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Thursday Afternoon Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 02:41:24 PM EST
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Attorney General Eric Holder today announced there will be a full criminal investigation into the deaths of two overseas detainees in U.S. custody who were interrogated by the CIA. There will be no criminal investigation into the cases of 99 other detainees. The ACLU responds here.

A federal judge ruled this week the U.S. cannot forfeit the logo of the Mongols' motorcycle club. More here.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

< Crack Cocaine Penalty Reduction Made Retroactive | Mortgage Exec Lee Farkas Sentenced to 30 Years >

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    Thursday Afternoon Open Thread | 23 comments (23 topical)

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    Could it be true? (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by Addison on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 04:12:38 PM EST
    Geithner to Consider Leaving Treasury After Debt Debate

    But, won't this uncertainty "spook the markets"?! He should just go ahead and resign now to make sure the traders don't get antsy.

    Rats abandoning the sinking ship (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 04:31:54 PM EST
    Geithner and Goolsbee outta there ASAP because nothing is going to get better, everything is going to get worse.

    Parent
    That's (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 05:29:09 PM EST
    what I was thinking.

    Too bad Obama didn't have the cojones to fire him. At least that would have looked better for Obama. Now he looks like even more of a chump for listening to Geither.  

    Parent

    Arsonists running from the fire (5.00 / 2) (#8)
    by inclusiveheart on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 06:03:15 PM EST
    they started.  How novel.

    Parent
    Probably not making (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by Anne on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 06:07:12 PM EST
    enough money, either.

    I read today that Geithner is fully aware of the 14th Amendment with respect to the debt, even reading it for reporters over a month ago:

    At a Politico Playbook breakfast on May 25, Geithner was asked by host Mike Allen about the negotiations over default and the debt ceiling.

    "I think there are some people who are pretending not to understand it, who think there's leverage for them in threatening a default," Geithner said. "I don't understand it as a negotiating position. I mean really think about it, you're going to say that- can I read you the 14th amendment?"

    Geithner whipped out his handy pocket-sized Constitution. Allen tried to brush it aside. "We'll stipulate the 14th Amendment," he said.

    "No, I want to read this one thing," Geithner insisted.

    "It's paper clipped!" Allen observed, noting that Geithner's copy of the Constitution was clipped so that it would open directly to the passage in question.

    "`The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for the payments of pension and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion' -- this is the important thing -- `shall not be questioned," Geithner read.

    "So as a negotiating strategy you say: `If you don't do things my way, I'm going to force the United States to default-not pay the legacy of bills accumulated by my predecessors in Congress.' It's not a credible negotiating strategy, and it's not going to happen," Geithner insisted.

    Not a credible negotiating strategy?  Holy moly.

    David Dayen:

    When asked yesterday whether the debt limit is Constitutional, President Obama just avoided the question. It was a three-part question and he only answered the other two parts. There's an awareness at the highest levels that at the very least, an argument can be made, that there can be no questioning of the public debt - as a Constitutional matter. That's a BFD.

    The bad thing is that Geithner, if he goes, is just going to be replaced with a clone; there's not going to be some sea change in the economic philosophy of the administration.

    Parent

    Perhaps (none / 0) (#16)
    by BackFromOhio on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 06:46:34 PM EST
    Geithner is disgusted that the debt ceiling debate is being allowed to proceed as though the plain reading of the Constitution did not make the debate a sham>

    Parent
    News report I read (none / 0) (#15)
    by BackFromOhio on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 06:45:24 PM EST
    WaPo, I think, said Geithner said he would not leave until fight over debt ceiling is resolved.

    Parent
    well if that just doesn't (none / 0) (#17)
    by nycstray on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 06:47:17 PM EST
    inspire a whole lotta confidence . . . .

    Parent
    Wow! (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Zorba on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 05:34:12 PM EST
    Good for Chafee.  Not that I think that Pleau is a saint (far from it), but whether he is guilty or not in the Woonsocket robbery, how is this a federal case at all, since it happened in Rhode Island?  (Oh, my lord, am I becoming a State's Rights person????)

    Good news in another area... (5.00 / 0) (#7)
    by jeffinalabama on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 05:51:34 PM EST
    I'm playing for euros on another site... gotta love technology.
    Hmm (5.00 / 0) (#11)
    by Dadler on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 06:08:58 PM EST
    Interesting.  Let me know how a withdrawal goes when you attempt one.  Unless, of course, you've got the offshore account set up already.

    Parent
    I'll send you an email (none / 0) (#19)
    by jeffinalabama on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 07:49:01 PM EST
    on the subject in about two weeks, Dadler.

    Parent
    When the police state... (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by kdog on Fri Jul 01, 2011 at 09:38:58 AM EST
    fully takes hold, the only liberty to be found will be cyber-liberty...the final freedom frontier.

    Good luck against those wildman Scandis...don't let 'em run you over.

    Parent

    Fun (not) day (none / 0) (#5)
    by jeffinalabama on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 05:33:22 PM EST
    at the consulate in Atlanta... at least traffic wasn't bad, but I missed my turn to The Varsity, so no "Whaddayahave, whaddatahave, whaddayahave!

    Everyone needs to go to The Varsity at least once.

    Great atmosphere (none / 0) (#9)
    by Dadler on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 06:05:35 PM EST
    But I remember nothing about the food at The Varsity.  Been at least fifteen years.  Used to go at least once a year when I was in Rome visiting my old man.  Personally, as a SoCal boy, I'm a sucker for the original Tommy's in LA (LINK) -- and I mean the original one at Beverly and Rampart, not the suburban franchises that have never, for some reason, been as good.  

    Parent
    And sorry to hear about the consulate (none / 0) (#12)
    by Dadler on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 06:10:40 PM EST
    Is dealing with bureaucracy ever a good time?  And in your circumstance, with what's at state, jaysus, I don't now how you're holding up.  Peace to you, my friend.

    Parent
    They have 2 other (none / 0) (#14)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 06:20:20 PM EST
    Varsity's I think around town one in Gwinnett that I've been to. They are not as good as the one in Atlanta either. Maybe it's the atmosphere?

    Parent
    Yes, (none / 0) (#13)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 06:19:16 PM EST
    traffic not being bad is quite a positive.

    Gosh, I'm so sorry. I hope this all works out for you soon.

    Parent

    so jeralyn, (none / 0) (#18)
    by cpinva on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 06:51:04 PM EST
    are you going to try and join forces with larry klayman, and get a piece of what's certain to be a huge judgment, in farah & corsi's suit against esquire? :)

    I'm usually on the other side (none / 0) (#20)
    by Jeralyn on Fri Jul 01, 2011 at 02:32:39 AM EST
    of Larry Klayman, we used to debate on TV during the Clinton impeachment scandals. He's nice enough in perosn, but i doubt I'll be joining. I don't do civil cases except forfeitures (taking money from those accused of a crime.) I also don't take cases on a contingency -- its not allowed in criminal case. I tend to think a bird in the hand....probably why I'll never be rich.

    Parent
    a bird in the hand (none / 0) (#21)
    by cpinva on Fri Jul 01, 2011 at 03:01:31 AM EST
    makes a mess.

    i'll be curious to see if a new world land speed court record is set, for shortest amount of time taken for a judge to dismiss a case.

    Parent

    a little too late... (none / 0) (#22)
    by lilburro on Fri Jul 01, 2011 at 09:10:16 AM EST
    Ezra on bipartisanship:

    Wrong. What I've described is, of course, the Obama White House's agenda, which borrows many ideas from the Republican Party of the mid-1990s and early-Aughts, and has not been treated as particularly bipartisan. In my column this week, I wrote that this was, in part, because bipartisanship doesn't mean what Democrats think it means. A "bipartisan bill" isn't a bill that includes ideas from both parties. It's a bill that includes votes from both parties. That's what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell means when he says "President Obama needs to decide between his goal of higher taxes, or a bipartisan plan to address our deficit." A bill that includes ideas from both parties won't be bipartisan, because Republicans won't vote for it. A bill that only includes Republican ideas can be bipartisan, because Republicans will vote for it.

    But after writing this morning's post on the Republican report that recommended the exact deficit-reduction package that the Republican leadership ultimately walked out on, I realized that even that definition of "bipartisan" doesn't quite get it right. Rather, a "bipartisan" bill is a bill that the opposing party treats as bipartisan, while a partisan bill is a bill that the opposing party treats as partisan. That puts the agency where it belongs: on the minority party. The idea that the president can "be bipartisan" is dead wrong. He can be partisan, designing bills that the opposing party would never want to vote for, but he can't be bipartisan unless the opposing party lets him. And knowing that any reputation he gets for bipartisanship will be used in his reelection campaign, why would they do that?

    Aside from the fact that this has been obvious for a long long time, I hope this will inspire bigger guns in Democratic circles to wake up and begin thinking more creatively about how to get around GOP obstruction.  Because of course, the definition of insanity is to try the same thing over and over again, expecting different results..

    a LOT too late (none / 0) (#23)
    by sj on Fri Jul 01, 2011 at 09:25:22 AM EST
    And will he remember this is in the future?

    Parent
    Thursday Afternoon Open Thread | 23 comments (23 topical)

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