MyDD

A report by Peter Baker in the New York Times this morning provides some insights into the intense and often agonizing behind the scenes deliberations over the Afghanistan review that took place inside the Obama White House. [H]is advisers say he was haunted by the human toll as he wrestled with what to do about the eight-year-old war. Just a month earlier, he had mentioned to them his visits to wounded soldiers at the Army hospital in Washington. "I don't want to be going to Walter Reed for another eight years," he said then. The economic cost was troubling him as well after he received a private budget memo estimating that an expanded presence would cost $1 trillion over 10 years, roughly the same as his health care plan. Now as his top military adviser ran through a slide show of options, Mr. Obama expressed frustration. He held up a chart showing how reinforcements would... Read the rest of "Obama's Bet"

The AP reports: A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Max Baucus says the Montana Democrat was in a romantic relationship with the woman he nominated for U.S. attorney. Spokesman Ty Matsdorf says Baucus and his former state office director Melodee Hanes began the relationship in the summer of 2008. Baucus nominated Hanes for the U.S. attorney post last March, but she later withdrew her name. I interned for Max during the 2008 farm bill conference proceedings. I've been pretty ticked at him in recent weeks for being the only Democrat on the EPW Committee to vote against the Kerry-Boxer climate bill and have grown slower to point out my past associations with him, but no matter how mad I got at him over policy, I always figured at least he was a man of character who always put his state and country first and kept himself grounded. Maybe not. I a... Read the rest of "Max Baucus Nominated Lover For US Attorney"

In the 1974 Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles, the Waco Kid, played by Gene Wilder, attempts to console Bart the Sheriff, played by Cleavon Little, with this line: What did you expect? 'Welcome, sonny?' 'Make yourself at home.' 'Marry my daughter.' You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the New West. You know - morons. Thirty-five years on the moron factor in our ... Read the rest of "Put a Black Man in Charge . . ."

The Hotline's Reid Wilson had a very interesting article earlier this week about the Democratic Senate primary in Kentucky. It boils down to this: one candidate supports mountaintop removal mining, the other doesn't. Attorney General Jack Conway values the environment and the health of his potential constituents; Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo does not. We've heard from several KY Dem strategists who say the issue could be a factor in the primary; the coal industry plays an outsized role in KY, even though it accounts for less than 1% of the jobs in the state. But it's an issue that pits Mongiardo's base of rural Dems squarely against Conway's urban Dems. If mountaintop mining plays a major, or decisive, role in the primary, it could signal which Dem faction is dominant in state politics. Polls have showed both candidates leading, and national Dems who once favored... Read the rest of "Friends Don't Let Friends Blow Away Mountaintops"

I am not a proponent of term limits. As they say, I've got to figure that the best term limit is the ballot box, and campaign finance reform would be a better solution to the problem of incumbency than term limits. If you've got a good leader in office, there's no reason to turn her out - even if all her initial campaign ideas have run out, there's always room for management and crisis skills. But every rule has its exception, and "Texas Monthly" political writer Paul Burka has got me convinced that Texas is the exception to the anti-term limit view. Robert Draper's much bally-hooed article in this weekend's New York Times Magazine has brought no small amount of attention to Texas Governor Rick Perry and his upcoming Republican primary with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson. The article is well worth the read, but I was even more taken with Burka's ... Read the rest of "Texas Needs Term Limits"

Members of the House Populist Caucus held a press conference on Thursday to endorse a bill that would "assess a small fee on Wall Street day traders to pay down the national deficit and invest in America's middle class families." From a press release issued by Populist Caucus Chairman Bruce Braley (IA-01): "Our nation continues to be crippled by a struggling economy which has resulted in an astronomical unemployment rate of 10.2 percent," [Representative Peter] DeFazio [OR-04] said.  "The American taxpayers bailed out Wall Street during a crisis brought on by reckless speculation in the financial markets.  This legislation will force Wall Street to do their part and put people displaced by that crisis back to work." [...] The legislation will assess a small securities fee on the following transactions: ·         Stock transactions (tax rate will be 1/4 of 1 percent--0.25%), ·         Future... Read the rest of "House Populists pushing Wall Street transaction fee bill"

There is today a bright spot to report in the nation's unemployment picture. For the first time since the recession began in 2007, the nation's unemployment rate fell. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate edged down from 10.2 percent in October. to 10.0 percent in November, and nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged. Nonfarm payroll employment was down 11,000. In the prior 3 months, payroll job losses had averaged 135,000 a month. In November, employment fell in construction, manufacturing, and information, while temporary help services and health care added jobs. In November, both the number of unemployed persons, at 15.4 million, and the unemployment rate, at 10.0 percent, edged down. At the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons was 7.5 million, and the jobless rate was 4.9 percent. Among the major worke... Read the rest of "A Brighter Jobs Report for a Change"

Former Arkansas Governor and 2008 GOP Presidential runner up Mike Huckabee is in the eye of a storm after police in Washington state reported that a person of interest and wanted for questioning in relation to the ambush killing of four uniformed policemen in Lakewood was granted clemency in 2000 by Governor Huckabee. From the Seattle Times: Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old Tacoma man being sought for questioning in the killing this morning of four Lakewood police officers, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health. Nine years ago, then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Clemmons, commuting his lengthy prison sentence over the protests of prosecutors. "This is the day I've been dreading for a long time," Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' Pulaski County said tonight... Read the rest of "Mike Huckabee In the Eye of a Storm"

Elections were held this weekend in five countries in Africa, Europe and Latin America. In four, elections were to determine the fate of governments while in Switzerland a referendum on the building of minarets was held. Namibia In this resource-rich but sparsely populated country in south-western Africa, Hifikepunye Pohamba, the country's president, was seeking a second five-year term and hoping for another decisive win for the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO), the country's former guerrilla movement that led the fight against South Africa's occupation. In 2004, SWAPO took 75 percent of the vote and while the governing party is expected to win re-election easily, a new opposition party, the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), has emerged in response to a number of corruption scandals, including one involving Hu Haifeng the son of China's president Hu Jintao. The RDP is headed by Hidipo Hamutenya, a former foreign minister. ... Read the rest of "A Weekend of Elections"

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is coming out against Obama's Afghanistan surge of troops: ...I do not believe that we should send additional troops into Afghanistan. I believe we should begin the process of bringing our troops home...But, it also is true that her main opponent, Rep. Michael Capuano has already "also come out against a surge, calling for Obama to bring troops home". It looks like Coakley is trying to fight off a surge herself from Capuno (he got the Dukakis nod). Also, Alan Khazei was endorsed by the Boxton Globe. Capuano looks like he's got the majority of the netroots behind him, ... Read the rest of "Ted Kennedy's Senate seat"

As conservative Americans go, I'm rather fond of Governor Fox News host Mike Huckabee. There's no way I'd ever vote for him, but as I Tweeted the other day, "He doesn't have a good grasp of public policy, but I do think he has keen insight into day-to-day life, human psyche, & spiritual desires... He also has a deep and sincere respect for all Americans, regardless of whether or not they share his politics." Yet as I said, for all his humbleness and compassion, it would be hard for Huckabee to be more wrong on policy, so if he does run again, let's be sure we remember ... Read the rest of "Huckabee: I'd Rather Be A Talk Show Host Than President"

Yep, Theocracy is on the Rise, Palinism is on the Rise, and what about the latest DC fascination with idiocy over the weekend with the "White House gate crashers" event. I've seen really stupid DC obsessions, but this has to top them all. It puts new meaning to CTG, that's for sure. I can ignore the idiocy of this story for a few days, but when CNN now goes on the romp for prosecuting them and putting them in jail for a year, I can't resist but yell out YOU FRIGGIN IDIOTS! Prosecute them thinks Ed Rollins?  For what, trespassing? How would that even stand up, given they were granted entrance? Who really cares?  These parties happen all the time, and taxpayers pay for them. It seems at the least that some sort of lottery ticket system should award ordinary people access to these events-- since ordinary people are footing the bill. They got in, had a good time, and the onl... Read the rest of "Idiocy on the Rise"

Peter Tachell writing in The Guardian finds the British Commonwealth of Nations is but a Commonwealth of homophobes. Indeed, apart from perhaps Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, gay men are most severely persecuted in the former British colonies now independent that make up the Commonwealth. Of the 53 current members of the Commonwealth, more than 40 still criminalize same-sex relations, mostly under anti-sodomy laws that were originally imposed by the British government in the 19th century, during the period of colonial rule. The most draconian laws are found in The Gambia, Nigeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Bangladesh and Jamaica. But these pale in comparison to a bill now making its way through the Ugandan Parliament that makes sodomy a capital offense. That's shocking enough, but the bill has ties to a conservative US Christian group whose members includes the high and mighty of American politics o... Read the rest of "Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill Linked to US Christian Group"

Two updates on races around the country. NY-23 Congressional District After conceding the NY-23 congressional race to Democrat Bill Owens for the second time last week, the darling of the Tea Party crowd Doug Hoffman has announced his intention to run again for the seat in 2010. More at CNN. Texas Governor's Race Fort Worth attorney and former US Ambassador Tom Schieffer dropped out the Texas governor's race earlier this week and urged the remaining Democratic candidates to unite behind Houston Mayor Bill White as the party's best chance to beat whoever emerges from the Rick Perry versus Kay Bailey Hutchison Republican primary. Schieffer was the first major candidate to enter the Democratic primary race for governor but struggled to ignite enthusiasm for his candidacy. The race for the Democratic nomination has draw... Read the rest of "On the Trail: NY-23 and Texas"

With the holiday, it's been a quiet week in the diaries. So in lieu of a Diary Rescue until midweek, what's on your mind? Tags: Open Thread (all tags) ... Read the rest of "Open Thread"

The Associated Press reports that consumer advocate and former Presidential candidate Ralph Nader continues to mull a Senate run in Connecticut against Democratic incumbent Chris Dodd. Nader would run as a Green party candidate. Ralph Nader says he wants to gauge the level of grass-roots support before deciding whether to make a bid to represent Connecticut in the Senate. The 75-year-old consumer advocate and Connecticut native said Friday that he is "absorbing" feedback about a possible bid. He was appearing at a book signing at the Noah Webster Library in West Hartford. The Connecticut Green Party is trying to persuade Nader to challenge Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd in the hotly contested 2010 Senate race. Nader was previously a Green Party presidential nominee. State Green Party spokesman Tim McKee says he's getting positive responses to ... Read the rest of "Nader Mulling Senate Bid in Connecticut"

Bus Rapid Transit Systems, or BRTs, are not a new technology. Called subways on wheels, they date to the 1970s and were first implemented in Curitiba, Brazil but until Bogotá, Colombia copied and improved on the system a decade ago they remained more of a novelty. Today, BRT systems can be found the world over with more cities studying the feasibility of adding lines. In 2006, Los Angeles opened its Orange line and on Monday, the city of Everett, Washington is opening a $29.6 million 17-mile bus line, called Swift. By comparison, Charlotte's light rail project is running $44.5 million per mile. Curitiba is a city of 1.7 million with some 3.2 million people in its metropolitan area. The city is about the same size as Phoenix. While in Curitiba 75 percent of commuters use public transportation to get to and from work, in Phoenix only 1 percent do. The BRT system in Curitiba i... Read the rest of "Bus Rapid Transit Systems"

The government of the Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven emirates that makes up the United Arab Emirates, stunned global financial markets with the news that it was asking banks to allow its main investment vehicle, Dubai World, to suspend its debt repayments for six months. The news sent stock markets tumbling across Asia and Europe with indices shedding about 3% on average. The worst performer was Hong Kong's Hang Seng index which fell by 5.3%. Markets were closed across the Persian Gulf for Eid holiday, and in the US for Thanksgiving. With a motto of The Sun Never Sets on Dubai World, the holding company is Dubai's flag bearer in global investments. The fund operates in a highly diversified spectrum of industrial segments - Transport & Logistics, Drydocks & Maritime, Urban Development and Investment & Financial Services - and has played a major role in the emirate's rapid economic growth.... Read the rest of "World Markets Tumble on Dubai World Debt Moratorium"

Warning: Place all liquids aside and away from your computer when watching the above trailer for Tea Party: The Documentary Film. Sadly, the above is not a joke. The narration is priceless. And it should come as no surprise that Dick Armey's Freedom Works is assisting in the marketing of the film. Congressman Peter DeFazio warned the other day that without a new focus on jobs and small busine... Read the rest of "Tea Party, The Movie"

Consider this an open thread... What's on your mind tonight?Tags: Open Thread (all tags) ... Read the rest of "Open Thread"