News Briefs, 10/17/08

Autumn temperatures in the Arctic are at record levels, the Arctic Ocean is getting warmer and less salty as sea ice melts, and reindeer herds appear to be declining, researchers reported yesterday.

First Read: In a victory for the state of Ohio, the US Supreme Court has overturned a lower court order, freeing the state from a requirement that it share information about voter databases with county election boards.

The United States said Friday that North Korea has stepped up disablement of a nuclear reactor it had been threatening to reactivate.

Home construction took its third tumble in a row during September, falling to the lowest level in 17 years, and a sign points to further decline in the fourth quarter.

Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care program in the country just seven months after it launched.

WP: A leading House Democrat alleged yesterday that a top fundraiser for Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain has been involved in apparent war profiteering by inflating prices on jet fuel in defense contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

RCP: 3,200 academics around the country have signed a petition in defense of Bill Ayers, saying that those who criticize the unrepentant former domestic terrorist who now teaches at the University of Illinois - Chicago are are trying to "intimidate free thinking and stifle critical dialogue.

Washington Post endorses Obama.

Blaming Fannie, Freddie, Frank, Poor People...

McClatchy News:

As the economy worsens and Election Day approaches, a conservative campaign that blames the global financial crisis on a government push to make housing more affordable to lower-class Americans has taken off on talk radio and e-mail.

Commentators say that's what triggered the stock market meltdown and the freeze on credit. They've specifically targeted the mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which the federal government seized on Sept. 6, contending that lending to poor and minority Americans caused Fannie's and Freddie's financial problems.

Federal housing data reveal that the charges aren't true, and that the private sector, not the government or government-backed companies, was behind the soaring subprime lending at the core of the crisis... (emphasis added)

American Prospect:

...But what they choose instead to deflect attention from the train wreck that has been Bush administration supervision of the economy are some claims that are completely divorced from the truth. The three claims that have come across our view screen are:

• It’s the fault of the Community Reinvestment Act
• It’s the fault of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
• It’s the fault of immigrants

And just for fun, here's a video of a shouting match between Barney Frank and Bill O'Reilly.

Tested

Obama's latest ad hits the McCain mortgage plan.

Half-Baked

Politico reports that John McCain's new housing plan is confusing economists and analysts on both sides of the political spectrum.

The few details available about McCain’s American Homeownership Resurgence Plan gives the impression the plan is “half-baked,” according to Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

“If you’re launching a major new initiative, usually you blitz the cable networks and really try to penetrate the public consciousness. I didn’t see that today,” he said Wednesday.

“It would really frighten me if he actually thought this was good policy,” said Dan Mitchell, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute. “I assume that it’s nothing but a desperation ploy,” to show they are doing something “big and bold,” he said.

“It seems hastily put together … given the lack of detail, specificity, and overlap with existing programs,” added a Republican financial services lobbyist. (emphasis added)