Stiglitz:

Consider the Walton family: the six heirs to the Walmart empire possess a combined wealth of some $90 billion, which is equivalent to the wealth of the entire bottom 30 percent of U.S. society. (Many at the bottom have zero or negative net worth, especially after the housing debacle.) Warren Buffett put the matter correctly when he said, “There’s been class warfare going on for the last 20 years and my class has won.”

The media has mostly reported that the recall of one Rep senator won't matter since the senate won't meet again until November for an abbreviated session before the newly elected senate is seated.(I assume there'll be a new senate-if I'm wrong please correct)

Not really true. Walker is trying to negotiate an agreement with an iron mining corp  and if so he would want to have the senate to convene to approve it asap. Which might be such a long shot that he wouldn't  bother

No great significance-just a piece of data. 

One of the 4 Republican senators fighting a recall is losing by 800 votes.If that holds up control of the Wisconsin Senate will go over to the Dems.

Sometimes what seems to be more of the same is a "whole new ballgame".

As I've written here before that , unrecognized,  occurred when Reagan reduced the top marginal tax rate from 70% to 28% which made it possible for banks to pay bonuses large enough so bankers calculated that it was economic to risk their banks to Greenspan's shocked surprise. 

Nothing about the actual votes but we know that most of those voting disapprove of recalls.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57447919-503544/early-wisconsin-recall-exit-polls-60-percent-say-recalls-are-only-for-official-misconduct/.

As I've done in some past elections I'll post a report when the first meaningful results come in and will keep updating it in the comments until a decision. 

Unless any one else wants to- Madison dagbloggers?

Anyone with better info should feel free to replace me at any time including before I start. Otherwise I'll look around tomorrow and try to locate a Wisconsin source that promises to start providing data as soon as the polls close

538 is forecasting a narrow Walker win.

Only 69,000 increase in employment.  The unemployment rate rises to 8.2%.  I'd been guessing +250,000.  So much for my forecasting ability.  

Obama's toast. I'm sorry to say.

But decisions have consequences and his decision to back Geithner vs Christy Romer will have been the major factor behind his coming defeat.

o The New York police department has for years been visiting services in mosques, all over the north east, taking notes, jotting down license plate numbers

o In Afghanistan we burn objectionable books, even the Koran

o And a sergeant walks down a rural street and murders 9 children and 7 adults probably mostly women

They all show that we hate Muslims.

Would Bloomberg and Kelley have staked out St. Patricks? Or a temple in Great Neck? The question answers itself.

Dean Baker , Beat the Press Tuesday

                   The piece (in the Washington Post-Flavius) also includes a number of assertions that are unsupported by anything. For example, it tells readers:

Here's an excerpt from Brad Delong, yesterday, writing something that stands common sense on its head: that cutting the deficit doesn't .... well cut the deficit :

Indeed, in less than a year, if current forecasts are correct, Britain’s Cameron-Osborne Depression will not merely be the worst depression in Britain since the Great Depression, but probably the worst depression in Britain…ever.

Sunday’s Times editorial page for the zillionth time puzzles over  why the US health care system is exceptional: exceptionally expensive without caring for us exceptionally well.

September 2006:

In 2007 there were 16.million of us below the poverty line. In 2010 that was 19 million. According to the Nation (the source of everything below), quoting the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities that would have been even  9.9 million higher   except for the Stimulus.

One of those stimulants was continuing the food stamp program which alone saved 4 million from poverty. In 2007 on any given day 26 million of us used them. Now  that’s 46 million.

Won’t be for long. By 2013 $11billion-about 20%- of the funding will disappear.

Bruce: What do you think about the appointees to the NLRB?  What do you think about the Supreme Court's involvement with respect to both the NLRB and the Consumer Protection Agency? 

As a layman, it seems to me this Senate's combination of the filibuster with its conversion of the consent requirement into a non-legislative block of presidential action is an attempt to fundamentally alter the division of powers. But what do I know?

Here's how Talking Points Memo described it

Boehner ……………………………………………… said the goal is to pass the new bill by unanimous consent on Friday morning. That means if even a single recalcitrant Republican objects to his plan, the chaos will drag on…………………...

At a press conference………………………………. Boehner admitted he has no assurances that the unanimous consent request will fly but ……………… vowed to force them to take an up-or-down vote on the issue next week if they cause any trouble.

TPM describes the process. Essentially it will dodge the Senate bill by resolution to go to conference. Reid has said he won't  but I think he'll have to swallow his pride. Otherwise the democrats will have the blame on Jan 2 when

- the payroll tax reduction ends

- unemployment compensation is cut

- Medicare is crippled by imposition of a 30% cut in physicians pay—which will cause the docs to withdraw services.

When/if those things happen, it shouldn't be because Reid refused to call some senators back to negotiate.  

The war wasn’t going well so the Government drafted famous Surgeon X for duty as a front line medic. Even though what he was famous for was doing heart transplants. The litter bearers brought in a wounded patient. He’d stepped on a mine and his left leg was mangled, bleeding heavily.

Surgeon X

Nurse, prepare for a heart transplant

Nurse