From Denny: Iran continues to be a thorn in the side of the international community. The naughty little third world country has been trying to slide under the door shut in its misbehaving face by the world. Now it's made deals with Turkey for an enriched uranium swap for fuel rods on the next path to nuclear warheads. As usual they keep lying about their intentions, claiming the nukes are for energy purposes, and the rest of the world rolls their eyes at the latest "my fish I caught was this big" story. Anyone who believes the Iranian government is gullible and every con artist in the world will be beating a path to their door to get rich quick.
Meanwhile, the smarter nations have come together into agreement on sanctions for Iran - quite the diplomatic feat for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Time will tell how well these sanctions will work. We still may require a military action against these crazies.
As to President Obama and jobs creation for the 15 million people out of work, just how do you create jobs on a budget with a looming deficit? It really is a dilemma not faced in this country until now. I'm sure the Republicans, fools that they are, are celebrating the hoped political demise of Obama. They are foolish to pull against America in our time of great need like nothing seen since the Great Depression.
And you guessed it, support for oil drilling off America's shores has plummeted in response to the BP oil spill mess. Support might have remained constant or only dipped if BP had been truthful in all their statements. But no, BP just had to lie and keep the lies coming at a rapid pace. Americans are disgusted with the oil industry's cavalier attitude toward our wallets and our environment and our economy.
And, of course, the darlings of the oil industry are their political puppets they own lock, stock and barrel: the Republicans. Those crooked Republicans continue to block the lifting of the cap for British Petroleum's financial responsibility to the American taxpayers over this oil spill mess in the Gulf of Mexico. As usual, Big Business is too cheap to pay what they owe, whether for taxes - throwing that burden onto the middle class to pay for them, profiting by the billions of dollars in exchange for a few hundred or thousands jobs - or Big Business is too cheap to pay for their problems when they mess up on a gargantuan scale like the environmental disaster unfolding in the Gulf.
This story is good for the reason it gives you a blow by blow of how the United Nations process works.
Hillary Clinton: Russia, China to back new Iran nuclear sanctions (CSMonitor)
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council favor a fourth round of sanctions over the Iran nuclear program. It's seen as a response to Monday's nuclear fuel swap deal.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s surprise announcement during Senate testimony Tuesday morning – and her elaboration that both Russia and China are on board in supporting the new resolution – is seen in part as a Big Powers’ response to a deal struck with Iran Monday by Brazil and Turkey to move a portion of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile out of the country.
This story is worth the read for the detail of how economists have looked at this problem versus how the politicians have dominated the conversation on the air waves.
In Ohio, Obama says his policies have created jobs. Is that true? (CSMonitor)
......One thing that Obama can justly claim is that he inherited a very difficult situation when he took office early in 2009. The economy had come to the brink of collapse. It wasn't just Democrats, but also economists at places like the International Monetary Fund, who were calling for large government stimulus spending.
A year later, this January, the prevailing view among 50 economists surveyed by USA Today was that the Obama stimulus succeeded in saving many jobs. Unemployment would have hit 10.8 percent without the Recovery Act, according to their median estimate. The difference would translate into another 1.2 million lost jobs, USA Today said...
Many economists support key elements of the stimulus program, such as extended unemployment insurance, tax breaks for consumers, spending on infrastructure jobs, and aid to states to prevent massive layoffs or Medicaid cuts. Even with the stimulus, state and local governments have reduced employment over the past year. Some economists say more stimulus is needed to help launch a stronger jobs recovery...
This is something you don't see covered in the news. Just how does a government create jobs for 15 million people out of work - on a budget? Quite the dilemma.
Obama's job summit challenge: creating jobs on a budget (CSMonitor)
.......Some of the participants in the forum will urge Obama and Congress not to worry so much about deficits. Rather, they will argue, the government should spend to create jobs either indirectly through tax incentives that affect private employers, or directly by government spending on roads, green energy, or community service programs.
Their reasoning: Unemployment has become much worse than the White House envisioned when it made the case early this year for a $787 stimulus program. The federal debt is a significant long-run problem, fueled more by health care programs than by temporary stimulus efforts. The Treasury's fiscal troubles could actually be made worse, they add, if policymakers fail to get the economy moving........
Is anyone surprised at this reaction to the BP oil spill?
Poll: Support for More Offshore Oil Drilling Plummets (CBS)
Forty-six percent of Americans now say they support offshore drilling - a 16 point drop from the 64 percent who backed such drilling back in July of 2008, when "drill, baby, drill" was an oft-chanted Republican campaign slogan.
Forty-one percent, meanwhile, say the costs and risks of offshore drilling are too great - up from 28 percent in the summer of 2008.
The survey suggests a correlation between opinions on increased offshore drilling and party identification. Sixty-three percent of Republicans still favor new drilling, while 29 percent say the costs and risks are too great.
By contrast, just 34 percent of Democrats back increased drilling, while 55 percent oppose it. (Independents are nearly split, with 45 percent in favor and 39 percent opposed...)
Wall St. Reform Bill Matches Obama's Blueprint (CBS)
Washington Post: Obama Nears Second Major Legislative Win as Senate Nears Passage of Financial Reform Bill
...Passage of a 1,400-page bill to overhaul the nation's financial regulations would come just two months after Obama signed a landmark health-care overhaul. But in the case of financial regulation, much more so than with health care, the Senate bill largely reflects the administration's initial blueprint, despite the fervent efforts of lobbyists and lawmakers of all stripes to alter it.
The bill would, among other things, create an independent consumer watchdog aimed at protecting borrowers from lending abuses, establish oversight of the vast derivatives market and enable the government to wind down large, failing firms...
In January, commentators also wrote off the administration's "Volcker Rule" as dead on arrival. The provision calls for curbing the activities of big Wall Street banks, including a ban on owning hedge funds. The Volcker language now seems likely to survive, and it could grow more stringent in the days ahead.
Still, uncertainties remain. Big banks continue to lobby hard to weaken the Volcker Rule. Also in flux are new rules governing the $600 trillion derivatives market, particularly a controversial provision that could force banks to spin off their derivatives operations...
GOP Blocks Oil Spill Liability Bill (CBS)
Republicans for the second time blocked legislation that would increase oil companies' liability for oil spill damages, setting off criticism from Democrats seeking to make BP pay for the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) on Tuesday blocked a bill Democrats have put forward to raise the liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion. He said on the Senate floor he agrees the cap should be raised, but the Senate should "wait and see where the cap should be."
Obama to the Republicans blocking this legislation: "This maneuver threatens to leave taxpayers, rather than the oil companies, on the hook for future disasters like the BP oil spill," he said. "I urge the Senate Republicans to stop playing special interest politics and join in a bipartisan effort to protect taxpayers and demand accountability from the oil companies..."
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