I have written a lot about the Senate's role of Advice and Consent for a President's judicial nominations. A final word of thanks to Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has used debate over Sonia Sotomayor to argue that Democratic opposition to Bush administration judicial nominees reduced the deference GOP senators are now obliged to give a president's judicial picks, freeing them to oppose nominees on philosophical grounds.

(Emphasis supplied.) As I have written often, that is as it should be. Thank you Senator McConnell for making it the conventional wisdom.

Speaking for me only

Paul Krugman:

There was a telling incident at a town hall held by Representative Gene Green, D-Tex. An activist turned to his fellow attendees and asked if they “oppose any form of socialized or government-run health care.” Nearly all did. Then Representative Green asked how many of those present were on Medicare. Almost half raised their hands.

There is a phrase I am trying to coin for this phenomenon - Laffer-ism - see also this.

Speaking for me only

This is quite good news:

The American economy lost 247,000 jobs in July, and in a reversal, the unemployment rate fell slightly, to 9.4 percent, the government reported Friday. Although businesses are expected to keep cutting jobs through the rest of the year, the Labor Department’s latest figures offered some faint signs that the sinking job market was approaching bottom.

There was improvement in the broader measure of unemployment (U6) as well, with that rate dropping from 16.5% to 16.3%. If employment can bounce back quickly, then the recession may indeed not be as bad as many, including me, feared. Time will tell.

Speaking for me only

Check out Jeralyn's account of the Denver health care reform event in the post below.

This is an Open Thread.

I just got back from the health care event at the Stout St. medical clinic for the homeless, sponsored by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and attended by Colorado Reps. Diana DeGette and Jared Polis, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I got lots of pictures outside and was allowed inside for the press conference. I got right up front with the network camera crews and took lots of video. I also interviewed a 16 year old protester on why he objected to the health care bill. It will take me a while to upload, so check back.

There was no disruption of anything by the protesters. They were outside the clinic. Only 70 people, mostly press, were allowed inside the clinic. When I left at the end of the press conference, the street was empty. They had no effect on what went on inside. A total waste of their time.

Update: Videos and Photos below (all uploaded now.)

Limbaugh: "Adolf Hitler, like Barack Obama, also ruled by dictate"

Via Atrios:

The vote was 68-31. In addition to all Democrats and Independents (with the exception of Ted Kennedy, still absent due to his health), 9 Republicans also voted in favor - Voinovich, Bond, Martinez, Alexander, Graham, Collins, Snowe, Gregg and Lugar.

Matt Yglesias points to Tim Fernholz on CEA Chair Christina Romer's speech (PDF) regarding the stimulus bill. This part of Romer's speech, excerpted by Yglesias, appears to raise as many questions as it answers:

The role of the Recovery Act is clearest in state and local spending. Sharp falls in revenues and balanced budget requirements have been forcing state and local governments to tighten their belts significantly. But, state and local government spending actually rose at a healthy 2.4% annual rate in the second quarter of 2009. This followed two consecutive quarters of decline, and was the highest growth rate in two years. No one can doubt that the $33 billion of state fiscal relief that has already gone out thanks to the Recovery Act is a key source of this increase.

(Emphasis supplied.) There is a certain DUH quality to this passage. It raises these questions - (1) why didn't the Obama Administration put in more state and local aid in the stimulus bill? (2) Why did they allow Ben Nelson, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter and Susan Collins to cut out state and local aid from the stimulus bill? (3) Why did they allow them to include the non-stimulative AMT fix? (4) Why, in short, did the Obama team mishandle the stimulus bill?

Speaking for me only

It is scheduled for 3 pm. You can watch on C-Span2 or online here.

According to C-Span, there are 67 committed Yes votes and 31 No votes. Ted Kennedy is listed as a committed Yes vote so perhaps he will be appearing for the vote.

Since I will be at the Pelosi-DeGette-Polis health care event in Denver this afternoon, with my little Flip Video camera and iPhone to document anything interesting, I have to work this morning.

Every year, there are 400,000 immigrants held in U.S. detention centers. President Obama will announce a re-organization today, which includes no longer sending children and families to the notoriuous T. Don Hutto Residential Center outside Austin, TX. Hutto is a former state prison currently being operated by Corrections Corp. of America through a federal contract. It is also the subject of a lawsuit by the ACLU.

While the Obama administration will stress the new program will be more humane, there is unlikely to be a decrease in the number of detained immigrants. [More...]

Via e-mail from the Democratic National Committee:

There's been a lot of media coverage about organized mobs intimidating lawmakers, disrupting town halls, and silencing real discussion about the need for real health insurance reform.

The truth is, it's a sham. These "grassroots protests" are being organized and largely paid for by Washington special interests and insurance companies who are desperate to block reform. They're trying to use lies and fear to break the President and his agenda for change.

Health insurance reform is about our lives, our jobs, and our families -- we can't let distortions and intimidation get in the way. We need to expose these outrageous tactics, and we're counting on you to help. Can you read these "5 facts about the anti-reform mobs," then pass them along to your friends and family?

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