THIS IS NOT THE "PEOPLE'S WORK"

With the White House touting rising enrollments House Republicans just passed another bill to kill Obamacare.

Knowing that President Obama is going to veto any legislation that repeals Obamacare, one has to wonder why the GOP would pull a blatantly political stunt that repeals a law that effectively brings back the following worst practices of the health care industry ...

The reality is our Republican-led Congress is not concerned about doing the "people's work." They only care about gumming up the works so they can blame President Obama for doing nothing.

This means wasting time and millions in taxpayer dollars every time they grandstand by mindlessly voting to repeal Obamacare.

Sigh ...

- Mark

ELVIS WOULD BE 81 TODAY

I was reminded that Elvis Presley would be 81 years old today if he had lived. For those of you too young to remember, Elvis was so cool that he was making music videos before MTV called them music videos ...

- Mark 

READING FOR THE WEEKEND (Jan. 8, 2016)

Thomas Piketty ran the numbers on income inequality. Here's what he found (Think Progress).

Calls mount for outside probes of police shootings (The Hill).

Dear Gov. Snyder: You have to go to jail (Common Dreams).

Too funny ... Gym wildlife trolls the ridiculous environment that is every gym (College Humor).


IS THIS REALLY A SURPRISE?
Engineer finds examples of 'horrific' construction in tornado wreckage (Dallas Morning News).

Pentagon tells Congress to stop buying equipment it doesn't need (Military.com)

Man proudly "open carrying" new pistol is robbed of it at - wait for it - gunpoint (The Everlasting Gop Stoppers).

5 taxpayer handouts the Bundys receive (U.S. Uncut).


POLITICS IN AMERICA
Trump makes America hate, not great (The Hill).

Wow. Trump supporters tear up "God Bless America" and "America's ALREADY Great" signs (Facebook).

The sudden but well deserved fall of Rahm Emmanuel (The New Yorker).


THINGS WE REALLY SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT ...
4 things that were supposed to happen by 2016 because Obama was reelected (Think Progress).

President Obama catches Netanyahu bribing Republican congressmen to change their Iran votes (Daily News Bin).

The IMF confirms that 'trickle-down' economics is, indeed, a joke (Pacific Standard).

Here's what happened when these unarmed Native-American sisters defended their land from the Feds (U.S. Uncut).

We compared Obama and Reagan's executive orders; Republicans won't be happy (News Groopspeak).


SUNNI OR SHIITE?
How do Sunni and Shia Islam differ (NY Times)?

Questions rebels use to tell Sunni from Shiite (NY Times).


ARE YOU SERIOUS?
Ben Carson asks fifth-graders to single out the 'worst-student' in their class, and they did (Washington Post).

Maine Governor says drug traffickers come, sell drugs, and "impregnate a young, white girl" (Slate).

Pharma CEO: We're in business of shareholder profit, not helping the sick (U.S. Uncut).

Marco Rubio lobbied regulator for drug trafficking brother-in-law to get real estate license (Slate).


WE DON'T NEED MOTHER EARTH ... WE'VE GOT FREE MARKETS
More good news: The sixth mass extinction is under way (Truth Out).

As climate-induced floods hammer Britain Tories approve new fracking law (Truth Out).


MISCELLANEOUS
Is technology making our attention span worse than that of a goldfish (IFLS)?

21 unbelievable facts about guns in America (The Fiscal Times).

Why China is rattling the world (NY Times).

China's state-backed companies to continue driving global semiconductor M&A activity (South China Morning Post).

- Mark 

THESE PEOPLE ARE CONSTITUTIONAL ILLITERATES ... WE ALREADY TRIED WHAT THE BUNDY CLAN CLAIM THEY WANT (and, yeah, it was a disaster)

After watching the Bundy Bunch in Oregon, and then reading and listening to their supporters, one thing becomes clear: These people are historical and constitutional illiterates. 

I can say this because, in real simple terms, what these people are pushing for has already been tried in America. It was called the Articles of Confederation (1781-1789), and it was a disaster. I presented what's posted below over two years ago. I'm compelled to re-post it (with minor edits) because of the overwhelming ignorance driving what's happening in Oregon now ...

After the failure of the Articles of Confederation the Founding Fathers learned a big lesson. Specifically, they learned that a weak central government was actually a bad idea. Having states run the show, and doing what they saw fit, was good in theory but not so good in practice. So the Founding Fathers put some teeth into our federal system of government, and wrote the U.S. Constitution.

Unfortunately, today there are many who believe that they have a better understanding of our history and theories of government than America's Founding Fathers. They want to dismantle the American government as we know it, and replace it with a state-centered "libertarian paradise" that they naively believe could work because states and people are just, you know, so cooperative. 

What most don't understand is what happened the last time we tried what they're suggesting (under the Articles of Confederation). They are also naive about what life would be like if the libertarian wannabes got their way ...

Yeah, apart from being historical and constitutional illiterates - the Articles of Confederation IS part of our constitutional history - many on the far right really have no idea what happens when states do what they want and when our central government doesn't work. 

Here's a humorous take on what life would be like if we were to follow the lead of the Tea Party and the assorted Bundy clans who dot America's political landscape ...

And, yes, the Founding Fathers thought about what the Libertarians and the Tea Party extremists are talking about today. If they ever bothered to pick up a history book or read the Federalist Papers they would know this.

I'll leave it at that, for now. 

- Mark 

CHINA'S MARKETS IN TROUBLE, AGAIN

Three stories from the NY Times ...

It happened again, for the second time this week. China had to close its stock market because of negative volatility that sent the market tumbling more than 7 percent.

If you want to know why China is "rattling the world" click here.

If you want to know where and how much China is investing in the world click here for "The World According to China."

- Mark

BUNDY FAMILY GET PLENTY OF GOVERNMENT HANDOUTS ... AND ARE REALLY DELUSIONAL WARDS OF THE STATE

I was originally going to put this in a weekly readings post, but after seeing some of the comments from Bundy supporters it deserves to be posted in its entirety. From U.S. Uncut we get the "5 Government Handouts the Bundys Receive While Railing Against Government 'Tyrany'" ...

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Nearly every part of the Bundy family’s business is funded by government welfare programs.

The armed militiamen currently occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon have attempted to portray an image of themselves as rugged, independent Americans rejecting government interference in their businesses. But nearly every part of their existence as ranchers is made possible by government welfare programs — even the building they’re depending on for shelter from the cold was built by federal tax dollars as part of the New Deal program. Here are just a few ways taxpayers are subsidizing the livelihoods of cattle ranchers like the Bundy family:

1. Ammon Bundy’s loan from the Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers a loan guarantee program for businesses that don’t qualify for assistance in the private credit market. As Mother Jones reported, Ammon Bundy — the ringleader of the Malheur takeover bemoaning federal overreach — got a $530,000 loan from the SBA in 2010 for his truck maintenance business in Arizona, costing taxpayers over $22,000. What the loan was used for or whether or not Bundy repaid it is not listed in public records.

2. The US government charges 93 percent less for cattle grazing than private landowners

One of the biggest gripes from cattle ranchers like Cliven Bundy and other Western cattlemen is that the federal government is bleeding ranchers dry with overpriced cattle grazing fees. But the opposite is true — in 2012, it cost roughly $1.35 a month for each cow to graze on federal land, as opposed to the average $20 per month charged by private landowners for cattle grazing. FiveThirtyEight.comillustrated the price difference in a graph:

If anybody is getting the raw end of the deal from the federal government’s cattle grazing prices, it’s the federal government. As of 2014, grazing fees only accounted for 15 percent of the total cost incurred for the Bureau of Land Management to manage land for cattle grazing. The other 85 percent comes from we, the taxpayers.

3. Ranchers get huge discounts on leases of public land

In Nevada, home of the Bundy family, 80 percent of the state’s land is owned by the federal government. But ranchers get to lease that land for their own private businesses at a huge discount. According to an investigation by The Atlantic, the lease discount program cost taxpayers anywhere from $52 million a year to $200 million, when accounting for all of the administrative overhead involved in managing the program.

4. Livestock farmers milk the “emergency” feed program even in non-drought years

Western states, like Nevada and Oregon, where ranchers like the Bundys reside, only produce roughly one-fifth of the nation’s beef supply, but require a considerable amount of taxpayer subsidies to stay afloat. The Atlantic estimates that the 11 Western states populated by ranchers eat up approximately $26 million per year.

5. Ranchers depend on big government assistance to keep livestock safe

The Bundys and other ranchers would have very little livestock to feed if it weren’t for the “animal damage control” program, in which federal employees kill off the nearby predators that present a danger to cattle. The Atlantic’s study of this program found that, again, Western ranchers are responsible for a disproportionate amount of taxpayer subsidies compared to the other 39 states:

In 1994 this program cost $55.9 million nationwide, of which roughly $22 million was spent on western livestock operations. The animals killed nationwide with this money included 163 black bears, 293 mountain lions, 1,928 bobcats, 8,973 foxes, and 85,571 coyotes.

If the Bundy family really wanted the “independence” from government they claim to stand for, their businesses would be underwater. Ammon Bundy and his gang should thank their lucky stars to benefit from so much government assistance.

____________________________________________________

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- Mark

GOP FREAK OUT OVER OBAMA'S EXECUTIVE ORDER JUST ANOTHER TANTRUM

With Republicans seriously freaking out over President Obama's Executive Order on guns, let's keep in mind two things. Republicans have been wrong about virtually every thing of substance about President Obama and his policies. As well, we need to keep in mind that Executive Orders have a place in the history of American democracy ...

In the FYI department, here's Eisenhower's Executive Order ...

- Mark 

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER AS WE WATCH THE BUNDY IDIOTS IN OREGON

The Mulford Act, which was signed into law by Governor Reagan in 1967, repealed open carry in the state of California. The history behind the act is not complicated, as this Esquire piece makes clear. Simply put, Republicans didn't like Black Americans having the freedom to openly carry guns in public. It scared them.

Since 9/11 white right-wing terrorists have killed twice as many Americans as radical Islamists. Yet, no one is talking about banning open carry laws. 

Think about this the next time you're told that everyone's right to open carry is absolute. 

- Mark

P.S. Late addition, this is from The New Yorker ...

“We’re not terrorists; we just want what any true patriot wants: to take down the United States of America.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA ANNOUNCES PLAN TO CUT DOWN GUN VIOLENCE ... IT'S A GOOD ONE

PBS News Hour has President Obama's full speech and a synopsis of his plan to reduce gun violence in America, which you can access by clicking here.

This clip from the news conference captures a few emotional moments from President Obama's discussion about gun violence in America.

- Mark 

CHINA'S MARKET OPENS NEW YEAR WITH A THUD ... MARKETS SUSPENDED

A newly installed "circuit breaker" designed to stop the Chinese stock market from going into free fall works. We know it works because the circuit breaker stopped all trading in China's stock market after the market dropped 7% this afternoon. Trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets were prematurely closed at 1:33 pm.

China's Financial District.

What triggered the free fall is still being debated.

One of the causes could be a product of Beijing imposing a 6 month ban on trading by major shareholders (share holders with a 5% stake or more) back in July (2015). The ban was imposed because China wanted to prevent a bigger panic than was occurring at the time, and is supposed to be lifted this Friday (January 8, 2016). Analysts are worried there will be a panic sell off when the sales ban expires.

For my money, as I pointed out 6 months ago, China's real problem is tied to the fact that many of their market players are over leveraged. Put another way, they've borrowed too much and are now experiencing their "Minsky Moment" - too many market players owe too much to other indebted market players who can't pay.

Reaction to China's market panic in July, 2015.

After today's market developments some China watchers are predicting that over 1 trillion yuan worth of stock will be dumped on Friday.

As should be expected, the stock markets in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea fell as well.

- Mark

UPDATE: It happened again. Early Thursday morning (1-7-16) China's markets closed again, after being open only 29 minutes. Stay tuned.