Kudos to Rachel Maddow

++Should we really congratulate Rachel Maddow for becoming an NBC anchor? Will this be the death spiral of talent?

++But Rachel showed up last night with her talent for explaining certain positive changes in America under the Obama Administration. This segment was followed by her analysis of how it is likely that the government will be shut down by the GOP before the lame duck session of Congress closes.

++Steve Benen, formerly of the Washington Monthly and the leading debunker of Mitt Romney,posted on the Maddow blog some basics about the economy under Obama. Weigant at Friday Talking Points hit on some of the same areas for Democrats to use in the following days.

++The Takeaways:
1. The economy is in full recovery mode and clocking in with jobs numbers of 20 years ago.
2. The Dow has gained 10,010 pts since President Obama was inaugurated.
3. Medical costs are only rising at the level they were fifty years ago.
4. Gas is under $2 per gallon in many states and under $3 in the rest.
5. People without health insurance has plummeted by 30% in a year.
6. The United States is out performing the economies of all developed countries combined.
7. President Obama deal with China over climate change looks like it may produce a larger international agreement.
8. National Polls for the first time since the Great Recession show that a majority of Americans believe the economy is going very well.
9.50% believe President Obama's actions on immigration were just about right and 22% said they didn't go far enough.

++Now turn hard right to Washington and you would think none of this was happening. Oh yes,the national deficit will tumble again this year. This weekend,the last white Southern Democrat, Mary Landrieu, looks like she will be defeated. 

++The GOP want to oust the head of the CBO and let "politicians who have the authority evaluate the implications of their laws." What could possibly go wrong? 

++We enter next year with the Supreme Court threatening to undo Obamacare and then those nice numbers will fall. A GOP Congress passing the Ryan budget which would doom a generation to crushing debt. And the Congress hasn't even decided whether we are at war against ISIS. All of those points by Rachel Maddow,Steve Benen and Charles Weigant are at risk by actions of the new Congress. 

++While the economy should zoom until then,there are a series of issues like the Export-Import bank which have to be dealt with by June. We will be very lucky if we can a recession in the next two years with this Congress.

How's Putin Doing?

++Moody's announced they were rating Russia's bonds "negative" and threatened to downgrade their Baa1 rating, the lowest investment bond rating for their actions in the Ukraine and the potential crisis of more sanctions.

++The European Union has prepared more extensive sanctions on the country itself, not just individuals. But France and Germany said that Russia has pulled away from the border.

++Putin requested his parliament to withdraw the resolution that would allow Russia to invade the Ukraine for the protection of Russian-speaking citizens.

++The Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia signed agreements to be economically associated with the EU.

++The Russian Foreign Minister attacked the United States for encouraging these events.

++Steve Benen has an excellent article at the Rachel Maddow blog entitled "Putin Snarls,Obama Gets The Last Laugh" which reminds us how far we've come from the time it looked like Putin would be the Republican nominee for President in 2016 with all his endorsements by the GOP who felt he was a strategic genius and a "real leader" unlike you know who. After Putin seized Crimea, President Obama nonchalantly suggested Russia was a regional power and let him hang by his own petard. Instead,Putin's actions revived NATO and threatened his own economy.

You May Have Missed This

++The House passed the Doctor Fix for Medicare by a voice vote that provoked laughter from Rep.Dingell and outrage from Louie Gohmert,who said it reminded him of how the House was run under the Democrats.

++Quinnipiac has Senator Warner romping against Nick Gillepsie.

++Kos of the Dailykos had a word to the wise about the GOP's chances of taking over the Senate. Backed by polls and forecasts from 2012,Marcos explains how the GOP were supposed to win the Senate in 2012 when they only needed 5 to win. His point is if Democrats vote, they win.

++Washington Monthly counters with an analysis of mid-term drop-offs, showing that the Democratic coalition because it is younger and multi-ethnic votes less during the midterms and the Baby Boomers are increasing the over 60 vote. Why that vote remains Republican is beyond me at this stage.

++Rep. Issa said that it was time to get beyond Benghazi since his investigation flopped.

++The Koch Brothers ran an ad against Al Franken accusing him of trying to prevent non-profits from engaging in political activities. Weird because they are.

++President Obama met with Pope Francis today and the meeting lasted an hour and the two guys got on like a house on fire. Later he went off to meet the Italian government.

++Congress approved a whopping $1billion for the Ukraine and additional sanctions, which are more than the Obama Administration wants. The IMF approved a package of $15-18 billion for the Ukraine so that poor country will face austerity measures.

++You probably missed the Nuke Summit in Brussels. The only one who ever covers this is Rachel Maddow. I will post more about this later.

++Steve Benen deserves credit for pointing out that despite Florida's attempt to block their citizens from accessing Obamacare 440,000 Floridians signed up for ACA. The state has over 3.5 million uninsured and the state refuses to expand Medicaid.

++Catch Tom Hartmann because he is running down the history of SCOTUS ruling for corporations. His shows concern Hobby Lobby's case.

++The United Nations General Assembly voted that Russia's seizure of the Crimea was against international law. 

It's already 2014 somewhere

++In Saipan, it's New Year's.

++The US finally released the last three Uighurs from Gitmo. They will probably be sent to Slovakia.

++The tribes in the Anbar Province in Iraq,once known as the backbone of the "Surge", are at war with the Iraqi government. 55 Sunni members of parliament have resigned in protest.

++Prince Bandar said he warned Russia about Chechen terrorists. Is this like his warning to the UK?

++Peter King says that the bombings in Russia are a wake-up call to Americans about Islamic terrorists.

++Josh Marshall at Talkingpoints has an excellent piece on Benghazi and Beyond the Crazy. He argues that the fake scandal prevents us from having the foreign policy debate we deserve about the role of our foreign service in conflict areas.

++Steve Benen, formerly of Washington Monthly and now the Rachel Maddow blogger, has a fine piece on Benghazi.

++The New York Times responded to criticism that their Benghazi piece was meant to exonerate Hillary Clinton. They said Hillary had nothing to do with their piece and they haven't made up their minds.

++Andrew Sullivan says that 2013 was a pretty sucky year but that beneath the surface some good happened. 

++Brainwrap in his public service of keeping us up to date on Obamacare posted new figures from states last night. 

++Sonia Sotomayor will count down the ball at Times Square tonight. 

++For the first time in my life, I actually kept all dates,to-do lists and appointments in one notebook. It really is a BFD!

A Break from Mandela and Back to Business

++The economy grew by 3.6% in the third quarter. That's higher than Commerce said last month--2.8%. Put an asterisk behind that as various economists argue it is unsustainable.

++Jobless claims were 298,000, the lowest in six years.

++The Jobs numbers for November are out this morning. The economy added 203,000 jobs and unemployment is now down to 7%. Steve Benen at RachelMaddow Blog reminds us that the job creation rate is the best since 2005 and second best since 1999. As this blog has argued, if you pass the Transportation Bill and other job creating measures offered by President Obama, we would be at 5-5.5% unemployment.

++Paul Krugman gets out of his funk and praises President Obama's economic speech as that of the guy we voted for in 2008.

++President Obama signed an executive order mandating that the government triple their use of renewable energy in seven years, bringing the percentage to 20%.

++Michael Tomasky wrote in the Daily Beast an article entitled "Why Obamacare could help the Democrats in 2014". He talks about his good experience with the website HealthCare.gov.

++Ezra Klein argues that Obamacare will not meet the 7 million the CBO projected by March. Instead, he argues that success has to be measured by the ratio of younger,healthier enrollees to older,sicker ones. Despite the polls showing millennials are tiring of President Obama, that ratio is holding up.

++Californiacovered--the real California website is seeing a surge of enrollees. Obamacaresignups.net is showing that Medicaid and private insurance combined is now over 2 million nationwide.

++The Commonwealth Fund has released a report that shows that those states who refused to expand Medicaid will lose billions and still have to paid additional billions for the Medicaid people in their states.  Texas will lose 9.2 billion, Florida 5 billion,Georgia 2.9 billion, Virginia 2.8 billion,and North Carolina 2.6 billion. Remember for the first three years, the Federal Government picks up the whole tab and in outgoing years 90%.

++We are seeing Medicaid increasing in South Carolina by a larger percent than was expected. Governor Haley has refused to expand Medicaid there.

++The net result of states refusing the Medicaid expansion is that over 5.5 million people eligible for Medicaid will remain uninsured,forcing hospitals in the South to curb their services or go out of business.

++A  new poll demonstrates how isolationist America has become. Today,52% of Americans believe we should mind our own business and not get involved overseas. 

++The RNC is readying their opposition to Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. Remember the RNC believed Ms. Clinton was going to be the candidate in 2008. They compiled a dossier of over 1,000 pages on her--which included her B.A. thesis on Saul Alinsky. That's why you have heard the Right target Barack Obama with a connection to Alinsky. They didn't have anyone to use their opposition research on. Now the RNC is training House members how to deal with women. Part of this is that Hillary Clinton would get 35% of the Republican Women. Reince Preibus hinted one angle of attack would be "BENGHAZI".

++Contrary to the predictions of "wave elections",The Post crunched the numbers and said the Democrats may lose 5 seats in the House in 2014. The Senate has been and still is up for grabs.

++One innovative progressive blogger tried to fathom how there is so much animosity from the Right on Obamacare. It's simple--3.8%. That's the number to keep in mind. Wealthier Americans, who depend on investment income, don't pay unemployment taxes or the social security taxes. But under Obamacare, they pay a 3.8% Medicare tax. If you are the Koch Brothers,that is a lot of bread. So investing millions in the campaign to stop Obamacare,is a great investment.

++The Post is being a little cheery about a budget deal,saying the GOP doesn't want to aggressively push their agenda this year. Nancy Pelosi is pushing back that unemployment benefits must be extended into next year. I will believe it when I see it.

++President Obama gave an hour interview with Chris Matthews before a younger crowd. It got rave reviews. Perhaps, it is because Obama was allowed to argument his case at length without interruptions.

++I may or may not do a post on the Right's reactions to Nelson Mandela's death. They will as vile as the rhetoric we hear daily about President Obama.

Government Shutdown Ping-Pong

++The House just passed another bill shutting down the government if Obamacare isn't postponed. This time they lost a few Republicans as so-called "moderates" are beginning to tire of this charade.

++President Obama spoke well today about how you don't get a ransom for doing your basic job and told the nation that tomorrow the health exchanges are being set up with or without the government operating.

++Elizabeth Warren, the Senator of Commonsense,was impolite to note that the Senate passed a budget in March that rolled back the Sequester but the House refused to meet in conference to negotiate a compromise budget that would have kept the government funding for a whole year. Then she was impolite to note that the Senate a few months later passed individual funding bills but the House could not. The noticeable failure by the House was the Farm Bill, which ended up with the passage of subsidies for the private farms of House members but another bill to cut $50 billion from foodstamps.

++Steve Benen, whose voice hasn't been amplified now he is at Rachel Maddow blog, points out today that the closing of the government has been the GOP plot since March, pointing to the same disturbing facts Senator Warren did in her Senate speech this afternoon. 

++At slightly after 9pm EST, I have no idea where this will end, except to note that this is a CR for only two months. It is absurd for the President and the Senate to make even one concession for a nothing burger. 

++The New York Times had an excellent op-ed this morning on why President Obama must raise the debt ceiling himself because he would be facing the possibility of breaking several laws at once and raising the debt ceiling would be the most fruitful of all his options. Apparently, the President did consider this last time and Huffington Post submitted a Freedom of Information Request which was turned down by the DOJ.

++Eric Holder didn't let the shutdown talks stop him. The DOJ is suing North Carolina on its Voter ID law.

++Late last Saturday night, the House pulled another boner by inserting language that companies can deprive women of birth control coverage in insurance. I was not even a teenager when the issue of contraceptives was decided by the Supreme Court. So the government could shutdown on the issue of contraceptives and a tax on medical devices, which I suppose the tea baggers think are dildos and other adult toys. 

++One think to consider if you already have health insurance,if the House had succeeded in postponing Obamacare, your premiums would rise from 10-15%. 

++Preliminary polls show over 60% blame the GOP for closing the government and only 13% the President. But I have also seen polls in states like Texas, which blame the Democrats more than Republicans. But I still bet on the GOP taking the blame. Unfortunately, it will not affect the end results in House races in 2014 because Larry Sabato said today there are in good shape and have sufficient money. Voter suppression and gerrymandering will not weaken their position.

++Another side debate is whether John Boehner will crash and fall. Conservatives are all over the map on this. Byron York argues Boehner is immune from a tea party revolt. But then again he won't bring a clean CR to the floor. He must be afraid of something. A straight up and down clean CR vote would pass with Democratic support. 

++Ezra Klein appeared the other night on the Rachel Maddow Show to say a government shutdown will allow the Tea Baggers to get their Ya-Yas out. Ezra thinks that's a good think and then we could have a straight debt ceiling raise. I sincerely doubt it. House Republicans are thrilled at closing the government down. This was the Reichstag fire they wanted all along. And a vast majority do not believe stopping a debt ceiling would matter any. This is a dangerous area to explore and the Teabaggers, who show no signs of understanding basic economics, would go there in a minute.

Good Things on July 4

I recommend E.J. Dionne's column about the meaning of this day and the emphasis the signers placed on the common good. As E.J. writes, the signers didn't hate government or laws,just the manner in which they were being enforced. While our independence day is July 2 or a month later when all the signers finished their work,it should be remembered that a good third of the signers lost all their property and wealth in standing up for independence. Another 9 were killed in the Revolution. Signing the document entailed real risks and many paid an enormous cost. I could do without the accusation against the King leaving the colonists to the threats of the wild Indian breeds.

Since the American Right would like to co-opt the whole American revolution, we should remember that the original tea party was a protest against the King granting the East India Company corporate tax breaks so they could wipe out the local American tea merchants. And,unlike revisionists who want to make them Christians, we should remember the gathering place for the make believe Indians were the Masonic Lodges in Boston.

For the future generations, I hope Greek Prime Minister Papandreau is wrong when he says,"The economic system is stronger than the will of the people."

The next few weeks--Obama's traditional bad season--should see some frightening occurences. Rand Paul, who would not know the common good if it hit him in the face, will filibuster the debt ceiling vote. This should make us remember that few gave America a chance to survive on the day of its birth. I find it ironic to have received an e-mail today from the Campaign for Liberty,Ron Paul's campaign, claiming that the situation today is similar to when Americans found against the King. This time we are supposed to fight our own government which I recall was democratically elected the last time I look--and perhaps the last democratically elected one will may have for a while.

While politics has become dreary recently, there are a few bright spots in our culture.

I recommend Steve Benen in his crusade against Mitt Romney's claims to being a job creator, If Steve keeps at it, his findings might find their way into the mainstream media, which has studiously ignored Willard's rather lame record on precisely what he thinks is his strength. Steve says that Romney is "leading with his chin" on this front.

Andrew Sullivan's website "Daily Dish" reminds us everyday that art,culture,science, religion and music may inform our lives more than the hackneyed debates in Washington. I especially love the website's use of poetry. The time-lapsed videos posted every few days reminds us of the beauty of planet earth. Beauty does matter. Andrew, a naturalized American, retains a fondness for the British Conservative Party and its strange austerity program. But to his credit, Andrew was aeons ahead in arguing the basic conservative nature of same-sex marriage and has lived to see the day when his lonely work has paid off.

Who would have ever thought that one of our leading ethical and moral leaders would turn out to be Dan Savage? I don't know whether that is a good or bad sign for our culture. Dan Savage has become immortal in our political life. Try to Google Santorum. When all the establishment gay organizations sat on their hands, Dan and his partner took the initiative to video, "It'll Get Better" to address the concerns of young gays, who were being bullied or afraid to come out of the closet. This simple campaign that has gone viral with celebrities, sports teams, even the White House taping messages is credited with saving hundreds of teenagers from committing suicide. While I miss reading about the furries in Savage Love, Dan shows that one person can make a real difference and is a reason for optimism in our troubled land. My political mentor, Bayard Rustin, would have loved Dan. Bravo for everything you do.

And thye digital generation keeps surprising us. Playing For Change reminds us that the relationship we have with music is global. If you've never heard them, check out the YouTubes or better yet buy the album with the DVD. Musicians from around the world collaborate long-distance on some of the world's best known songs.

For the geezer crowd, I recommend Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, a cinematic tribute to Paris and a fairy tale about the days in the 1920s of the "Lost Generation". Having walked the same streets less than a month ago,Woody Allen evokes the Paris I've known and loved--even if he's on the touristy side. And after all these years, he still maintains his grudge against California. And Carla Bruni was a nice touch as a tour guide at the Rodin Museum.

In Aspen. Bill Clinton resumed his role as elder statesmen and political analyst, which he is good at. Clinton likes Jon Huntsman as an authentic human being and a pretty good Governor, thinks Romney has picked up his game since last campaign and expressed surprise at Michelle Bachmann's prowess on the campaign trail even though he disagrees with her about everything. He concludes that President Obama will win re-election because he has a good story to tell and significant achievements to show. He says that the President's national security creds will be strong . He says this was true even before he got Bin Laden. He also warned Obama not to cave to the Republicans over the debt ceiling vote.

The Newt spent July 4th with his lovely bride Callista trying out his new niche issue campaign. Newt's new book on American Exceptionalism is out. Newt's problem in my view has been his courting the Religious Right with phony historian David Barton by his side and his funding of the anti-gay marriage efforts in many states. He decided to go hard right before he knew tha landscape and how his campaign would be depopulated. So correcting course to his more geeky side is going to be tough.

Joe Biden reminded me of Hubert Humphrey in his speech before the NEA, when he attracked the Republican assault on teachers and public employees as one of the "biggest scams" in American history. For his effort, NEA overwhelmingly endorsed Obama for a second term.

Maybe we should look more kindly on the Three Amigos--John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham--as sort of a nostalgia group, a reminder of the neocons. They can keep touring for the rest of their terms and remind us that we should never withdraw from a country we invaded and since we have such a large defense budget we should invade more countries. It's really best if McCain stays away from any discussion of tax issues because it reminds us all of the 2008 debacle when he suspended his campaign to set the country right.

These three on a tour to Afghanistan were horrified that President Obama would dare pull 12,000 troops out by the end of the year. The Left has widely criticized the President for not pulling out more since it's unclear what is to be gained by shoring up the Karzai regime, which seems to be endorsing the worse policy ideas of the Taliban daily. And, of course, why should we withdraw from Iraq at all. I mean Tim Pawlenty says it's a model for the region. Lieberman says that Iran is petrified by being surrounded by democracies. Does anyone listen to these guys anymore? That's why I think we should keep the Three Amigos around so that we never fall back into this kind of thinking again. At last count, the total costs for our liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan will total $4 trillion.

Karl Rove is still up to his mischief. Now he's picking up the theme of how the Obama Administration favors the Muslim Brotherhood. Some one should show him the photo of Ike meeting the head of the Muslim Brotherhood at the White House. I'm sorry, Karl, keep to producing the ads that the stumulus was a failure and that the Democrats want to cut Medicare benefits, while the GOP wants to eliminate it. Does anyone find it strange that the Swiftboat billionaires are bankrolling Rove's operation? Remember when the Bush White House swore this was an independent operation not connected to their campaign against Kerry?

Does anyone thiunk it's strange that Mitt Romney, a Mormon, says that marriage is between a man and a woman? How about a few women? Isn't that the tradition?

My challenge this July 4th is to avoid delving into all the nonsense being said by the GOP on the debt ceiling issue. I take the CBO view--Do nothing. Restore the Bush tax cuts and implement the cost-savings measures in the Affordable Care Act and the debt will be manageable. Better yet withdraw troops in a timely manner from Iraq and Afghanistan and cut defense spending where appropriate.

Another good thing about this country is Paul Krugman. While I don't agree with him calling Obama "Herbert Hoover", I do agree with him that we have instantly lost sense of any lessons that the 2008 financial crisis taught us. Here's hoping his predictions about the future are wrong. He got to be right once and let's leave it at that.

And who can neglect Rachel Maddow--the only fresh face on television who has both intellect and humor. Her reporting on DADT probably influenced the Obama Administration's decision more than we know. She has been ahead of the curve on reporting on the war against Americans in the states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. And we owe her a debt of gratitude for her constant reporting on the war against the uteri, the unnerving campaign to restrict reproductive rights in about two dozen states.

Enjoy the Fireworks!