Dual Losses Signal Trouble for Democratic Party

If Democrats want to know how they’re likely to fare in the next full-scale Congressional elections, and in the presidential election in 2012, they probably need not look further than New York and Nevada, two states that just elected Republicans to House seats in special elections. In New York’s Howard Beach area, Republican Bob Turner defeated Democrat David Weprin to take over the vacated seat of disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner. For a Republican to win in such an urban region is almost unheard of, as the Democratic party tends to appeal to those in such areas.

In Nevada, Democrats were crushed in a special election. In the wake of those losses, key Democratic Party contributors voiced displeasure with President Obama. Said one source, "People feel betrayed, disappointed, furious, disgusted, hopeless." Noted Democratic House Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, "I think every election reflects on the person in charge, but do I think it is an overall statement on the president alone? No. Do I think it will be interpreted as being a statement on Obama? That’s probably correct."

The defeats also had Democrats grousing about the way Republicans are acting in Congress, noting that they’re being tremendously demanding and hard to get along with. Noted Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, "The Republicans want us to repeal the 20th century, the New Deal, the Fair Deal, to turn us back to the robber barons running the country, and to eviscerate the environmental and other regulations to protect public health and safety and to cut spending in ways that would be very harmful to people who rely on government."

As a note to Waxman – now, in the wake of such a major drubbing in two elections – is not the time to complain about Republicans. Voters in two regions just chose them over your party. As for Waxman’s comment about people who "rely on government" – such concepts could just be at the heart of why the Republican Party just won in those two elections.

Scarlett Johansson Nude Photos Hit Web

Scarlett Johansson has now been confirmed as the latest high profile victim of phone hacking, and the FBI is involved in tracking the crime. Nude photos of Johansson were posted online on Wednesday, but it is unclear if any of the photos are still available on the Web. It's a safe bet that they are. Ultimately, however, one has to wonder just how big of a deal this really is. After all, Ms. Johansson is widely considered to be one of the most attractive female actors in the world. So, it's safe to assume that she looks good naked.

It would be one thing if she had filmed herself in the midst of pornographic acts or if she was doing something illegal while she was naked. But just having pictures of her naked go public? Seriously, what's the big deal? Most women - and men - would kill for Johansson's body, so the fact that it is now publicly available in the nude really shouldn't matter too much. It's only embarrassing from the standpoint of some dated and puritanical viewpoints, which are hardly relevant in 2011.

Americans are still titillated with the idea that a "famous" person can be seen naked. Many mainstream films contain nudity that is much more illicit than the cell phone images that are hacked from celebrities. But it's hard to under estimate the power of the voyeuristic draw that pulls so many of us in. It's the underlying driver of the popularity of Facebook, so we have already established that it's a major social force in our connected world.

But again, if I'm Scarlett Johansson, I'm very upset that my phone was hacked and I'll go to great lengths to prevent it from happening again. I really don't care that I'm naked on the Internet.

Jobless Claims Spike, Markets Still Climb as Global Economy Staggers

The overall picture of the U.S. and global economies is becoming harder to determine on a daily basis. The vast majority of data coming from domestic sources paints a grim picture of the U.S. economy. Unemployment is locked in at over 9.1% and there is nothing to indicate that better times are ahead. In fact, downward revisions from the first half of the year for overall growth indicate that the economy may already be contracting and in a recession. The fact that no real recovery has been realized since the financial collapse of 2008 has many claiming that we're actually already in a depression.

But whatever terms you want to throw at describing the current macro-economic situation we're in is rather immaterial. The biggest hurdle the global economy faces at the moment is that sovereign debt is out of control, and the system as it currently exists is not equipped to handle that contingency. Greece is grabbing all of the headlines and the attention of Euro leaders today. But even with new bailout agreements, austerity measures, and claims of solidarity among Europe's economic powerhouses, few truly believe that this problem is going away. Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and perhaps other nations, simply don't have the potential for GDP growth outside of bubble conditions to allow them to keep up with their existing and future debt loads. Eventually, the same will be true of the U.S. and other global economic powers.

Even with new rounds of QE, which are now practically a certainty, the long-term prospects for recovery are non-existent on a global scale. The only way to move forward with a healthy global economy is to allow the toxic debt situations to die, regardless of how painful it might be in the short term.

We speak often of the fear of "contagion", but the fact is that the global economy is already sick - and it's because the powers that be have refused to let the infectious veins die off naturally. Once the infected pieces have died, new, healthier pieces may emerge to take their place. Until that happens, the entire body will continue to die a slow and painful death.