinks the Fed can do more to bolster the economic recovery and help reduce unemployment."
He just won't until there is a repuke in the White House. I ask again, why the f*ck did The Obomination renominate this repuke @sshole? Afraid of a fight with the repukes and DINOs in the senate.
From the letter:
Even if the Fed launched a third round of bond purchases, few think that further lowering long-term rates would provide much benefit to the U.S. economy. Most businesses and consumers who aren’t borrowing now aren’t likely to change their minds if rates slipped a bit more.
I am not an expert, but I am taking Bernanke's statement, "... the Fed can do more to bolster the economic recovery and help reduce unemployment." to mean he just doesn't want to admit there is nothing more the Fed can do.
What really needs to happen is action by Congress to pass President Obama's jobs bill. You know - stimulus measures like the ones Paul Ryan is on record PLEADING for during President Bush's terms.
Since Romney stated this week that he would get rid of Bernanke when his term expires, is Bernanke begging him for a second chance? Perhaps Bernanke is saying to the Republicans that if Romney gets elected Bernanke will pull out all the stops to help the economy that he has been avoiding for the past four years?
http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2012/08/24/romney-wants-bernanke-out/?mod=google_news_blog
I would really like to know how this "letter" Bernanke wrote fits in with the timing of Romney's statements about him.
So the Fed decides only two months before the election that it might be time to do something about unemployment. Anybody need any more proof the Fed didn't take sides? I'll bet there will be no reluctance whatsoever to take action if Romney becomes President. No reluctance, whatsoever. Anybody that knows anything about how the Fed is governed should not be surprised by this. At all.
SadOldVeteran is correct. As for why Obama reappointed Bernanke? Geitner and the rest of the banksters. Unfortunately, Obama knows nothing about economics and he and us are at the mercy of his economic team, which consisted mainly of the old Clinton team. Again unfortunately, Obama and Geitner have a similar life experience and Obama and Geitner did a little man-bonding in the beginning. So Obama listened to Geitner. Bad. Very bad. Especially when it came time to make the banks pay a price. Geitner: Bad. VERY VERY VERY Bad.
maphi is correct, too, on the stimulus. But that Republican obstruction was not something Obama and the Dems could do anything about.
@once Re: #1.2
You asked:
"Bernanke will pull out all the stops to help the economy that he has been avoiding for the past four years?"
What I am wondering is what those "stops" are that haven't been pulled yet.
Are there any?
maphi,
The Feds could print more money and buy MORE mortgage backed assets and bonds. Not only would it help stimulate the mortgage and other markets but all that interest they make goes back into the Treasury and will help with the deficit. Last year, the Fed returned $80 billion back to the Treasury!
Interesting article in The Atlantic:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/a-rebellion-at-the-federal-reserve/256601/
.
@once Re: link in #1.6
Well - that certainly clears things up!! {eye roll}
So are the following statements true?
Deflation is really really bad, no inflation (what we currently have) is bad, a lot of inflation is really really bad, but a little inflation (about 5% or so) is really good.
We want GDP to grow.
Growing because of growth + inflation is ideal.
Growing because of only inflation is better than no growth.
The Fed could print more money which could increase inflation - which would be good (increase GDP) as long as it doesn't get out of hand.
-------------------------------
endorse nominal GDP (NGDP) level targeting.
The following is quoted from the article in the link (emphasis added)
The debate over NGDP level targeting and inflation targeting is part of a larger war that's been going on the past few years in the normally staid world of central banking. It's a three-sided debate over what the Fed should do now. There are those who think the Fed's dual mandate goes too far in promoting full employment, those who think it's just about right, and those who think it doesn't go far enough.
In the end, this is really a clash over inflation. After all, we're talking about central bankers here. The first group is worried that by effectively printing more money to goose the economy (better known to in policy circles as "quantitative easing"), the Fed has already created future inflation. The second group isn't worried about the money that's already been printed, but believes that running the presses any further will create future inflation. Finally, a third group is worried that if the Fed doesn't print more money, there won't be enough inflation to keep the economy healthy. Evans belongs to the last camp.
Actually, it's not quite true that Evans wants more inflation. He wants more income. To revert to econospeak, he wants the total size of the economy -- that is, inflation plus growth, or nominal GDP -- to get back to the long-term trend it was on before the financial crisis and recession. He would prefer if NGDP goes up due to real growth. But if it's a choice between stagnating NGDP and NGDP that's going up mostly because of inflation, Evans would choose the latter.
maphi,
Yep pretty much!! That's what most of the economists agree on even if they don't agree on much else! The one thing Bernanke appears to be really afraid of is "stagflation" where you have a lot of inflation and a large unemployment numbers, but I think he is overdoing his fears a bit!!
There is just no excuse for Mr. Liar Liar Pants On Fire Robme Hood's comments about no one asking him for his birth certificate.
But, it seems apparent to most rational people that he is a being who was actually hatched like a snake so that may actually be why no one asks about his birth certificate.
An absolute liar and a creep and a vicious Vulture Capitalist.
Oops, wrong place.
Romoney's "joke" is also a demonstration of his self-perceived weakness, that he feels so desperate about shoring up his support among the "true believers" (who still mostly don't believe him and are only supporting him to oppose "that boy" in the White House) that he does this. While 2/3 of Republicans are some variety of "birther" the overwhelming majority of Americans think birthers need a brain transplant. That Romoney has to worry about the support of the racists shows how weak he really is.
"Ask me no questions, I'll still tell you lies" seems to remains Mitt's credo.
Why are "poll watchers" even allowed to loiter around a polling place anyway? Voting is the official business of the nation, and it seems to me that the only people present should be state and Federal employees and the voters. Democratic leaders need to be making a big stink about it.
Though he does have a kind of waxy sheen.
Allow me to simplify: Rawmoney... should give pause to any rational voter across America.
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
"..connects Ferguson's errors of fact and judgment to "the post-fact world."
In other words, "the post-fact world" = teapub world
Re: Adam Serwer
Romney enlisted himself in the birther movement when he embraced Mr. Birther, Donald Trump.
Newsweek must be desperate. I compare them now to the typical tabloid.
This might be over the top but.I would like to see a Democrat ad that show's Romney demonstrating "for" the war in vietnam.Then show our soldier's fighting in the jungles.Then ask where was Mitt Romney.Then show him peddling his bicycle around the French countryside.
Rush Limbaugh still testing his boundaries like a 3 year old...
If it is possible could the RMS have Dan Rather comment on both of the conventions? Being a logistics volunteer, I can appreciate the work your staff does to put on the show.
Cardinal Dolan of New York is scheduled to give the benediction after Romney's acceptance speech. Dolan is accused of giving pedophile priests $20,000 each to go away while he was archbishop of Milwaukee. Shouldn't this be news?? With Todd Akin a millstone around Romney's neck, the campaign has the hubris and arrogance to call on Dolan for a closing prayer at the convention. Rachel, THIS IS NEWS!!!! please!!!
The issue of Rape as expressed by the Republican party must be driving the Criminal justice system up the wall. How will this play out in some of the couts when Defense attorneys starts to quote the republican platform.
The Republicans are going to steal the 2012 election for Romney. The voter ID is a smoke screen. On election night votes from Democratic districts will not be counted . . just disqualified! The states that appear to be at the top of the list are Florida, Ohio & Pennsylvania. The question is what are we going to do about it! They have hundreds of millions of $ for bribes!
You may be right (they did it before). But what CAN we do about it? And about the birther "joke" -- someone should ask Ann about what it's like to be married to someone who is basically just mean.
The shootings that have occurred recently are beginning to bring the idea of gun control back into the public discussion. Whenever that happens, gun nuts rise in holy wrath to defend their "right" to have the means to kill numerous people as rapidly as possible. Their favorite justification is that it isn't the guns killing people, it's the people shooting those guns. But never, never do they ever come up with a suggestion about how to prevent those people from getting guns in the first place. They go on about how people will be violent even without a gun. Frankly I would much rather face someone being violent with a knife than with a gun. As Molly once said, knives don't kill their owners when they're being cleaned. They don't let people kill large numbers at once. They can't kill you if you run fast enough.
The arguments about using bombs also "bombs" because using explosives without killing yourself first requires a lot more expertise than pulling a trigger does. There are very few people comparatively speaking who can kill lots of people with explosives compared to those who can kill with guns, and usually those who kill with guns are trying to kill particular people. Witness the turkey in College Station or the one in NYC or the ones in Chicago.