As Barney Frank announces that he's pulled together a deal that will get the votes needed to pass through Congress, economists from some of the top schools in the country ask, "What's the hurry?": 

To the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate:

As economists, we want to express to Congress our great concern for the plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Paulson to deal with the financial crisis. We are well aware of the difficulty of the current financial situation and we agree with the need for bold action to ensure that the financial system continues to function. We see three fatal pitfalls in the currently proposed plan:

1) Its fairness. The plan is a subsidy to investors at taxpayers' expense. Investors who took risks to earn profits must also bear the losses. Not every business failure carries systemic risk. The government can ensure a well-functioning financial industry, able to make new loans to creditworthy borrowers, without bailing out particular investors and institutions whose choices proved unwise.

2) Its ambiguity. Neither the mission of the new agency nor its oversight are clear. If taxpayers are to buy illiquid and opaque assets from troubled sellers, the terms, occasions, and methods of such purchases must be crystal clear ahead of time and carefully monitored afterwards.

3) Its long-term effects. If the plan is enacted, its effects will be with us for a generation. For all their recent troubles, America's dynamic and innovative private capital markets have brought the nation unparalleled prosperity. Fundamentally weakening those markets in order to calm short-run disruptions is desperately short-sighted.

For these reasons we ask Congress not to rush, to hold appropriate hearings, and to carefully consider the right course of action, and to wisely determine the future of the financial industry and the U.S. economy for years to come.

As the Wall Street meltdown causes John McCain to throw in the towel and George Bush attempts to pull off the biggest heist in history, it's becoming clear that pushing any bailout legislation too far, too fast, could be a total disaster for our country.  The Democrats need to listen to people who really know economics, keep a tight leash on Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke, say no to Disaster Capitalism and take the time to get this right the first time. 

The list of economists who signed the letter is below the fold.

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Nancy Pelosi kicks off the Democratic National Convention with a strong speech contrasting the wisdom and judgment of Barack Obama and John "I vote with Bush 95% of the time" McCain.

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It's a pretty simple yet effective message. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld's 35+ years of "experience" led them to believe that going to war with Iraq would be quick, easy and in America's interest. Can we really afford four more years of that kind of "experience" and "judgment"?

Pelosi came out swinging against Joe Lieberman.  She said that if the Democrats win enough seats in the Senate then bye-bye Joe from any leadership position he might have held. That's why he's hooked himself onto McCain's boots.

(h/t Scarce)

Nancy Pelosi is quickly learning that being a reliable and powerful liberal voice in the House of Representatives doesn't necessarily translate into blind support. During an event in Los Angeles to promote her new book, Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters, a group of protesters started screaming in anger over her unwillingness to open impeachment inquiries against Bush.

LATimes:

She was in Los Angeles to discuss her recently published book "Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters." Instead, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got slammed by protesters screaming that she has been derelict in her duties for not authorizing impeachment hearings against George W. Bush.

The venue: more than 300 people paid $30 each Monday night at the American Jewish University (formerly known as the University of Judaism). The format: a 75-minute interview by the Rabbi Robert Wexler (not to be confused with the Palm Beach, Fla., congressman of the same name). The questions: tough but respectful. Wexler asked Pelosi about a recent Rasmussen Poll that showed a 9% approval rating for Congress.

Update: The Public Record broke the story.

If you've seen the Dennis Kucinich part of this video, start watching at 5:10 or so.   A citizen shows Nancy Pelosi a copy of the articles of impeachment at one of her book signings  [Know Your Power:  A Message to America's Daughters].   I'm raising my daughters to recognize what an appalling, self-interested, complicit, beltway insider you are, Madame Speaker. 

Oh.  Cindy Sheehan is running against Pelosi and has a book review here.  Heh.

So why don't we impeach Pelosi and show her what that impeachment thing is all about?

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What a complete and utter tool.  On C-Span's Newsmakers show this weekend, Roy Blunt blames Nancy Pelosi for how little the 110th Congress has accomplished.  Now I have my issues with Pelosi's priorities and leadership, but let's call a tool a tool.  The reason that so little has been passed is that the Republicans have been playing these stupid partisan games (and Blunt, John Ashcroft's and Tom DeLay's personally groomed protege, knows exactly how to do it) and basically fighting every bit of legislation that comes along.   Can you say obstructionism, Roy? (.pdf) I knew that you could.

And then to prove that the Republicans are serious about being as difficult as possible, Blunt admits that the Republicans have every intent to shut down Congress after the summer recess unless the Democrats allow for off-shore drilling rights. But it's the Democrats' fault.   I can't believe how dishonest this guy is...and of course, since he's being interviewed by a Washington Times journalist, no actual facts will be proffered.  

We've discussed the fallacy of the off-shore drilling doing anything to help our energy crisis...a perfect example of the Shock Doctrine being pushed upon us.  Yes, our gas is expensive, relatively speaking, for us (but compared to Europe, still a bargain).  No actual increase in supply would happen for at least 5-10 years, no guarantee that resource would go to offset Americans' costs (rather than going on the global market to the highest bidder) and the disaster waiting to happen of oil spills in sensitive ecological areas makes it a smart choice for the Democrats to take a stand.  The only benefits go to oil companies and I'd say they're doing fine right now. 

So it's up to the Democrats (hear me, Pelosi?) to get in front of this and make sure the American people know that Blunt & Co. want to shut down the government to put more money in the bank accounts of oil companies.   That's all that needs to be said. 

transcripts below the fold

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Dancing Queen from the movie Mamma Mia

Yes, I'm a big dork as well as a "woman of a certain age" and I went to see Mamma Mia this weekend.  I'm old enough to remember when ABBA was the biggest thing out of the Eurovision contest and I saw the musical a few years ago as well.  Definitely not geared for everyone, but it was very fun for my niece, my young'uns and me (my husband won't admit he liked it, but I saw a smile on his face a couple of times). However, as much as I enjoyed myself, I have to admit Pierce Brosnan's singing is highly cringeworthy (I won't lie, they clearly didn't audition any of the cast for their singing ability). 

But I was inspired to pick this video by Nancy Pelosi's appearance ABC's Meet the Press, because I suspect there's gonna be a whole lot of dancing going on there.  She's going to be promoting her book, Know Your Power: A Message To America's Daughters, while conveniently not exercising ANY of her Constitutionally-mandated powers herself.  And the omnipresent Holy Joe Lieberman and Huckleberry Graham will be appearing on Meet the Press and FOXNews Sunday, respectively. I'll refrain from humming "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme" in honor of them.  Would that this election turn into their personal Waterloo.

ABC's "This Week" - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former Gov. Tom Ridge, R-Pa.; David Gergen, former White House adviser.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin; Carly Fiorina, adviser to John McCain's campaign.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.

CNN's "Late Edition" - Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; former Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Kenneth Blackwell, former Ohio secretary of state; Ron Kirk, former Dallas mayor; Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, the commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq; Tzipi Livni, Israeli foreign minister; James K. Glassman, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs; Laura Tyson, adviser to Barack Obama; Nancy Pfotenhauer, adviser to McCain.

"Fox News Sunday" - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.; Ashley Judd, actress.

"Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Eugene Robinson, Gloria Borger, Elisabeth Bumiller, Joe Klein.  Topics:  What could Obama get done if he's elected president?  Would Congressional Democrats work with a President McCain?  Meter Questions:  Would Obama be able to cut deals with Republicans in Congress?  YES: 10  NO: 2;  Would McCain meet stiff opposition from Democrats in Congress?  YES: 11  NO: 1

 So other than my terrible taste in movies, what's catching your eye this morning?

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Flying Spaghetti Monster bless Dennis Kucinich.  He's in the middle of an absolutely sisyphean task of trying to make Congress actually do their job -- one that far more Americans support than they did the impeachment of Bill Clinton -- and one that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is frustratingly and blindly ignoring, as evidenced by her stop-me-before-I-throw-something-at-the-screen appearance on The View.  

JOY BEHAR: You’ve ruled against impeaching George Bush and Dick Cheney, and now Kucinich is trying to pass that. Why do you insist on not impeaching these people, so that the world and America can really see the crimes that they’ve committed?

REP. NANCY PELOSI: Well, I think that it—I think it was important, when I became Speaker—and it’s, by the way, a very important position—President, Vice President, Speaker of the House—I saw it as my responsibility to try to bring a much divided country together to the extent that we could. I thought that impeachment would be divisive for the country.

In terms of what we wanted—set out to do, we wanted to raise the minimum wage, give the biggest increase in veterans benefits to veterans in the seventy-seven-year history, then pass research for stem cell research, all of that. This week, we’re going to pass equal pay for equal work. It has been a long time in coming—pay equity. We’re going to pass legislations for product safety, for toys that children put in their—there’s an agenda that you have to get done. You have to try to do it in a bipartisan way. The President has to sign it.

If somebody had a crime that the President had committed, that would be a different story.

Have you not been paying fricking attention for the last eight years, Nancy???  What do you mean, IF???? Say it with me now: warrantless wiretapping; waterboarding, lying to Congress and the American people to illegally invade and occupy a sovereign nation that posed no threat to us, firing US Attorneys for not pursuing partisan prosecutions, outing a covert CIA agent.  And those were just ones you knew about and did nothing to stop, Pelosi.  How dare she play stupid on national television and insult all our intelligence and what this country (once) stood for?  How. Dare. She.

So it makes me love the undaunted Kucinich that much more.  He appeared on Democracy Now! and tried to spin this in the best way possible.

(T)he reason why the Judiciary Committee should hold a hearing on the impeachment itself is because there needs to be a public airing of this. So, I have a great deal of respect for Speaker Pelosi, and I think that since she made that statement on The View, there's an opportunity now for us to come forward and to lay all the facts out so that she can reconsider her decision not to permit the Judiciary Committee to proceed with a full impeachment hearing. 

Give 'em hell, Dennis.

full transcript below the fold

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  Who knew Nancy Pelosi was such a straight-shooter? When Wolf Blitzer tries to pin part of the blame for the current energy crisis on the Democratic Congress, Pelosi shoots back by saying her House did everything it could to institute a sensible energy policy, only to have "run into a brick wall" in the form of Senate Republicans -- you know, the ones who broke the filibuster record for a full term last year.

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"The price of oil is... is attributed to two oil men in the White House and their protectors in the United States Senate."

While it might be easy (and typically accurate) to blame everything on President Bush and Vice President Cheney, I don't think it's unreasonable to lay the current crisis at the White House's doorstep. Sure, there are some uncontrollable market forces at work, but both Cheney and Bush are oil patch guys; it would be the height of naivete to assume that they would have an energy policy that didn't benefit Big Oil.

From Day One, Dick Cheney was plotting how to take over Iraq oil fields. Before the war, it was obvious to everyone that the invasion or Iraq, and the instability it would caused in the region, would only drive prices up further. For all the lip service President Bush pays to his commitment to renewable energy, the fact is spending has been on the stagnant since the mid-1990's.

What we really need is a leader with the wisdom to acknowledge the magnitude of the problem and the courage to tackle it head on. "Green Screen" John McCain is clearly not that leader.

In an interview to be aired this Sunday on "Late Edition," Nancy Pelosi, in response to a quote from Bush about the Democratic Congress' failures, doesn't hold back her true feelings for the lame duck President.

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"God bless him, bless his heart, president of the United States -- a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject."

Democrats.com:

On Thursday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi will try again to force the House to approve $163 billion more of our tax dollars for the occupation of Iraq - nearly $100 billion for 2008 plus nearly $70 billion more for 2009.

Last week, your passionate calls persuaded several Democrats to vote no and helped delay the vote for a week. Please call your House Representative again today at 202-224-3121! [...]

So it's urgent for everyone to call his or her House Representative (not Senators) today with a simple message: Not One More Penny to Occupy Iraq!

This battle is far from impossible. On January 16, 42 progressive Democrats voted against the last $70 billion blank check. This week, 21 more Democrats promised to vote no (see below). Most Republicans oppose Pelosi's bill because it includes some domestic spending, so a large bloc of progressive Democrats can defeat it ...(more)

[Update] Fantastic!

House blocks Iraq war money and sets pullout plan

Thank you to everyone who contacted their Congressmember.

On Monday night, host Dan Abrams spoke with Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Pat Buchanan and Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes about the recently revealed Bush DoJ secret 2004 torture memos. The Democratic leadership, including Nancy Pelosi, Jane Harman and Jay Rockefeller, have all denied having seen the secret memos, but admit they were briefed on operational details (whatever that means) which leads Abrams asks the question -- did the Democrats know more about Bush's torture techniques than they were letting on, and if so, why didn't they speak out sooner?

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Abrams and Buchanan essentially try to turn this around and blame the Democrats, concluding they MUST have known about the torture techniques in the program, labeling them as hypocrites for not speaking out about what they knew. Unbelievable. There's so much misinformation and misdirection being thrown about. So even though the Democratic leadership have spoken out (Randi Rhodes brings up Senator Rockefeller's concerns about the program), just because Bush said they were fully briefed must mean they were...and we all know how forthcoming this administration has been. Buchanan seems less disturbed by the notion of our country torturing people (watch him throw out Jack Bauer hypotheticals--including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who confessed to just about everything under the sun while being tortured) than trying to find a way to pin it on the Democratic majority in Congress.

Nancy Pelosi went on FOX News Sunday today to talk aboout the SCHIP/Bush veto. And here's example # ___ (fill in the blank) of the ridiculous questions that come from a FNC host...Only on FOX would Chris Wallace actually ask this of a Democratic leader:

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Wallace: You said the other day that you pray for President Bush to change his mind about vetoing SCHIP...Ahhh, do you pray for our soldiers to win in Iraq?

Pelosi: Of, course I do.

Wallace: To win?

Pelosi: Of, course. What a question....

At least she called him out on it....If I was Pelosi, I would have added, "jackass." And you wonder why C&L has had so much success highlighting the biased coverage at FOX. His second "to win?" gives it just the added touch of Malkinite that really shows he cares. "We know you might possibly pray for the troops, Mrs. Satan, but what kinds of prayers are they really? Hmmmm? The question implies that Nancy and the Democratic party really, really, really hate the troops. Rove would be pleased. Wallace was "wanknificent" this morning.

Actually Chris, I'm praying for a rise in the already horrific PTSD injuries the troops are sustaining for Christmas, so how is your family? I know it's Sunday morning and your coffee is in your hand, but give us a list of questions Chris Wallace would really like to ask....

Eeek, Mommy! He wants to take my health insurance!

PBS Now: While 45 percent of all children in the United States are receiving some form of public medical assistance, nine million children are not covered by either public or private health care.

Bush opposes SCHIP, which provides health insurance to children. Children.

Rockridge Institute: Bush has a point. If 10 million American children are made healthy through a government managed program, the next thing you know some more of the 100 million or so uninsured or under-insured Americans might recognize that their health has been sacrificed on the altar of a private insurance industry that didn't even exist 70 years ago.

...But it appears some members [of Congress] tremble at the thought of defying the most unpopular president in modern American history.

The house passed the SCHIP bill, but there were not enough aye votes to override a promised Presidential veto.

Nancy Pelosi: "I speak with all of the sincerity and all of the hope to President Bush in the hope that he will change his mind."  Nancy talked with Wolf Blitzer on SCHIP:

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Public Action Campaign has an ad they're debuting against "Big Money Mitch" McConnell shaming him over picking big money donors over children's health.

The Gavel:

Today, the House passed H.R. 2929, Banning Permanent U.S. Bases in Iraq. This bill states that it is the policy of the United States not to establish any military installation or base for the purpose of providing a permanent stationing of United States Armed Forces in Iraq. It also states that it is the policy of the United States not to exercise U.S. control of the oil resources of Iraq. The measure bars the use of any funds provided by any law from being used to carry out any policy that contradicts these statements of policy.

While the Bush Administration has indicated it would not seek permanent bases in Iraq, Administration officials have recently remarked that the President envisioned a continued military presence in Iraq similar to our presence in Korea, where U.S. forces have been stationed for more than 50 years.