Why Washington State senators need the Export-Import Bank to be reauthorizedby Gaius PubliusHouse Democrats, 28 of them, handed Obama and House Republicans a win by passing Fast Track, called Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA, as a stand-alone bill. The bill yoked to it by the Senate — an "assistance for workers" bill called TAA — was cut loose.
Fox News President Roger Ailesby Gaius PubliusIn a rather public and messy way, Roger Ailes has been demoted at Fox News. It started with Rupert Murdoch's plan to pass control of his recently formed media division, 21st Century Fox, to his sons Lachlan and James.From the Fox announcement (my emphasis mine except where noted):
Senators asking big spenders at Monsanto to pony upby Gaius PubliusWhile we're waiting for the Fast Track drama to deliver its next non-final event, I thought I'd offer some background. The big money behind the scenes is paying a lot to get this bill past the goal line (but as you'll see, not a whole lot).The Guardian offers this report (my emphasis):
A Sri Lankan cyclist rides a bicycle past a billboard carrying the image of Pope Francis in Colombo. (source; AFP PHOTO / ISHARA S. KODIKARA).by Gaius PubliusThe pope thinks humans are causing climate change. Have we now crossed the tipping point for climate change awareness?I've written several times about various tipping points — changes beyond which there's no turning back — related to climate change.
Conservative constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein agreeing with Alan Morrison: Fast Track is "defective constitutionally" (source: Thom Hartmann program)by Gaius PubliusThere's a growing recognition within the legal community that the ISDS provisions of treaties like NAFTA, TPP, many trade agreements already signed and almost all agreements going forward ... may well be unconstitutional.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE:Fast Track fizzles in the HouseAs you recall, the way the thing was structured, with the House having to pass exactly the same bill the Senate did in order to get it onto the president's desk, a snag in any piece of the legislative puzzle meant the whole thing falls apart, at least for now. And as the NY Times's Jonathan Weisman wrote this afternoon:
UPDATE: The Rule as described below passed the House, 217–212, with eight Democrats jumping in at the last minute to push it over the line. McCarthy's order of business will start soon, presumably Friday. The roll call vote on the Rule is here. Blumenauer was a lead vote, again. There could be trouble ahead, with yet more kind words for Pelosi's helpful role, from New Dem chair Ron Kind, at the link.
Ross Perot describes the "giant sucking sound going south." Notice how right he is about all the other evils he describes — how public officials "cash out," for example, or the simple logic of dumping your domestic work force if all you care about is "making money." Notice also that the questioner is a pro–trade agreement shill.by Gaius PubliusI'm not sure how the coming vote on Fast Track and TPP in the House will go.
Temperature in Alaska on the afternoon of May 23, 2015, based on data from NOAA's Real-time Mesoscale Analysis (click to enlarge).by Gaius PubliusTaking a break from scary Fast Track news (rumors of large-dollar amounts that could be changing hands on the Republican side are starting to frighten me), I'll offer this climate news. But before I do, a few points:
