"She sang beyond the genius of the sea": Archive

“

Make no mistake about it, what we’re witnessing here is a catastrophe on multiple levels.

It is, of course, a political catastrophe for Democrats, who just a few weeks ago seemed to have Republicans on the run over their plan to dismantle Medicare; now Mr. Obama has thrown all that away. And the damage isn’t over: there will be more choke points where Republicans can threaten to create a crisis unless the president surrenders, and they can now act with the confident expectation that he will.

In the long run, however, Democrats won’t be the only losers. What Republicans have just gotten away with calls our whole system of government into question. After all, how can American democracy work if whichever party is most prepared to be ruthless, to threaten the nation’s economic security, gets to dictate policy? And the answer is, maybe it can’t.

” —

Paul Krugman: The President Surrenders (via kateoplis)

Paul is in the midst of a mental break.

Jul 31, 2011314 notes

“We say the name to ourselves, and as we remain silent it seems as though we inscribed it on ourselves, as though it left its trace on our brain which must end by being, like a wall upon which somebody has amused himself by scribbling, entirely covered with the name, written a thousand times over, of her whom we love. We repeat it all the time in our mind, even when we are happy, all the more when we are unhappy. And to repeat this name, which gives us nothing in addition to what we already know, we feel an incessantly renewed desire, but, in the course of time, it wearies us.” —Marcel Proust (via atomos)

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Play

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I'm in love with British indie bands.

Jul 31, 201110 notes

#music #brits #indie

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Play

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President Barack Obama told reporters Sunday that a deal has been reached to raise the federal debt ceiling and avoid the first U.S. default.

The deal in principle comes even as formal votes must still be taken in the House and Senate to pass the bill in order to sent it to Obama for his signature for the bill to become law.

Earlier, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he had “signed-off” on a debt-raising deal that could be voted on as early as tonight.

The Senate’s Republican leadership had previously indicated that a deal had not been reached yet.

Reid’s support for a bill that is expected to cut more than $2 trillion from the federal budget over the next 10 years needed his fellow Democrats’ approval.

Jul 31, 201112 notes

#business #news #debt #economy #us

DEBT DEAL REACHED

Jul 31, 2011

#debt #us #news #politics

The line at Chipotle has wrapped around the entire restaurant, with people now waiting outside.

Guess everyone is trying to get his/her burrito on before China repossess DC on Tuesday.

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shortformblog:

Here’s the outline of the debt ceiling deal as of now, according to officials on both sides:

$900 billion in the first stage of deficit reduction.

$1.5 trillion in second stage of deficit reduction to be defined by a bipartisan special committee of lawmakers appointed by leaders of the House and Senate.

If the special committee fails to deliver a deficit-cutting package that would trigger $1.2 trillion in cuts, half would be Defense cuts and the other half would be non-Defense cuts, exempting low-income programs Social Security and Medicaid, and only impacting providers in Medicare.

The debt ceiling increase would be done in three phases: $400 billion initially; another $500 billion later this year would be subject to a vote of disapproval; a third increase of $1.5 to get the rest through 2012 and would also be subject to vote of disapproval.

There is also a provision to have Congress vote on balanced budget amendment.

The special committee would not necessarily tackle tax reform. But Mr. Obama is threatening to veto any extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for those making $250,000 a year or more unless Congress acts on an overhaul of the tax code.

Who’s the winner here, Dems or GOP?

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"She sang beyond the genius of the sea"

August 2011

July 2011