Latest From Our Bloggers

Don't expect an answer from the ranters and ravers who frequent 'Tea Parties' — or the politicians who egg them on.

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During this week's edition of The Week In Blog on Bloggingheads.tv, Matt Lewis and I discussed blog reaction to the unveiling of the Senate's health care reform legislation, and how conservatives are responding to the Congressional Budget Office's projection of reduced deficits. Watch it below.

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Judge David. F. Hamilton was confirmed Thursday in the Senate to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals 59-39, after breaking a conservative filibuster Tuesday and persevering through a painstakingly delayed process. more »

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The dispute over whether or not a Texas wind farm receiving federal subsidies would source its components from a Chinese manufacturer has come to a more agreeable solution, with the partnering companies agreeing to open a 1,000 person turbine factory in the US more »

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Whether the Stupak amendment ends up in the final health care reform bill or is replaced by the more moderate compromises in the Senate bill, both the passage of the amendment and the almost immediate response that women and pro-choice progressives should "take one for the team" hold a lesson and a warning for both progressives and Democrats.

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There was a major victory for accountability this week in the financial reform fight, but there was also a demonstration that when it comes to protecting the profits of bankers at the expense of ordinary people, no institution does it better than the Party of No. more »

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The daily Progressive Breakfast serves up what progressive movement members need to know to start their day.

Paul-Grayson Fed Audit Plan Clears Committee

NYT on House committee vote repudiating Fed: "Mr. Paul, a libertarian Republican who has called for abolishing the Fed entirely, has introduced a version of his bill in every session of Congress since the early 1980s and never made any progress. But the Fed’s trillion-dollar efforts to bail out major banks and rescue the financial system provoked a popular firestorm that ignited both right-wing Republicans and left-wing Democrats. Mr. Paul’s amendment would instruct the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to carry out audits of all the Fed’s operations. Those include an array of emergency lending programs, bailouts of giant financial institutions, dealings with foreign central banks and the central bank’s efforts to drive down interest rates by intervening in bond markets. Mr. Frank had already agreed that the G.A.O. should be authorized to audit all of the Fed’s rescue programs, but he had wanted to wall off the Fed’s more basic job of setting interest rates to steer the economy."

Vote on overall financial reform package stalled by Black Caucus members demanding more action on economy. The Hill: "Frank delayed the panel’s final vote after Congressional Black Caucus members said they would withhold their votes. 'It has nothing to do with the underlying bill,' said Steve Adamske, Frank’s spokesman. 'It has to do with larger economic issues with the African American community.'"

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Representative John Kline (R-MN) and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) introduced legislation this week that keeps our broken student loan system in status quo, with corrupt private lenders and federal bank subsidies worth billions. more »

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Have you heard of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission? Their job is to assess the national security implications of the trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People's Republic of China. Actually, that’s a big deal, especially now. more »

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It turns out a Texas windmill farm developer's request last month for nearly half a billion in stimulus funds to create 2,000 jobs in China doesn't rank first on the audacity scale.

Shockingly for American taxpayers, and sadly for the staggering 10.2 percent of Americans who are unemployed, it doesn't even rank second.

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