good morning
an interesting article on todays front page of the nyt says that matt cooper testified that he had no recollection of discussing welfare reform with that liar karl rove as rove has indicated with regard to their conversation which included comments about joe wilson...classic snake in the grass attempt to obfuscate the issue by rove...and ask yourself this..is the silence regarding john bolten deafening or what...?? whats he hiding in the wilson matter?
Posted by dennis at July 22, 2005 02:22 AMOh the tangled web we weave, when first we begin to deceive (or something like that). Don't tell me there won't be indictments for perjury. Now even little Timmy has got himself involved.
Lewis “Scooter'’ Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, told special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that he first learned from NBC News reporter Tim Russert of the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame, the wife of former ambassador and Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson. Russert has testified before a federal grand jury that he didn’t tell Libby of Plame’sidentity.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove told Fitzgerald that he first learned the identity of the CIA agent from syndicated columnist Robert Novak, who was first to report Plame’s name and connection to Wilson. Novak, according to a source familiar with the matter, has given a somewhat different version to the special prosecutor.
(from Hullabaloo)
Hey Timmy, that's the thanks you get for being the butt boy for this WH. Now, are they calling your a liar?
Posted by Judith at July 22, 2005 03:58 AMInteresting news in the "War on Terra". All of the Sunni negotiators have withdrawn from the Constitution Drafting Committee. Financial Times
Meanwhile, the top Shiite cleric involved claims that progress is being made towards a tentative draft of the new constitution to be presented next month. Despite the fact that no agreement exists even on the first sentence, which is to describe the new government either as a loose fderation or a tightly integrated state.
The Kurds have drawn a new map for Kurdistan which significantly expands their borders southwards, beyond the current "protected zone". They say that minor details can be negotiated but the new borders are "a red line" that is completely on-negotiable. Mercury News (free subscription)
The British plan to withdraw from several southern districts to leave "security" and governance to the various shia militias, such as the Badr Brigade and al Sadr's thuggish militants. Of course, they'll soon have plenty of support from their friends in Iran.
"Residents of the largely Sunni Turkmen city of Tal Afar in Iraq's north are streaming out of the city in fear that the US forces are about to launch an attack on it. (US) soldiers have been moving earth to construct a trench and a berm around Tal Afar, forcing traffic to go through rather than around security checkpoints. U.S. Army engineers in Mosul have recently completed a 64-kilometer dirt berm around that city to stem the flow of insurgents and weapons. CNN Thousands of residents have already fled, with the exodus epected to continue.
Channeling Rummy: "Do I love the smell of civil war in the morning? You betcha!" I guess I have to consider the writers of The Onion as truly prophetic. our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity are well and truly over.
Interesting news out of China yesterday. They have always mandated their exchange rates for their currency to the dollar but yesterday they decided to peg it to a basket of currencies. Some were speculating taht this means they may be buying less of our debt in the future. Hope you locked in low mortgage interest rates - it could get nasty....
Posted by Tex at July 22, 2005 04:36 AMNot only that, but I feel sorry for those Walmart shoppers the GOP relies upon. As the yuan floats, the cost of Chinese goods here in America will increase and our stuff will get cheaper over there. The result, lower incomce Americans will see an increase in cost of living while US corporations will see an increase in sales in China. Isn't it neat how the businesses benefit and the workers don't?
Posted by the professor at July 22, 2005 05:26 AM7-21 TOON:A 400,000 Year High(GO USA!)
Posted by jjoats at July 22, 2005 07:28 AMHope you locked in low mortgage interest rates - it could get nasty....
A truly shocking number of people bought adjustable-rate mortgages, or even interest-only ARMs, over the past couple years. The combination allowed them to buy nicer homes, I guess, than they could have under the venerable 30-year fixed.
There will be an absolute avalanche of foreclosures over the next few years, as these people find themselves paying double the rates of interest.
Posted by Matt Davis at July 22, 2005 07:49 AMIt's sad how stupid people are.
Exactly why they need to be protected from unscruppulous lenders.
Posted by at July 22, 2005 08:32 AMIf you have to use credit cards, it is always best to make more than the minimum payment. People who don't are about to get hit by this.
Posted by rlprather at July 22, 2005 08:53 AMHow come no liberal blogs are fighting against the Patriot act? Our liberties are being cancelled. Our bill of rights are gone. The fourth amendment no longer exists. Why doesn't anyone care about this?
Posted by Dag at July 22, 2005 09:00 AMAnyone watching CSPAN3--hearings about what happens when a covert agent's cover is blown? I'm getting more and most disgusted every minute. This has ramifications way beyond what I imagined. As one of the people testifying pointed out, Rove should, at the very least be placed on administrative leave. The fact that the administration is hiding behind the criminal investigation, and not taking any action based on ethics, sends a message to covert agents out there, and the people they're trying to recruit to spy that the government doesn't care about their safety. Anyone can work in the White House if they're not a criminal? That's the standard? One guy is really hammering the point that covert agents go to foreign countries and they try to get people to spy on their own country. They're going to have a much harder time now, knowing that the US doesn't protect its agents. It's outrageous.
Now they're pointing out that yes, you can be a covert agent with a desk at Langley. Lots of people are. Even John McCain doesn't have a spine here. Is there a single republican with a spine?
Posted by CG at July 22, 2005 09:04 AMI just finished listening to the Democratic panel on C-Span 3 on the Plame matter. It was very informative on the danger and risk on outing CIA agents. It was important enough for more broad viewing, so I emailed C-Span with a request that they re-air it on C-Span 1 or 2, so that everyone could watch it. The panelists were former CIA agents who articulated well the problems caused by this administration.
Posted by Dorothy M. Ligon at July 22, 2005 09:39 AMrlpather - that article went out May 3rd, and the predicted hikes really haven't takne hold yet. (I saw it too and tried to get some attention, but was terribily unsuccessful.) I don't think that the rest of the world is going to register any problems until they realize that their monthly bill has jumped 20% in the last 3 months.
Posted by idiosynchronic at July 22, 2005 09:44 AMThere isn't much inflation out there to raise interest rates, though. And the budget deficit has actually been declining due to increasing tax revenues. China isn't the largest purchaser of US debt.
But, it'll be interesting to see what happens when home prices decline. I think the speculators will get hurt the most, and then the lending institutions.
I remember lots of folks in the 90's who just walked away from mortgages and tossed the bank the keys. The banks then foreclosed on the property, and auctioned it off.
Most homeowners will be fine. They'll just continue to make their payments and live in their homes.
Banks will just tighten their credit rules.
The days of easy money will be over.
Posted by muckdog at July 22, 2005 10:00 AMidiosynchronic,
I was prompted to bring this up again because baring another delay these new charges are supposed to become effective in August. I hope this is a false alarm but I doubt it.
Posted by rlprather at July 22, 2005 10:44 AMI doubt it too. I should have phrased the comment differently.
What amazed me at the time is how little the story was. If it made the local newspaper, I'd be surprised. I was watching, for once, the 5pm local newscast and they have a money-management segment which featured that report.
The hurt on the least prepared is about to happen.
Posted by idiosynchronic at July 22, 2005 12:38 PMThe hurt on the least prepared is about to happen.
Yep.
Posted by argus at July 22, 2005 01:29 PMAnd since the new bankruptcy law will most likely go into effect by year's end, the credit card companies could care less if this increase is the last straw financially for someone, since they'll gets their anyway.
Posted by caroline at July 22, 2005 02:42 PMIn the mid-90's folks just walked away from their homes when they were upside down in their mortgages. Since the house is collateral on the home loan, the bank just keeps it when the customer defaults.
That's what'll happen again. And a lot of these folks weren't qualified for homes anyways.
So if you have cash on hand, wait until banks start auctioning off foreclosed homes and snatch up some deals.
We're years away from that, though.
One of the reasons housing inventories are increasing is that folks have caught on to the 1997 tax cut by Clinton. If you've lived in your home 2 of the last 5 years, you can avoid taxes on the first $500K for a married couple. This encourages home flipping, and has fueled the speculative housing boom.
Most folks will be fine. Housing generally keeps pace with inflation over the long term.
Posted by muckdog at July 22, 2005 02:52 PMRegarding the initial post on this thread by dennis -- I followed -- sorry I can't remember who posted it -- a link about Bolton on TWN on a different thread here. In reading the comments on the article there, I have to think there is some sort of relationship between the leak investigation progressing/heating up and the utter dearth of information/movement on the Bolton nomination, namely regarding the list of names that the WH won't release to the Senate. Maybe Wilson's name is on that list?
Posted by caroline at July 22, 2005 03:39 PM