Happy Banned Books Week. Perhaps it's not necessary to say to this particular crowd, that Catcher in the Rye has been banned a time or two. Oh, and I love the Nerdfighters.

Open thread below...

Waiting for the man.

Wingnut---Bush deniers will never learn....

Of course, everything is political - so if you google the article, high on the list you find this delightful screed from Powerline, which says that I was just looking for something to complain about amidst the Bush Boom, and concludes:

[T]here is little reason to fear a catastrophic collapse in home prices.
Krugman will have to come up with something much better, I think, to cause many others to share his pessimism.

Memories, memories.

John Hinderaker is always wrong....(h/t Atrios)

I'm watching my teevee now, but both Obama and McCain voted for it.

The Senate on Wednesday passed a $700 billion plan to stabilize U.S. financial markets, in a dramatic game of one-upmanship that sends the issue back into the lower chamber, where it narrowly failed on Monday.

The bill had no trouble exceeding the 60-vote threshold needed for passage after Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hammered out an agreement late Tuesday. Mindful of Monday's 777-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the two Senate leaders had worked unusually closely and quickly to cobble together a compromise in consultations with House leaders and the White House.

Reid and Mitch are speaking now...Dodd got major props...And then there's this.

So Obama crossed over into enemy territory.

He walked over to where McCain was chatting with Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida and Independent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut. And he stretched out his arm and offered his hand to McCain.

McCain shook it, but with a "go away" look that no one could miss. He tried his best not to even look at Obama. Finally, with a tight smile, McCain managed a greeting: "Good to see you."

Look at the number who raise their hand for McCain, and compare that to the number for Obama. Looks pretty even to me.

During the recent debate with Barack Obama, John McCain stated that "I know the veterans, I know them well, and I know that they know that I'll take care of them". Obama let it slide, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Our good friend Brandon Freidman of VetVoice has done some excellent work researching and compiling the Master List of how little McCain cares for troops and veterans. It's a must-read post that's too detailled to excerpt but it comprehensively lists all the times McCain: refused to support veterans by refusing to vote for veteran benefits, healthcare and support; refused to support the troops in combat by voting against extra armor for them; refused to support the troops by first cheerleading for and then voting for enmiring America in Bush's war of choice in Iraq; refused to support the real front in Afghanistan by continually voting against any withdrawal from Iraq. It also lists a whole slew of McCain's foreign policy gaffes, pointing to systemic ignorance and bad judgement rather than a few accidental mis-speakings. Brandon has included sources for his list and YouTube videos to back many of the items.

Seriously, you'll want to read and cite this list often. His support for veterans and troops is a big part of McCain's pitch but in reality it's simply mythology created out of whole cloth.

And so is McCain's "judgement" on Iraq.

McCain: "We're going to win this victory. Tragically, we will lose American lives. But it will be brief. We're going to find massive evidence of weapons of mass destruction . . . It's going to send the message throughout the Middle East that democracy can take hold in the Middle East." (Fox News, Hannity & Colmes, 2/21/03)

Have you noticed that every person suddenly knows everything there is to know about how the economy works? Wow, it's all so simple. Activists now know all there is about the dollar and oil prices and mortgages. I wonder why they never chimed in before...I started asking people for their stock tips since they are all experts now. We will all get rich quick. Right?

WBOY:

Coal production at a mine in Monongalia County came to a halt today when every union miner stayed home, as part of a political protest.

It was an idle day Monday at the Blacksville #2 Mine.

More than 440 workers who are members of the United Mine Workers of America took what's called a Memorial Day instead of going to work.

Union officials say they took the day to protest after a film crew from the National Rifle Association showed up at the Consol mine last week to interview union workers.

They say the crew tried to get union coal miners to speak out against Barack Obama. Read on...

The NRA didn't just show up at the coal mine, this was apparently an unprecedented move by mine management, who allowed them in and supported the manipulation and exploitation of their employees. Consol just learned a big lesson - don't f*#k with your union workers.

"Consol doesn't let anybody on their property - never," said Safety Committee Member Mark Dorsey, "And for them to let the NRA come on the property and solicit our membership was totally uncalled for. We made our endorsement to our political process and we didn't bother them and they shouldn't be harassing our membership over this."

Bill Clinton gave a blistering endorsement of Barack Obama's leadership at a huge rally in Ft. Pierce, Florida today.

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Clinton: We have to elect a President that will rebuild the American dream, repair a badly shattered financial system and restore America's standing in the world. Look at the mess that we have in our financial system. This is not accidental folks. It doesn't have to be this way. It matters who the President is, it matters what decisions he makes and it matters what the policies are. Obama's got better answers. He knows what it will take to get this country back on track.

Obama's answers are better!

Bill Clinton explains the financial crisis and how Obama will be able to grow the economy and lead America back like no other.

Man, that was fast. I think the "No" vote on the bailout took all of the Wall Street "free market"-championing Republicans and stock market shows by surprise and Tuesday they layered the networks (CNN,MSNBC, NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS) with story after story about credit problems that are going to come upon us. I think they had no idea that the deal wouldn't pass and got caught flat footed. Even Neil Cavuto was attacking John McCain's economic advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin, saying that it looks like McCain was playing politics with the bail out. Wow, when have you ever seen Cavuto do that?

Cavuto: But you're saying this isn't about politics Doug, but all you're doing is sounding like a politician.

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Well, something will get done I suppose, but I do believe Paul Krugman on the bail out narratives:

So now what? Like Jamie Galbraith, I'd rather see Dodd-Frank-Paulson, which is much better than the original plan, pass than not. The true cost to taxpayers will probably be close to zero, and it would buy some time. But I'm not passionate about this. The real financial rescue still lies in the future, probably under the Obama administration.

We all spoke up with new ideas and made a difference. (And there's my Naomi Klein interview.) You'll notice that the Republicans are so touchy about the fact that Conservatism is the root cause of this problem that led to the failure of the financial institutions that a little truth spoken by Nancy Pelosi was used as a wedge by them. Oh, please, don't blame us for more destruction. You're so bad for pointing out the obvious.

Glenn Greenwald says Pelosi played it very well.

Strictly on the level of "Democratic v. Republican" political strategizing, Nancy Pelosi did exactly the right thing yesterday--- all very well-played by the House Democratic leadership.

We have to keep speaking the truth. This is not a bi-partisan issue. Republican and conservative philosophies have paved the way for this financial financial meltdown and we need to tell the American people about this as much as possible.