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Gift Cards * New Arrivals

NOTE: Overstock bests Amazon's prices and is "blue."

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______________

Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story:

True Compass: A Memoir
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Read Barack Obama's vision for America:

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Boran2 and maryb2004 recommend:

The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime
by Jasper Fforde

Must-have information for all presidents-and citizens-of the twenty-first century?

Physics for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines
Richard A. Muller

rae recommends:

Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire
by Morris Berman.

On BooMan’s shelf:

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This looks interesting:

Adventure Divas
by Holly Morris

Here’s a good one from
Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat Pray Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert

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Recommended by Indianadem and ejmw:
The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Wellstone

From northcountry’s bookshelf:

The New Golden Age:
The Coming Revolution Against
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A novel about contractors in Iraq from the woman that runs The Spy That Billed Me:

Outsourced: A Novel
from RJ Hillhouse.

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"Explosive" State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
by James Risen

The book the CIA doesn't want you to read: Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
Larry Johnson's review

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PERMACULTURE:
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Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History (Third Edition)

The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor And Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan

Green Press Initiative
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Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists by Eleanor Mills * NYT review

Bury Me Standing: the Gypsies & Their Journey

1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus

Brokeback Mountain
by Annie Proulx
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Check out Powell's
"At The Movies"

Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World by Noam Chomsky (Power & Terror: Post 9-11 Talks)

The Price of Privilege:

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:
:

Head Explodes | 23 comments (23 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Head Explodes (4.00 / 2)

I'm conservative?
fascinating.

... clarifying that i COULD have supported a bailout that had strict conditions like the relative pittance thrown at the auto industry, which ya know, actually MAKES SOMETHING as opposed to chopping lots of mortgages into tiny little bits and securitizes them.

But that's not what was passed (twice). And for the record, there is still no lending, and the institutions that received bailout funds did not use it for anything but buying other banks, paying salaries and bonuses, and having lavish parties.

unless of course the ny times is lying about all of this, which they are wont to do on occasion. But i don't think they are.

John Mccain Called his wife WHAT??

by brendan on Fri Jan 23rd, 2009 at 04:01:20 PM EST

Re: Head Explodes (none / 0)

It's the labeling that is bothering me. There are progressives that opposed the bailout. But it isn't the progressive position by any measure. An honest look at the roll calls clearly demonstrates that it is precisely the safest Democrats that serve the poorest districts that are the most supportive of the bailout, and that it is the most conservative Democrats in the most unsafe districts that oppose it.

What are they afraid of? They're afraid of right and left-wing demagoguery, which is so easy when we're talking about something as unpopular as bailing out the financial sector.

However, progressives in safe seats are overwhelming supportive of the bailout for a simple reason. They want to protect jobs.

No one is really for any of this. Some people, however, are willing to do the unpopular because it is necessary.

We didn't have the option, by the way, of waiting for a good bill and a decent Treasury Secretary, as you know.

by BooMan on Fri Jan 23rd, 2009 at 04:12:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Head Explodes (4.00 / 2)

We didn't have the option, by the way, of waiting for a good bill and a decent Treasury Secretary, as you know.

perhaps not: but when the treasury secretary is literally down on his knees begging nancy pelosi not to scuttle his bailout, you'd figure the time would be right to twist a few arms and exact concessions.

this was not done, and by the way, the taxpayers' money is not being used as the senate and the house say they intended, as you know. not that the spineless douchebags will do anything about it.

John Mccain Called his wife WHAT??

by brendan on Fri Jan 23rd, 2009 at 04:25:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Head Explodes (none / 0)

I'll give you that, it is necessary. I supported the bailout, but so far it's been implemented so horribly I don't see what the point is of throwing more money down it unless we get some actual real measures in there to ensure the money is spent on useful things. Why? Because it's starting to damage. Is it as bad as if we had not done anything at all? I honestly don't know, but at this point I wouldn't be surprised.

________
The Raptor of Spain: A Webserial
From Muslim Prince to Christian King (Updated Nov. 24)

by MNPundit on Fri Jan 23rd, 2009 at 05:31:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Head Explodes (4.00 / 2)

that's been my point the whole time.
i don't necessarily oppose a bailout, but only if there will be some bang for the buck.

so far, the only people getting banged are the taxpayers, like a $3.00 whore.

John Mccain Called his wife WHAT??

by brendan on Fri Jan 23rd, 2009 at 05:35:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Head Explodes (none / 1)

And it's all the more infuriating to see our predictions come to pass.

$15 Billion of taxpayer dollars goes to pay the bonuses of just one firm:

http://clusterstock.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/wall-streets-sick-psychology-of-entitlement

We were told the economy would tank unless we gave this money to the banks. Well, the economy did tank anyway and we lost our 2K from the stock market and what did our gift to the banks buy? The executives made sure they got bonuses in the bad times as well as the good times!

It's the biggest scam in history.

by SFHawkguy on Fri Jan 23rd, 2009 at 05:55:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Head Explodes (none / 0)

And what happened? The CEO was fired.

But despite the mounting losses, Merrill Lynch rushed to pay annual bonuses to its employees before its deal with Bank of America closed on Jan. 1. Those payments are now under investigation by the attorney general of New York, a person briefed on the investigation said Thursday.
For Mr. Thain, the end came on Thursday in his office at Merrill Lynch, which, according to CNBC, he lavishly refurbished last year with an $87,000 rug and a $68,000 credenza. Mr. Lewis had flown to New York from Charlotte, N.C., where Bank of America is based, to deliver the bad news. After a brief conversation, Mr. Thain agreed to depart.
Mr. Thain's exit, the latest in a series of prominent departures from Merrill, caps the stunning downfall of a brokerage firm whose name, for many people, is synonymous with Wall Street.
But for Mr. Thain, the development is also deeply personal. For a time, he was seen as the Clark Kent of Wall Street, the mild-mannered executive with a square jaw and glasses who had kept "Mother Merrill" from following Lehman Brothers into bankruptcy. Some even mentioned him as a possible successor to Mr. Lewis.
Then a different picture began to emerge. Mr. Thain, who is 53, drew criticism from both outside and inside Merrill Lynch for suggesting in October that he be paid a large annual bonus, said by individuals briefed on the matter to be $30 million to $40 million. In December, the individuals said, the figure dwindled to $10 million and in the end, he received no bonus at all. He later denied having asked for one.
When Merrill Lynch alerted Bank of America in mid-December that its losses were ballooning, Mr. Lewis did not hear the news from Mr. Thain, who around that time left for a skiing trip at his second home in Vail, Colo.

etc.

by BooMan on Fri Jan 23rd, 2009 at 06:16:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Head Explodes (4.00 / 2)

Well. Good for BofA for sacking the guy that helped run the company into the ground. And frankly, if BofA wants to reward it's executives lavishly that's up to them. If I were a stockholder I would be outraged at the stupid decision to buy Merril and also at the huge waste of money on the Thain's office, etc. But I'm not a stockholder because I know these companies have been dead men walking for awhile and are only alive because they have friends in government who will give them free money.

My objection is I don't want taxpayer dollars going to pay bonuses to a bunch of crooks that made a ton of money while bankrupting their companies and endangering the entire economy. Those bonuses weren't needed to "save" the economy. And that money was given to BofA with nary a question while the little amount given to the working man's type of company (the autos) wasn't given until they put those companies through the wringer.

And Thain getting canned doesn't get us back our $15 Billion. Plus, he's just the fall guy. It's not just Thain doing this. This is Wall Street writ large. All these bailout monies, these unprecedented and huge expenditures of public funds (as well as public obligations--don't forget that--that is the lion's share--the part you are hazy on and accuse people like me of misrepresenting the numbers) are being put to use in a similar way--to fill gaping holes in balance sheets of banks with no real thought about how the money will help "fix" the economy other than keep the same perpetual scam machine going.

Plus, don't feel too sorry for Thain. He's got his ski house to go to (as well as other homes I'm sure). That's where I would go right now if I were him.

Looks like some snow coming our way out in the West! Probably some awesome skiing . . . .

by SFHawkguy on Fri Jan 23rd, 2009 at 07:03:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Head Explodes (none / 0)

I am aware of the fungibility of money and the practice of using bailout monies to continue bad practices. It's hard to exaggerate how inefficient this bailout is and how disgraceful it is. I support none of that. I also do not support letting the whole financial sector collapse in the name of pure capitalism.

by BooMan on Fri Jan 23rd, 2009 at 07:17:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Head Explodes (none / 0)

I would agree about the labeling. Not everything fits neatly onto a left-right continuum.

But "necessary"? Only when compared to the alternative of doing absolutely nothing--but I think that's a false choice.

by liberaljournal on Fri Jan 23rd, 2009 at 04:23:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Head Explodes (none / 0)

If "progressive" actually denotes a set of ideas, rather than being merely the badge of a tribal alliance, then whether a bill is "progressive" is determined by its content, not by who votes for it. There are three basic positions here:

Release the TARP funds with no more regulation than before - that is to say, with nothing effective, as we have seen. This is what Obama has insisted on.
Release the TARP funds, but with more enforceable oversight, so that we know the money will be used to prevent foreclosures or help small business. This is what the progressives were initially pushing for, but backed off on under pressure from Obama.
Do not release the TARP funds.

2 is clearly a more progressive position than 1. In fact, this is true, even if you accept all of Obama's assurances at face value, because rule of law is intrinsically more democratic and responsible than trusting the rulers to be benevolent. Considering that our new Treasury Secretary was directly involved in the disaster that was the first part of the TARP, it is hard to see why we would expect something dramatically different now, though I do think Obama's public statements mean that things will be somewhat more transparent and that some, but probably not most, of the money will find its way to the "real economy". If that was not Obama's intention, appointing Timmy makes no sense.

Nor is this a matter of time being of the essence. Obama threatened a veto, which would delay matters more. So his primary interest is in having no strings, and he is willing to sacrifice timeliness to that goal, not the other way around.

Between 3 and 1, it is debatable which is more progressive, and relies a lot on non-public information.

by bento on Sat Jan 24th, 2009 at 04:34:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Head Explodes (none / 0)

I don't know what it is, but Boo has decided to make openleft his pet peeve.

Stray Roots Message Board,Thus far unmoderated! Dameocrat Blog

by StrayRoots (dameocrat@STUFFTOREMOVEpeacemail.com) on Fri Jan 23rd, 2009 at 07:37:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Head Explodes | 23 comments (23 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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