Reason Morning Links: Sotomayor Questioning Begins, Federal Deficit Hits $1 Trillion, New Surgeon General

Radley Balko | July 14, 2009

• Senators take Sotomayor hearings as opportunity to talk about themselves; Sotomayor gives first of presumably many non-answers, says her judicial philosophy is "fidelity to the law."

• After four months, America may soon finally have a new surgeon general. Unclear how we've avoided mass plagues, epidemics, and inadvertently killing ourselves this long without one.

• Federal budget deficit tops $1 trillion for the first time.

• Obama's "car czar" quits after six months on the job.

• Obama pushing Senate to rush health care bill before August recess.

Comments

Art-P.O.G.|7.14.09 @ 6:43AM|#

Rattner lasted as Auto Czar about as long as I lasted at Burger King, but resigned amidst more scandal than I did.

|7.14.09 @ 8:20AM|#

Rattner's smart to leave before the gov.autos start their slide into oblivion. In his memoirs, he can say it was the asshats after him, who fucked it all up.

Rich|7.14.09 @ 8:43AM|#

Wrt the Sotomayor questioning, participating Senator Cardin really wants to know: "If you could participate, what would you ask her?".

Some good ones were bandied about yesterday.

http://cardin.senate.gov/contact/form_sotomayor.cfm

Rich|7.14.09 @ 8:55AM|#

If the congresscreatures are clever enough to come up with legislation "that can ensure quality, affordable [health] care for every American, [and] lower costs", why don't they do that for *everything*?

|7.14.09 @ 8:58AM|#

Hopefully Rattner will be writing his memoirs from a jail cell. The public fund finders fee scandal was some crooked shit.

|7.14.09 @ 9:00AM|#

From doesn't make sense. How about IN a jail cell.

|7.14.09 @ 9:05AM|#

Rattner lasted as Auto Czar about as long as I lasted at Burger King

Please make a broken-down old man happy and tell me you did the "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, you're cool, and I'm OUT" exit from BK.

I only got to tell off one boss off when I left a job, but no one else was around. :-(

I did get escorted from the premises by the state police, though.

Art-P.O.G.|7.14.09 @ 9:14AM|#

Ah, SF, I wish I could say I did, but I was young, foolish, and squandered the opportunity.

I did get escorted from the premises by the state police, though.

I got escorted from my first job from the local cops (I went off on my boss and started throwing heavy objects) which might explain my subdued reaction when I left my second job working for The King.

Ah, youth.

Cabeza de Vaca|7.14.09 @ 9:17AM|#

I told a boss to f**K off & I wasn't going to put up with her bullsh*t anymore. I kept my job & never apologized. Good times

Art-P.O.G.|7.14.09 @ 9:34AM|#

I kept my job & never apologized. Good times

And you didn't have even have to give TLC to her pleasant gap?

|7.14.09 @ 9:34AM|#

Best job exit for me was as a filling station attendant at a Super America back in '76. I wrote a poem. I don't recall the whole thing but it used the letters from Super America:

S is for the smell of gas of which I often reak.
U, it's stands for under paid, proven every week.

It ended with:

C is for cash register, I have so often run.
A is for attendant, you'll need another one.

Cabeza de Vaca|7.14.09 @ 9:43AM|#

"And you didn't have even have to give TLC to her pleasant gap?"

Nope, that's the wonderful thing about being the only person who knows how to do important tasks in your work area. If she had fired me, she would have been fired for work not getting done. The best part was she was afraid of me after that & wouldn't talk to me. If she wanted to tell me something she would tell someone else, then they would tell me what she said.

|7.14.09 @ 9:50AM|#

President Obama placed his political capital on the line Monday and reiterated his threat to veto a military spending bill unless the Senate removed $1.75 billion set aside to buy seven additional F-22 fighter jets.

Mr. Obama stepped up his campaign after liberal Democrats like Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts said they supported the purchases, arguing that the program would retain high-paying jobs in many districts nationwide.

[...]

And a growing number of Democrats are questioning why the administration would let such high-paying union jobs go when it is spending billions to save or create other jobs.

NYT

That's some high-efficiency stimulus.

Mike Laursen|7.14.09 @ 9:54AM|#

After four months, America may soon finally have a new surgeon general.

Boo, I was hoping for Dr. Dean Adelle.

|7.14.09 @ 10:04AM|#

In his statement, Mr. Geithner said the administration was entering "a new phase of the government's unprecedented and temporary involvement in the automotive industry."
Mr. Bloom, he said, would lead the effort now that it was moving away from "day-to-day restructuring to monitoring this vital industry and protecting the substantial investment the American taxpayers have made" in the companies.

"Temporary involvement" sez Timmay!

And we'll all get rich!

|7.14.09 @ 10:18AM|#

Mr. Bloom, he said, would lead the effort now that it was moving away from "day-to-day restructuring to monitoring this vital industry and protecting the substantial investment the American taxpayers have made" in the companies.

Why do I suspect that "protecting the substantial investment" will involve all sorts of political favors for GM and Chrysler, and regulatory burdens on their competitors?

|7.14.09 @ 10:32AM|#

Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on eight out of 10 key electoral issues, including, for the second straight month, the top issue of the economy. They've also narrowed the gap on the remaining two issues, the traditionally Democratic strong suits of health care and education.
Republicans are now trusted more on taxes (52%-36%), Social Security (42%-37%), abortion (46%-39%), Iraq (45%-41%), the economy (46%-41%), national security (49%-40%), immigration (40%-34%) and are statistically tied on ethics (34%-33%). Democrats hold narrow leads on health care (46%-42%) and education (41%-38%).

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/trust_on_issues/trust_on_issues

spambot|7.14.09 @ 11:04AM|#

Good news / bad news.

Good news - folks are waking up to the fact that Obama is only making things worse.

Bad news - they are turning to the Republicans.

Those of us who or non-intervention, socially liberal, Austrian style on economics continue to bang our heads against a brick wall moaning WHY WHY WHY!!!

BakedPenguin|7.14.09 @ 11:08AM|#

Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on eight out of 10 key electoral issues

BFD. Let me know when they stop trusting either ass monkey party.

|7.14.09 @ 11:31AM|#

Good news / bad news.

Good news - Moves us back towards divided government.

Bad news - Government.

alan|7.14.09 @ 1:49PM|#

I suggest a career deadpool for the first Secretary or department head who gets fired. My money is on Holder. Obama is going to have to make a choice there soon. Compromised justice, or compromised intelligence.