Quick links--some new, some long overdue:
(1) On the so-called "CRomnibus" and the provision that would "add numerous additional exemptions to the section’s ban on Federal government bailouts of large derivatives dealers":
- Simon Johnson, The Baseline Scenario, Don’t Repeal Swaps Push-Out Requirements (Section 716 of Dodd-Frank)
- Mike Konczal, Rortybomb, The Bipartisan Policy Center Gets It Wrong: The Lincoln Amendment is Critical to Financial Reform
- Americans for Financial Reform, Questions and Answers on HR 992 (pdf)
- New York Times editorial, Hiding Bad Policy in a Budget Bill. Mentions other bad things in the budget bill (besides the repeal of the push-out and the campaign finance atrocity), including budget cuts at the EPA and the IRS.
(2) On the Bad Grand Jury Decisions:
- Albert Burneko, The Concourse, The American Justice System Is Not Broken
- Steven Rosenfeld, Alternet, 10 Ways the System Is Rigged to Protect Cops Who Kill
- Dave Zirin, Nation blogs, #BlackLivesMatter Takes the Field: A Weekend of Athletes Speaking Out.
- Alice Speri, Vice, Missouri Police ‘Offended’ by NFL Players Who Walked onto the Field with Hands Up for Michael Brown. Boo hoo.
- Jeannette Wicks-Lim, D&S, Why We All Need Affirmative Action. An economic analysis of affirmative action, in light of police (and self-appointed police) shootings of Black people.
Speaking of "offending" the cops, here's The New York Times' fail on this topic: New Twist in Lynch's Confirmation After New York Grand Jury Decision, about how the confirmation hearings for nominee to replace Eric Holder will supposedly be complicated by the fact that she's heading up the civil rights investigation of Eric Garner's choking death. The Times tells us: "One Democratic official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is involved in advancing the nomination, said Ms. Lynch would have to carefully navigate community demands for action, in New York and Missouri, and the sensibilities of the law enforcement officers she would represent if confirmed to lead the Justice Department." Come again? I guess maybe there's some sense in which the Attorney General, the chief law enforcement official of the United States, "represents" law enforcement officers (though it makes more sense to think of her as their (future) boss); in the context of allegations of illegal police conduct (murder), this is a pretty outrageous framing. (I'll pass over the usual outrage of the Times' use of anonymous sources (usually leakers trying to use the Times reporter to shape the story).
(3) Antonio Weiss nomination:
- Simon Johnson, The Baseline Scenario, Antonio Weiss Is Not Qualified To Be Under Secretary For Domestic Finance
- Sheila Bair, Fortune, Obama's treasury pick is another bank watchdog straight from Wall Street
- Yves Smith, Naked Capitalism, NYTimes Dealbook’s Dishonest Salvo at Elizabeth Warren Over Calling Out an Unqualified Nominee for Treasury Post.
The Yves Smith piece, and various recent Bill Black pieces criticizing Dealbook and Andrew Ross Sorkin's shameless coziness with his Wall Street funders and sources inspired me to check in to see whether the Times' Public Editor has had anything critical to say about Sorkin. I found that the current Public Editor, Margaret Sullivan, seems to be easy on Sorkin (she brought up criticisms people have had of his coziness with sources here, but instead of actually investigating and assessing the charges, she just gets a quote from Sorkin: "The criticism of him as an insider is, Mr. Sorkin says, 'an old meme,' and simply untrue." Her predecessor, Arthur Brisbane, seems to have been harder on Sorkin, e.g., here.
Ok, that's it for now.
--Chris Sturr