Monday Open Thread [11.26.12]

A new CNN/ORC poll finds 53% of the country has an unfavorable view of the Republican Party, and 58% want the Republican to have less say and influence over the direction of the country over the last two years. And 70% say the GOP has not done enough to cooperate with Obama. Yeah, if we go over the Fiscal Slope, the GOP will be blamed pretty severely.

The Fraud That Is The Campaign To Fix The Debt

You may have heard of this group back in late October, when a group of 80+ CEOs signed a letter to Washington that asks Congress work out a deficit-reduction deal that calls for both increases revenues and cuts spending. This letter (and the launch of this group) had enough of the optics of bipartisanship that Senator Chris Coons rushed out with a statement that endorsed this "balanced approach" to deficit reduction. You can see something of these optics in the Statement of Principles that these CEOs published:

At Least 124 Bangladeshi Garment Workers Perish In Fire

Guess who they make made clothes for:
Bangladesh exports about $18 billion worth of garments and is a big supplier to companies like Walmart, H&M and Tommy Hilfiger. Workers in the country’s factories are among the lowest-paid in the world with entry-level workers making a government-mandated minimum wage of about $37 a month.
Need I take the guise of Captain Obvious and point out that that's why these garments are so inexpensive? Didn't think so.

The Sink Sunk

Of all the minor emergencies that float through ones mind as you prepare to host relatives for Thanksgiving dinner, a collapsing sink is not one of them.