For some reason, in December no one wanted to point this out. Today, Yglesias writes:

A movement that actually believed that reducing federal spending was extremely important would, it seems to me, be quite willing to make concessions in order to obtain large quantities of spending cuts. Viewed in that light, it’s not obvious to me that backing away from a $4 trillion deal primarily composed of spending cuts constitutes a “more conservative” option than saying yes. [. . . T]he GOP agenda consisted of aggressive tax cutting made palatable by refusing to pair the cuts with spending reductions. [. . . T]he [GOP] bargaining strategy is entirely built around a tax-focused goal rather than a spending-focused one.

No sh*t Sherlock. That is why giving away the store on the Bush tax cuts in The Deal in December was a terrible mistake. The GOP has what it wants. Does it want to cut spending? Sure. But NEVER EVER at the cost of raising taxes. If you give them what they want on taxes, you will never ever get a concession from them. So now Obama will reach a 2 trillion dollar spending cut deal to raise the debt ceiling, an unprecedented capitulation. No President has ever bargained with regard to the debt ceiling. And some will call this a triumph for Obama. An anti-stimulus plan a triumph for a President seeking reelection. There is only one word to describe this analysis- idiotic.

Speaking for me only

Deciding to pocket the 2 trillion in cuts President Obama has pre-conceded, House Speaker John Boehner says no to the "Grand Bargain":

Citing differences over tax revenues, House Speaker John A. Boehner on Saturday night said he would drop his push with President Obama for a far-reaching, $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan tied to a proposal to increase the federal debt limit.

Mr. Boehner issued a statement saying he would now urge negotiators to instead focus on trying to craft a smaller package more in line with the $2 trillion in cuts negotiated by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you! So Obama gets to be labelled as the guy who was willing to cut Social Security and Medicare while at the same time agreeing to slashing government spending that will hurt the economy. Well done. Political bargaining you can believe in. Not.

Speaking for me only

Derek Jeter!! 3000th hit! On an HR!

Open Thread.

There are lots of newspapers reporting that today the DEA denied a petition to reclassify Marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance (like Heroin)to a lesser schedule. I wish they had taken the time (or figured out how) to access the actual ruling. Nor did the DEA or DOJ put out a news release that I could find.

Here it is, published in today's Federal Register. (Text version here, a faster loading pdf version here.) On the finding that marijuana has no accepted medical use: [More...]

Former First Lady Betty Ford has died at age 93. This is a really nice op-ed by the Times, that shows her multiple interests, the hardships she overcame, her independence and flashes of her personality. R.I.P.

Dwayne Jackson served four years in prison for a robbery it turns out he did not commit. An "accidental switch" of DNA samples at the Las Vegas lab, or "human error" as the news puts it, was responsible.

The state has admitted the error and a settlement has been reached. Jackson was freed from prison in 2006.

More than 200 cases will now be reanalyzed to determine if other such errors were made by this lab tech, who has been placed on administrative leave.

In today's New York Times, Lawrence Tribe misses the mark on the argument about the Fourteenth Amendment's requirement that "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, shall not be questioned. Tribe creates a straw man, declaring that "[s]ome have argued that this principle prohibits any government action that “jeopardizes” the validity of the public debt. By increasing the risk of default, they contend, any debt ceiling automatically violates the public debt clause." No one has argued that as a general proposition. The argument is that "public debt authorized by law" may cause the debt ceiling to violate the Fourteenth Amendment, and in those circumstances, the President MAY be empowered to ignore the debt ceiling law.

Jack Balkin explains it best:

Alan Dershowitz has an op-ed today, The Criminal Trial is Not About Justice for the Victim, which is very much like the post I wrote the other day, The Meaning of a Not Guilty Verdict.

Reuters:

U.S. employment growth ground to a halt in June, with employers hiring the fewest number of workers in nine months, dousing hopes the economy would regain momentum in the second half of the year. Nonfarm payrolls rose only 18,000, the weakest reading since September, the Labor Department said on Friday, well below economists' expectations for a 90,000 rise.

Revisions to April and May also were negative - "The government revised April and May payrolls to show 44,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported." What to do? Slash government spending of course. We are f*cked.

Speaking for me only

Colorado marijuana activists officially launched a petition drive yesterday to get an initiative on the 2012 ballot to amend the Colorado Constitution to legalize adult possession of marijuana for personal use.

The initiative is called The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012 and you can read the text here.

86,000 valid signatures are needed to make the ballot, a relatively small number. In 2006, Colorado voters rejected a similar initiative. Will the growth and acceptance of medical marijuana in the state change the result this time around?

Key provisions in the initiative: [More...]

Krugman:

Mr. Obama had this to say about the economics of the budget: “Government has to start living within its means, just like families do. We have to cut the spending we can’t afford so we can put the economy on sounder footing, and give our businesses the confidence they need to grow and create jobs.”

That’s three of the right’s favorite economic fallacies in just two sentences. No, the government shouldn’t budget the way families do; on the contrary, trying to balance the budget in times of economic distress is a recipe for deepening the slump. Spending cuts right now wouldn’t “put the economy on sounder footing.” They would reduce growth and raise unemployment. And last but not least, businesses aren’t holding back because they lack confidence in government policies; they’re holding back because they don’t have enough customers — a problem that would be made worse, not better, by short-term spending cuts.

Whether Obama believes this or not, that is his policy now. Apparently he has decided this approach is the best way for him to win reelection. What is a progressive or liberal to do? Stop counting on President Obama. He is not your policy ally with regard to economic policy. You want to stop him on economic policy. Time to wake up. As Krugman notes:

Big Brother is back tonight on CBS for Season 13. There will only be 8 new houseguests, as the rest will be retreads from prior seasons. Please don't let it be Rachel or Enzo, but of course, who else would they pick but the most annoying people of seasons past? Those are the best picks for ratings. Hate, like guilt, sells in America. (Update: CBS is so clever. They picked the hated Rachel to return, but also brought Jeff and Jordan back, probably the nicest and most easy-going contestants I've seen on the show. Looks like it will be a great season. There's two really annoying new male contestants, and one overly chirpy soccer mom-type, but the rest of the group seems fine.)

We had the fiercest thunderstorm a few hours ago, right at rush hour. All the bushes in my backyard are lying on their side. The local news had a field day, tornado sirens were going off and they had to keep reassuring viewers there were no funnel clouds. The emergency broadcast system interrupted with flash flood warnings, and driving home must have been a nightmare. Glad I got home before it started. Were any of you out and about?

For those of you not watching Big Brother, and I assume that's all of you reading this, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.