In fact, Brad DeLong writes, the British economy is now doing worse than it did in the Great Depression:

In less than a year, if current forecasts come true, the Cameron-Osborne Depression will not be the worst depression in Britain since the Great Depression, but the worst depression in Britain … probably ever.

That is quite an accomplishment. [...]

Here's a chart showing Britain's gross domestic product performance in ...

Mitt Romney is resurgent!

(Unless he's not.)

Even if he's not, though, the schedule favors Mitt Romney. After all, he is coming up on a series of contests in places like Arizona and Michigan, where he should have a real advantage.

(Unless he doesn't.)

There are two very contradictory themes developing as we head into the weekend before the Florida primaries. On one hand, it is becoming more and more likely that Newt Gingrich will lose Florida, by what looks like it will be a margin in the high single digits. On the other hand, Gingrich's hand seems to still be strengthening elsewhere, especially in national polling.

The evidence lies, as it often does, in the numbers:

ARIZONA (American Research Group): Gingrich 32, Romney 32, Paul 12, Santorum 10

FLORIDA (Dixie Strategies/First Coast News ...

Of the three issues, the so-called "doc fix" is the least controversial. The "doc fix" is the shorthand used to describe the nearly annual bill Congress passes to override another law they passed, the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, which was enacted in 1996 to try to keep Medicare costs under control. Almost every year since it has been overridden by Congress because it doesn't actually work. If it's not fixed this year, providers will be hit with a nearly 30 percent cut in their reimbursements.

The Democrats have a relatively simple idea for paying for this fix basically forever. Their plan is to ...

The bill states:

The genius behind this bill, State Sen. Ralph Shortey, (R-Of course), explained his rationale:

"I don't know if it is happening in Oklahoma, it may be, it may not be ...

The Kaiser Family Foundation has released its Health Tracking Poll for January, this time focusing on the Affordable Care Act and the current case before the Supreme Court challenging the law. It's remarkable for one particular finding, just how cynical the American public is about one of the most revered of institutions, the Supreme Court.

However, the generally ...

Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker was asked at a general press conference today about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's proposal to put marriage equality on the ballot for a referendum. 

He begins by saying, "I've got very, very strong feelings about this ..."

Then he proceeded to demonstrate that he did. He delivered a barn-burner of an address to the gathered press. 

Transcript after the fold. 

There isn't much I could add to improve on this except to say thank you Mayor Booker. 

—The big business of swindling people who trust you.

—The energy industry thinks the word “fracking” has become a slur.

—Is brain-boosting ethical?

—A leading actress from “The Wire” is now working to help troubled youth in Baltimore.

My colleague Joel Achenbach has a great piece assessing Newt Gingrich’s proposal to mobilize the private sector for space exploration — and colonizing the moon. But why would we want a moon colony anyway? Mining? Joshua Keating ponders whether moon mining is all it’s hyped up to be:

See that label above? That’s what a health insurance policy looks like — or is supposed to look like. Under the health reform law, insurance companies are required to summarize each benefit plan in a four-page, easy-to-read document (you can see the full thing here). The Obama administration rolled out a draft format for the summaries this past summer, and they were supposed to roll out this coming March, on the health reform law’s two-year anniversary.

Northwestern University and University of Chicago’s business schools surveyed a group of top economists, as well as the public at large, and found some big differences when it came to economic policy. Some of the questions tested basic economic literary: A full 100 percent of economists agreed that permanently raising the federal tax rate by 1 percent for those in the top income tax bracket would increase federal tax revenue over the next 10 years. By contrast, only 66 percent of the general public agreed that this was the case, with just 50 percent of Republicans concurring and 80 percent of Democrats. The misconception could partly explain why there’s such aversion to tax increases.

After Wednesday’s announcement by the Federal Reserve that it would keep interest rates near zero through 2014, some Fed-watchers argued that the central bank still wasn’t doing enough to haul the economy out of its morass. Unemployment is projected to be high for years, and inflation is below target. So where’s the extra stimulus?

A hula-hoop hobbyist attached a camera to the hoop, then took it for a spin. The result is surprisingly mesmerizing.

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BOSTON -- Former Mayor Kevin H. White, who led the city for 16 years including racially turbulent times in the 1970s and was credited with putting it on a path to prosperity, died Friday, a family spokesman said. He was 82.

White, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2003, died peacefully at his Boston home surrounded by his family, spokesman and friend George Regan said.

Washington -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is predicting that Democrats will recapture the House in November, a move that could open the possibility of the San Francisco Democrat regaining the speakership and becoming the first politician to return to that office after a defeat since Texas Democrat Sam Rayburn in 1955.

Pelosi, 71, needs a net gain of 25 Democrats nationwide, a goal she calls her "Drive for 25." She has predicted gains as large as 35, produced in part by a Democratic romp through California, where the redrawing of legislative districts by a nonpartisan citizens commission promises the biggest shakeup in the state's congressional delegation in two decades, along with gains in Texas, New York, Illinois and Florida.

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is acknowledging publicly for the first time that a Pakistani doctor provided key information to the U.S. in advance of the successful Navy SEAL assault on Osama bin Laden's compound last May.

Panetta told CBS's "60 Minutes," in a profile to be broadcast on Sunday, that Shakil Afridi helped provide intelligence for the raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The court-appointed receiver overseeing California's prison health care system said Friday the state must keep its promise to spend more than $2 billion for new medical facilities before the federal courts can end an oversight role that has lasted six years.

California committed to spending $750 million to upgrade existing medical facilities, building a new $906 million medical center and converting juvenile lockups at a cost of $817 million. So far, only the new medical center in Stockton is being built.

SAN FRANCISCO -- State regulators plan to fine Pacific Gas & Electric Co. $16.8 million for failing to perform gas leak surveys in the wake of a deadly pipeline explosion in a San Francisco suburb in 2010.

The California Public Utilities Commission announced the fine Friday, as part of a new citation program that gives its staff oversight muscle to fine natural gas companies for safety problems spotted on their lines.

NEW YORK — Twitter, a tool of choice for dissidents and activists around the world, found itself the target of global outrage Friday after unveiling plans to allow country-specific censorship of tweets that might break local laws.

It was a stunning role reversal for a youthful company that prides itself in promoting unfettered expression, 140 characters at a time. Twitter insisted its commitment to free speech remains firm, and sought to explain the nuances of its policy, while critics – in a barrage of tweets – proposed a Twitter boycott and demanded that the censorship initiative be scrapped.

Fox figures have suggested that President Obama is anti-Catholic or anti-religion following the administration's recent decision requiring church-affiliated organizations to provide health insurance plans that cover contraceptives for women. But polling has shown that a majority of Catholics have said that insurance policies should cover contraceptives; moreover, the Obama administration has repeatedly engaged the faith-based community -- including Catholic leaders -- and has directed millions in funding to religious groups. This follow's Fox's long history of portraying Obama as hostile toward religion.

NYT: "Obama Reaffirms Insurers Must Cover Contraception." From a January 20 article in The New York Times:

The Obama administration said Friday that most health insurance plans must cover contraceptives for women free of charge, and it rejected a broad exemption sought by the Roman Catholic Church for insurance provided to employees of Catholic hospitals, colleges and charities ...

Conservative media have misrepresented the results of Chevy Volt crash tests, claiming the batteries "blow up" and are a "fire trap," and suggesting that fires have occurred spontaneously during use. In fact, fires only occurred after crash tests and regulators concluded an inquiry after finding that Volts are just as safe as conventional cars.

Battery Fire Happened Weeks After Pole Crash Test And Rollover Test. From the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's description of the test:

During an NCAP [New Car Assessment Program] oblique side pole impact test conducted by NHTSA in May 2011, the pole struck and deformed the sill plate under the driver's door at a location where there is a structural member. The lateral member displaced inward, pierced the HV battery enclosure and battery, and caused a battery coolant leak. Thereafter, the ...

Fox News contributor Stephen Hayes claimed that it's "nonsense" for the Obama administration to argue that it "didn't really appreciate the depths of the problems the country faced when we came into office." In fact, measures of the recession in 2009 understated its depth, and subsequent revisions of economic data have shown that the downturn was indeed worse than it appeared at the time.

Hayes On Administration Claims: "There's Some Revisionist History Going On." From Fox News' America Live:

JON SCOTT (co-host): So, hope and change takes eight years, or at the very minimum, four. Is that the argument?

HAYES: Yeah, I think that's their argument. Look, I don't -- it's not a totally honest argument, to be candid about it. I mean, if you look back, they're saying ...

CBS treated claims from Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney that the tax cuts they have proposed would increase federal tax revenue as an open question. In fact, the myth that tax cuts increase revenues has been flatly rejected by economists across the ideological spectrum, including Romney adviser and former George W. Bush chief economist Gregory Mankiw and several others who served in the Bush administration.

CBS Airs Gingrich Claim That By Lowering Taxes His Plan Will Increase Tax Revenues. From the January 25 edition of CBS Evening News:

DEAN REYNOLDS (correspondent): Gingrich is convinced that reducing or eliminating all these taxes will actually raise revenues for the government by stimulating investment and expanding business.

REYNOLDS [video clip]: If you lowered taxes, you're going to increase revenues?

GINGRICH [video clip]: Sure. Which we know worked. When we ...

The Daily Caller's Guns and Gear section recently featured two op-eds authored by retired Major General Jerry Curry. In previous statements Curry has raised questions about President Obama secretly being a Muslim, demanded that Obama release his long-form birth certificate or resign, and derided Muslims as inherently violent.

The Daily Caller's Guns and Gear Section Published Curry's "Who Will Meet The Challenge Of World Leadership?" Op-Ed. In his January 9 piece, Curry criticized Obama's defense policy:

Is now really the right time to cut over a hundred thousand soldiers and Marines from our armed forces, especially considering our nation's current unemployment problems? Is the federal government forecasting similar reductions in its civilian work force?

Why aren't Obama's handpicked generals, admirals, intelligence, and defense officials publicly speaking out in opposition to these risky ...

A Media Matters analysis shows that as a whole, news coverage of the Keystone XL pipeline between August 1 and December 31 favored pipeline proponents. Although the project would create few long-term employment opportunities, the pipeline was primarily portrayed as a jobs issue. Pro-pipeline voices were quoted more frequently than those opposed, and dubious industry estimates of job creation were uncritically repeated 5 times more often than they were questioned. Meanwhile, concerns about the State Department's review process and potential environmental consequences were often overlooked, particularly by television outlets.

All But Two Major News Outlets Quoted More Pipeline Supporters Than Opponents. With the exceptions of USA Today and the Los Angeles Times, every news outlet included in this study quoted or hosted more people in favor of the pipeline than opposed.

We haven't had a picture of the cats up on the fence lately, have we? Let's fix that. Wednesday was a lovely day here in Southern California, and Inkblot and Domino both took turns promenading up and down the fence in the early morning sun. (Though not that early. They both need their beauty sleep.) Quite frankly, they both look fundamentally, profoundly more presidential than any of the folks running in Florida. If you live in the Sunshine State, I recommend you write in the cat of your choice on Tuesday.

Matt Yglesias notes a tension in lefty thought today: the stuff we all support (better healthcare, more teachers, childcare, new infrastructure, etc.) is in the non-manufacturing sector, and yet we all cheer when President Obama calls for increased focus on manufacturing. So which do we want? More people working in manufacturing or more people working in service and construction industries? It's hard to have both, after all.

For the time being, let's put aside the question of whether we should take Obama seriously on this subject (I suspect not) and whether lefties are really all that committed to manufacturing in the first place (ditto). Instead, I'll repeat a point that I think Matt probably agrees with: the real issue isn't manufacturing per se, it's the tradable sector. That is, we really do have a long-term trade deficit problem, and weakening the dollar is unlikely to ...

The Wall Street Journal has apparently tapped into the tea party id today and written the ur-text of modern-day climate denial we've all been waiting for. Ed Kilgore, from his new perch at my old perch, reads it so I don't have to:

In these turgid lines can be found a treasure trove of prevarications. You've got your impressive-sounding list of scientists agreeing with the Journal (with no corresponding list of those who disagree; the newsprint or bandwith necessary to publish those would bankrupt even the WSJ). You've got your quote marks around the term global warming. You've got your allusions to the silly "Climategate" kerfuffle. And you've got your unsubstantiated allegations of "persecution" of the brave "heretics" who dare stand with poor, puny Industry against the awesome power of academics.

Originally, climate denial went through three stages:

Emily Yoffe writes today about the Soup Nazi approach that modern animal rescue groups take toward deciding who is and who isn't fit to adopt one of their pets. As she says, this isn't just a dog thing:

You might think adopting a cat would be easier than getting a dog. After all, the solitary, self-sufficient feline is the perfect pet for the working person. But I heard from people who were turned down because of the curse of full-time employment—the cat may ignore you, but you should be home all day anyway. Others were told they need to accept a pair of cats or get nothing. And don’t even think about telling the rescue people your cat might go outside occasionally. Lisa wrote to say that she rescues strays that live in her house but are allowed outdoors. When she was looking for another cat ...

From Renae Hathway, Ron Paul's former secretary, on his famously racist and loony newsletters:

It was his newsletter, and it was under his name, so he always got to see the final product. . . . He would proof it.

This should surprise exactly no one, but it's still good to get it on the record. And there's more:

A person involved in Paul’s businesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid criticizing a former employer, said Paul and his associates decided in the late 1980s to try to increase sales by making the newsletters more provocative. They discussed adding controversial material, including racial statements, to help the business, the person said.

“It was playing on a growing racial tension, economic tension, fear of government,’’ said the person, who supports Paul’s economic policies but is not backing him for president. “I’m not saying Ron believed this ...

No one asked me, but I just want to briefly weigh in on the question of whether the increasingly brutal primary process will hurt Mitt Romney in the general election. No. It won't. Voters will forget the debates even happened about ten seconds after the last genuine competitor (i.e., everyone except Ron Paul) drops out. Intra-party feuding will stop about ten seconds after that, when everyone remembers that Barack Obama is Hitler. And the Obama campaign itself, though I'm sure they're enjoying the bloodletting, probably had better versions of all the anti-Romney attacks already prepped and ready to go before the first GOP primary even got started.

Any other questions?

If you're not familiar with San Francisco power popper Jason Falkner and his band Jellyfish, you're in for a big treat.

And our sister site Newstalgia has more ska revival for its Nights at the Roundtable feature -- Madness in session.

Happy Friday!

It's the latest from Tea Party Reporter Susie Sampson. Enjoy!

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Outgoing Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank is preparing for his new role as a married man.

NECN reported on Thursday that Frank will tie the knot with his longtime partner, Jim Ready, in a ceremony in Massachusetts. The couple has been together since 2007.

"Look, I have a partner now, Jim Ready," Frank told PBS' Charlie Rose earlier this month. "I have an emotional attachment. I’m in love for the first time in my life."

Even though same sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts, the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) means that gay couples do not have true marriage equality.

"It is, of course, somewhat ironic that because of DOMA and because Barney is a federal employee, Jim won’t be eligible for any of the benefits that any other spouse would be able to get," Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders executive director Lee ...

Kansas Republicans have renewed their attacks on the rights of working families and union members by proposing a bill that would ban project labor agreements. We Party Patriots points out the benefits of PLAs:

We have listed time and again on this site the benefits of PLAs. They include: wage, safety and benefit standards as well as minority, female and veteran hiring requirements, to name a few. When anti-union extremists use the term “competitive” they intend to suggest that PLAs cut non-union contractors out of the bidding process. But, per usual, this is misleading and has been proven false not only in theory but in practice. What is truly “competitive” about PLAs are the workers’ wages and benefits they ensure.

Working Kansans, a labor group in the state, points out the key problems with the proposal:

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Despite having a total wingnut for a governor, Florida is a purple state. So I always thought Newt would have a hard time pulling it out there, and it looks like in the wake of last night's debate, he's in big trouble.

Just four days before the nation's first big-state presidential primary, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney opens up a 38 - 29 percent lead over former House Speaker Newt Gingrich among Republican likely voters in Florida, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Only 6 percent are undecided, but 32 percent say they might change their mind by Tuesday.

This compares to results of a January 25 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN- uh-pe-ack) University, showing Romney with 36 percent of likely primary voters to Gingrich's 34 percent. Wednesday's survey showed Gingrich ahead 40 - 34 percent among voters ...

Conservative activist Cliff Kincaid has launched a campaign to take back Fox News from the undue influence of George Soros-funded groups (I kid you not) and restore Glenn Beck to the “fair and balanced” airwaves so that he can continue his investigative reporting into Soros.

Right Wing Watch has some of Kincaid’s jaw-dropping statements:

“Fox News has been disintegrating since Soros-funded groups forced Glenn Beck off the air,” declared ASI President Cliff Kincaid. “His show was replaced by a program featuring Democratic Party hack Bob Beckel, who regularly insults conservatives. It’s time for Glenn Beck, now on Internet TV, to return to the cable channel so that he can continue his investigative journalism into the rapidly expanding influence of the Soros network of organizations. We urge Fox News CEO Roger Ailes to negotiate Beck’s return at the earliest possible date.”

…”Fox should stand up to Soros,” he ...

Not that it wasn’t obvious already but since Fox News seems perpetually blind to the truth that stares the rest of us in the face, Donald Trump yet again signalled he won't run for president when he told Sean Hannity last night, that he will endorse one of the Republican candidates soon. For a real news organization, that would be a pretty strong clue he will not run. Still, even after Trump said that (and it was at least the second time this week Trump said it on Fox), Hannity made a point of pimping Trump’s phony run asking if Trump will run. Even though Hannity later revealed he had picked up on the clue.

Hannity said, “You’re saying you’re likely to endorse soon. So, you endorse, you’re not going to run.

Trump said, “If I endorse and if that person loses, that’s ...

We've repeatedly posted about the phony advocacy of Fox News "Democrat" Doug Schoen. Now, even Fox News host Megyn Kelly has taken note and pointed out he's, well, a phony. And not just Schoen. During a panel discussion she held after the State of the Union address, she said to others on the panel, "You Democrats On This Panel Do Not Sound Like Democrats."

Via Media Matters:

With The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel, CNBC's John Harwood and Partridge Family alum David Cassidy! A hoot from beginning to end!

Recently, Gretchen Carlson actually claimed that Fox & Friends is "fair & balanced." But she was referring to the asses on the curvy couch and not the content of the programming which is just about as far from "fair & balanced" as you can get, so I guess she's not lying. While one can understand not having two opposing views in a segment, one would think that a "fair & balanced" programming format would include an opposing view at some point in time - or at least some rebuttal from the "fair & balanced" pals who routinely seem to be in agreement with their right wing guests. In their "trouble with textbooks" series, the only guest was a right wing professor. In their "trouble with schools," an anti-union, anti-public school partisan is the featured speaker. And recently, in reporting on the Fox abetted "outrage" over the opposition of the Catholic bishops to the contraceptive mandate ...

Just a few months after Monica Crowley announced to Fox News viewers that Americans are sick of attack politics, she cheered on Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer for “getting up in the president’s grill.” Not only that, Crowley was so eager to attack President Obama last night as she guest-hosted on Hannity, she threw truth, facts and fairness and balance out the window.

Does anyone believe that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer only wanted to welcome President Obama to her state when she met him at the airport Wednesday (1/25/12)? After all, this is a woman with a record of questionable  partisanship and major problems with facts. Furthermore, when her meeting with Obama went sour, an Obama spokesman said it was because when Brewer reportedly extended an invitation to meet, Obama said a passage in her book describing their last meeting was inaccurate. Nevertheless, in the contretemps between ...

From Washington Post:

Investigators initially focused on the wrong man, then had to pay him a nearly $6 million settlement. In 2008, they accused another man, Bruce E. Ivins, who killed himself before he could go to trial.

Now, in the latest twist, the government has argued against itself.

In documents deep in the files of a recently settled Florida lawsuit, Justice Department civil attorneys contradicted their own department’s conclusion that Ivins was unquestionably the anthrax killer. The lawyers said the type of anthrax in Ivins’s lab was “radically different” from the deadly anthrax. They cited several witnesses who said Ivins was innocent, and they suggested that a private laboratory in Ohio could have been involved in the attacks.

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Have Everyone You Know in California Call These Senators!

The California Senate is just 2 votes short to pass its single payer health care bill, SB 810 - the California Universal Healthcare Act, before the end of this legislative session on Tuesday.

Four Democratic Senators have not voted either way on this bill.  Its author, Senator Mark Leno, can bring the bill up for reconsideration, as long as he knows that he has two more votes!!

Most of us have family or friends in California. Many of these Californians may not know how important it is to call and email these 4 Senators over the weekend, and first thing Monday.  We can help.  Alert your California contacts that they must take action right away. They don't need need to live in the districts - these Senators hold the key to all of California's health care.

The Senators need to hear ...

By Peter Hart,  FAIR

By the tone of  some of the media coverage, you might have thought Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced a plan to slash military spending yesterday.  On the front page of USA Today (1/27/12), under the headline "Panetta Backs Far Leaner Military," readers learn in the first paragraph:

The Pentagon's new plan to cut Defense spending means a reduction of 100,000 troops, the retiring of ships and planes and closing of bases--moves that the Defense secretary said would not compromise security.

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Be nonviolent.  Be determined.  Be relentless.

Rise like Lions after slumber: In unvanquishable number,
Shake your chains to earth like dew: Which in sleep had fallen on you
Ye are many — they are few

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