Political Bounce: Jake Oken-Berg's Politics Boost

Court Under Roberts Is Most Conservative in Decades

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 01:13:17 -0700

Court Under Roberts Is Most Conservative in Decades:

Chief Justice [John] Roberts has not served nearly as long as his three most recent predecessors. The court he leads has been in flux. But five years of data are now available, and they point almost uniformly in one direction: to the right.

Steady, if Not Flashy, Growth for Soccer in U.S.

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:21:46 -0700

Steady, if Not Flashy, Growth for Soccer in U.S.

Obama Program to Help Prevent Foreclosures Falls Short

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:01:01 -0700

Obama Program to Help Prevent Foreclosures Falls Short:

“It’s a simple recommendation that we made, that Treasury put forth how many people it truly expects to help stay in their houses through permanent modifications,” Mr. Barofsky told members of the Senate Finance Committee. “It’s a recommendation that all three of us on this panel have made to Treasury and that Treasury has ignored.”

Shocker.

antsonalog: Skyscraper Infinity Pool - Singapore

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:57:18 -0700

antsonalog:

Skyscraper Infinity Pool - Singapore

"As long as there’s no fundamental change in the structure of Wall Street — as long as..."

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:26:00 -0700

“As long as there’s no fundamental change in the structure of Wall Street — as long as the big banks stay as big and are allowed to grow bigger, and have every incentive to invent new financial gimmicks with which to bet other peoples’ money — they will remain too big to fail, and too politically powerful to control. Congress has labored mightily to produce a mountain of legislation that can be called financial reform, but it has produced a molehill relative to the wreckage Wall Street wreaked upon the nation.”

- Robert Reich, Former U.S. Secretary of Labor, in a column titled “The New Finance Bill”

The Wall Street Reform Bill: How Much Did We Lose Getting to 60?

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:58:08 -0700

The Wall Street Reform Bill: How Much Did We Lose Getting to 60?:

This is a fantastic, and incredibly wonky, essay from U.S. Senator Ted Kaufman about the recently passed financial legislation. He discusses the good parts of the law, as well the significant items that were left out and could still bring down the entire world economy. Historians will want to refer to this article when the next financial crisis occurs — whether that is this year or in ten years.

"It is a good step towards fixing some of the worst practices, most notably by creating the consumer..."

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:59:27 -0700

“It is a good step towards fixing some of the worst practices, most notably by creating the consumer protection bureau. However, this bill does not fundamentally change the way Wall Street does business. These guys got off incredibly easy for the enormous damage they did the country.”

- Dean Baker, economist with the Center for Economic Policy and Research, commenting on today’s Senate passage of the financial regulation bill.

"We’re facing a coalition of the heartless, the clueless and the confused… Cutting off benefits..."

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:31:18 -0700

“We’re facing a coalition of the heartless, the clueless and the confused… Cutting off benefits to the unemployed will make them even more desperate for work — but they can’t take jobs that aren’t there.”

- Paul Krugman, “Punishing the Jobless”

Suburban high school teachers stretched thin, and Portland's likely to join them

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:22:56 -0700

Suburban high school teachers stretched thin, and Portland's likely to join them:

Good article on teacher to student ratios in Oregon schools. Here’s an interesting excerpt:

Only California and Arizona spread their high school teachers thinner… The generous compensation paid to Oregon educators, particularly health and retirement benefits, also helps explain why high schools can’t afford more teachers.

"For the last few months, I and others have watched, with amazement and horror, the emergence of a..."

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:52:21 -0700

“For the last few months, I and others have watched, with amazement and horror, the emergence of a consensus in policy circles in favor of immediate fiscal austerity. That is, somehow it has become conventional wisdom that now is the time to slash spending, despite the fact that the world’s major economies remain deeply depressed. This conventional wisdom isn’t based on either evidence or careful analysis.”

- Paul Krugman from “Myths of Austerity”

Big Phone, Big Screen, Big Pleasure

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:13:32 -0700

Big Phone, Big Screen, Big Pleasure:

Farmworkers dare Americans to ‘Take Our Jobs!’

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:27:38 -0700

Farmworkers dare Americans to ‘Take Our Jobs!’:

This is awesome. All those folks who think that immigrants (both legal and illegal) are taking jobs from hardworking Americans, can now go to a website to sign up for fieldwork. I’m sure there will be a ton of takers…

In Ireland, a Picture of the High Cost of Austerity

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:01:10 -0700

In Ireland, a Picture of the High Cost of Austerity:

“When our public finance situation blew wide open, the dominant consideration was ensuring that there was international investor confidence in Ireland so we could continue to borrow,” said Alan Barrett, chief economist at the Economic and Social Research Institute of Ireland… Rather than being rewarded for its actions, though, Ireland is being penalized. Its downturn has certainly been sharper than if the government had spent more to keep people working. Lacking stimulus money, the Irish economy shrank 7.1 percent last year and remains in recession.

Oregon salmon rated as "avoid" on Monterey Bay Aquarium's seafood watch guide

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:38:47 -0700

Oregon salmon rated as "avoid" on Monterey Bay Aquarium's seafood watch guide

Ohio 6-Year-Old Turns Up on Terror Watch List

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 15:39:25 -0700

Ohio 6-Year-Old Turns Up on Terror Watch List:

The father of a 6-year-old Ohio girl who turned up on the U.S. government’s terror watch list says the worst thing his daughter has ever done is probably been mean to her sister… Now they’ve received a letter from the government addressed to 6-year-old Alyssa, telling her that nothing in her file will be changed.

"He [Obama] trusts people too much. He trusted Wall Street. He trusted the Republicans to engage in a..."

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 15:33:33 -0700

“He [Obama] trusts people too much. He trusted Wall Street. He trusted the Republicans to engage in a meaningful way. He trusted BP. He’s 0 for three.”

- Eliot Spitzer on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” (6/27/10)

Billy Moore's family absorbs double tragedy of his shooting, mother's death

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:20:30 -0700

Billy Moore's family absorbs double tragedy of his shooting, mother's death:

“Billy Moore was just a great kid,” said Bob Brandts, the activities director. “He was a kid who was trying to do his life right. He graduated from high school, got a job and was trying to help support his family.”

This is just so sad and so wrong.

New iPhone Arrives; Rivals, Beware

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:30:31 -0700

New iPhone Arrives; Rivals, Beware

"Salazar and M.M.S. [Minerals Management Service ] continued to give BP free rein well after Obama..."

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:10:20 -0700

“Salazar and M.M.S. [Minerals Management Service ] continued to give BP free rein well after Obama took office… The president must come clean and clean house.”

- Frank Rich from Clean the Gulf, Clean House, Clean Their Clock.

Willamette Week Sources: Search for Kyron Horman Focuses on Step-Mom, Cell Records

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:31:04 -0700

Willamette Week Sources: Search for Kyron Horman Focuses on Step-Mom, Cell Records:

Willamette Week has learned that federal, county and city law-enforcement officials say the reason for the search of Sauvie Island is that cell-phone records reveal Kyron’s step-mother, Terri Moulton Horman, may have been on the island the day he disappeared… This information comes from five separate law-enforcement officials from agencies at the city, county and federal level… Four of the sources say they’ve heard Horman’s story doesn’t jibe with her cell-phone records from June 4.