In World’s Eyes, Much Damage Is Already Done

WASHINGTON — With the deal reached Sunday night, the United States has a good chance of escaping the debt limit showdown with its credit rating intact.

The United States government may not be so lucky with its reputation.

Even before negotiations went down to the wire on Sunday night, the bitterness, division and dysfunction that resounded around the world in recent weeks as the United States veered toward default did more than just fuel a perception that Washington is approaching Japan-like levels of political gridlock. Among foreign leaders and in global markets, the political histrionics have eroded America’s already diminishing aura as the world’s economic haven and the sole country with the power to lead the rest of the world out of financial crisis and recession.

Read the rest here.

A Libertarian Renaissance

August is upon us, beaches beckon and Michele Bachmann has set the self-improvement bar high. She recently told The Wall Street Journal, “When I go on vacation and I lay on the beach, I bring von Mises.” The congresswoman may be the first person ever to dribble sun lotion on the section of Ludwig von Mises’s “Human Action” wherein the Austrian economist (1881-1973) discussed “the formal and aprioristic character of praxeology.”

Autodidacts less exacting than Bachmann should spill sand on the pages of “The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong With America” by Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch. These incurably upbeat journalists with Reason magazine believe that not even government, try as it will, can prevent onrushing social improvement.

“Confirmation bias” is the propensity to believe news that confirms our beliefs. Gillespie and Welch say that “existence bias” disposes us to believe that things that exist always will. The authors say that the most ossified, sclerotic sectors of American life — politics and government — are about to be blown up by new capabilities, especially the Internet, and the public’s wholesome impatience that is encouraged by them.

“Think of any customer experience that has made you wince or kick the cat. What jumps to mind? Waiting in multiple lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Observing the bureaucratic sloth and lowest-common-denominator performance of public schools, especially in big cities. Getting ritually humiliated going through airport security. Trying desperately to understand your doctor bills. Navigating the permitting process at your local city hall. Wasting a day at home while the gas man fails to show up. Whatever you come up with, chances are good that the culprit is either a direct government monopoly (as in the providers of K-12 education) or a heavily regulated industry or utility where the government is the largest player (as in health care).”

Read the rest here.

White House, congressional leaders reach debt-limit deal

President Obama and congressional leaders sealed a deal to raise the federal debt limit late Sunday that includes sharp spending cuts but no new taxes, breaking a partisan impasse that has driven the nation to the brink of a potentially disastrous government default.

The deal, negotiated primarily by Vice President Joseph Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), teetered all day on the edge of completion, as House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) bickered with Democrats over whether to freeze next year’s defense budget.

In the end, Boehner conceded the point, and President Obama finalized the agreement in phone calls to each of the four congressional leaders shortly after 8 p.m. If all goes as planned, the package could clear the Senate and then the House as soon as Monday night — barely 24 hours before Treasury officials have said they could run short of cash to pay the nation’s bills.

Read the rest here.

Limited Posting

There will be limited posting for the rest of this week.  I hope to have a bit more time next week.

House and Senate on collision course over debt limit

House and Senate leaders were preparing separate backup plans Sunday to raise the federal debt limit after another day of intense negotiations failed to break a partisan impasse that threatens to throw the government into default next week.

The rival strategies left Congress poised to start this week locked in bitter and messy legislative warfare, even as jittery financial markets were set to open for the first time since House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) abruptly abandoned debt-limit talks with the White House on Friday.

Read the rest here.

I agree...

...with the majority of the comments on my test redesign.  I don't like it at all.  I will start again when I have some time.  On which note I apologize for the dearth of posting.  I have been extraordinarily busy lately.

OK; it's not funny anymore

The clowns running our country seem to be under the illusion that just because the stock market hasn't crashed, yet, or the credit rating agencies haven't stripped us of our AAA credit rating, yet, that it's OK to continue their insane games with our country's debt in the name of partisan political ideology.  Both parties are to blame, though at the moment I would say that the GOP bears the lion's share of responsibility with their pledge to drive us off a cliff before they will consent to raise a dime in taxes.

My gut is telling me that they have about run out of time, and they may not realize it.  There is no reason on Earth why S&P or Moody needs to wait to August 2nd to announce that Washington is in the grips of a pack of ideological knaves hell bent on destroying the United States.  Worse I think Wall Street is slowly coming to terms with the reality that this not just another round of Washington political brinksmanship.  There are at least 100 Republic members of Congress who have made it abundantly clear that they don't care what happens.  They will under no circumstances vote to raise the debt limit. Unless something credible appears in the next 24 hrs or so Monday could be a really really bad day.

All of which reminds me of the old saying that there are three types of people in the world.  Those who learn by reading, those who learn by observing and those who only learn by peeing on the electric fence.

Redesign is underway

I am not sure I like it but I will sleep on it and see how I feel tomorrow.  Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Vatican facing increasingly open defiance among liberal priests

More than 150 Roman Catholic priests in the United States have signed a statement in support of a fellow cleric who faces dismissal for participating in a ceremony that purported to ordain a woman as a priest, in defiance of church teaching.

The American priests’ action follows closely on the heels of a “Call to Disobedience” issued in Austria last month by more than 300 priests and deacons. They stunned their bishops with a seven-point pledge that includes actively promoting priesthood for women and married men, and reciting a public prayer for “church reform” in every Mass.

And in Australia, the National Council of Priests recently released a ringing defense of the bishop of Toowoomba, who had issued a pastoral letter saying that, facing a severe priest shortage, he would ordain women and married men “if Rome would allow it.” After an investigation, the Vatican forced him to resign.

While these disparate acts hardly amount to a clerical uprising and are unlikely to result in change, church scholars note that for the first time in years, groups of priests in several countries are standing with those who are challenging the church to rethink the all-male celibate priesthood.

Read the rest here.

Norway: Right wing extremism emerges as possible terror motive

LONDON — A report that Norway's bomb and gun rampage may be the work of a far-right militant confronts Europe with the possibility that a new paramilitary threat is emerging, a decade after al-Qaida's Sept. 11 attacks.

One analyst called the attacks possibly Europe's "Oklahoma City" moment, a reference to American right-wing militant Timothy McVeigh who detonated a truck bomb at a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168 people.

Police forces in many western European countries worry about rising far-right sentiment, fueled by a toxic mix of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant bigotry and increasing economic hardship.

But violence, while sometimes fatal, has rarely escalated beyond group thuggery and the use of knives.

That may have changed in Oslo and on the holiday island of Utoya on Friday. Seven people were killed in a bombing in the capital — Western Europe's worst since the 2005 London al-Qaida-linked suicide attacks that killed 52 people — and at least 80 in a shooting rampage by a lake.

Independent Norwegian television TV2 reported on Saturday that the Norwegian man detained after the attacks had links to right-wing extremism .

Read the rest here.

Breaking News: Norwegian police now report at least 80 dead in youth camp massacre

OSLO, Norway — At least 80 people were killed in a shooting attack on a youth camp in Norway, police said early Saturday, a devastating elevation of the death toll in twin attacks that included a bomb attack in Oslo.

National police Chief Oystein Maeland said the attack had reached "catastrophic dimensions."

Police arrested a 32-year-old Norwegian man at the youth camp on the island and linked him to both assaults but said they did not know the motive.

Norwegian media identified him as Anders Behring Breivik and said authorities searched his home.

At least seven people were killed Friday when the bomb exploded in the Norwegian capital in mid-afternoon, blowing out the windows of the prime minister's building and damaging the finance and oil ministry building. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was not in the building at the time. The blast scattered glass, shattered masonry and twisted steel across the streets.

Read the rest here.

Norway: dozens killed in terror attacks

Gunman massacres teenagers at summer camp after explosion rocks centre of Oslo.

At least 30 people were feared dead in Norway last night after a gunman mowed down students at a summer camp hours after a bomb had devastated the centre of Oslo.

More than 20 youths attending a political gathering were reported to have been shot dead when a terrorist disguised as a policeman opened fire on a holiday island on a lake near the capital.

Seven people had earlier been killed in central Oslo when a car bomb went off outside the country’s main government building. Members of the country’s ruling Labour Party were the targets in both cases. Police had confirmed a total of 17 deaths last night.

Read the rest here.

Military certifies repeal of “don’t ask” policy

The Obama administration announced Friday that the military had made all necessary preparations to allow gays to serve openly in the armed forces, setting the stage for the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in 60 days.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, presented President Obama with a formal certification Friday afternoon at the White House that the military’s ability to fight and recruit would not be harmed by the overt presence of gays in the ranks.

The certification marked the final hurdle in a nearly two-decade-long campaign by gay-rights groups and civil-rights advocates to integrate the armed forces. Under a law passed by Congress and signed by Obama in December, the 18-year-old “don’t-ask, don’t-tell” policy will now automatically vanish in 60 days.

Read the rest here

I take note of this because I am sure it will be discussed actively in many quarters of the blogosphere. But someone is going to have to explain to me very slowly how this is big news with everything else going on. Or how who someone is sleeping with (provided we are discussing activities between consenting adults that don't interfere with job performance) effects the readiness of the military. How many policemen do we want in our bedrooms? Unless someone's rights are being violated, disgusting and sinful behavior aught to be province of the Church, not the state.

File this news story under "who cares?"

GOP Again Walks Out of Debt Talks

Debt-reduction negotiations between President Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner collapsed Friday, derailing an effort to reach a landmark agreement to cut spending, overhaul the tax code and avert a government default.


In subsequent statements, both sides blamed the other for an impasse that threatens to plunge the nation into a fiscal crisis if the government fails to meet a looming deadline to raise the federal debt ceiling.


“It’s hard to understand why Speaker Boehner would walk away from this kind of deal,” Obama said, but Boehner (R-Ohio) countered that it was the president who walked away from an agreement on revenue increases.


“The White House moved the goal posts,” Boehner said in a press conference, demanding “more money at the last minute — and the only way to get that extra revenue was to raise taxes.”

Read the rest here.

Heads up on some forthcoming changes

I have received several messages expressing concern about the color scheme on A/O.  Apparently it doesn't work well with some readers.  When I get some time, hopefully in the next few days, I will be doing some experimenting with new color schemes.  If the blog suddenly starts looking a little weird when you click here it will probably be because I am tinkering.

Ron Paul’s Solution to the Debt Ceiling Impasse

Representative Ron Paul has hit upon a remarkably creative way to deal with the impasse over the debt ceiling: have the Federal Reserve Board destroy the $1.6 trillion in government bonds it now holds. While at first blush this idea may seem crazy, on more careful thought it is actually a very reasonable way to deal with the crisis. Furthermore, it provides a way to have lasting savings to the budget.

The basic story is that the Fed has bought roughly $1.6 trillion in government bonds through its various quantitative easing programs over the last two and a half years. This money is part of the $14.3 trillion debt that is subject to the debt ceiling. However, the Fed is an agency of the government. Its assets are in fact assets of the government. Each year, the Fed refunds the interest earned on its assets in excess of the money needed to cover its operating expenses. Last year the Fed refunded almost $80 billion to the Treasury. In this sense, the bonds held by the Fed are literally money that the government owes to itself.

Read the rest here.

HT: Blog reader Sophocles

The Dollar, Gold And The Quality Of Money

...At the center of this political upheaval is the quality of money itself. “Is gold money?” is a show stopper because it raises the questions: “What is money and what power should government have to manipulate its value?

The answers to these questions reveal how our most basic trust in government has been betrayed.

When you or I accept dollars in exchange for providing goods and services, we do so trusting that when we spend those dollars, they will be accepted for an equivalent amount of goods and services. That’s how money frees us from a barter economy.

Trust is always an assessment of some future action. Making a grounded assessment requires us to understand who is making the promise, what action they are promising, and whether they are sincere and competent to fulfill their promise.

When an individual, company or government has a good credit rating, we are saying that we trust they will keep their promise to pay off their debts in the future.

So it is with the value of money. Today Bernanke is making the promise effectively to “do his best” to achieve the Fed’s dual mandate of achieving maximum employment and stable prices.

I do not doubt that Bernanke and his colleagues at the Fed have done their best. Here are the results:

Read the rest here.

Egan-Jones Officially Cuts U.S. Credit Rating

Cutting a credit rating is significantly different that placing it on ‘watch’ or ‘under review’.

Most readers are likely fully aware that Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s have sent out serious warning signals about the potential downgrade of the United States AAA credit rating.

That said, another SEC officially recognized ratings entity has gone one step further and actually lowered Uncle Sam’s standing by one notch.

What firm is so bold and brazen to send this volley across Capitol Hill and down Pennsylvania Avenue?

Egan-Jones.

Unlike the supposed brand name rating agencies which did little to help ordinary investors going into our economic crisis, Egan-Jones’ business model differs markedly from the industry incestuous nature of its counterparts. The resulting lack of inherent conflict allows Egan-Jones to speak freely and boldly. What a novel concept.

What does Egan-Jones have to say about Uncle Sam?

Read the rest here.

Pope Appoints Archbishop Chaput to Philadelphia

Denver, Colo., Jul 19, 2011 / 04:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Updated at 8:51 a.m. MDT with remarks from the press conference in Philadelphia.

Pope Benedict appointed Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver on July 19 to lead the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Cardinal Justin Rigali, who reached the age of retirement in April 2010, will serve as apostolic administrator until Archbishop Chaput's installation on Sept. 8. Cardinal Rigali has headed the Philadelphia archdiocese since 2003.

“I know other bishops would have been smarter than I am, or more talented, or more connected to Philadelphia’s past,” Archbishop Chaput said at a July 19 press conference announcing the appointment.

“But I do promise that no bishop will love the people and priests of this local Church more than I will. No bishop will give more of himself than I will.”

Cardinal Rigali praised the appointment, saying the Denver archbishop's life “is marked by an evident joy in his priesthood, a fearless proclamation of the Gospel, and a clear commitment to Jesus Christ and His Church.”

Read the rest here.

This is very good news for Philly.  Chaput is one of the best bishops in RCC on this side of the pond.

An update

Just a quick note to let everyone know that my Godson Basil is back home (has been for a couple of weeks now) and is recovering, albeit slowly.  He is still taking meds for pain but is also complaining of cabin fever and boredom.  As far as I am aware his surgery went well.  Basil will have fun getting through airport security with all the metal they put in him, but that's a lot better than what might have happened.  Again my thanks for your prayers.