Thursday Morning News Brief

Good Morning Conflucians!! This will be a brief news post, because I have to get to my office at 10 to start working on my final grades for my two classes.

You won’t be surprised by this news–it’s just one more “we told you so” moment–but I suppose the progs will be mystified.

Hotline: Dem Turnout Falls off a Cliff

Turnout among Dem voters dropped precipitously in 3 statewide primaries on Tuesday, giving the party more evidence that their voters lack enthusiasm ahead of midterm elections.

In primaries in NC, IN and OH, Dems turned out at far lower rates than they have in previous comparable elections.

But supposedly, the Dems aren’t worried. Could that be because they really want the Repubs in charge so they don’t have to take any responsibility for the passage of Republican policies? Just imagine if the Dems were in the majority when Obama repeals Social Security. The Party would be dead. Oh wait…it’s already DOA.

“We had historic increases in registration in 2008 and we are working to turn out those first time voters again this fall, and we’ll do so united behind our nominees — which can’t be said of Republicans,” DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan said. “The real story in looking at motivation of the base from yesterday was a deeply divided Republican party that nominated deeply flawed candidates that overwhelming majorities of their own voters couldn’t support.”

Oh really? We’ll find out in November, I guess.

SoD sent me this quote from poor befuddled Chris Bowers:

“…these turnout figures paint a picture significantly worse than just the expected 2% drop-off. This is more than just a demographic problem based on age–there really is a meaningful enthusiasm gap.

And yet, despite this, there are still no public, national polls looking for answers on why Democratic turnout is so low. All it would take would be to ask a single, open-ended question to 500 people who voted in 2008, but self-identify as unlikely to vote in 2010, “why don’t you intend on voting?” Everyone has theories, but those theories lack empirical supporting evidence and invariably little more than “I speak for all unlikely voters, and they are unhappy for the exact same reasons I am.”

You’re probably right, Chris. I’m sure all those polls about how much Americans hate the forced crappy health insurance bill and the historic win of a Republican Senate candidate in ultra-Democratic Massachusetts are just outliers. Let’s wait for an empirical study and several peer-reviewed journal articles before we wake up and realize the American people wanted a Democratic President and instead you and the rest of the progs forced Bush III down our throats.

More bad news for Democrats: David Obey is Retiring

Representative David R. Obey of Wisconsin, the third-most senior member of the House and chairman of the Appropriations Committee, announced Wednesday that he was retiring after four decades in Congress, a decision that reflected both a generational shift and the difficult political environment for Democrats.

“I’m ready to turn the page,” said Mr. Obey, 71. He told lawmakers and reporters crammed into the committee room where he has held sway for so long that he was “bone tired,” before adding, “And frankly, I think that my district is ready for somebody new, to make a fresh start.”

That is a very serious loss for Congressional Dems.

Lots more is coming out about the inept Times Square terrorist. It turns out he has been on the Homeland Security “travel lookout list” since 1999. The New York Times is reporting that there is Taliban involvement in the failed attempt to blow up a car in a busy area of NYC.

Officials said that after two days of intense questioning of the bombing suspect, Faisal Shahzad, evidence was mounting that the group, the Pakistani Taliban, had helped inspire and train Mr. Shahzad in the months before he is alleged to have parked an explosives-filled sport utility vehicle in a busy Manhattan intersection on Saturday night. Officials said Mr. Shahzad had discussed his contacts with the group, and investigators had accumulated other evidence that they would not disclose.

The London Times is reporting that Shahzad “carried out a dry run” before his failed bombing attempt.

Faisal Shahzad, who is in custody in New York on terrorism and weapons charges, drove from his home in Connecticut to the theatre district on April 28 in the vehicle that days later he would pack with explosives, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press.

Mr Shahzad then returned on April 30 – the day before the attack – to drop off a black Isuzu get-away vehicle near to the target site.

But despite these preparations his escape from the scene on May 1 was hampered when Mr Shahzad discovered he had left the keys for the getaway vehicle inside the explosive laden car, the official said.

Gee, this guy sounds real sophisticated-like, doesn’t he?

The horrifying and depressing oil leak continues onward. I don’t even want to think about it. In case you haven’t heard already, President Obama was the top recipient of BP campaign cash.

While the BP oil geyser pumps millions of gallons of petroleum into the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama and members of Congress may have to answer for the millions in campaign contributions they’ve taken from the oil and gas giant over the years.

BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates over the past 20 years, with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Donations come from a mix of employees and the company’s political action committees — $2.89 million flowed to campaigns from BP-related PACs and about $638,000 came from individuals.

On top of that, the oil giant has spent millions each year on lobbying — including $15.9 million last year alone — as it has tried to influence energy policy.

As Gomer Pyle would say, “surprise, surprise, surprise!”

Greece has instituted “austerity measures” to deal with their debt.

Is this what’s coming for the U.S.?

A whole raft of measures, which include huge cuts to Greece’s public sector, have been announced since December last year, when the Greek government acknowledged the need to tackle Greece’s dire public finances.

The plans hope to achieve budget cuts of 30bn euros over three years – with the goal of cutting Greece’s public deficit to less than 3% of GDP by 2014. It currently stands at 13.6%.

Implementing them is also a condition of Greece receiving the billions of euros in loans it needs as part of the EU-IMF rescue deal agreed this month.

The people of Greece aren’t taking government actions as quietly as we are in the U.S.

At least three people were killed Wednesday in Athens when rioters set a bank ablaze during protests by tens of thousands of people over austerity measures demanded by a multibillion-dollar international bailout of Greece.

A 24-hour national strike morphed into the strongest – and most violent – show of defiance yet over the austerity plan as millions of workers walked off the job and thousands took to the streets to vent their anger against the government.

What are you reading this morning? Please share! And have a terrific Thursday!

Monday Morning News and Views

Good Morning Conflucians!!! I woke up to a bit of good news: the cracked pipe that caused our water emergency has been repaired and testing of water is underway.

Overnight, crews were able to successfully weld the 10 foot pipe back together with a new metal ring. On Saturday, a seem [sic] in the structure failed, sending 265 million gallons of water into the Charles River.

The water quality tests began after crews made sure the fix to the pipe could withstand the pressure of the water flowing through it and that no other damage was done to the pipe during the break.

According to Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles, the ban could be lifted in the next 24-48 hours, but that’s the best case scenario.

I feel sorry for my students, who are in the midst of studying for final exams with no coffee or tea available on campus. I heard that yesterday there was a massive exodus of students seeking caffeine infusions in Cambridge, which has its own water supply.

This “aquapocalypse,” as the catastrophic water pipe break in Massachusetts is being called on Twitter, has also revived an old ’60s hit, “Dirty Water,” by the Standells.

In other hard-hit parts of the country, the solution to problems will not come as quickly. The disastrous oil spill off the Gulf Coast continues unabated, and in Tennesee and Mississippi, record rain and flooding have killed 15 people so far.

GULF COAST OIL SPILL

CNN has long story on the latest from New Orleans. For some reason, they focus the story around the fact that incoming Mayor Mitch Landrieu [who will be sworn in today] is the first *white* mayor of NO in 30 years. I’m not sure why his race is the salient point for CNN.

His city is still digging itself out from the wrath of Hurricane Katrina five years ago. And his state’s vitally important seafood industry is threatened by the spill.

Landrieu — who lost two previous mayoral bids in 1994 and 2006 — replaces the term-limited Ray Nagin in a city where about two-thirds of the residents are black.

The city’s last white mayor was Landrieu’s father, Maurice “Moon” Landrieu, who left office in 1978. He is remembered fondly for desegregating the city, appointing African-Americans to positions of city leadership, and opening up public facilities to blacks.

Last week, the younger Landrieu took part in a flyover of the spill for a firsthand look.

“As this situation becomes clearer, there are obvious environmental and health concerns, especially as it relates to Lake Pontchartrain, our coast, and our air quality,” he said Thursday. “But there is also an economic component of the utmost importance including the impact on our fisheries and port traffic.”

The fishing and restaurant industries are preparing themselves as best they can for the approaching disaster that will be caused by the oil spill.

“This isn’t just going to be a short-term thing,” said Ben Wicks, owner and chef at Mahony’s PO-Boy Shop, a neighborhood eatery in a converted shotgun house in uptown New Orleans.

Harlon Pearce, chairman of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, said he applauded the federal government’s decision to shut down fishing for at least 10 days to “ensure everyone that all seafood in the Gulf is of the highest quality and is safe to eat.”

Award winning chef Donald Link, whose Herbsaint and Cochon restaurants in New Orleans are popular with tourists and locals alike, said another problem is the publicity surrounding the slick. He didn’t want anyone to think that Louisiana seafood had disappeared or was unsafe, or that New Orleans restaurants were closed.

BP claims they are taking “full responsibility” for the environmental disaster.

“BP is committed to pay legitimate and objectively verifiable claims for other loss and damage caused by the spill,” a fact sheet for claims and procedures read.

A spokeswoman repeated a pledge given by Tony Hayward, BP chief executive, at the end of last week that the company would “honour legitimate claims for damages”.

“This may include claims for assessment, mitigation and clean-up of spilled oil, real and property damage caused by the oil, personal injury caused by the spill, commercial losses including loss of earnings/profit and other losses as contemplated by applicable laws and regulations…”

Hmmm….There is quite a bit of hedging going on in there if you ask me. Even worse, in Alabama, representatives of BP have been trying to get residents to sign agreements not to sue the company, in return for a lump sum payment of $5,000.

Alabama Attorney General Troy King said tonight that he has told representatives of BP Plc. that they should stop circulating settlement agreements among coastal Alabamians….

The attorney general said he is prohibited from giving legal advice to private citizens, but added that “people need to proceed with caution and understand the ramifications before signing something like that.

“They should seek appropriate counsel to make sure their rights are protected,” King said.

In Alaska, survivors of the Exxon Valdez spill are having traumatic flashbacks.

“As far as what’s ahead, we have a feeling that we kind of know what those communities and individuals are going to go through, and it’s absolutely tragic,” said Stan Jones, spokesman for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. [....]

About 1,300 miles of Alaska shoreline was affected by the spill, including 200 miles that were heavily contaminated, according to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. Responders found carcasses of more than 35,000 birds and 1,000 sea otters. That was considered to be a fraction of the bird and animal death toll because carcasses usually sink to the seabed. The council estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, up to 22 killer whales died along with billions of salmon and herring eggs.

Exxon said it spent $2.1 billion on a cleanup, but in a testament to the persistence of crude, oil a few inches below the surface remains on isolated beaches. Students on field trips to islands in Prince William Sound devastated by the spill often uncover rocks soiled in oil with little effort. An estimated 20,000 gallons of oil remain from the spill.

I like to think our Nobel Peace Prize winning President, who supposedly cares about the environment but still wants to open up our coastlines to more offshore drilling, will read that story. Unfortunately, IMO he is so deficient in empathy that it might not move him much even if he read it.

SOUTHEASTERN FLOODS

CNN: Flooding leaves at least 15 dead in Southeast

“All of our major creeks and the Cumberland River are near flood level, if not at flood level,” Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said at a news conference Sunday, referring to the waterway that bisects Nashville. “The ground is entirely saturated, and the rain continues to fall. There’s nowhere for the water to go.”

Teams of inspectors will be mapping out the damage Monday morning, Nashville officials said.

The western two-thirds of Tennessee has seen between 6 and 20 inches of rain since Saturday, with flooding spreading to Kentucky.

The Nashville Tennessean: Record-breaking flood displaces thousands in middle Tennesee

As darkness set in across the soaked and battered Middle Tennessee region Sunday evening, Nashville began evacuating homes and businesses along the rising Cumberland River.

….Thousands of cars, homes and basements are filled with water. Entire neighborhoods are submerged, and hundreds of people are in shelters.

Authorities were just beginning to comprehend the damage. Late Sunday, Nashville announced that it was shutting down a water treatment plant and that a levee in MetroCenter along the Cumberland River had begun to leak.

After an aerial survey early Sunday evening, Mayor Karl Dean said the damage was worse than he thought.

“This situation is going to require a very large recovery process,” Dean said. “The magnitude of the damage to our community was much more than what I expected. … The safety of some of our infrastructure is questionable.”

We sure could use an FDR type President right now. All those unemployed people could be mobilized to help repair our country’s deteriorating infrastructure. Wouldn’t that be a better long-term goal than saving a bunch of greedy banksters who like make money gambling on whether people will lose their homes or not? Has Goldman Sachs started betting on the fate of the Gulf Coast yet?

TIMES SQUARE FOILED BOMBING

ABC News: Times Square Car Bomb: Police Release Video of Possible Suspect

The New York City Police Department has released video showing a white male in his 40s looking back in the direction of West 45th street. He can also be seen in the video shedding a dark-colored shirt, revealing a red one underneath.

The police are discounting claims of responsibility by a Talaban leader (who BTW, had supposedly been killed by one of Obama’s predator drones).

CNN: Police scour latest evidence in Times Square bombing attempt

Authorities plan to release another video in the case, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told CNN’s “American Morning” on Monday.

Kelly said the person in the video “is seen, we believe, running north on Broadway.” He said the video was obtained from a tourist.

The investigation was focusing on examinations of a Nissan Pathfinder where the attempted homemade bomb was placed. On Sunday, Kelly said the vehicle was being inspected for fingerprints, hair, fibers and other evidence that may help identify who was responsible.

So what are you reading this morning? Post links freely in the comments, and have a marvelous Monday!