Rush Pulls Lies from Ass

I swore I wouldn't give credence to Rush the magic blowhard, but this was too good to pass up. I really do enjoy Franken sometimes, and he's a wickedly smart man. Enjoy!

Jay Danley Asks

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

Compliments of the Washington Post

Eight States Brought Down the Republic

Here are the eight states partly responsible for the housing crisis and also for one of the worst economic downturns in our country's history. What this shows is just how much leverage banks put into these foreclosed assets. Check it: 42 states are below the national foreclosure average. As Ezra Klein posts, "The whole country might as well have been the Golden State given that Citibank would bet $56 dollars on every buck of California mortgages." Incroyable!

Cap on Carbon

Obama's efforts to combat global warming is about to begin, and Republican Lawmakers aren't too happy about it. Here's the skinny: Obama is proposing reducing carbon emissions by creating a cap-and-trade system whereby companies will have to pay to pollute. However, the incentive is that the less you pollute, the more money you save, and as an added benefit, reduce the amount of carbon in the air that is leading to global warming. Republicans complain that it imposes a tax where there currently is not one. I know I've grossly over simplified the issue, but what I'm concerned about is those who pollute more could purchase “carbon credits” from businesses that pollute less. Although it seems like the equation would balance itself out - some pollute less so that others can pollute more - doesn't necessarily give any incentive to larger companies to reduce their output of carbon, and reducing carbon emissions is the goal, isn't it? It seems that if there is going to be any "real" change towards combatting global warming, there should simply be a tax on polluting and no trading for "carbon credits."