State of the Union

CNN just caught Hillary Clinton shaking her head dismissively when President Bush was talking about the Patriot Act.

9:39 Bush throws down the gauntlet on immigration reform, likening anti-immigrant sentiment to protectionism or socialism. Ignores the distinction between legal and illegal immigration.

9:41 Earmark reform! Line-item veto!

9:43 Bitter Dems cheer the failure to reform Social Security. Hillary enthusiastically.

9:46 Here comes the health care proposal. MSAs, portability, and medical lawsuit reform.

9:48 Federal funding for energy independence. Funding for government research. Zero-emission coal, solar, and nuclear. Hybrid, electric, hydrogen, biofuel cars.

9:51 Federal funding for science. Make permanent R&D tax credit.

9:52 Federal funding for Advanced Placement teachers.

9:54 Abortion down, morals up. "Government has played a role."

Democracy

President Bush just said there are now 122 democracies in the world... I wonder if he is counting Venezuela and Bolivia!

Kookfest

I rode my bike past this kookfest in Union Square on the way home from work.

Amusing... I'm with this sort of crowd at Critical Mass or hippie fests. I'm just not with them on this whole surrender / impeach thing.

Congratulations, Justice Samuel Alito

Here's to a Supreme Court that understands and respects the Constitution.

Somewhere in the darkness, the gambler he broke even...

Bush hits 50%.

With the country this polarized, though, I doubt he gets more than a couple points from the State of the Union speech.

Greenspan: worst Fed chief ever

Bill Fleckenstein:

So, the fallout from the housing boom, the unfinished business from the stock boom and all the derivatives he's championed for his beloved deregulated financial system will combine to hit with full force somewhere down the road. By then, of course, Greenspan will be long gone. He, as well as everyone else who's incapable of understanding what really happened, will be blaming our problems on the next Fed chairman. I have no sympathy for Ben Bernanke. But we must understand what actually took place and not let this arrogant buffoon Greenspan get away with his attempt to rewrite history.

Greenspan really is terrible. He facilitated the stock market bubble. Then, to postpone the pain, he created the greatest housing bubble in history. The housing bubble bursting will be painful.

We are approaching an era of stagflation. Inflation will rise as the deflationary effect of cheap imports subsides. Interest rates will rise as Asia decides to stop buying Treasury bonds that the Fed is determined to devalue. Sell your bonds and buy gold.

"Senator Train Wreck"

Senator Tom Coburn is kickin' pork and takin' names:

According to Senate aides, Dr. Coburn has notified his colleagues that he intends to challenge every earmark—or pork project—on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Coburn, who has been a champion in the fight against wasteful federal spending, believes that the congressional earmarking process is the genesis of the current Abramoff-related lobbying scandals.

Coburn’s threat will dramatically slow the appropriations process because he will demand many more votes and more debate than normal on all spending bills. The added debate will allow senators to learn the merits (or lack thereof) of each earmark and affirm or reject.

According to one GOP Senate aide, many of the old-bull appropriators are not taking the threat seriously and are confident in their ability to apply pressure tactics and parliamentary maneuvers in order to ensure business as usual on spending bills. But that aide points out Coburn’s commitment, “It will take a lot of votes on one or two appropriations bills before the appropriators figure out that [Coburn] means business.”