Archive for July, 2011
Palin: American Ideals Are “Foreign” To Obama Because Of “His Background”
Can the Obama-hating right find any more ways to say he’s un-American?
Palin harped on the all-too-familiar right-wing refrain that American ideals “seem[] to be foreign to our President” because of “his background. She added, “His ideas are the antithesis of those things that created the prosperity in America.”
She also repeats the falsehood told by John Boehner that Obama wants a “blank check.”
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Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2011 • 45 Comments »Star Parker: Black Family Life Under Slavery Was “More Healthy Than It Is Today”
Right wing activist Star Parker, appearing with Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins on American Family Radio, made the case for how much better things were for black families under slavery.
She was discussing a pledge signed by presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum written by The Family Leader which “suggested that black children born into slavery were better off in terms of family life than African-American kids born today.” Parker, who recently argued that “too many Blacks do not want to be free,” said that under slavery “black family life, in the vulnerable state that it was, …
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2011 • 7 Comments »On Wednesday’s Radio Show…
• Republicans vs. Republicans: The latest on the debt debate.
• Can anything end the political gridlock in Washington? Alan examines the culture of hyper-partisanship with pollster Mark Penn, co-founder of No Labels.
• Brian Cox, author of Wonders of the Universe and Science Channel host, sits down with Alan to discuss the future of space travel.…
Read more » Posted in Radio Show by Joel July 27, 2011 • 2 Comments »You Can’t Believe What You See (or Hear)
Assuming the country isn’t plunged into chaos next week (an assumption I’m still making, but I grow less sure by the day), we will then get back to policy making. As I teach my students, economics is at the core of policy making. But economics is undergoing a revolution. Thirty years ago (I didn’t say it was a fast revolution), a few economists started incorporating psychology and created the field of behavioral economics. Behavioral economics looks at the way people make decisions and why they might not always follow their self interest. Here is a great interview…
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Stuart Shapiro July 27, 2011 • 7 Comments »Ralph Nader To Seek Obama Primary Challengers

Ralph Nader isn’t throwing his hat into the ring, but is determined to find those who will.
“It’s an initiative to scan the possibilities of people who may run,” Nader said in a phone interview. “My guess is that it’s almost 100 percent sure there’s going to be a primary challenge to Obama from somebody or somebodies — plural — in some states.”…
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2011 • 13 Comments »Sarah Palin Blasts The TARP Program She Supported
Sarah Palin blasted President Obama for the TARP program, proclaiming:
“Scaring the American people is exactly what President Obama is doing. In that bizarre speech that he gave last night, it reminded me of when he insisted that TARP had to be passed — it was life-or-death, at that time, also.”
She gave this response about it in the Katie Couric interview:
That’s why I say, I, like every American I’m speaking with, were ill about this position that we have been put in, where it is the taxpayers looking to bailout. But ultimately, what the bailout does is …
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2011 • 6 Comments »Michele Bachmann Benefited From Home Loan Program She Opposes

Congresswoman and presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann blames Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for creating the financial crisis, but that didn’t stop her from using those programs for her own benefit.
Just a few weeks before Bachmann called for dismantling the programs during a House Financial Services Committee hearing, she and her husband signed for a $417,000 home loan to help finance their move to a 5,200-square-foot golf-course home, public records show. Experts who examined the loan documents for The Washington Post say that they are confident the loan was backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.…
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2011 • 33 Comments »Grover Norquist: McConnell-Reid Better Than Default
Submitted by Obewon
Harry Reid: “Even Grover Norquist gave his blessing today to McConnell-Reid”…
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Obewon July 27, 2011 • 3 Comments »John McCain Blasts Tea Party For “Foolish” Demands

Holding out for balanced budget amendment to solve problem “unfair,” “bizarre”…
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2011 • 13 Comments »Dog Bites Man: Republicans Lie About Reid Plan

One aspect of the Harry Reid plan for the debt ceiling is to count the winding down of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of the spending reduction he is proposing. Republicans have claimed that these are accounting savings (a matter of opinion) and that they do not count them in their spending reductions (a matter of fact). Well, guess what,
According to Ryan, his plan never included this savings, but that’s a lie, and a document he just released proves it. When Ryan released his plan, he claimed it would cut either $5.8 …
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Stuart Shapiro July 27, 2011 • 7 Comments »Florida Governor Rick Scott Avoids Answering The Same Debt Ceiling Question Four Times
CNN’s Christine Romans and Ali Velshi did their best to get Florida Governor Rick Scott to acknowledge that raising the debt ceiling is not spending more money, but rather paying debts already incurred. The governor failed to grasp that point and kept giving talking point answers.
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Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2011 • 2 Comments »