UFC 116: Brock Lesnar v. Shane Carwin – Weigh-In Results
Main bouts: Brock Lesnar (265) vs. Shane Carwin (265) Yoshihiro Akiyama (185) vs. Chris Leben (186)Krzysztof Soszynski (205) vs. Stephan Bonnar (205) George Sotiropoulos (156) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (155) Chris Lytle (170) vs. Matt Brown (171) On Sp...
Categories: Media Tags: Brown, Grove, Kendall, kendall grove, kurt pellegrino, Leben, ricardo romero, ROBERT, seth petruzelli, yoshihiro akiyama
Bright Side Of The Sun: Phoenix Done In By Momentum Swing
At the end of the third quarter in Wednesday’s Western Conference Finals Game 2, the Lakers and Suns were tied 90-90. Then Leandro Barbosa got knocked out of the game by Lamar Odom and all of a sudden that seemed to spark Laker momentum that p...
Categories: Media Tags: Brown, end, Farmar, game, Kobe, Lakers, Lamar Odom, leandro barbosa, minimal success, Mr. Ric Bucher, Odom, Pau, quarter, ric bucher, Wednesday, Western Conference, western conference finals
Richard (RJ) Eskow: A Financial War With Two Fronts … And One Wrong General
Things have been moving pretty quickly lately in the interlocking worlds of politics and financial reform. While there is a lot we don't know, here...
Categories: World Tags: amendment, America, Arianna, Brown, Hagan, Hagan Amendment, Howard Dean, Joe Sestak, Larry Summers, leadership, Nancy, nancy pelosi, Nate Silver, Rand Paul, reform, Sam, Senate, senate leadership, vote, Wall Street, war correspondent, war on wall street, Washington, Zach, Zach Carter
Rasmussen’s (dishonest) game
Rasmussen has been this cycle's most prolific pollster, by far. As of February:
Yes, Rasmussen Reports has fielded far more polls so far this cycle, both in absolute terms (45 vs. 13) and as a percentage of the total (28% vs 18%).
Rasmussen's volume hasn't decreased since then. If you want to see how spammy they are, check out this link.
Yesterday the nation had several hot races, including the House special election in PA-12, primaries in both parties in Kentucky and Arkansas, and the Democratic Senate primary in Pennsylvania.
And somehow, Rasmussen was nowhere to be found. Yet this past week, Rasmussen found time to poll Colorado, California, and those burning Idaho senate and governor races. He even polled the general election in Arkansas, ignoring the imminent primaries -- the better to show Arkansas Republican primary voters who their strongest candidate was.
You see, the thing about Rasmussen is that he cares only about setting the narrative that Democrats are doomed. And it's hard to build those narratives if you screw up polling actual elections.
So why take the risk of getting an actual election result wrong, this early in the cycle? There's a special election in PA-12? Who cares! Rasmussen is nowhere to be found. Just like in January, when Rasmussen -- who had polled the Massachusetts Senate special election twice earlier, decided to pull out of the race two weeks before the actual election. The day before that special, Rasmussen released a bizarre poll saying that nationally "interest high" in the race. Who gave a shit if there was national interest? Why wouldn't Rasmussen poll the actual race like the rest of real pollsters?
Turns out what Rasmussen wanted was to set the narrative, not actually get the results right. So it skipped the latter, and bragged about the former:
Rasmussen Reports provided the first news feed suggesting that Democratic candidate Martha Coakley might be in trouble on January 5, two full weeks before the election. In that poll, we showed Coakley’s lead down to single digits and noted that Republican candidate Scott Brown was within two points among those certain to vote. A week later, of course, we showed the race a toss-up with Brown leading among those certain to vote. About that time, Public Policy Polling also released a poll showing the race to be even.
It's not as if Rasmussen doesn't poll primaries. In fact, it polled the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic primary two weeks ago. But again, it refused to do a pre-election poll, because doing so would no longer help set narratives, and that's all Rasmussen cares about.
Today, Rasmussen released a poll showing Dick Blumenthal suddenly in trouble in Connecticut. How convenient! And narrative setting. Too bad he couldn't poll actual elections.
And yes, by November, Rasmussen's polling will be nicely in line with the rest of the polling aggregate, as he adjusts his voter screens to match reality, not whatever GOP-heavy universe he currently lives in. By then, he'll be less worried about setting narratives, and more worried about getting races right so that he can brag about his electoral track record. That way, he uses that credibility in order to once again set bullshit narratives in the 2012 election cycle. It's quite the scam!
Because if it itsn't a scam, there's no reason he should've skipped polling the big Tuesday races.
Categories: Politics Tags: 2010, Arkansas, Brown, california, colorado, Connecticut, democratic senate primary, Dick Blumenthal, election, governor races, Idaho, Kentucky, Martha Coakley, massachusetts senate, pennsylvania, poll, polling, race, Rasmussen, rasmussen reports, Scott Brown
Sally Kohn: Massachusetts Voters Take Over Sen. Scott Brown’s Office
A few hours ago, I joined over one hundred grassroots leaders from the Alliance to Develop Power as they stormed the Capitol office of Sen....
Categories: World Tags: Alliance, Brown, Brown-Kaufman, capitol office, Chief of Staff Steven Schrage, everyday folks, grassroots leaders, Main Street, Massachusetts, massachusetts voters, meeting, Office, office representatives, power, Scott Brown, Sen. Brown, Sen. Scott Brown, Senator Brown, Springfield, tent, Wall Street
“Reasonable” Bob Corker disappears, again
Republican Bob Corker has played the role in Wall Street reform that Chuck Grassley/Olympia Snowe played in health reform. He's the reasonable one, sometimes even criticizing his own leadership for their rhetoric against the bill. Then he's the good Republican again, joining with this caucus in their short-lived filibuster.
He's in bad Republican mode as the final vote on the bill nears, and his caucus considers filibustering the final package. Corker's job is to provide the rationale for a filibuster, apparently, and it's back to the old it's not bipartisan enough saw. Corker told The Hill
“I think we all realize that there’s no real attempt for a bipartisan bill,” Corker (R-TN) said. “We’re outnumbered.” He said there may be a few Republicans who are satisfied with the bill but he’s “not going to vote for a bad bill.”
Which, the Wonk Room's Pat Garfalo details, is bullshit.
Dodd then included many of the provisions that he and Corker worked out when he brought his bill to committee markup. He also gave the Republicans ample opportunity to offer amendments during the markup, which the Republicans chose not to do. (Corker later called this a “major strategic error.”)
Even during the amendment process on the Senate floor, Republicans are getting a very fair shake. So far, the Senate has voted on 26 amendments. Of these, 14 were sponsored by Republicans, 9 were sponsored by Democrats/Independents, and 3 had a sponsor from both parties. So 17 of the 26 amendments had Republican backing:
Republican Amendments: Snowe #3755 (passed, voice vote); Snowe #3757 (passed, voice vote); Shelby #3826 (failed, 38-61); Ensign #3869 (failed, 35-59); Vitter #3760 (failed, 37-62); McCain #3839 (failed, 43-56); Corker #3955 (failed, 42-57); Snowe #3918 (passed, voice vote); Chambliss #3816 (failed, 39-59); Crapo #3992 (passed, voice vote); Lemieux #3774 (passed, 61-38); Sessions #3832 (failed, 42-58); Thune #3987 (failed, 40-55); Collins #3879 (passed, voice vote)
Democratic/Independent Amendments: Boxer #3737 (passed, 96-1); Brown #3733 (failed 33-61); Sanders #3738 (passed, 96-0); Dodd #3938 (passed, 63-36); Merkley #3962 (passed, 63-36); Reed #3943 (passed 98-1); Landrieu #3956 (passed, voice vote); Franken #3991 (passed, 64-35); Durbin #3989 (passed, 64-33);
Sponsor From Both Parties: Shelby-Dodd #3827 (passed 93-5); Tester-Hutchison #3749 (passed, 98-0); Hutchison-Klobuchar #3759 (passed, 90-9)
Thus far, 9 Republican-sponsored amendments have been accepted, as well as 11 Democratic sponsored amendments. And let’s not forget, Republicans spent three days filibustering the motion to simply start debate on the bill. Considering the circumstances, Dodd has been extremely accommodating.
In fact, when Dodd decided to begin admonishing other Senators about the plethora of amendments slowing down the bill, he went at members of his own party, dressing down Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)! There hasn’t been a peep about Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-SC) attempt to bring up a completely unrelated amendment requiring completion of a border fence.
Under the circumstances--trying to get the strongest bill possible--less accommodation of Republicans and more of progressive Dems would seem in order.
Categories: Politics Tags: Bill, Bob Corker, Brown, chris dodd, Chuck Grassley, committee markup, Dodd, Olympia, olympia snowe, Republican, republican bob, Sanders, Sen. Byron Dorgan, Sen. Jim DeMint, The Hill, Voice, vote, Wall Street, Wall Street reform
Sports Illustrated Stands By Initial Report That Mike Brown Has Been Fired
Well this is interesting. Despite owner Dan Gilbert's statements that say otherwise, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated is standing by his report that Mike Brown is out as Cavaliers coach. Dan Gilbert denies SI report that Mike Brown is out. SI...
Categories: Media Tags: Brown, Chris Mannix, coach, Dan Gilbert, Gilbert, Illustrated, Mike Brown, nbsp, owner, report, roller coaster, sports, sports illustrated
Brian Windhorst: Mike Brown Hasn’t Been Fired Yet
Maybe Mike Brown hasn't been fired quite yet. The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Brian Windhorst reports that Brown is still the Cavaliers' coach ... for now. This is not true. As of this moment, at least RT @ChrisMannixSI 2 league sources ...
Categories: Media Tags: Brian Windhorst, Brown, Cavaliers, Cavs, Cleveland, cleveland plain dealer, coach, dealer, league sources, Mike, Mike Brown, nbsp, Plain, s brian
Reports Conflict On Whether Mike Brown Has Been Fired As Cavaliers Coach
Gregory Shamus - Getty Images 12 days ago: CLEVELAND - MAY 01: Head coach Mike Brown of the Cleveland Cavaliers cal...
Categories: Media Tags: Boston, boston celtics, Brown, Cavaliers, Chris Mannix, Cleveland, Eastern Conference, eastern conference semifinals, getty images, gregory shamus, Gregory Shamus - Getty, images, MAY, Mike Brown, nbsp, ohio, USER
Dorgan threatens Wall Street Reform filibuster
Byron Dorgan is going to go out with a bang, and if he succeeds, the country will be better for it. On Wednesday, he gave a blistering floor speech hitting the weaknesses in the base Wall Street reform bill, particularly on breaking up too big to fail banks and credit default swap regulation.
Dorgan is leading a sort of revolt by Senate progressives, as Brian Beutler reports.
Several progressive and populist senators think the bill's broad approach does not call for the fundamental reforms Wall Street needs. They've been pushing far-reaching amendments that would shrink major financial companies, and further limit high-risk trading and though their efforts likely do not have enough votes to pass, they at the very least want to get a fair hearing. And they're banding together to make sure they get one.
"[Democrats] will insist on having the opportunity to have the key amendments offered and debated and voted on," Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) told me this morning.
Democrats have (with a few exceptions) held together fairly harmoniously throughout the debate over Wall Street reform. But in a rare moment of dissension between Dem senators on the floor this morning, Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd swatted down Dorgan's move to bring up an amendment that would ban a major financial product....
Dorgan, though, says he's been all but blocked out of the process, and that other senators have been given priority. He predicts he'll ultimately prevail.
How? Progressive Democrats could use their leverage. They could make their support for ending debate on the bill contingent on getting votes on their amendments.
Thursday night, Beutler had another discussion with Dorgan, in which the Senator indicated he's ready to do just that: to filibuster the bill if key amendments aren't considered.
On the Senate floor this evening, the North Dakota Democrat told Harry Reid and Chris Dodd he'd try to block financial reform legislation from coming to a vote unless they give one of his amendments a fair hearing. "I just told the leader and the committee chairman that I wouldn't be voting for cloture--I'd be voting against cloture--unless my amendment is considered," a frustrated Dorgan told me and one other reporter on his way out of the chamber....
At a caucus meeting earlier today Dorgan and several other progressive senators--including Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA)--pressed leadership to put their amendments on the floor for a vote.
"There seems to be a difference between those who've had their amendments considered and those who haven't, oddly enough," joked Whitehouse on his way out of the meeting.
Cantwell predicted that she would get a vote on her amendment reinstating a Depression-era law preventing banks from owning other kinds of financial firms. Dorgan was told his amendment banning naked CDSes would get a hearing.
But when the list of coming amendments was unveiled this evening, Dorgan's was missing--and he doesn't know why. "I don't know the answer to that," Dorgan said.
Some progressive amendments have been given votes, and have passed, like the Sanders Fed audit and Franken credit rating agency reform. Kaufman-Brown's too-big-to-fail amendment was given a hasty vote, and failed. But some of the major amendments have yet to make the schedule. Cantwell has also said that she'll block a vote if her Glass-Steagall reinstating amendment isn't offered. Hopefully these two will be joined by other progressive Senators to hold out for key votes. There's some good, progressive momentum on this bill now, and with Republicans apparently mulling a filibuster of the final package, all Dem votes are going to necessary.
We've seen it before--progressive ultimatums that dissipated with a little bit of pressure from leadership. But Dorgan really doesn't have a damned thing to lose at this point, and everything to gain--righting a wrong that he warned against a decade ago, and security his legacy. His progressive colleagues, not to mention his leadership, should be willing to join him.
Categories: Politics Tags: amendment, Bill, Brian Beutler, Brown, Byron Dorgan, Chairman Chris Dodd, chris dodd, credit default swap, floor, Harry Reid, Maria Cantwell, North Dakota, reform, reform legislation, Sanders Fed, Sen. Byron Dorgan, senate floor, Sheldon Whitehouse, vote, Wall Street, Wall Street reform