1/27 Roundup: The Axe, Environmental Thuggery, Antelopes of War

Leader: The Axe

-  American employers announced 55,000 job cuts yesterday, with announcements made by some of the largest and sturdiest companies. Caterpillar was the big kahuna, slashing 20,000 jobs.  Pfizer, Home Depot, Sprint Nextel, and others also cut thousands. 4.6 million Americans are currently jobless, the most since 1982, and the unemployment rate has reached 10 percent in some states. 

- As many as 75,000 jobs were cut worldwide yesterday. As the economy has turned downward, job cuts have spread, beginning in the real estate and financial services sectors, but expanding recently to include manufacturing, retail, and information technology.   

Politics

- President Obama yesterday issued orders directing the EPA to reconsider the ban preventing states from setting their own emissions standards for autos. Senator James Inhofe, usually a friend to states' rights, referred to Obama's action as "environmental thuggery."

- Grover Nordquist once said that "bipartisanship is another name for date rape." John Dickerson at Slate looks at what Obama means by bipartisanship (probably not date rape).

- Rep. Tom Petri (R) isn't wild about the bailout.  Why? Because it doesn't include enough infrastructure spending.  He is, needless to say, alone in his caucus.

International

- In the first serious clash since last week's ceasefire, Palestinian militants set off a bomb near Israel's border with Gaza, killing one soldier.

- Israel has unleashed eight antelopes of war in its northern territories.  The half-ton elands have been charged with chewing up all the tall grass and foliage that impairs sightlines into Lebanon, and could hide guerillas.

One More Thing

- Rush Limbaugh is confident that Barack Obama, the most powerful man in the world, is afraid of him.

-  The White House e-mail system went down for eight hours yesterday, and somehow, business went on.

- Last, Crooked Rod has a great appreciation for turn of the century British poetry, it seems: