“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Robert Reich: The Jobs Emergency

Washington’s latest answer to the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression is $26 billion in aid to state and local governments. This still leaves the states and locales more than $62 billion in the hole this fiscal year. And because every state except Vermont has to balance its budget, the likely result is 600,000 to 700,000 more state and local jobs vanishing over the next 12 months (including private contractors and other businesses that depend on state and local governments) according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Say goodbye to even more of the teachers, firefighters, sanitary workers, and police officers we depend on.

In July alone, state and local employment dropped 48,000. Not counting temporary census workers, the federal government shed 11,000. So with private payrolls increasing a paltry 71,000, July’s overall increase in payrolls was just 12,000.

Robert Kuttner: Who Are You Going to Believe — Tim Geithner or Your Own Lying Eyes?

The jobs situation stinks, even as corporate profits keep rising. Another 131,000 jobs were lost to the economy in July, according to the Labor Department’s latest report released Friday. The measured unemployment rate stayed stuck at 9.5 percent.

The only reason it wasn’t worse was because more workers gave up looking for nonexistent jobs, leaving a smaller labor force to measure against the meager supply of work. Small comfort.

Meanwhile, another important government report, by the Social Security Trustees, showed only a trivial improvement in the gap between what Social Security owes the next generation of retirees and the tax receipts that it can expect.

There is, of course, a direct connection between rising unemployment, declining wages, and the condition of Social Security. That’s because Social Security is funded by payroll taxes.

If wages had continued to rise with the growth of the economy’s productivity, instead of profits and bonuses taking an ever larger share, Social Security would be enjoying an endless surplus.

Based on recent trends and a dismally pessimistic projection of our economic future, Social Security’s Trustees assume wage growth of just 1.2 percent a year. But that can be changed by better policies.

Robert Reich: Notes From a Class Worrier

The decline of America’s middle class can be charted directly. In the three decades after World War II, the median wage (smack in the middle) grew rapidly, right along with productivity gains. Even as late as 1980, the richest 1 percent of Americans received only about 9 percent of the nation’s total income.

But starting in the 1980s — and increasingly since then — the economy has made the rich far richer without doing squat for the vast middle. The median hourly wage has barely grown, if you take inflation into account. Indeed, it dropped in the last so-called “recovery” between 2001 and 2007. And health-care and pension benefits have declined; we’ve gone from defined-benefit pensions to do-it-yourself pensions, while health insurance premiums, deductibles, and co-payments have skyrocketed.

Meanwhile, the rich have been getting a larger and larger portion of total income. From 9 percent in 1980, the top 1 percent’s take has increased to 23.5 percent in 2007. CEOs who in the 1970s took home 40 percent of the compensation of average workers now rake in 350 times. Financiers who forty years ago made only modest fortunes today, even after the Great Recession they helped bring on, routinely earn seven and eight-figures. In 2009, when most of the nation’s middle class was deep in recession, the 25 best-paid hedge-fund managers took in an average of $1 billion each. (Their marginal income tax, by the way, was barely over 17 percent, while the typical family paid a marginal tax far higher.)

Greg Sargent: The “responsible” argument against the Ground Zero mosque

Let’s label it the “responsible” argument against the Ground Zero mosque.

As you know, the Anti-Defamation League says it’s adamantly opposed to bigotry against Muslims. But it’s opposing the construction of the Islamic center near the site of the attacks on the grounds that it will cause pain to relatives of 9/11 victims, undermining the center’s stated goal of promoting reconciliation.

Chris Caldwell, a senior editor for the Weekly Standard, adds his voice to this argument, denouncing those who label the project’s foes bigots while insisting that the project is wrong because the 9/11 victimes “were killed in Islam’s name.” Andrew Sullivan responds to Caldwell here, skewering Caldwell’s “guilt by association.”

Eugene Robinson: Adm. Thad Allen on what can be learned from the gulf oil spill

Flying back to Washington from Pensacola, Fla., on June 15, President Obama and the man he put in charge of handling the gulf oil spill, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, had a come-to-Jesus talk. The administration was getting hammered for a slow and disorganized response to the environmental disaster, and the president wanted to know, then and there, what resources Allen needed to get the job done. Obama made clear, in Allen’s words, that “there would be no do-overs.”

That conversation aboard Air Force One marked what Allen, in a recent interview, told me was the “pivotal point” in the effort to contain the biggest spill in U.S. history. Allen said he told Obama that his most urgent problem wasn’t with anything that was taking place underwater or along the Gulf of Mexico coastline, but in the sky.

Eric Schmidt and Ivan Seidenberg: From Google and Verizon, a path to an open Internet

We have spent much of the past year trying to resolve our differences over the thorny issue of “network neutrality.” This hasn’t been an easy process, and Google and Verizon are neither regulators nor legislators. But as leaders in our respective fields, we have searched for workable public policies that serve consumer interests and create a climate for investment and innovation. What has kept us at the table and moving toward compromise was our mutual interest in a robust Internet and our recognition that progress would occur only when players from across the Internet space work together.

The we outlined Monday as a suggested policy framework for lawmakers translates these principles into a fully enforceable broadband Internet policy. In developing this framework, we were guided by two principles: our commitment to an open Internet, and the need for continued investment in broadband infrastructure, which is critical to U.S. global competitiveness.

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour a cup of your favorite morning beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 143 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in  1846, Smithsonian Institution was created. After a decade of debate about how best to spend a bequest left to America from an obscure English scientist, President James K. Polk signs the Smithsonian Institution Act into law.

In 1829, James Smithson died in Italy, leaving behind a will with a peculiar footnote. In the event that his only nephew died without any heirs, Smithson decreed that the whole of his estate would go to “the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” Smithson’s curious bequest to a country that he had never visited aroused significant attention on both sides of the Atlantic.

After the nephew died without heirs in 1835, President Andrew Jackson informed Congress of the bequest, which amounted to 104,960 gold sovereigns, or US$500,000 ($10,100,997 in 2008 U.S. dollars after inflation). The money, however, was invested in shaky state bonds that quickly defaulted. After heated debate in Congress, former President John Quincy Adams successfully argued to restore the lost funds with interest.  Congress also debated whether the federal government had the authority to accept the gift. Congress ultimately accepted the legacy bequeathed to the nation and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust July 1, 1836.

Eight years later, Congress passed an act establishing the Smithsonian Institution, a hybrid public/private partnership, and the act was signed into law on August 10, 1846 by James Polk. (See 20 U.S.C. § 41 (Ch. 178, Sec. 1, 9 Stat. 102).) The bill was drafted by Indiana Democratic Congressman Robert Dale Owen, a Socialist and son of Robert Owen, the father of the cooperative movement.

 610 – In Islam, the traditional date of the Laylat al-Qadr, when Muhammad began to receive the Qur’an.

955 – Battle of Lechfeld: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor defeats the Magyars, ending 50 years of Magyar invasion of the West.

991 – Battle of Maldon: English, led by Bryhtnoth, Duke of Essex, are defeated by a band of inland-raiding Vikings near Maldon in Essex.

1270 – Yekuno Amlak takes the imperial throne of Ethiopia, restoring the Solomonic dynasty to power after a 100-year interregnum.

1519 – Ferdinand Magellan’s five ships set sail from Seville to circumnavigate the globe. Second in command Sebastian Elcano, Basque navigator, completes the expedition after Magellan’s death in the Philippines.

1557 – Battle of St. Quentin: Spanish victory over the French in the Habsburg-Valois Wars.

1675 – The foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London is laid.

1680 – The Pueblo Revolt begins in New Mexico.

1776 – American Revolutionary War: word of the United States Declaration of Independence reaches London.

1792 – French Revolution: Storming of the Tuileries Palace. Louis XVI of France is arrested and taken into custody.

1809 – Quito, now the capital of Ecuador, declares independence from Spain. (The rebellion was crushed on August 2, 1810.)

1821 – Missouri is admitted as the 24th U.S. state.

1829 – First ascent of Finsteraarhorn, the highest summit of the Bernese Alps.

1846 – The Smithsonian Institution is chartered by the United States Congress after James Smithson donates $500,000 for such a purpose.

1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Wilson’s Creek – the war enters Missouri when a band of raw Confederate troops defeat Union forces in the southwestern part of the state.

1901 – The U.S. Steel Recognition Strike by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers begins.

1904 – Russo-Japanese War: the Battle of the Yellow Sea between the Russian and Japanese battleship fleets.

1905 – Russo-Japanese War: peace negotiations begin in Portsmouth.

1913 – Second Balkan War: delegates from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece sign the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the war.

1920 – World War I: Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI’s representatives sign the Treaty of Sevres that divides up the Ottoman Empire between the Allies.

1932 – A 5.1kg (11.2-pound) chondrite-type meteorite breaks into at least seven pieces and lands near the town of Archie in Cass County, Missouri.

1944 – World War II: American forces defeat the last Japanese troops on Guam.

1948 – Candid Camera makes its television debut after being on radio for a year as Candid Microphone.

1949 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act Amendment, streamlining the defense agencies of the United States government, and replacing the Department of War with the United States Department of Defense.

1954 – At Massena, New York, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Saint Lawrence Seaway is held.

1969 – A day after murdering Sharon Tate and four others, members of Charles Manson’s cult kill Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.

1971 – The Society for American Baseball Research is founded in Cooperstown, New York.

1977 – In Yonkers, New York, 24-year-old postal employee David Berkowitz (“Son of Sam”) is arrested for a series of killings in the New York City area over the period of one year.

1978 – Three members of the Ulrich family were killed in an accident. This leads to the Ford Pinto litigation.

1981 – Murder of Adam Walsh: The head of John Walsh’s son is found. Inspires the creation of the television series America’s Most Wanted.

1988 – Japanese American internment: U.S.

President Ronald Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, providing $20,000 payments to Japanese Americans who were either interned in or relocated by the United States during World War II.

1990 – The Magellan space probe reaches Venus.

1995 – Oklahoma City bombing: Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols are indicted for the bombing. Michael Fortier pleads guilty in a plea-bargain agreement for his testimony.

1998 – The Royal Proclamation of HRH Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah as the crown prince of Brunei.

2003 – The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK – 38.5 C (101.3 F) in Kent. It is the first time the UK has recorded a temperature over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

2003 – Yuri Malenchenko becomes the first person to marry in space.

2006 – Scotland Yard disrupts major terrorist plot to destroy aircraft traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States. All toiletries are banned from commercial airplanes.

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Crossposted at Daily Kos and Docudharma

PLEASE READ THIS: There’s another 25 or so cartoons in the comments section of this diary that I posted over at Daily Kos.

:: ::

:: ::

:: ::

SPECIAL REQUEST – Enter a drawing to win one of Sara R’s quilts

For many years now on Daily Kos, there are a number of community members who work extremely hard every single day to not only foster the idea of community but, also, to actively promote it.  The Community Quilt Project, KosAbility, Morning Feature, Top Comments, Diary Rescue, Overnight News Digest, High Impact Diaries, Pooties and Woozles, Black Kos, IGNT, Indians 101, and many, many others regular features are kept alive by dedicated people who give generously of themselves, without ever asking anything in return.  They do so for your daily reading pleasure and in the process, educate and enlighten all of us on a wide variety of political and policy issues.

Two of my favorite Kossacks — Sara R and navajo — who’ve worked hard to develop communities on Daily Kos have teamed up for a worthwhile cause to benefit the Indigenous Democratic Network.  For those of you have followed this weekly diary and supported it actively since April 2009, here’s a simple request: PLEASE DONATE GENEROUSLY TO THE INDN.

Thank you.

:: ::

pictured are Sara R (top left) and Meteor Blades with navajo at the Netroots Nation 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada

:: ::

INTRODUCTION

Climate Change has been foremost on the minds of many of the editorial cartoonists.  From flat out obstructionism of the Republican Party to the pervasive influence of old energy industry lobbyists to the timidity of many Democratic Senators, the issue is currently stalled in the United States Senate.  

Lowe offers his reasons as to why this legislation is proving to be a very difficult nut to crack.  Paraphrasing the late Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir, Lowe says that only when most people love their children more — and thus their future well-being — than paying higher energy costs in the short-term, will enough Americans be convinced of the threats posed by this most important of issues

Ultimately, cost is the siren song of the global warming hoax argument.  Never forget the old Nixonian admonition, “Follow the money.”  If there weren’t financial interests involved, there would be no point in arguing the issue.  After all, alternative energy development and environmental stewardship — something that benefits us all — go hand in hand.  If you need proof, look at the Gulf.

Oil companies fear the specter of alternative energy sources, which is why they fund so many studies showing that man has nothing to do with climate change, and why they pay so many members of congress to swallow the results of those studies whole.

Average people are predisposed to sing along with that choir, because the hoax argument plays to their fears about higher costs for everything, and possible loss of jobs.  Unfortunately, we live in the now, not the future, and right now, some of us in our myopia see nothing but hardship ahead if we follow the green road.

There’s a flip side to this argument, which is that until we find out for sure what is responsible for climate change, it might be prudent to pretend that man is the cause.

Ah, fuggedaboudit.  Let the future worry about itself.

:: ::

Steve Sack, Comics.com (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

I would highly recommend Seneca Doane‘s recent diary – The Predictable Attacks on Vaughn Walker — which analyzed the federal judge’s decision to reverse California’s bigoted law.  The law prohibited same-sex marriages and was deemed to be discriminatory towards members of the GLBT community

Walker writes about sex discrimination versus sexual orientation discrimination at some length, but I think he misses the point.  Sexual orientation discrimination is sexual discrimination.  Robert could marry Charles if he were Roberta.  Roberta could marry Charlene if she were Robert.  Each of them, if homosexual, is denied the right to marry the particular object of their love because of their own gender.  So I say that intermediate scrutiny applies (and suffices.)

Second, we’re beating around the bush here.  For many of the proponents of Prop 8, opposing gay marriage may not even be a matter of animus per se.  Instead, it’s the belief that “this is what God wants us to do,” coupled often with the Pat Robertson view that “if we don’t do what God wants, God will punish our nation.”

:: ::

Tim Eagan, Deep Cover, Buy this cartoon

Another Kossack, LI Mike, had a column published recently in the Southampton Press in which he analyzed the mindset of teabaggers and other wingnuts on the political Right.

He exposes their hypocrisy in a well-written article

What Is The Tea Party Really Saying?

It’s been about a year since the Tea Party exploded on the political scene.  Since then, I’ve tried to understand what exactly it is that they are trying to say to us.

This much I understand: The Tea Party is angry over deficit spending, big government and taxes.  Regarding the deficit, what took them so long to rise up and complain?  In 2002, Dick Cheney boasted, “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.”  Accordingly, the Bush administration proceeded to prove that deficits didn’t matter to them.  The unfunded Medicare Part D Drug Program, two unfunded wars-Iraq and Afghanistan-and massive tax cuts for the rich blew a huge hole in the budget surplus bequeathed to them by the Clinton administration, while simultaneously growing the size of government.  Better to wait for a Democratic administration to complain about all this red ink.

Read the rest of the article by LI Mike

:: ::

Immigration Anchorites by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, Buy this cartoon

Wingnuts invoke the United States Constitution when it suits their myopic thinking and bigoted ideas. Most editorial cartoonists are not easily fooled.  Among a number of other issues to which they devoted a lot of graphical ink and lent their considerable talents to include the aftermath of the Gulf Oil spill; the perceived damage by documents leaked by Wikileaks; lessons learned from the Shirley Sherrod Affair; and the sensitive issue of Immigration Reform.

There are about 95 editorial cartoons in this diary and I’ll probably post another 20-30 in the comments section.  Comments, observations, and suggestions are encouraged.  Thanks.

:: ::

1. Cartoons of the Week

Persistent Unemployment David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

Don Wright, Comics.com (Tribune Media Services)

Raising Arizona by Bruce Plante, see the large number of reader comments in Tulsa World, Buy this cartoon

Refudiate by Rob Rogers, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sarah Palin made up a word and then compared herself to William Shakespeare.  No, I am not making this up.  She used the word “refudiate” and then, after being told it wasn’t a word, claimed that English is a living language.  She tweeted, “Shakespeare liked to coin new words too.  Got to celebrate it!”  To be or not to be?  You Betcha!

— Rogers implies that Sarah Palin was definitely not an English major in college and that English might even be — not unlike George W. Bush — her second language.  Wonder how good she is at her first language

Gay Marriage by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, Buy this cartoon

Prop Infinity by Steve Greenberg, VCReporter (Ventura, CA), Buy this cartoon

Last Responder by Rob Rogers, Comics.com (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

The first responders to the 9/11 tragedy are sick.  They put their lives at risk to save others and now they need help from the government.  A 9/11 health bill failed in Congress because of partisan bickering.  Republicans voted against it.  Nice response, GOP!

— Rogers implies that when it really matters, time and again the Republican Party fails a group of people in need of government help

First Responders by Joe Heller, Green Bay Press-Gazette, Buy this cartoon

Fox and Sherrod by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

You Racist by Matt Bors, Comics.com (Idiot Box), see reader comments on Bors’ blog

Martyn Turner, Irish Times (Ireland), Buy this cartoon

Lloyd Dangle, Troubletown, Buy this cartoon

Tony Hayward’s Message in a Bottle by Iain Green, The Scotsman (Scotland), Buy this cartoon

BP’s Bad Ink Spill by J.D. Crowe, Mobile Register, Buy this cartoon

:: ::

2. What Lies Ahead in Our Energy Future?

Thomson mocks Rush Limbaugh for insisting that improvements in technology will not and cannot reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  This stance by the likes of Limbaugh also highlights a split between those in the GOP who are all-too-enamored with unfettered capitalism, tax cuts, corporate welfare, and the magic of the invisible hand in the “free market” versus those “status quo” conservatives terrified of change, particularly social change hastened by new advances.

Why do many social conservatives insist on being technological Luddites when evidence of progress is all around them to see in their daily lives?

The Chevy Volt, President Obama and Rush Limbaugh

Electric cars are a boondoggle according to Rush Limbaugh – “nothing more than an expensive way to promote the environmentalist agenda,” as Politico.com summarized Limbaugh’s views on such vehicles.  Rush has singled out the Chevy Volt, a car he claims has limited technology and a steep price tag.  Limbaugh seems unable to grasp the fact that over time technology improves and becomes far more affordable.  The first cell phone, for example, cost $4,000, weighed two pounds and could only go 30 minutes on a charge, according to msnbc.com.  Nowadays, cell phones weigh just ounces and are given out for free by service providers.

I’ll bet that back in the 1980s, before he was famous, Rush probably marveled at the brick-sized cell phone used by Michael Douglas’ character Gordon Geckko in the movie “Wall Street.”  Rush probably pulled out his three-pound, first-generation handheld calculator, did the math, and concluded that only rich Wall St. titans like Gekko could ever hope to afford big, cumbersome cell phone technology.

Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)

Tar Balls by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon

Joel Pett, Lexington Herald-Leader

Gulf Coast Vacations Patrick Chappatte, International Herald Tribune, Buy this cartoon

Rick McKee, Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, GA), Buy this cartoon  

:: ::

Editorial cartoonist Tom Toles of the Washington Post wrote scathingly about Climate Change denialists and the disingenuous tactics they use to discredit opponents

How long could I go before twisting this hot summer weather into some screed about climate change?  Apparently only this long. Deniers never tire of this game: when it’s cold in the winter, that’s “evidence” about climate trends, and when it’s warm in the winter, they say “If this is climate change, I’ll take it!”.  So why should I be any different?  But there IS a difference.  For deniers it’s all a big game of scoring cheap points.

For everyone else, the climate debate has been for decades now about the degree of conclusiveness of the evidence, measured against the practicalities of reducing carbon output.  Now, the evidence is massively supportive (the scientists’ e-mail “conspiracy” has been debunked, please be aware).  But because the pro-carbon people are still unprepared to reduce carbon in ANY meaningful way, they are cornered into a position where they have to argue that there is NO compelling evidence.  And so that is the position they take.

So let me be the first to haul out the heavy artillery of WWII analogies on this issue and call the climate legislation obstructionists the Neville Chamberlains of the planet.  We have SUV’s in our time.  If there is a current issue on which people are absolutely discrediting themselves, in a way that current science and future calamities will hold them accountable for, this is it.  “If this is responsibility, I’ll take it!”  Well, you’ve got it.

:: ::

3. The Ground Zero Mosque Controversy: Religious Tolerance and Compassion

Lowe offers a sensible solution to the building of the mosque near Ground Zero in New York City.  It is one devoid of emotion, bigotry, fear, and based on constitutional principle and the long-cherished American tradition of religious tolerance

First, it will take a leap of clear thinking on the part of some of us, but we should not confuse the religion of Islam with the motivations of the 9/11 terrorists.  To hold all Muslims responsible for the attack on the twin towers is no different from holding all Roman Catholics responsible for the terrorist acts of the Irish Republican Army in Ulster.

Second, those who will build this mosque are Americans.  As Americans, they feel the hurt and anger just as deeply as the rest of us.  There is an argument that American Muslims, in addition, feel a sense of betrayal that a belief system they cherish was perverted and used as an excuse for an inexcusable act of violence.  We must not forget that there were innocent Muslim victims, as well, in the towers when they were hit.

Maybe it’s best to approach this as a test of our will as a people.  We can never prevent all terrorist attacks, but we can prevent a terrorist victory by exercising our own strength of character.  Let the mosque be built, and let us embrace it.  By doing so, we will show the world that we refuse to give up the principles of freedom upon which this nation was based, even in the face of direct attack.

Other peoples will take notice, and the terrorists, while having achieved a tactical objective nine years ago, will have lost the war.

Mike Luckovich, Comics.com (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Signe Wilkinson, Comics.com (Philadelphia Daily News)

Drew Sheneman, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Newark Star-Ledger

Ground Zero by Adam Zyglis, Buffalo News, Buy this cartoon

Bill Day, Comics.com (Memphis Commercial-Appeal)

Insult to Ground Zero by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon

:: ::

4. California’s Prop 8/LBGT Rights: Equality Now, Equality Tomorrow, Equality Forever!

Thompson is aghast at the insensitivity shown by many of the political Right who seem to not only have no compassion for members of the LBGT community but often display outright hostility towards those who are not sexually straight.

History is the ultimate judge, Thompson points out, and such draconian views will not be favorably looked upon decades from now

Gay Marriage Ban Overturned

Let’s hope that with a federal judge striking down California’s ban on same sex marriage, American can finally exit a “what on earth were they thinking?” era.  There have been many such eras throughout American history: The era of slavery, the era of genocide carried out against Native Americans, the era of antagonism toward women’s suffrage, and the era of opposition to civil rights for African Americans.  All such eras have one thing in common: Future generations of Americans look back in amazement and disgust, wondering what on earth were people thinking when they advocated enslaving human beings, the slaughter of indigenous peoples, denying women the right to vote, or depriving black Americans their Constitutional rights.

Years from now, those who’ve fought so tirelessly against allowing gay Americans equal rights will be regarded with equal disdain.

Rex Babin, Sacramento Bee, Buy this cartoon

John Sherffius, Comics.com (Boulder Daily Camera)

Tony Auth, Slate/Philadelphia Inquirer

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

The Wedding Cake by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press

Tom Toles, Slate/Washington Post

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Matt Davies, New York State Journal

Bruce Beattie, Comics.com (Daytona Beach News Journal)

Mike Luckovich, Comics.com (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Steve Benson, Comics.com (Arizona Republic)

Mark Streeter, Savannah Morning News, Buy this cartoon

:: ::

5. Shirley Sherrod: of Racists and Racism

Stein is at a loss for words as to why the Obama Administration ignored recent racial history in its response in the Shirley Sherrod Affair.  Ever since Richard Nixon’s Southern Strategy was introduced in American politics over four decades ago, race-baiting has been a persisent theme (sometimes under the radar) in the Republican Party.

Let’s hope the administration learned its costly lesson: don’t be cowed by racists; instead, confront them directly

The far right understands all too well how easy it is to whip up white resentment with a black man in the oval office, and shamelessly looks for ways to fan those flames.  It’s sad and despicable, but we should be used to that by now.  What’s almost as sad is how easy it was to spook the folks who should be standing firm against such disgusting behavior, and how badly they reacted.

Given the events of the recent past, we can look for the Breitbarts of the world to continue their high-tech lynchings. So much for post-racial America.

Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)

Obama Administration Throws Shirley Sherrod Under the Bus by Chris Btitt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

Don Wright, Comics.com (Tribune Media Services)

Bloggers Rule, too! by Bruce Plante, see the large number of reader comments in Tulsa World, Buy this cartoon

Scott Stantis, Comics.com (Chicago Tribune)

:: ::

6. The Economy: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!

Stein thinks that he has the perfect solution to combat chronic long-term unemployment in the country: get rid of all illegal aliens and maintain the Bush tax cuts.  As the rich get richer, Trickle-down economics will work its miracles and, lo and behold, all kinds of benefits will trickle down to the rest of us!  

It’s the Jobs, Stupid

Jobs is the number one issue for Americans, according to recent polling. Ever anxious to help, I am proposing a solution to the vexing problem of persistent unemployment.  Even better, my resolution includes ending illegal immigration AND extending tax cuts, all in one elegant package!

Owership Society is Trickledown Economics Renamed by Andy Singer, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon

Jim Morin, Miami Herald

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Pressing Problem by Nick Anderson, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Houston Chronicle

David Horsey, see reader comments in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Don Wright, Comics.com (Tribune Media Services)

Eat Your Vegetables by Tom Toles, Washington Post

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)

Stuart Carlson, Slate/Universal Press Syndicate

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

:: ::

7. Immigration Reform: Who Stays, Who Goes?

Lowe points out that Immigration Reform is a very touchy issue and whatever compromise is eventually reached, it will be unsatisfying to most proponents and opponents alike.  There seems to be no acceptable middle ground in sight  

At the same time, we would build a crenellated Great Wall of America across our southern border, with embrasures every dozen feet or so, that would afford a clear field of fire for the crossbowmen to keep the barbarian hordes at bay.

Of course, we’d all have to eat off paper plates because no dishes would get washed, and we’d need machetes just to get through our front lawns. Fruit and vegetables?  An ounce of Beluga caviar would be cheaper than a chicken Caesar salad.

While it might offend the moral sticklers if a way were found to legalize (some would say, “reward”) those already here, it’s probably the only realistic solution in the long run.  But reason is trumped by emotion when it comes to getting people to pull out their checkbooks.

Henry Payne, Comics.com (Detroit News)

Crosswords by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

Arizona Law Struck Down by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

Judge Blocks Enforcement of Arizona’s Immigration Law by Chris Britt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

Arizona Immigration Law by Bob Englehart, Hartford Courant, Buy this cartoon

I think a balanced and even-handed approach is the only thing that will work, which eliminates the suggestions from the insane right wing.  I’d like to see a path to citizenship for the 11 million now here, increased penalties for employers of illegals, and secure borders not only with Mexico, but with Canada, too, if it’s shown that it’s a four-lane highway for terrorists.

— Englehart proposes what might be a workable solution

:: ::

8. Republican, Tea Party, and Wingnut Doings

Thompson thinks that the Tea Party is potentially trouble for the GOP in the November Elections — provided Democratic candidates can exploit this division.  That’s a big if!

Tea Party candidates on the Michigan ballot?

On the one hand, it has to be Michigan Democrats who are behind the effort to get counterfeit Tea Party candidates on the state ballot this November, thereby siphoning votes away from Republicans. It’s a master political stroke; it’s a sophisticated and imaginative move that will cause the Republican’s attack dog to bite its master. It demonstrates savvy, along with a keen understanding of how the game of politics is played.

On the other hand, these are Democrats I’m talking about.

Clay Jones, Freelance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), Buy this cartoon

David Cohen, Asheville Citizen-Times

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Paul Szep, Comics.com

Sparky Predicts: Bogus Wingnut Scandals of the Future by Tom Tomorrow, This Modern World, see Letters to the Editor in Salon magazine

Glenn Beck Going Blind by Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com, Buy this cartoon

:: ::

9. Motivating the Democrats for the November Elections

Matt Wuerker, Politico

(click link to enlarge cartoon

in Wuerker’s July archives)

Gay Marriages by Bruce Plante, see reader comments in Tulsa World, Buy this cartoon

The Bozos of the 2010 Campaign by David Horsey, see reader comments in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

:: ::

10. Final Thoughts

:: ::

A Note About the Diary Poll

:: ::

Do you always vote in off-year Congressional elections?  If so, when was the first time you cast your vote in a presidential or non-presidential year election? Has it always been for Democratic Party candidates?  I don’t have to point out that this is a very important election and I hope you will try to persuade as many acquaintances, friends, and family members as possible to support Democratic candidates.

Every day on these pages you read diaries with many members of this community trying to persuade you to not only vote but also encourage others to do the same.  I hope you will consider one more appeal that I received this past Friday, August 6th, the 45th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.

(Republican Strategy for November by Jimmy Margulies,

New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon)

:: ::

I received an email yesterday from a man who I’ve written about before

As a young man and Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), John Lewis was in the trenches with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. throughout the difficult years of the Civil Rights Movement.  Beaten, humiliated, and imprisoned for his beliefs, Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) persisted, endured, and ultimately prevailed over his oppressors. As one of the truly inspirational leaders of the country, his is a story of the triumph of quiet courage and morality over institutional racism and injustice. His struggles and sacrifices have made this a better country.

A man of impeccable political integrity and uncommon decency, Congressman Lewis recounted the struggle to achieve voting rights for all Americans in his email

Then SNCC leader, now Congressman John Lewis led the first Selma-to-Montgomery march for voting rights on March 7, 1965, when 600 marchers were attacked by police in riot gear, who fractured Lewis’ skull on a day remembered as Bloody Sunday.  Before going to the hospital, Lewis appeared before television cameras demanding intervention by President Johnson, who, eight days later, appeared before a joint session of Congress to demand passage of the Voting Rights Act.  It was passed Aug. 3, 1965. photo/caption credit:  San Francisco Bay View

:: ::

On March 7th, 1965, 600 of us lined up to walk from Selma to Montgomery, to march for voting rights.

When we tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River, we were met by state troopers.  They attacked us with tear gas, bullwhips, and nightsticks.

It became known as Bloody Sunday, and the national outcry over the brutality that day led to the enactment, exactly 45 years ago today, of the Voting Rights Act.

The progress we’ve made since then is remarkable.

But the expansion of voting rights for millions did not happen overnight. It was the product of a continued struggle, by many people, over many years.

And just as change did not come easily then, it does not come easily now…

When I was a child, I tasted the bitter fruits of racial discrimination — and I did not like it.

That was what spurred me to act.  In those early days, we sacrificed our very selves for our rights as Americans.  But we never gave up.

And now barriers that kept an entire people from full participation in this country have been removed.

No longer are people who look like me met with violence when we register to vote.

No longer is the idea that an African American could become president just a dream.

We live in a better world, a better country.

But our work is not complete. We cannot wait for someone else to make change.

We must all do it.  You must do it.  I must do it.

:: ::

Election Winners by Larry Wright, Detroit News, Buy this cartoon

:: ::

 Loading ...

(10 am – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Well, sorta.  I’m not Harry Kemelman and this isn’t Barnard’s Crossing.    And it’s not 1964, though on some levels it feels like it.  I mean: there are a zillion right wing nutjobs trying to repeal the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution and deport 15 million people, and somehow those terrible ideas aren’t even being greeted with even the vituperation Barry Goldwater got when he suggested carpet bombing Vietnam back into the stone age (as if that were possible without killing everyone on Earth).  On the vituperate scale, Barry G got a 6.  The current mischagas gets about a 4.  Or less.  What I’m talking about is a country gone insane.  Just like 1964.

I know.  It’s hot.  Very hot.  When it’s August, all of the psychiatrists go to Martha’s Vineyard for the month, leaving behind voicemails that tell their distraught clientele to go to the emergency room if they need to.  If I were having cocktails right now in Chilmark, and I hasten to say that I’m not, I’d probably think that such a message was a good idea too.  But it’s not.  It doesn’t take into consideration the overwhelming, gigantic epidemic of mental disease and delusion now festering in America in the form of amnesiac tea baggers, Glenn Beck devotees,  birthers, racists, kooks of all stripes,  dittoheads and a Republican Congress that for all its orange skin and blow dried hair should have its own chapter in the DSM IV.  Yes, I know.  These loons don’t have shrinks who are on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard.  Correct.  The people whose shrinks are in Martha’s Vineyard, people like me, living in New York and Boston, are in far worse condition: they’re sweltering in an apartment that cannot make it cooler than 80 degrees, the air is awful, and the only thing on the tube is the constant, annoying blathering of people so deranged that they throw even those like me, those with minor, urban, post information age neuroses into serious crisis.  You could take me for an example.

Let’s look at one thing, ok?  I heard today that the oil from the BP spill is all but disappeared and that soon Louisiana fisherman are going to start fishing and shrimping again.  Because, allegedly, that’s now safe and we all believe the Government and the pants-on-fire team at BP about that.  It’s safe?  I’ll believe it when I see BP’s executives eating oysters off the halfshell. Till then,  I’m sorry,  I can’t accept that.  Oil and all that Corexit, all gone now?  Nonsense.  In fact, these stories enrage me.  They are, to me, like tickling dynamite with a blowtorch.  If I had a shrink, I’d be speed dialing already.  “Help me,” I’d whimper, grasping the Blackberry in icy, flinching hands, “The most violent, greedy, despicable inmates have taken over the asylum.  And I need your help to deal with it.”

I know Obama and the Democrats were supposed to be able to play 11-dimensional chess when they took over.  Right now, I’m wondering whether they can even play checkers.  It’s too hot to be charitable, and the neighbors, that is, the other occupants of this country, are becoming louder and more deranged every day.  The summer heat is making the country even more insane.

Maybe what I need is a cocktail and a new outgoing message.

simulposted at The Dream Antilles and dailyKos

Keith and Rachel all night long.  Jon is repeating August 3rd- Will Ferrell, Stephen August 4th- Michael Posner.  David is also in repeats, from way back on June 23rd- Adam Sandler and Bettye LaVette.  Leno is at least live with Howie Mandel and Mike Posner (again, must have a book out).

Thank goodness for Adult Swim (though napping might be a good alternative).

• AMC– Michael Clayton again.  If I wanted to see it I would have watched the first time.  Rubicon repeat.
• ESPN– Cards @ Reds
• ABC Family– Secret Life of the American Teenager (premier) x 2.  Family oriented programming for Caribou Barbie.
• FX– Click.  Adam Sandler (click).
• History– Pawn Stars, American Pickers
• SciFi– Warehouse 13.1, Eureka crossover repeat.
• Discovery– Cash Cab in Vegas (new)
• TBS– Family Guy night
• Turner Classic– Splendor in the Grass (Warren Beatty night)
• TLC– Cake Boss night
• TNT– The Closer (last week’s and premier)
• Toon– Premier night, Adventure Time With Finn & Jake, Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Total Drama World Tour, Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated
• Travel– Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (premier)
• Disney– Another repeat of Summer Belongs to You

Later-

Well I’ve really sucked all the air out of it.  Alton does Oranges.  Shadowman 9: In the Cradle of Destiny is full of information about the the Guild of Calamitous Intent and the mysterious ‘Council of 13’.

• AMC– Yesterday’s Mad Men
• Comedy– Futurama repeats
• FX– Mr. 3000 (better than it should be)
• Turner Classic– Reds

Yahoo TV Listings

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 BP moves to well kill, kicks off compensation fund

By Pascal Fletcher and Anna Driver, Reuters

1 hr 41 mins ago

2 Iraq arms traffic cops against insurgent attacks

By Muhanad Mohammed, Reuters

Mon Aug 9, 11:29 am ET

3 Afghan police probe foreign medic killings

by Claire Truscott, AFP

Sun Aug 8, 4:11 pm ET

4 Onus shifts to US Fed after jobs slump

by Andrew Beatty, AFP

Sun Aug 8, 7:56 pm ET

5 Saudis hold breath on BlackBerry ban

AFP

Mon Aug 9, 9:12 am ET

6 Battered Balkan men struggle to overcome social stigma

by Suzana Markovic, AFP

Sun Aug 8, 6:46 pm ET

7 Campbell contradicted in court over diamonds

by Mariette le Roux, AFP

Mon Aug 9, 12:03 pm ET

8 Kagame set for landslide win in Rwanda poll

by Helen Vesperini, AFP

Mon Aug 9, 8:36 am ET

9 Crabs provide evidence oil tainting Gulf food web

By JOHN FLESHER, AP Environmental Writer

34 mins ago

10 Gulf relief well down to final, tricky 100 feet

By JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press Writer

19 mins ago

11 Officials: Belt-tightening will cut major command

By ANNE GEARAN and ANNE FLAHERTY, AP National Security Writer

1 hr 20 mins ago

12 Chrysler sees smaller loss but tough work remains

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Auto Writer

1 hr 2 mins ago

13 Sorting when early memory loss signals big threat

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

2 hrs 9 mins ago

14 Farrow, Campbell draw spotlight to war-crime trial

By TOBY STERLING, Associated Press Writer

21 mins ago

15 House members scurry back to pass jobs bill

By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer

Mon Aug 9, 9:04 am ET

16 Charity plans to stay in Afghan despite murders

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer

29 mins ago

17 Victims of Afghan massacre gave years of service

KRISTEN WYATT and ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writers

Sun Aug 8, 5:58 pm ET

18 First woman to head major US intelligence agency

By KIMBERLY DOZIER, Associated Press Writer

Mon Aug 9, 11:17 am ET

19 Wealthy political newcomers are spending big

By JULIET WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer

Mon Aug 9, 11:55 am ET

20 Briton first known man to walk Amazon River

By FILIPE ALMEIDA, Associated Press Writer

18 mins ago

21 From humble to rumble: Sturgis turns 70

By JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press Writer

Mon Aug 9, 3:54 am ET

22 US military judge seals sentence for Gitmo inmate

By MIKE MELIA, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 40 mins ago

23 Woman in HP scandal "saddened" by CEO’s ouster

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer

Sun Aug 8, 11:13 pm ET

24 Mayor of poor NJ city offers library rescue plan

By BETH DeFALCO, Associated Press Writer

32 mins ago

25 UN chief defends his record fighting corruption

By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer

47 mins ago

26 Gold thefts prompt police to monitor sellers

By CARRIE ANTLFINGER, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 29 mins ago

27 Alabama’s biggest casino closes as raid looms

By PHILLIP RAWLS, Associated Press Writer

2 hrs 34 mins ago

28 Statue of Liberty to get new staircase for safety

By COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press Writer

Mon Aug 9, 6:09 am ET

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

A recent Army report released showed the rate of suicides has been on a steady increase with this past June being the worst with 32 active and reserve soldiers taking their own lives either while still deployed or after their return home. This past Sunday on This Week , Christiane Amanpour interviewed Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the general in charge of the U.S. Army’s efforts to reduce the epidemic of suicide among U.S. soldiers.

Of course the true solution to suicide prevention for the troops is to bring them home, all of them.

Listen to her interview with Gen. Chiaelli about the report, its causes and the solutions for prevention. Transcript link is here

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Glenn Greenwald: Marriage and the role of the state

Ross Douthat uses his New York Times column today  to put what he undoubtedly considers to be the most intellectual and humane face on the case against marriage equality.  Without pointing to any concrete or empirical evidence, Douthat insists that lifelong heterosexual monogamy is objectively superior to all other forms of adult relationships:  such arrangements are the “ideal,”  he pronounces.  He argues that equal treatment of same-sex marriages by secular institutions will make it impossible, even as a matter of debate and teaching, to maintain the rightful place of heterosexual monogamy as superior:

   

The point of this ideal is not that other relationships have no value, or that only nuclear families can rear children successfully. Rather, it’s that lifelong heterosexual monogamy at its best can offer something distinctive and remarkable — a microcosm of civilization, and an organic connection between human generations — that makes it worthy of distinctive recognition and support. . . . .

   If this newer order completely vanquishes the older marital ideal, then gay marriage will become not only acceptable but morally necessary. . . . But if we just accept this shift, we’re giving up on one of the great ideas of Western civilization: the celebration of lifelong heterosexual monogamy as a unique and indispensable estate.  That ideal is still worth honoring, and still worth striving to preserve. And preserving it ultimately requires some public acknowledgment that heterosexual unions and gay relationships are different:  similar in emotional commitment, but distinct both in their challenges and their potential fruit.

   But based on Judge Walker’s logic — which suggests that any such distinction is bigoted and un-American — I don’t think a society that declares gay marriage to be a fundamental right will be capable of even entertaining this idea.

This argument is radically wrong, and its two principal errors nicely highlight why the case against marriage equality is so misguided.

E.J. Dionne Jr.: Chris Dodd, the Senate’s happy warrior

When it comes to the role and functioning of the U.S. Senate, my rather dyspeptic views could not be more at odds with those of Chris Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who is retiring at the end of the year.

I’ve reached the point where I’d abolish the Senate if I could. It is more profoundly undemocratic than it was when the Founders created it and less genuinely deliberative — problems compounded by a Republican minority’s strategy of delay and obstruction.

Dodd, on the other hand, is a second-generation senator (his father, Tom, served from 1959 to 1971) who reveres the institution. He recently earned a lot of scolding on progressive blogs by defending some of its odd habits and criticizing efforts to reform the filibuster.

William Saletan: Mosque Uprising

Islam and the emerging religious threat to our Constitution.

Islamophobia is on the march. In New York, opponents of a Muslim community center and mosque are trying to stop its construction near the site of the 9/11 attacks. Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, is leading a jihad to nationalize the mosque fight and turn it into a culture war over “Islamism.” Meanwhile, uprisings against mosque construction have broken out in Tennessee, California, and Wisconsin. “I learned that in 20 years with the rate of the birth population, we will be overtaken by Islam, and their goal is to get people in Congress and the Supreme Court to see that Shariah is implemented,” a Tea Party activist tells the New York Times. “I do believe everybody has a right to freedom of religion. But Islam is not about a religion. It’s a political government, and it’s 100 percent against our Constitution.”

It’s true that our Constitution is under threat. But that threat isn’t coming from Muslims. They’re less than 1 percent of the U.S. population, according to a report issued last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. To mess with the Constitution, you’d need a majority. The sort of majority you’d find, say, in the backlash against the New York mosque. And you’d need a charismatic ideologue, or at least a shrewd opportunist, to galvanize that majority into a political force. In this case, Gingrich.

David Weigel: Lame-Duck Quackery

Newt Gingrich takes command of the campaign to cancel the post-election session of Congress.

Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., won his last election on Nov. 3, 1998. Not enough of his fellow Republicans came with him. Gingrich’s party lost five seats in the House of Representatives after a year exploring impeachment charges against President Bill Clinton. Gingrich, who was House speaker, acknowledged the unexpected setback by announcing his resignation. His final act of power was to call a lame-duck session of Congress to deal with the impeachment.

Democrats were horrified and helpless. As far as they were concerned, the election had been a referendum on impeachment, and the Republicans had lost it. Republicans who were retiring or being replaced by Democrats were going to provide votes for impeachment that wouldn’t be there when the new, Gingrich-free Congress took over in January. “Listen to the American people,” said Democratic investigative counsel Abbe Lowell, one of many members of his party who spent weeks wringing hands, pointing at polls, and watching the impeachment train chug along.

Joe Conason: Democrats deserve credit — not blame — on ethics

Voters angered by corruption should laud Nancy Pelosi’s reforms (and beware a Republican restoration)

Clarity of thought is rare in both political press coverage and public opinion, but the reaction so far to the House ethics cases brought against Reps. Charles Rangel and Maxine Waters is well beyond average stupid.

According to conventional media wisdom — always heavily influenced by Republican noisemakers — the should expect to suffer because two powerful committee chairs from their party are undergoing ethics investigations. But why should Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats take the blame when they brought reform that led to those investigations, regardless of the political consequences?

Yet, having thrown out the bums who tolerated corruption for so long under Republican leadership, the public is supposedly itching to throw out their replacements, who have reformed the House rules, created a new Office of Congressional Ethics, and handled every case impartially, as promised when the Democrats took over in January 2007. Voters have plenty of reasons to feel frustrated and angry this year, but ethics reform is not among them.

America Goes Dark

By PAUL KRUGMAN, The New York Times

Published: August 8, 2010

(A) large part of our political class is showing its priorities: given the choice between asking the richest 2 percent or so of Americans to go back to paying the tax rates they paid during the Clinton-era boom, or allowing the nation’s foundations to crumble – literally in the case of roads, figuratively in the case of education – they’re choosing the latter.

…

But isn’t keeping taxes for the affluent low also a form of stimulus? Not so you’d notice. When we save a schoolteacher’s job, that unambiguously aids employment; when we give millionaires more money instead, there’s a good chance that most of that money will just sit idle.

…

The antigovernment campaign has always been phrased in terms of opposition to waste and fraud – to checks sent to welfare queens driving Cadillacs, to vast armies of bureaucrats uselessly pushing paper around. But those were myths, of course; there was never remotely as much waste and fraud as the right claimed. And now that the campaign has reached fruition, we’re seeing what was actually in the firing line: services that everyone except the very rich need, services that government must provide or nobody will, like lighted streets, drivable roads and decent schooling for the public as a whole.

Monday Business Edition is an Open Thread

1 BP spends $6.1 bln on Gulf spill response

AFP

57 mins ago

2 BP faces ‘large financial penalty’: US environment chief

by Michael Mathes, AFP

Sun Aug 8, 1:10 pm ET

3 US urges focus on clean-up, sea damage after BP spill

by Kerry Sheridan, AFP

Sun Aug 8, 12:46 pm ET

4 BP may re-drill near Gulf of Mexico oil well site

by Erica Berenstein, AFP

Fri Aug 6, 10:12 pm ET

5 Saudis hold breath on BlackBerry ban

AFP

1 hr 17 mins ago

6 Saudi regulator delays BlackBerry ban to test ‘solutions’

AFP

Sun Aug 8, 9:03 am ET

7 Onus shifts to US Fed after jobs slump

by Andrew Beatty, AFP

Sun Aug 8, 7:56 pm ET

8 Putin sows controversy with Russia grain ban

by Stuart Williams, AFP

Sat Aug 7, 11:04 pm ET

9 Hewlett-Packard boss resigns after sex probe

AFP

Sat Aug 7, 4:41 am ET

10 Latest jobs data is blow to Obama election hopes

by Tangi Quemener, AFP

Sat Aug 7, 2:18 am ET

11 China’s savings rate ‘to drop in coming decade’

by Hui Min Neo, AFP

Sun Aug 8, 2:16 am ET

12 Fears over plan to sell strategic Georgian pipeline

by Michael Mainville, AFP

Sat Aug 7, 11:58 pm ET

13 As economy recovers, Germans eye a pay rise

by Mathilde Richter, AFP

Sat Aug 7, 11:44 pm ET

14 Reformers gain a toehold in Nigerian corruption fight

by Joel Olatunde Agoi, AFP

Sat Aug 7, 11:05 pm ET

15 Bolivians on hunger strike, cut rail links to Chile

AFP

Sat Aug 7, 10:17 pm ET

16 US economy sheds 131,000 jobs

by Andrew Beatty, AFP

Fri Aug 6, 5:59 pm ET

17 Caution prevails, but volatility seen lower

By Angela Moon, Reuters

Sun Aug 8, 5:14 am ET

18 Asian mills eye Aussie wheat as traders scrap deals

By Naveen Thukral and Ruma Paul, Reuters

1 hr 43 mins ago

19 Fed debates winding road to more easing

By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa, Reuters

Sun Aug 8, 3:07 pm ET

20 Ex-HP CEO Mark Hurd settled with contractor

By Gabriel Madway, Reuters

Sun Aug 8, 12:42 am ET

21 Weak private hiring shows recovery on the ropes

By Lucia Mutikani, Reuters

Fri Aug 6, 4:54 pm ET

22 Berkshire net down 40 percent on derivative losses

By Jonathan Stempel, Reuters

Fri Aug 6, 6:57 pm ET

23 BOJ eyes yen; may opt for minor easing if moves sharp

By Leika Kihara, Reuters

Sun Aug 8, 7:09 pm ET

24 BP plans to continue relief well work this week

By JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 37 mins ago

25 Hurricane could bring bureaucratic delays to Gulf

By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer

Mon Aug 9, 4:06 am ET

26 Crabs provide evidence oil tainting Gulf food web

By JOHN FLESHER, AP Environmental Writer

2 hrs 35 mins ago

27 Woman in HP scandal "saddened" by CEO’s ouster

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer

Sun Aug 8, 11:13 pm ET

28 Bahrain says no plans to ban BlackBerry services

By ADAM SCHRECK, AP Business Writer

Sun Aug 8, 4:38 pm ET

29 Cash-hungry states add casinos, lure same gamblers

By WAYNE PARRY and STEPHEN SINGER, Associated Press Writers

Sun Aug 8, 7:38 pm ET

30 Hawaii sugar grower working to power Navy

By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press Writer

Mon Aug 9, 3:15 am ET

31 Northwest wineries seek growing Chinese market

By GEORGE TIBBITS, Associated Press Writer

Sun Aug 8, 3:29 pm ET

32 Medicare’s private eyes let fraud cases get cold

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer

Sun Aug 8, 9:07 am ET

On this day in 1974, one day after the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford is sworn in as president, making him the first man to assume the presidency upon his predecessor’s resignation. He was also the first non-elected vice president and non-elected president, which made his ascendance to the presidency all the more unique.

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. As the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, when he became President upon Richard Nixon’s  resignation on August 9, 1974, he also became the only President of the United States who was elected neither President nor Vice-President.

Before ascending to the vice-presidency, Ford served nearly 25 years as Representative from Michigan’s 5th congressional district, eight of them as the Republican Minority Leader.

As President, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, marking a move toward detente in the Cold War. With the conquest of South Vietnam by North Vietnam nine months into his presidency, US involvement in Vietnam essentially ended. Domestically, Ford presided over what was then the worst economy since the Great Depression, with growing inflation and a recession during his tenure. One of his more controversial acts was to grant a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. During Ford’s incumbency, foreign policy was characterized in procedural terms by the increased role Congress began to play, and by the corresponding curb on the powers of the President. In 1976, Ford narrowly defeated Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination, but ultimately lost the presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Following his years as president, Ford remained active in the Republican Party. After experiencing health problems and being admitted to the hospital four times in 2006, Ford died in his home on December 26, 2006. He lived longer than any other U.S. president, dying at the age of 93 years and 165 days.

August 9 is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 144 days remaining until the end of the year.

48 BC – Caesar’s civil war: Battle of Pharsalus – Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt.

378 – Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople – A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens is defeated by the Visigoths in present-day Turkey. Valens is killed along with over half of his army.

681 – Bulgaria is founded as a Khanate on the south bank of the Danube, after defeating the Byzantine armies of Emperor Constantine IV south of the Danube delta.

1173 – Construction of the Tower of Pisa begins, and it takes two centuries to complete.

1329 – Quilon the first Indian Diocese is erected by Pope John XXII and Jordanus is appointed the first Bishop

1483 – Opening of the Sistine Chapel

1810 – Napoleon annexes Westphalia as part of the First French Empire.

1814 – Indian Wars: The Creek sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson, giving up huge parts of Alabama and Georgia.

1842 – Webster-Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States-Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.

1854 – Henry David Thoreau published Walden.

1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Cedar Mountain – At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson narrowly defeats Union forces under General John Pope.

1877 – Indian Wars: Battle of Big Hole – A small band of Nez Percé Indians clash with the United States Army.

1892 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.

1902 – Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

1917 – The first Boy Scout encampment concludes at Brownsea Island in Southern England.

1936 – Summer Olympic Games: Games of the XI Olympiad: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games becoming the first American to win four medals in one Olympiad.

1942 – Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement.

1942 – World War II: Battle of Savo Island – Allied naval forces protecting their amphibious forces during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal are surprised and defeated by an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser force.

1944 – The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time.

1944 – Continuation war: Vyborg-Petrozavodsk Offensive, the largest offensive launched by Soviet Union against Finland during Second World War, ends to strategic stalemate. Both Finnish and Soviet troops at Finnish front dug to defensive positions, and the front remains stable until the end of the war.

1945 – World War II: Nagasaki is devastated when an atomic bomb, “Fat Man”, is dropped by the United States B-29 Bockscar. 39,000 people are killed outright.

1965 – Singapore was expelled from Malaysia and became the first, and only country to gain independence unwillingly.

1965 – A fire at a Titan missile base near Searcy, Arkansas kills 53 construction workers.

1969 – Members of a cult led by Charles Manson brutally murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate (wife of Roman Polanski), coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Polish actor Wojciech Frykowski, men’s hairstylist Jay Sebring, and recent high-school graduate Steven Parent.

1971 – Internment in Northern Ireland: British security forces arrest hundreds of nationalists and detain them without trial in Long Kesh prison. Twenty people die in the riots that follow.

1974 – As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, becomes president.

1977 – The military-controlled Government of Uruguay announces that it will return the nation to civilian rule through general elections in 1981 for a President and Congress.

1988 – Wayne Gretzky is traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in one of the most controversial player transactions in ice hockey history, upsetting many Canadians that some considered him a “traitor” to his home country.

1993 – The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership.

1999 – Russian President Boris Yeltsin fires his Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.

1999 – The Diet of Japan enacts a law establishing the Hinomaru and Kimi Ga Yo as the official national flag and national anthem.

2001 – US President George W. Bush announces his support for federal funding of limited research on embryonic stem cells.

2007 – Emergence of the Financial crisis of 2007-2008 when a liquidity crisis resulted from the Subprime mortgage crisis