Mission Accomplished: Unfunded Wars, Bush Tax Cuts Bring Back Stagflation

No surprise here: the reckless Bush tax cuts, the unregulated mortgage market and the endless war in Iraq have led to a recession combined with high inflation. Stagflation is back, big time.

U.S. Economy: Consumer Prices Up 5%, 17-Year High (Update2)
By Shobhana Chandra and Timothy R. Homan

July 16 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer prices surged 5 percent in the past year, the biggest jump since 1991, just as households struggled with falling home values and the credit crunch.

Spiraling expenses for food and fuel spurred the increase in June, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The cost of living rose 1.1 percent from May, more than forecast and the second-largest rise since 1982. Separate figures showed industrial production rose more than estimated because of the end of a strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. and increased electricity output.

Price gains accelerated last month even after stripping out energy and food, underscoring the challenge for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke as he attempts to steer the economy through the slowdown and credit crisis. Treasuries fell.

``This is a problem for the economy; it's even worse for the Fed,'' said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc. in Holland, Pennsylvania. ``Inflation numbers are high enough that under different circumstances the Fed would be hiking rates.''

McCain Coddles Inept Iraqi Gov: Another 21 Months and 210 Billion Dollars Not Enough

As every attentive and fair-minded American knows, it's long since past time for the Iraqi Government to get its act together. There are five long months before President Barack Obama can begin to slowly and steadily bring home US troops from Iraq--over a period of the following 16 months. That's a total of 21 months--or nearly two more years of US involvement in the Iraq war. At 10 billion dollars a month, that's another $210 Billion dollars to the running total you see above. But another two years and $210 billion dollars is not enough for John McCain--and that's reason enough to do everything you can to ensure that this man is not elected President. His coddling of the corrupt and sectarian Iraqi Government is appalling and nearly un-American.

Obama Agrees with Juan Cole: New Yorker Insulted Muslim Americans

I agree with both of them--though we still have not canceled our subscription--yet. There is so much that is good in its pages--week after week.

Obama says New Yorker insulted Muslim Americans

By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer Tue Jul 15, 9:32 PM ET

CHICAGO - Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday that the New Yorker magazine's satirical cover depicting him and his wife as flag-burning, fist-bumping radicals doesn't bother him but that it was an insult to Muslim Americans.

"You know, there are wonderful Muslim Americans all across the country who are doing wonderful things," the presidential candidate told CNN's Larry King. "And for this to be used as sort of an insult, or to raise suspicions about me, I think is unfortunate. And it's not what America's all about."

Obama blamed himself for not being forceful enough in challenging some of the rumors about him, including that he is Muslim. Obama is Christian.

Theologian Terri Murray: Myth-Busting the Christian Right

I've been meaning to write a post all week about how the Christian Right believes deeply in Darwinian Evolution in social and economic life (poor people suffering are just whiners, etc), even as it rejects Evolution in biology--where it has been proven to be a fundamental principle. Why this should be so escapes me. It certainly has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus--who was anything but a believer in trickle-down economics. Still, the mythology of the Christian Right governs public perceptions of Christianity.

I remember getting into a discussion with a relative--a militant atheist--who blurted out that I could not possibly be considered a Christian because I did not believe in the inerrancy of the Bible! This supposedly progressive thinker had completely bought into the frame of Christian Right mythology. (As Gotthold Lessing reasoned centuries ago, God surely pre-dates the Bible, and would exist still even if every Bible were taken from the planet! The Bible is not inerrant; God is.)

The myths of the Christian Right often go unchallenged. Fortunately, friend of this blog and theologian Terri Murray has a very interesting piece up at The Center for Progressive Christianity, Myth-Busting the Christian Right:

The aim of this commentary is to identify and assess three central myths promulgated by America's Christian right. For the purposes of this piece, the ‘Christian right' is defined as a group of socially conservative, politically active organizations within Fundamentalist Christianity who share the objective of implementing conservative changes to American culture and law. Its members have been especially successful building coalitions opposing abortion and same-sex marriage.

The movement generally rejects any modern method of Biblical interpretation and many of its adherents place far less emphasis on the Gospels than on Pauline doctrine. Its adherents are generally anti-intellectual, hostile to science, pluralism, tolerance, and the separation of church and state. Amongst its central aims are downsizing the government, and "restoring" America as a Christian nation by imposing religion through the mechanisms of the state.

Much of the movement's ideological strength has come from their expertise in circulating and reaffirming three powerful myths central to its image. These are:
(1) that the Christian right have a monopoly on moral realism,
(2) that they have a monopoly on respect for the 'sanctity of life,' and
(3) that they have a monopoly on Christianity

The Christian right's pundits present this set of abstract concepts - moral "values," sanctity of life, and Christianity - as their core values. Over and over again they have successfully framed complex issues as oppositions between these core values and their opponent's position. This has worked partly because, instead of engaging in an analysis of these concepts, they equate them with a set of public policies that are assumed to meet the conditions that define them. Thus it would appear that if you do not support their policies, you cannot support moral values, the sanctity of life, or Christianity. A closer examination of the fallacious reasoning underpinning each of the Christian right's core myths will follow.

Juan Cole: New Yorker Cartoon Offends Muslims

From the always interesting Juan Cole: Obama Caricature Offensive to Muslims;

It is typical of the atmosphere in America today that the New Yorker cover caricaturing the Obamas is called offensive by the Obama campaign but virtually no one is talking about how demeaning it is of American Muslims. A little detail like that. Imagine if a US candidate had been depicted as an Orthodox Jewish settler with an Uzi machine gun in the West Bank, the hue and cry that would ensue.

Obama Leads, McCain Follows on Afghanistan War Effort

Now if McCain would only adopt Obama's sensible stance on the Iraq war: give the Iraqis a total of 21 months from today to get their political act together!!! Here is Obama's full speech.

End war in Iraq, focus on Afghanistan, Barack Obama says:


By Michael Muskal and Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
10:44 AM PDT, July 15, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Presidential candidate Barack Obama, seeking to burnish his foreign policy credentials in advance of a trip to Europe and the Middle East next week, said this morning that ending the war in Iraq responsibly and defeating terrorist groups in Afghanistan were his top objectives.

The presumed Democratic nominee outlined positions that separate him from his Republican challenger, John McCain, who promptly denounced Obama's plans at a campaign stop in New Mexico.

"By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe," Obama said in his speech here, which continued a theme he has outlined before: Afghanistan, not Iraq, should be the centerpiece of the war on terrorism.

"As should have been apparent to President Bush and Sen. McCain," Obama said, "the central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was."

Obama restated his vow to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of becoming president. That, he said, would free up the resources needed to fight Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Huff Po:Is McCain Flip-Flopping, Calling for Draft, or Just in Fantasy Land?

Reuters: McCain criticizes U.S. war effort in Afghanistan

New Bush Scandal: Pay to Play Caught on Tape

Man, this is brazen and corrupt.

c/o Huff Po: Amidst Possible National Security Breech, Waxman Opens Probe Into Bush Friend's "Pay For Play" Private Shadow State Dept.

The velocity with which the Payne scandal has burst out into US national media has been astonishing: only last Saturday night, a London Times story, slated for Sunday printing, revealed footage in which a George W. Bush friend of two decades was shown trying to sell access to top White House officials. But Stephen P. Payne's offer of access to the White House, in exchange for a several hundred thousand dollar donation to a controversial George W. Bush Presidential library and partisan think-tank planned for Southern Methodist University in Texas, may be only be the tip of the controversy.

Within roughly 36 hours the scandal has progressed from a Sunday London Times story, to the Internet, then to mainstream American media - and less than two days after the initially breaking news US Congressman Henry Waxman has launched a House Oversight Committee investigation into Payne's offer, captured on video, of White House access in exchange for a donation to the planned George W. Bush presidential library. But Waxman's initial probe may turn up much more troubling findings:

If Stephen P. Payne's claims, to have personally negotiated for the US government major arms deals and billion dollar financial packages while also being paid by foreign governments to arrange those deals, hold true then American national security may have been compromised in ways that could take years to assess.

Fresh Air Fund Needs Your Help Helping City Kids

Hello there,

I don't know if you've heard of the Fresh Air Fund before but I need your help. We're already well into July and I have 200 children who have yet to be placed with host families for August. Since you blog about religion and faith, I would love your help getting the word out that we need host families who will welcome a child from the city into their homes next month.

Since we need all prospective families screened and vetted by the end of July, time is of the essence. I could really use your help. To make everything simple, I've set up an online resource page with everything you need to blog or learn more,

This is so time-sensitive and important to the lives of these children, I want to help you in any way I can. This appeal comes straight from the top, so please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions or need anything at all.

Thank you so very much,
Sara
--
Sara Wilson
Fresh Air Fund
sara@freshair.org

Should I Cancel My New Yorker Subscription? Offensive Obama Cartoon

This is really offensive. 'Scare tactic' — Obama slams Muslim portrayal

Fed Props Up Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac: Anxious Day on Wall Street

The collapse of the US mortgage market is related to the asleep at the switch, laissez faire policies of the Bush administration--so there is some irony in seeing the Fed propping up these big mortgage finance companies. Still, every American has to hope that these moves stabilize the US mortage market at least on a temporary basis.

Fannie, Freddie Rise on Government Support for Equity
By Dawn Kopecki

July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rose in Frankfurt after U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he will seek approval from Congress to shore up the mortgage finance companies by buying equity stakes and increasing lines of credit.

Fannie Mae gained 14.3 percent in German trading and Freddie Mac advanced 12.6 percent after Paulson said he would seek authority to buy unlimited amounts of equity. The Federal Reserve also agreed to lend directly to the two companies to help provide interim financing.

Paulson's plan may put a floor under the shares, which dropped by about 50 percent last week on concern that shareholders would be wiped out if the companies collapsed or were taken over by the government. Concern that Washington-based Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of McLean, Virginia, may collapse escalated last week, prompting Treasury, Federal Reserve and White House officials to forge a plan to rescue the companies should they be unable to fund themselves.

The two companies have become critical to the U.S. mortgage industry, accounting for almost half of the $12 trillion market.

``They won't be defaulting on their debt,'' Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York, wrote in a note to clients. ``The immediate implications of this will likely be positive for stocks and negative for Treasuries.''

Obama Leads McCain in Missouri: Show Me State Surprise?

The out of touch Social Darwinism message on the economy from McCain and Gramm does not appear to be resonating with Missouri voters. You mean they want more jobs and health care--what a bunch of whiners!

ST Louis Post Dispatch:

Missouri voters are frightened about the economy, hurting over high gas prices, disillusioned with the war in Iraq and convinced the nation is headed in the wrong direction...

Pollster Del Ali says that backdrop largely explains why those polled slightly preferred Obama over McCain, 48 percent to 43 percent. The remaining 9 percent were undecided.

Obama's five-point edge is within the poll's margin of error of 3.5 percentage points for each number. That means similar polls could show results ranging from a two-point lead for McCain to a larger margin for Obama.

But Ali said Republicans should be far more concerned about Obama's lead of 16 percentage points when respondents were asked which man could better handle the economy. Those polled also preferred Obama by similar or larger margins on other domestic matters, including global warming, gas prices and health care.

Evil "Dr. Phil" Gramm: US a Nation of Whiners...McCain Aide Reveals Dark Side of GOP

On the tube in the Twin Cities this week, I saw a man who was living in a slum that was news-worthy only because he'd fallen through the floor boards of his own apartment. The man said that, given what he was paid (with none of the benefits he would get in any other Western country in the world) his choices were this slum or living in his car. He said this all matter-of-factly--without a trace of a whine. People live this life every day. The only whiners who bug are the fat-cat Me Generation Republicans who whine about paying taxes.

July 11, 2008
McCain Adviser Refers to ‘Nation of Whiners’
By MICHAEL COOPER

BELLEVILLE, Mich. — Senator John McCain has spent the week trying to tell people that he feels their economic pain. So it was more than a little unhelpful when one of his top economic advisers was quoted Thursday as saying that the United States was only in a “mental recession” and that it had become a “nation of whiners.”

The adviser, former Senator Phil Gramm, Republican of Texas, sought to clarify his remarks Thursday by saying he had been referring only to some of the nation’s leaders.

But it was too late to keep from complicating things for Mr. McCain, who has been trying to strike a more empathetic tone after sometimes struggling to maintain a balance between displays of optimism about the nation’s future and demonstrating an understanding of Americans’ economic hardships.

Senator Barack Obama, noting that Mr. McCain had previously said an expansion of offshore oil drilling might have a “psychological” benefit for the country, seized on Mr. Gramm’s remarks, made in an interview with The Washington Times.

“You know, America already has one Dr. Phil,” Mr. Obama said at a campaign stop in Fairfax, Va. “When it comes to the economy, we don’t need another.”

"McCain Equals Bush": Librarian Hassled at 'Open to Public' Meeting for Sign

John McCain must be deeply insecure to allow his goon squad to hassle a 61 year old Denver librarian. What a disgrace! God bless Carol Kreck for her patriotism and passion! Librarian carrying McCain=Bush sign kicked out of McCain Event:

DENVER, Colo.-On orders from Senator John McCain's security detail, Denver police escorted a 61-year-old woman away who was waiting in line to attend a so-called town hall meeting with McCain that was billed as open to the public.

Carol Kreck, who works as a librarian in Denver, held a homemade sign reading "McCain = Bush." On orders from McCain's security detail, police cited her for trespassing and escorted her to the sidewalk. She was told if she returned she would be arrested.

"And all I did was carry a sign that said McCain = Bush," Kreck said. "And for everyone who voted for Bush, I don't see why it's offensive to say McCain = Bush."

This episode by McCain's Secret Service appears to be a rerun of McCain's 2005 town hall in Denver with President Bush in which the Secret Service had three Denver citizens removed from an "open" event where McCain was campaigning with Pres. Bush for his plan to privatize social security.