THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: Fed Chair Nominee Janet Yellen:
“For my own part,” Ms. Yellen said, “I did not see and did not appreciate what the risks were with securitization, the credit ratings agencies, the shadow banking system, the S.I.V.’s — I didn’t see any of that coming until it happened.”
Well, okay then.
PEOPLE LIKED IT YESTERDAY, SO HERE’S ANOTHER OPEN THREAD. Comment away!
HOPEY-CHANGEY: Report: Obama brings chilling effect on journalism. “The U.S. government’s aggressive prosecution of leaks and efforts to control information are having a chilling effect on journalists and government whistle-blowers, according to a report released Thursday on U.S. press freedoms under the Obama administration. The Committee to Protect Journalists conducted its first examination of U.S. press freedoms amid the Obama administration’s unprecedented number of prosecutions of government sources and seizures of journalists’ records. Usually the group focuses on advocating for press freedoms abroad.” Well, it’s looking more and more like “abroad” at home.
Related: Obama’s efforts to control leaks ‘most aggressive since Nixon’, report finds. “Barack Obama has pursued the most aggressive “war on leaks” since the Nixon administration, according to a report published on Thursday that says the administration’s attempts to control the flow of information is hampering the ability of journalists to do their jobs. The author of the study, the former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie, says the administration’s actions have severely hindered the release of information that could be used to hold it to account.”
Well, that’s the goal, of course.
WELL, THIS WEEK HAS CERTAINLY UNDERSCORED my point.
YES, IT’S NOT OBAMA, IT’S THE WHOLE SYSTEM THAT’S TO BLAME: Some say health-care site’s problems highlight flawed federal IT policies.
It’s true, of course, that the federal government has a lousy record of executing on big IT projects. But a competent leader — don’t bother looking in the mirror, Barack, I’m not talking about you — would have known that, and adjusted policy approaches accordingly.
LEE STRANAHAN: This Data Visualization Of Pigford II Claims Says It All.
ANNALS OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: How I Visited A Closed National Park. “On our way back to the first entrance, we saw several roadside turnouts that earlier were blocked off with orange traffic cones earlier — but the cones had been neatly moved out of the way, presumably by fellow tourists.”
CONGRESS: Lawmakers Strike at Obamacare’s Early Weaknesses. “Investigation launched into exchange failures as security flaws and exemptions in the spotlight: ‘At this rate, Obamacare is destined to go bankrupt.'”
BILL MAHER: Anti-Science.
Chris Mooney, call your office.
DUDE, WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN AT WAR WITH EASTASIA: Wolf Blitzer Slapped For Stepping Off The ObamaCare Narrative Plantation.
TOLD ME IF I VOTED. . . OH, HELL, YOU KNOW THE REST: Sean Wilentz Plays John Yoo On The Debt Ceiling.
More here.
WHICH IS DARN TOUGH: For Obama, negotiating with Republicans is tough, almost as tough as math.
REP. PETER WELCH (D-VT): I think we can all agree that the Renewable Fuel Standard has “been a flop.” “There’s not been an environment benefit; there’s actually been an environmental detriment and there’s been an economic detriment to many sectors of the economy, even though there’s been a significant benefit to the Corn Belt.” Yeah, but with the bubble in farmland that’s resulted, a lot of bigshots are invested in it now.
LET THE HEALING BEGIN: John McCain: Sorry about that whole “wacko birds” deal, guys.
MARK LEVIN WILL JOIN SARAH PALIN campaigning for Steve Lonegan in New Jersey. Doing the jobs the GOP establishment won’t do, I guess.
HOW TO BE A “PALEO FOODIE.”
BLUE ON BLUE: P.C. Crusaders Wage Holy War in Boston. “Let’s face it, they’d like to burn Koch at the stake, except they’re worried about the carbon footprint it would leave.”