Hey folks, internet access is a bit dodgy down here so I'm going to take a break until Saturday.
See you then!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
New Math
I didn’t get to watch the President’s speech last night, nor get to take part in all the fun over at The Conservative Wahoo. I’ve been in Key Largo, FL for the past few days on a company award trip (some companies still do that), and will take a few more days here with Mrs. Goldwater to recover.
I imagine the speech was filled with lofty platitudes; heavy on the rhetoric and light on the details – as is usually the case in State of the Union addresses. This is where Obama really shines, so I would expect nothing less than an hour or so of captivating oratory.
And judging by the media recaps this morning, I’m not far off the mark. Universal health, universal education – lots of goodies in Obama Claus’ bag. But what keeps nagging me is this – pledging massive increases in spending, no new taxes for 95% of Americans (or those making less than $250,000), a cure for cancer while at the same time reducing the deficit by half appears to me at least to be an extremely difficult, if not impossible goal.
This New Math is built upon some very optimistic assumptions – assumptions that would have been rightly ridiculed by democrats in a republican administration.
I imagine the speech was filled with lofty platitudes; heavy on the rhetoric and light on the details – as is usually the case in State of the Union addresses. This is where Obama really shines, so I would expect nothing less than an hour or so of captivating oratory.
And judging by the media recaps this morning, I’m not far off the mark. Universal health, universal education – lots of goodies in Obama Claus’ bag. But what keeps nagging me is this – pledging massive increases in spending, no new taxes for 95% of Americans (or those making less than $250,000), a cure for cancer while at the same time reducing the deficit by half appears to me at least to be an extremely difficult, if not impossible goal.
This New Math is built upon some very optimistic assumptions – assumptions that would have been rightly ridiculed by democrats in a republican administration.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Do We Need A New Deal?
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told a gathering of European dignitaries yesterday that the world needs a “global New Deal” to help pull it out of its current economic crisis. Brown’s comments reflect a growing resurgence of FDR’s Depression-era policies among some economists and thinkers on the left. This begs a reasonable question – reasonable enough in theory but not in application – did the New Deal work?
And depending upon who you ask, the answers will vary. If you were to lock a dozen economists in a room (what a party that’d be), six liberal and six conservative, and told them that they were not allowed out until they came to consensus on the question, chances are likely that they’d still be in there. It’s not just because of their political differences, but because they’d still be arguing as to what the New Deal constituted and what measures they'd use to judge its success.
Some on the left side of the argument might point to real GDP growth from 1932-1940 as evidence of New Deal validity, while the right might counter that unemployment figures for the same period varied widely, never dipping below 14%. In response, the left would throw down their Krugman card, arguing that the good doctor and Nobel Prize winner would say the only reason unemployment figures surged in 1937 was because much of FDR’s policies were repealed. A-ha! The right would counter, not only were the policies unconstitutional, they weren’t working! Not only that, but 1937 would have been about the time when FDR’s massive tax increases in 1935 would have begun to have been felt in the economy. And so on…
But I think one thing both sides might agree upon is that New Deal policies weren’t the result of any “new” thinking or codified plan at all; they were mostly retreads of Wilsonian Utopian collectivism. Jonah Goldberg, in his excellent book Liberal Fascism, quotes FDR economic advisor Alvin Hansen when asked in 1940 whether “the basic principle of the New Deal” was economically sound, is to have responded, “I really do not know what the basic principle of the New Deal is.” From Hansen, it can be reasoned that the basic principle of the New Deal is that whatever stuck to the wall was good enough.
This is not to say that certain policies of the New Deal didn’t provide some measure of relief – two such policies that come to mind are Social Security and Unemployment Insurance – but these are two of several that didn’t, and which could have been enacted irrespective of the New Deal.
Ultimately, I think the New Deal was a product of its time, borne from the notion that the state is the solution for all of society’s ills. This movement needed an impetus, which the social and economic upheaval of the Depression gladly provided.
And depending upon who you ask, the answers will vary. If you were to lock a dozen economists in a room (what a party that’d be), six liberal and six conservative, and told them that they were not allowed out until they came to consensus on the question, chances are likely that they’d still be in there. It’s not just because of their political differences, but because they’d still be arguing as to what the New Deal constituted and what measures they'd use to judge its success.
Some on the left side of the argument might point to real GDP growth from 1932-1940 as evidence of New Deal validity, while the right might counter that unemployment figures for the same period varied widely, never dipping below 14%. In response, the left would throw down their Krugman card, arguing that the good doctor and Nobel Prize winner would say the only reason unemployment figures surged in 1937 was because much of FDR’s policies were repealed. A-ha! The right would counter, not only were the policies unconstitutional, they weren’t working! Not only that, but 1937 would have been about the time when FDR’s massive tax increases in 1935 would have begun to have been felt in the economy. And so on…
But I think one thing both sides might agree upon is that New Deal policies weren’t the result of any “new” thinking or codified plan at all; they were mostly retreads of Wilsonian Utopian collectivism. Jonah Goldberg, in his excellent book Liberal Fascism, quotes FDR economic advisor Alvin Hansen when asked in 1940 whether “the basic principle of the New Deal” was economically sound, is to have responded, “I really do not know what the basic principle of the New Deal is.” From Hansen, it can be reasoned that the basic principle of the New Deal is that whatever stuck to the wall was good enough.
This is not to say that certain policies of the New Deal didn’t provide some measure of relief – two such policies that come to mind are Social Security and Unemployment Insurance – but these are two of several that didn’t, and which could have been enacted irrespective of the New Deal.
Ultimately, I think the New Deal was a product of its time, borne from the notion that the state is the solution for all of society’s ills. This movement needed an impetus, which the social and economic upheaval of the Depression gladly provided.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Hollywood Splits The Baby…
The 150th or so Academy Awards were presented last night amid the usual pompous and I-can’t-stand. I didn’t watch them, and can’t quite understand those folks who do. But then again, they can’t understand why I write a blog that no one reads, so I guess that makes us even.
Slumdog Millionaire took home Best Picture and Best Director. Good story + hot girl = box office gold. Kate Winslet won Best Actress. I haven’t seen anything she’s done since Titanic, but I understand she’s spent a lot of her time naked in subsequent movies. May have to do a Kate Winslet retrospective one of these days…
I’ll reserve judgment on Sean Penn. I absolutely loathe Penn the person, but kind of like what he does on screen – sort of sums up the way I feel about Johnny Depp. But I wasn’t surprised when I read that Penn won Best Actor, especially since everyone else thought Mickey Rourke was a shoo-in.
Penelope Cruz is a hottie in her own right, but I had no idea she was even nominated. I still think Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight was fabulously OK, and suspect that his win was influenced somehow by the talk of “this was the role that killed him.” That and enough tranquilizers to kill a horse race.
Slumdog Millionaire took home Best Picture and Best Director. Good story + hot girl = box office gold. Kate Winslet won Best Actress. I haven’t seen anything she’s done since Titanic, but I understand she’s spent a lot of her time naked in subsequent movies. May have to do a Kate Winslet retrospective one of these days…
I’ll reserve judgment on Sean Penn. I absolutely loathe Penn the person, but kind of like what he does on screen – sort of sums up the way I feel about Johnny Depp. But I wasn’t surprised when I read that Penn won Best Actor, especially since everyone else thought Mickey Rourke was a shoo-in.
Penelope Cruz is a hottie in her own right, but I had no idea she was even nominated. I still think Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight was fabulously OK, and suspect that his win was influenced somehow by the talk of “this was the role that killed him.” That and enough tranquilizers to kill a horse race.
Clinton Hits Up Uncle Yang
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrapped up her whirlwind tour of Asia on Sunday with a stop in China, where she urged the Chinese government to keep buying US debt to allow the US to continue to go further into it.
The tone of US rhetoric on Chinese human rights violations will more than likely soften over the next few years as our respective economies become more interconnected. Don’t want to piss off the banker and all that…
The tone of US rhetoric on Chinese human rights violations will more than likely soften over the next few years as our respective economies become more interconnected. Don’t want to piss off the banker and all that…
Bunning: Ginsburg Dead Within Nine
Senator and apparent amateur oncologist Jim Bunning gave the over/under at nine for the number of months Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s has left until her date with the Grim Reaper. The 75 year-old justice was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Although pancreatic cancer is one of the most serious and fatal forms of the disease, doctors diagnosed Ginsburg’s malady at Stage 1, which is often the most curable.
I wonder if he’s taking any action on Ted Kennedy?
I wonder if he’s taking any action on Ted Kennedy?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Obama To Cut Deficit In Half
The Washington Post is reporting that President Obama's 2010 budget request will include provisions aimed at cutting the federal budget deficit in half by 2013. The reduction will come primarily through raising taxes on businesses and the wealthy, and by reducing spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I'm interested to see the details. Are these the same businesses that are currently seeking federal bailout money, and the same "wealthy" who are applying for federal mortgage assistance? And while a draw down in Iraq may appear to be a cost saver, these resources will only be shifted to the Afghani theater as military activity in that region increases in coming months.
The article also mentions a major expansion of health coverage, and usually when I see the words "major" and "health coverage" in the same sentence, "cost savings" are never words that follow.
I wonder if this planned deficit reduction will include any of the sunsetting "short-term" provisions of the recent stimulus legislation. Do you think mayors and educators are going to part with their new found largess without a fight?
Interesting times await...
I'm interested to see the details. Are these the same businesses that are currently seeking federal bailout money, and the same "wealthy" who are applying for federal mortgage assistance? And while a draw down in Iraq may appear to be a cost saver, these resources will only be shifted to the Afghani theater as military activity in that region increases in coming months.
The article also mentions a major expansion of health coverage, and usually when I see the words "major" and "health coverage" in the same sentence, "cost savings" are never words that follow.
I wonder if this planned deficit reduction will include any of the sunsetting "short-term" provisions of the recent stimulus legislation. Do you think mayors and educators are going to part with their new found largess without a fight?
Interesting times await...
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Netanyahu To Form New Coalition
If there is a government any more Byzantine than our own, I vote for Israel’s. On Friday, Israeli President Shimon Peres gave Benjamin Netanyahu six weeks to form a new ruling coalition. But in order to do so, the more right-leaning Netanyahu will need to reach across the aisle to the centrist Kadima Party, whose leader Tzipi Livni will almost certainly extract a promise of some sort of power sharing arrangement.
These events are being closely monitored by an Obama Administration bent on putting its own mark on the Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu is certainly no dove in Israeli-Palestinian affairs or the larger Middle East for that matter, recently signaling that he would act with or without Washington’s blessing should Iran’s nuclear ambitions reach a certain tipping point.
And considering that Israel would need to travel over Iraqi airspace controlled by the US, it should make for some interesting posturing in the months to come.
These events are being closely monitored by an Obama Administration bent on putting its own mark on the Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu is certainly no dove in Israeli-Palestinian affairs or the larger Middle East for that matter, recently signaling that he would act with or without Washington’s blessing should Iran’s nuclear ambitions reach a certain tipping point.
And considering that Israel would need to travel over Iraqi airspace controlled by the US, it should make for some interesting posturing in the months to come.
Obama Backs Bush On Enemy Combatants
Bet that’s one headline you’d thought you’d never see. The Justice Department contended yesterday that detainees at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan are enemy combatants, and as such do not have US constitutional rights.
Not surprisingly, human rights attorneys have their collective panties in a bunch.
Not surprisingly, human rights attorneys have their collective panties in a bunch.
Obama Gets Pep Talk From The Groper
Last Friday the 13th, President Obama claimed a major victory in his first month in office by ushering a $787 billion economic stimulus package through Congress. Wall Street promptly greeted the news with an 83-point drop that same day. That weekend, as details of Treasury Secretary Geithner’s proposed bank bailout plan began to materialize and euphemisms for nationalization were being tested on the Sunday-morning talk shows, all eyes were on the Street that following Tuesday to see how the financial markets would take to the news of their new “silent” partner.
Market watchers weren’t disappointed. The Dow tanked another 293 points. For the week, the market dropped over 550 points, and most likely would have lost more had it not for the President’s Day holiday. Network securities analysts started doing their best Howard Beale impressions, and many Americans began (or continued) stockpiling canned goods and bottled water in preparation for the Bolshevik Revolution of 2009.
Enter the Groper. Never one to shy away from dispensing unsolicited advice, or even the lure of a television camera, former President Clinton gave the current president high marks to ABC News for his handling of the economic crisis. But Clinton says that he would have tempered his big stick with a soft pillow. “I just would like him to end by saying that he is hopeful and completely convinced that we're gonna come through this,” Mr. Clinton told “Good Morning America” anchor Chris Cuomo. "It's worth reminding the American people that for more than 230 years everyone who bet against America lost money. It’s a mistake to bet against this country over the long run.”
It’s good advice, coming from someone who found himself entering a presidency under similar, albeit less gloomy, economic conditions. And Bill Clinton, despite his personal foibles, is a master politician. He “got” that the Wall St. v. Main St. rhetoric would do nothing to further his agenda once he assumed office, and instead worked the system to assure the markets that there would be something in his policies for everyone.
Obama’s class warfare oratory makes for good campaign sound bytes, and may even provide some measure of comfort to embittered Americans reeling from corporate excesses; but ultimately it does little or nothing to advance his agenda, and may even deepen the chasm of division he championed against during his candidacy. Like it or not, Wall Street’s and Main Street’s fortunes are inexorably linked, and excoriating one at the pleasure of another may worsen the current malaise – and that’s one word from a former president I don’t think the Obama Administration wants linked to it.
Market watchers weren’t disappointed. The Dow tanked another 293 points. For the week, the market dropped over 550 points, and most likely would have lost more had it not for the President’s Day holiday. Network securities analysts started doing their best Howard Beale impressions, and many Americans began (or continued) stockpiling canned goods and bottled water in preparation for the Bolshevik Revolution of 2009.
Enter the Groper. Never one to shy away from dispensing unsolicited advice, or even the lure of a television camera, former President Clinton gave the current president high marks to ABC News for his handling of the economic crisis. But Clinton says that he would have tempered his big stick with a soft pillow. “I just would like him to end by saying that he is hopeful and completely convinced that we're gonna come through this,” Mr. Clinton told “Good Morning America” anchor Chris Cuomo. "It's worth reminding the American people that for more than 230 years everyone who bet against America lost money. It’s a mistake to bet against this country over the long run.”
It’s good advice, coming from someone who found himself entering a presidency under similar, albeit less gloomy, economic conditions. And Bill Clinton, despite his personal foibles, is a master politician. He “got” that the Wall St. v. Main St. rhetoric would do nothing to further his agenda once he assumed office, and instead worked the system to assure the markets that there would be something in his policies for everyone.
Obama’s class warfare oratory makes for good campaign sound bytes, and may even provide some measure of comfort to embittered Americans reeling from corporate excesses; but ultimately it does little or nothing to advance his agenda, and may even deepen the chasm of division he championed against during his candidacy. Like it or not, Wall Street’s and Main Street’s fortunes are inexorably linked, and excoriating one at the pleasure of another may worsen the current malaise – and that’s one word from a former president I don’t think the Obama Administration wants linked to it.
Friday, February 20, 2009
“Taking A Whack” At Climate Change
This doesn’t instill confidence in me. Then again, nothing Harry Reid says or does would instill confidence in me. The Senate Majority Leaders says it’s time to “take a whack” at climate change, and hopes to have legislative action completed by the end of summer.
If this is anything like “taking a whack” at economic stimulus, please count me out. It is getting increasingly difficult to stay positive anymore with imbeciles like Reid running the show.
If this is anything like “taking a whack” at economic stimulus, please count me out. It is getting increasingly difficult to stay positive anymore with imbeciles like Reid running the show.
Merger of Equals?
Bloomberg News is reporting this morning that Chrysler LLC is hinting that a merger of GM and Chrysler may be the “best option” for survival of the two flailing automakers. The two car companies had discussed a merger last Fall, but talks broke off after GM decided to go it alone.
I can’t wait for the craptucular line this marriage will produce.
I can’t wait for the craptucular line this marriage will produce.
Hard Times
Sobering thoughts this morning from Peggy Noonan. The "new normal" is beginning to sink in for many...
Thursday, February 19, 2009
UN: Iran Making Bombs, Not Hugs As Previously Told
The UN conceded today that Iran has built up a stockpile of uranium sufficient enough to produce at least one atomic bomb. This announcement comes as the Obama Administration seeks a new dialogue with Tehran in an effort to curb its nuclear ambitions.
“It appears that Iran has walked right up to the threshold of having enough low enriched uranium to provide enough raw material for a single bomb,” said Peter Zimmerman of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
Um, how does a country just “walk right up” to the atomic threshold without raising an alarm or two? Oh right, this is the UN we’re talking about.
Sometime next year, when Tehran triumphantly announces that it has developed an atomic weapon, how likely is it that the Obama Administration will look to dump the blame on "the failure of eight years of isolationist foreign policy?"
“It appears that Iran has walked right up to the threshold of having enough low enriched uranium to provide enough raw material for a single bomb,” said Peter Zimmerman of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
Um, how does a country just “walk right up” to the atomic threshold without raising an alarm or two? Oh right, this is the UN we’re talking about.
Sometime next year, when Tehran triumphantly announces that it has developed an atomic weapon, how likely is it that the Obama Administration will look to dump the blame on "the failure of eight years of isolationist foreign policy?"
Detroit Back For More Smack
The UAW announced late Tuesday that it reached an agreement with Detroit’s Big 3 automakers over contract concessions, a condition required as part of the initial $17.4 billion bailout pact reached with Congress last December.
But get this – the UAW’s agreed to limit overtime, change certain work rules, cut lump sum cash bonuses and get rid of cost-of-living pay raises to help reduce companies’ labor costs. Cut lump sum cash bonuses? That’s awfully big of them. I realize these bonuses probably pale in comparison to those handed out on Wall Street while Lehman Brothers burned, but isn’t the symbolism sort of the same?
And GM is justifying this additional bailout by saying the federal government would have to spend at least $100 billion in bankruptcy to guarantee pension payments and other obligations. But as Paul Ingrassia writes in today’s Wall Street Journal, they’ve requested almost half that amount in bailout money already – and they will surely be back for more.
But get this – the UAW’s agreed to limit overtime, change certain work rules, cut lump sum cash bonuses and get rid of cost-of-living pay raises to help reduce companies’ labor costs. Cut lump sum cash bonuses? That’s awfully big of them. I realize these bonuses probably pale in comparison to those handed out on Wall Street while Lehman Brothers burned, but isn’t the symbolism sort of the same?
And GM is justifying this additional bailout by saying the federal government would have to spend at least $100 billion in bankruptcy to guarantee pension payments and other obligations. But as Paul Ingrassia writes in today’s Wall Street Journal, they’ve requested almost half that amount in bailout money already – and they will surely be back for more.
Rare Bird Tastes Like Chicken
My brother Jim sent me this story last night. It seems that a breed of bird thought to be extinct was photographed recently in the Philippines by a documentary crew following the species - just prior to being sold to a poultry market as food.
Not a lot of details accompany the story, but what I want to know is this - if the crew knew the bird was extinct, why didn't they simply purchase it themselves?
Not a lot of details accompany the story, but what I want to know is this - if the crew knew the bird was extinct, why didn't they simply purchase it themselves?
A Nation Of Cowards
A neat bit of timing occurred yesterday when at the same time the first black Attorney General of the United States serving under the first black Chief Executive takes its citizens to task for their reluctance to confront racial issues, a cartoon parodying the gunning down of a rampant chimpanzee by police officers was interpreted by some in the black community as racist.
In the cartoon, displayed above, one of the officers standing over the dead chimp turns to the other and says “they’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” Not one of Sean Delonas’ better works, but I got the parody. The $787 billion, oft-criticized monstrosity of a stimulus bill was written by a Congress with an intellect of a monkey. Some community activists didn’t get the joke, instead interpreting the cartoon as comparing the dead monkey to President Barack Obama.
Opportun, er, civil rights activist Al Sharpton called the cartoon “troubling at best given the historic racist attacks of African-Americans as being synonymous with monkeys.” Barbara Ciara, president of the National Association of Black Journalists was equally not amused, “to compare the nation’s first African-American commander-in-chief to a dead chimpanzee is nothing short of racist drivel.”
A racist cartoon? It’s a stretch – it’s a real stretch – and unfortunately a harbinger of what may be to come in the way of reaction whenever President Obama is caricatured in the future. I recall the left taking enormous glee when parodying former President George W. Bush as everything from a chimp to a vampire. Some of it funny and relevant; some of it vitriolic and off the mark. In the age of Obama, it appears that dissent will be racially motivated.
If we are to take Holder at his word to “get to the heart of this country” by engaging in frank discussions of race, we should be able to do so without the rhetorical guilt trip that usually accompanies such dialogue. These discussions must also be predicated upon the notion that racism and bigotry exists everywhere – it is not exclusive to white America, nor are blacks the only target of its ugliness.
Holder also envisions a day “when the dream of individual, character based, acceptance can actually be realized.” But wasn’t Obama’s “transformational” victory the culmination of this ideal? Wasn't his own confirmation as Attorney General based on this criteria, or was it based on something else?
With the election of Barack Obama and the elevation of black Americans to positions of prominence within his administration, black America is now on notice – they are now either part of the solution, or part of the problem. The problems confronting all Americans – the economy, national security, terrorism – are fairly black and white, but the solution is neither. There are no more excuses.
In the cartoon, displayed above, one of the officers standing over the dead chimp turns to the other and says “they’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” Not one of Sean Delonas’ better works, but I got the parody. The $787 billion, oft-criticized monstrosity of a stimulus bill was written by a Congress with an intellect of a monkey. Some community activists didn’t get the joke, instead interpreting the cartoon as comparing the dead monkey to President Barack Obama.
Opportun, er, civil rights activist Al Sharpton called the cartoon “troubling at best given the historic racist attacks of African-Americans as being synonymous with monkeys.” Barbara Ciara, president of the National Association of Black Journalists was equally not amused, “to compare the nation’s first African-American commander-in-chief to a dead chimpanzee is nothing short of racist drivel.”
A racist cartoon? It’s a stretch – it’s a real stretch – and unfortunately a harbinger of what may be to come in the way of reaction whenever President Obama is caricatured in the future. I recall the left taking enormous glee when parodying former President George W. Bush as everything from a chimp to a vampire. Some of it funny and relevant; some of it vitriolic and off the mark. In the age of Obama, it appears that dissent will be racially motivated.
If we are to take Holder at his word to “get to the heart of this country” by engaging in frank discussions of race, we should be able to do so without the rhetorical guilt trip that usually accompanies such dialogue. These discussions must also be predicated upon the notion that racism and bigotry exists everywhere – it is not exclusive to white America, nor are blacks the only target of its ugliness.
Holder also envisions a day “when the dream of individual, character based, acceptance can actually be realized.” But wasn’t Obama’s “transformational” victory the culmination of this ideal? Wasn't his own confirmation as Attorney General based on this criteria, or was it based on something else?
With the election of Barack Obama and the elevation of black Americans to positions of prominence within his administration, black America is now on notice – they are now either part of the solution, or part of the problem. The problems confronting all Americans – the economy, national security, terrorism – are fairly black and white, but the solution is neither. There are no more excuses.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Bring Me The Head Of Winston Churchill
Much ado has been made by the right about President Obama’s recent decision to return a bust of Winston Churchill back to the Brits. The British people loaned the bust to George W. Bush as a show of solidarity in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I don’t know the specifics as to why the President returned it - maybe it clashed with his “Egg of Power” sculpture.
But I have a suggestion for President Obama – perhaps he can replace the bust of Churchill with that of Dutchman Geert Wilders. And after viewing for what passes as Britain anymore, would Churchill even want to go back?
But I have a suggestion for President Obama – perhaps he can replace the bust of Churchill with that of Dutchman Geert Wilders. And after viewing for what passes as Britain anymore, would Churchill even want to go back?
Vi er all Svensk nu!*
The Financial Times.com is reporting this morning that the Obama/Geithner “Swedish model” bailout plan for the banking industry is gaining support among congressional republicans. I didn’t have a chance to read the final stimulus bill, but were Swedish models part of it? Sweet! I think I’m going to like this socialism thing – when do I get mine?
We live in truly interesting times when republicans refuse to dismiss nationalization outright. But as we’ve seen with the auto industry, infusing the patient with fresh blood while he continues to bleed out the side isn’t necessarily the best medicine. We need to stop the bleeding.
Call it what you want – nationalization, pre-privatization, or reorganization, the end result all needs to be the same. The feds need to get in, clean it up, and get out as soon as the industry stabilizes. This may prove to be a tough task for an administration convinced that government has all of the solutions.
* roughly translated: We are all Swedes now!
We live in truly interesting times when republicans refuse to dismiss nationalization outright. But as we’ve seen with the auto industry, infusing the patient with fresh blood while he continues to bleed out the side isn’t necessarily the best medicine. We need to stop the bleeding.
Call it what you want – nationalization, pre-privatization, or reorganization, the end result all needs to be the same. The feds need to get in, clean it up, and get out as soon as the industry stabilizes. This may prove to be a tough task for an administration convinced that government has all of the solutions.
* roughly translated: We are all Swedes now!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Farewell Travis, We Hardly Knew Ye
This story has been bugging me all day. I’m not sure why either. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Travis is a chimpanzee, and met a rather un-chimp-like end. Or perhaps it was because I found out that Travis lived better than I do – he ate lobster, steak and ice cream after all. His obituary, for lack of a better term, stated that Travis could eat at a table, drink wine from a stemmed glass, use the toilet, and dress and bathe himself. Use the toilet - Whoa! - Better not let Mrs. Goldwater see that one, she’s bound to set the bar that much higher.
He also logged on to a computer to look at photos and channel-surfed television with a remote control. Now I know why I was so taken with Travis’ plight – we were soul brothers.
But seriously, are authorities really that baffled as to why Travis might suddenly snap and maul his handler’s friend nearly to death? He’s a 200 lb. feces-flinging, sweater wearing, hand mauling powder keg. Colleen McCann, primatologist at the Bronx Zoo said it best – “At the end of the day, they are not human and you can't always predict their behavior and how they or any other wild animal will respond when they feel threatened.” Indeed Ms. McCann. Perhaps at the end of the day, Travis remembered the evolutionary span that separated him from his human handlers.
That, or maybe he felt the stress of being laid off from his job at Old Navy.
He also logged on to a computer to look at photos and channel-surfed television with a remote control. Now I know why I was so taken with Travis’ plight – we were soul brothers.
But seriously, are authorities really that baffled as to why Travis might suddenly snap and maul his handler’s friend nearly to death? He’s a 200 lb. feces-flinging, sweater wearing, hand mauling powder keg. Colleen McCann, primatologist at the Bronx Zoo said it best – “At the end of the day, they are not human and you can't always predict their behavior and how they or any other wild animal will respond when they feel threatened.” Indeed Ms. McCann. Perhaps at the end of the day, Travis remembered the evolutionary span that separated him from his human handlers.
That, or maybe he felt the stress of being laid off from his job at Old Navy.
Feds Raid Stanford Financial Office
Federal agents raided the Houston TX office of Robert Allen Stanford’s Stanford Financial Group earlier this afternoon as part of an ongoing SEC investigation into possible securities fraud. Over $8 billion dollars worth of fraud.
Now, you might think that at a time like this, a Texas billionaire CEO under fire like Stanford would prefer to be in the company of friend and fellow republican swine George W. Bush, right? Not so fast. A quick check of Stanford’s campaign contributions indicates that he’s a solid “D”. Who was Stanford’s single largest campaign contribution to in 2008? Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY).
Do you think the media will mention Stanford’s fundraising activities in its coverage of the story, given his apparent political leanings? Do you think they would if the ratios had been reversed?
Now, you might think that at a time like this, a Texas billionaire CEO under fire like Stanford would prefer to be in the company of friend and fellow republican swine George W. Bush, right? Not so fast. A quick check of Stanford’s campaign contributions indicates that he’s a solid “D”. Who was Stanford’s single largest campaign contribution to in 2008? Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY).
Do you think the media will mention Stanford’s fundraising activities in its coverage of the story, given his apparent political leanings? Do you think they would if the ratios had been reversed?
The Chicago Way?
Perhaps writing this blog has made me a bit jaded, but when it came to light over the weekend that Sen. Roland Burris may have perjured himself in congressional testimony over his role in Blagopolooza, I didn't give it much thought.
Now, word is that the Senator now acknowledges having attempted to raise money for the infamous Governor-in-exile Rod Blagojevich. Burris insists he never raised money for Blagojevich while the governor was considering whom to appoint to the seat President Barack Obama vacated. Attempted, yes; succeeded, no. Politics is a game of meaning, after all.
I guess the engravers will have to change up the inscription on his burial crypt a bit.
Now, word is that the Senator now acknowledges having attempted to raise money for the infamous Governor-in-exile Rod Blagojevich. Burris insists he never raised money for Blagojevich while the governor was considering whom to appoint to the seat President Barack Obama vacated. Attempted, yes; succeeded, no. Politics is a game of meaning, after all.
I guess the engravers will have to change up the inscription on his burial crypt a bit.
The 25 Best Conservative Movies
Last week the National Review Online, in conjunction with Andrew Breitbart’s Big Hollywood blog, compiled their list of the 25 Best Conservative Movies. Their selection process was hardly scientific – they elicited input from readers of NRO for movies that resonated with their sense of conservatism in a particular way. Their final tally can be found here.
Overall, a fairly good list – I’ve seen 19 of the 25, but I can't say that Red Dawn has stood the test of time. Also, I was particularly glad to see 300 among the titles listed. Yes, I realize that the movie is historically inaccurate, but it’s a movie based on a comic book based on a historical event – Sheesh!
Did any of yours make the cut?
Overall, a fairly good list – I’ve seen 19 of the 25, but I can't say that Red Dawn has stood the test of time. Also, I was particularly glad to see 300 among the titles listed. Yes, I realize that the movie is historically inaccurate, but it’s a movie based on a comic book based on a historical event – Sheesh!
Did any of yours make the cut?
Monday, February 16, 2009
FDR II
The deal is done. Both sides have had their say, and now the stimulus bill which passed Congress on Friday heads to President Obama for signature. And the President, who admonished republicans for delaying passage of a bill so vital and necessary to the survival of the republic – has decided to wait until tomorrow to sign. What a showman.
There have been too many comparisons made over the last several months as to where exactly this current economy fits in relation to other historic downturns. Consensus among the Obamaniacs is that their guy is a sort of FDR II, looking to vindicate the Keynesian policies of the New Deal the Left feels is so often maligned by conservatives.
Fine, I’ll grant them this. But if we are to draw these comparisons, then Obama would be wise to heed the pitfalls presented to his Muse; namely, that one of the reasons the Great Depression dragged on for so long was because excessive taxation FDR imposed to pay for New Deal spending stagnated both private investment and public consumption. As Jim Powell over at the National Review Online points out, taxes in the period from 1933-1940 increased threefold. And the burden wasn’t just placed on the rich – the middle class and poor felt the pinch through excise taxes on beer, cigarettes and other comfort items.
Now that a good dose of the tax incentives of earlier versions of the stimulus was stripped from the final product, the fate of the Bush tax cuts should weigh heavily on the agenda of congressional republicans. The Bush tax cuts are scheduled to sunset at the end of 2010, and early signals from the Obama Administration are that he has no intention of renewing them.
Raising taxes at such a critical juncture of economic recovery appears to be a history lesson that, unfortunately, we may be doomed to repeat.
There have been too many comparisons made over the last several months as to where exactly this current economy fits in relation to other historic downturns. Consensus among the Obamaniacs is that their guy is a sort of FDR II, looking to vindicate the Keynesian policies of the New Deal the Left feels is so often maligned by conservatives.
Fine, I’ll grant them this. But if we are to draw these comparisons, then Obama would be wise to heed the pitfalls presented to his Muse; namely, that one of the reasons the Great Depression dragged on for so long was because excessive taxation FDR imposed to pay for New Deal spending stagnated both private investment and public consumption. As Jim Powell over at the National Review Online points out, taxes in the period from 1933-1940 increased threefold. And the burden wasn’t just placed on the rich – the middle class and poor felt the pinch through excise taxes on beer, cigarettes and other comfort items.
Now that a good dose of the tax incentives of earlier versions of the stimulus was stripped from the final product, the fate of the Bush tax cuts should weigh heavily on the agenda of congressional republicans. The Bush tax cuts are scheduled to sunset at the end of 2010, and early signals from the Obama Administration are that he has no intention of renewing them.
Raising taxes at such a critical juncture of economic recovery appears to be a history lesson that, unfortunately, we may be doomed to repeat.
To-MAY-toe, To-MAH-toe
Obama Administration efforts to recapitalize the banking system made the rounds of the talk show circuit yesterday, as the prospect of bank nationalization or some derivative of it grows more likely. Perhaps one of the reasons why the term nationalization concerns so many (including me), is that history has demonstrated that once the federal government gets its hooks into something, it’s awfully difficult to get it out.
Economist Greg Mankiw has a great post up at his blog, where he reasons that whatever we want to call it – nationalization or pre-privatization – the sound of it does not bode well for capitalism in the long run.
Economist Greg Mankiw has a great post up at his blog, where he reasons that whatever we want to call it – nationalization or pre-privatization – the sound of it does not bode well for capitalism in the long run.
“Truth” and Consequences
Not content with controlling all three branches of federal government, some democrats on the Hill are now turning their sights on criminal prosecution of former President George W. Bush for alleged constitutional transgressions during his term in office.
Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is calling for a “truth and reconciliation” commission to investigate possible abuses of power by the former president and members of his cabinet. Senator Leahy said that in addition to investigating the events surrounding the firing of nine US attorneys, the proposed commission will also seek to look into Bush’s warrantless wiretap program and interrogation techniques employed in the former president’s War on Terror – techniques which include waterboarding and extraordinary rendition.
For his part, President Obama has been reluctant to sign on to Leahy’s witch hunt, preferring to “get it right moving forward” – much to the chagrin of the salivating moonbats within the democrat party who smell blood in the water after the republican pasting in November.
Why the reluctance? For one thing, it may have something to do with the power of Executive Privilege, a tool the new President may find he will need to invoke over the next few years. For another, some of the very same counter espionage techniques Bush’s critics deplore, Obama has signaled that his administration plans to retain. How hypocritical might that look four to eight years from now?
Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is calling for a “truth and reconciliation” commission to investigate possible abuses of power by the former president and members of his cabinet. Senator Leahy said that in addition to investigating the events surrounding the firing of nine US attorneys, the proposed commission will also seek to look into Bush’s warrantless wiretap program and interrogation techniques employed in the former president’s War on Terror – techniques which include waterboarding and extraordinary rendition.
For his part, President Obama has been reluctant to sign on to Leahy’s witch hunt, preferring to “get it right moving forward” – much to the chagrin of the salivating moonbats within the democrat party who smell blood in the water after the republican pasting in November.
Why the reluctance? For one thing, it may have something to do with the power of Executive Privilege, a tool the new President may find he will need to invoke over the next few years. For another, some of the very same counter espionage techniques Bush’s critics deplore, Obama has signaled that his administration plans to retain. How hypocritical might that look four to eight years from now?
Fed Chief’s Home Sold In Foreclosure
Well, technically, it was Bernanke’s boyhood home and his family sold the property over a decade ago, but the Fed Chairman’s plight just brings you to tears, doesn’t it?
Obama To Release "Solid" Housing Plan
I certainly hope it’s a lot more “solid” than his Treasury Secretary’s TARP II plan…
Global Warming Heating Up
It seems that even if we avert economic catastrophe in 2009, a lifetime of irreversible global warming peril awaits us, according to a report released by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
IPCC spokesperson Chris Field maintains that significant carbon emissions from developing nations such as India and China in recent years may have had the effect of heating the planet, “beyond anything that we’ve considered seriously.” So there.
What the linked article doesn’t report is that the IPCC also states that increased use of biofuels may actually do more harm than good in the short run. How so? As American farmers devote more acreage of farmland toward growing corn for biologically-based fuel at the expense of other crops like soybeans, this capacity will be taken up by other developing countries, such as Brazil. Brazil ratchets up production of soybeans by destroying more acreage of tropical forests, which scientists believe act to soak up carbon dioxide. Instead, the forest is burned, releasing gases into the air.
Nothing like the Law of Unintended Consequences to brighten your day.
So if the use of aerosols in the 1970’s led scientists to conclude that they contributed to global cooling, why not re-introduce them to counteract the effects of global warming? Team AquaNet to save the day!
IPCC spokesperson Chris Field maintains that significant carbon emissions from developing nations such as India and China in recent years may have had the effect of heating the planet, “beyond anything that we’ve considered seriously.” So there.
What the linked article doesn’t report is that the IPCC also states that increased use of biofuels may actually do more harm than good in the short run. How so? As American farmers devote more acreage of farmland toward growing corn for biologically-based fuel at the expense of other crops like soybeans, this capacity will be taken up by other developing countries, such as Brazil. Brazil ratchets up production of soybeans by destroying more acreage of tropical forests, which scientists believe act to soak up carbon dioxide. Instead, the forest is burned, releasing gases into the air.
Nothing like the Law of Unintended Consequences to brighten your day.
So if the use of aerosols in the 1970’s led scientists to conclude that they contributed to global cooling, why not re-introduce them to counteract the effects of global warming? Team AquaNet to save the day!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sunday Funnies
OK, maybe those reports of my sloth are a teensy bit accurate.
Admittedly, I got nuttin' today - guess I'm still decompressing from my vacation. But I hope to be back in full swing tomorrow. Until then, I leave you with today's Sunday Funnies:
Hat Tip: Iowahawk
Admittedly, I got nuttin' today - guess I'm still decompressing from my vacation. But I hope to be back in full swing tomorrow. Until then, I leave you with today's Sunday Funnies:
Hat Tip: Iowahawk
Reports Of My Sloth Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
Sorry that I haven’t been able to keep current with the posts, but I took a few days off with the Goldwater clan and headed down to our nation’s capitol for a few days of R&R. The Conservative Wahoo graciously offered us the use of his splash pad, which provided us a great home base.
Lots to see and do – the renovated Smithsonian Museum of American History was one of my highlights, as was the Capitol Building. But if you ask the kids, they would probably say the Metro rides and Uncle Bryan's 50-inch plasma television were theirs.
Now, back to business…
Lots to see and do – the renovated Smithsonian Museum of American History was one of my highlights, as was the Capitol Building. But if you ask the kids, they would probably say the Metro rides and Uncle Bryan's 50-inch plasma television were theirs.
Now, back to business…
Friday, February 13, 2009
Gregg Out At Commerce
New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg was taken to an undisclosed Washington, DC hospital last night for observation when, after a cursory self examination, the Senator discovered what appeared to be two fleshy lumps in the area descending from his lower abdomen. Tests later concluded that the lumps were indeed the testicles that Gregg had been missing for several weeks.
Ok, perhaps that was unfair.
While I admire the Senator for his courage in walking away from a position he felt compromised his principles, it was a position in which he set himself in in the first place.
Ok, perhaps that was unfair.
While I admire the Senator for his courage in walking away from a position he felt compromised his principles, it was a position in which he set himself in in the first place.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Newsweek’s Deb Announcement
It looks so much more depressing when our march to socialism is spelled out like this…
The promise of socialism? Several million dead Soviets might beg to differ.
As I recall, the Left heaped scorn on the Right during the campaign for even daring to suggest that Barack Obama held socialist tendencies. Now, Newsweek triumphantly heralds it.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
CEOs Defend Use Of Bailout
The heads of some of the world’s biggest financial institutions were hauled in front of a congressional kangaroo court yesterday to defend their companies’ use of federal bailout money. The CEOs of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo testified before Congress that the funds they received last November did not go to executive bonuses, lobbying or other frivolous activities.
The CEOs are in a pickle on this one. We’re in this mess largely because of relaxed lending standards encouraged (or in any cases required) by the same folks who now sit smugly in judgment of them. These institutions lost fortunes when housing prices tanked and the recipients of these loans, many of whom were woefully unqualified in the first place, subsequently defaulted. The banks needed immediate capital infusion to stem massive losses, and were only too happy to accept the government cheese.
Now, as any fiscally responsible person might do in the wake of such a credit bender, banks are becoming a little more discrete as to where and to whom they lend money. But they also find themselves being spanked like the bad little girls they are by Congress for – you guessed it – not making loans available to consumers and businesses that are woefully unqualified to receive them in the first place.
The problem isn’t unavailable credit – there’s plenty to be had at cheap rates – the problem is that Americans and businesses are busy trimming their balance sheets from the last credit smorgasbord and hunkering down for what could be a prolonged economic hibernation.
Living beyond our means is what led to the creation of this monster, and it appears the Feds are poised to pick up where the consumer left off.
The CEOs are in a pickle on this one. We’re in this mess largely because of relaxed lending standards encouraged (or in any cases required) by the same folks who now sit smugly in judgment of them. These institutions lost fortunes when housing prices tanked and the recipients of these loans, many of whom were woefully unqualified in the first place, subsequently defaulted. The banks needed immediate capital infusion to stem massive losses, and were only too happy to accept the government cheese.
Now, as any fiscally responsible person might do in the wake of such a credit bender, banks are becoming a little more discrete as to where and to whom they lend money. But they also find themselves being spanked like the bad little girls they are by Congress for – you guessed it – not making loans available to consumers and businesses that are woefully unqualified to receive them in the first place.
The problem isn’t unavailable credit – there’s plenty to be had at cheap rates – the problem is that Americans and businesses are busy trimming their balance sheets from the last credit smorgasbord and hunkering down for what could be a prolonged economic hibernation.
Living beyond our means is what led to the creation of this monster, and it appears the Feds are poised to pick up where the consumer left off.
Come Again Chuck?
Did Sen. Chuck Schumer really just say that Americans don’t care about pork spending in the stimulus bill?
This one goes into the RNC vault for a rainy day…
This one goes into the RNC vault for a rainy day…
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Pot Activists To Boycott Kelloggs
Now this is one call to action that should last till about...oh…their tenth or eleventh bong hit. The Marijuana Policy Project is calling upon its members to boycott Kelloggs products to protest the cereal manufacturer’s decision to drop sponsorship of Michael Phelps, after the swimming star was recently photographed smoking pot.
I can see it now:
“Dude, step away from the Frosted Flakes!”
“But dude, I’m baked and I’m starving!”
“Dude, one word – Michael Phelps”
“Duuuuuuuude.”
“Yeah, that’s just what I was about to say.”
I can see it now:
“Dude, step away from the Frosted Flakes!”
“But dude, I’m baked and I’m starving!”
“Dude, one word – Michael Phelps”
“Duuuuuuuude.”
“Yeah, that’s just what I was about to say.”
Taxing Day For Geithner
Yeah, I went there. Seriously though, it was a tough day for the guy; he’s going to earn every cent of his civil service salary over the next few years. But the reason Wall Street tanked over 380 points today was not because he was necessarily the bearer of bad news, it was that he lacked any type of news altogether.
Geithner presented an overview of his financial rescue plan in a speech earlier this afternoon, which calls for infusing over $2 trillion into the financial system through a partnership of private and government funds to acquire and sell toxic assets. However, the devil is in the details as to how the Fed will value these toxic assets currently weighing down the balance sheets of many struggling financial institutions.
Secretary Geithner is in a tough spot, but it's not as though he didn't have time to prepare.
Geithner presented an overview of his financial rescue plan in a speech earlier this afternoon, which calls for infusing over $2 trillion into the financial system through a partnership of private and government funds to acquire and sell toxic assets. However, the devil is in the details as to how the Fed will value these toxic assets currently weighing down the balance sheets of many struggling financial institutions.
Secretary Geithner is in a tough spot, but it's not as though he didn't have time to prepare.
Somewhere, Gerald Ford Is Laughing
I’m not one of these partisan hacks (at least I don’t think I am) who needs to document every slip of President Obama to prove he’s every bit as human as George W. Bush is, or that there is a concerted effort in the media to cover up these incidents or gloss over them completely - but this is just damn funny:
I attached this clip in response to an email I received the other day from a left-leaning friend of the family. The email contained a video montage of Bush’s greatest goofs, with the subject line “was this guy really our president for eight years?”.
Well, add this to clip to the recent footage of The One fumbling for the door of the White House and you’ve got yourself the beginnings of an Obama Greatest Hits package of your own, and he’s barely three weeks into the job.
I attached this clip in response to an email I received the other day from a left-leaning friend of the family. The email contained a video montage of Bush’s greatest goofs, with the subject line “was this guy really our president for eight years?”.
Well, add this to clip to the recent footage of The One fumbling for the door of the White House and you’ve got yourself the beginnings of an Obama Greatest Hits package of your own, and he’s barely three weeks into the job.
The Press Conference
Admittedly, I did not watch the presidential press conference last night, as I was holed up with Marketing discussing creative directions with the site. Truth be told, I wouldn’t have watched it anyway, at least not while Obama’s still on honeymoon with the press. Depending on how the next year or two goes, those press conferences might actually be fun to watch.
I did manage to watch a few clips of responses, and a few thoughts come to mind:
- As eloquent a speaker President Obama is with prepared material, he’s just not very good extemporaneously. And that’s OK, it’s an incredibly difficult skill set to develop – just ask his predecessor.
- “So-called terrorists” – could someone please chloroform Helen Thomas before the next press conference?
- The “it was like this when I got here” excuse will wear thin with the press and the public soon. Like now.
I did manage to watch a few clips of responses, and a few thoughts come to mind:
- As eloquent a speaker President Obama is with prepared material, he’s just not very good extemporaneously. And that’s OK, it’s an incredibly difficult skill set to develop – just ask his predecessor.
- “So-called terrorists” – could someone please chloroform Helen Thomas before the next press conference?
- The “it was like this when I got here” excuse will wear thin with the press and the public soon. Like now.
Please Pardon Our Appearance...
You may have noticed a different banner greeting you when you arrived at the site this morning. Research said we aren't pulling in the critical youth demographic, and recommended a few "cosmetic" changes.
I thought gold lettering on a plain black background screamed hep; but what do I know?
Let me know what you think.
I thought gold lettering on a plain black background screamed hep; but what do I know?
Let me know what you think.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Not Enough TARP To Cover?
Christy Romer, Chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, sat down with CBS’ Bob Schieffer yesterday morning to talk about the stimulus package. What I found most interesting occurs about 1:30 into the interview, where Schieffer asks Romer about the TARP II plan. Treasury Secretary Geithner was to have announced today how the remaining $350 billion of the $700 billion appropriated last year for the financial bailout will be spent. Geithner has delayed this announcement by a day or two, ostensibly because of the sensitivity surrounding the stimulus.
Watch CBS Videos Online
Schieffer asked a good question – will the $350 billion approved be enough, or will Geithner ask for more? Romer didn’t say, and unfortunately Schieffer didn’t press, but I’m guessing the answer is “no, it's not enough - we need more”.
Watch CBS Videos Online
Schieffer asked a good question – will the $350 billion approved be enough, or will Geithner ask for more? Romer didn’t say, and unfortunately Schieffer didn’t press, but I’m guessing the answer is “no, it's not enough - we need more”.
Feds Want Their $2 From GM, Chrysler
The Feds may force GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy to guarantee repayment of $17.4 billion in bailout money, a move the automakers say will almost certainly destroy them.
First they were doomed if we didn’t bail them out, now they are doomed if they are required to repay the loan – I think it’s time for an intervention for these two junkies. Bankruptcy may be the rehab they need.
First they were doomed if we didn’t bail them out, now they are doomed if they are required to repay the loan – I think it’s time for an intervention for these two junkies. Bankruptcy may be the rehab they need.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Left In The Lurch
Over at the Weekly Standard, I caught this illuminating tidbit from John Kerry speaking out against tax cuts:
“I've supported many tax cuts over the years, and there are tax cuts in this proposal. But a tax cut is non-targeted. If you put a tax cut into the hands of a business or family, there's no guarantee that they're going to invest that or invest it in America. They're free to go invest anywhere that they want if they choose to invest.”
Looks like he supported tax cuts before he was against them. But I don’t come here to bury Kerry; I come to ask what the hell happened to him? Senator Kerry was one of the early, big supporters of Barack Obama’s candidacy. He even went to bat for the fledgling candidate shortly after early Obama missteps and sniping from candidate Hillary Clinton’s husband Bill (you remember him).
During the transition, it was even rumored that Kerry was under consideration for an Obama cabinet post, possibly even State. But then nothing.
Much has been made of Obama’s “Team of Rivals” – but what about your team of supporters? Even Richardson was thrown a bone over at Commerce.
Any thoughts?
“I've supported many tax cuts over the years, and there are tax cuts in this proposal. But a tax cut is non-targeted. If you put a tax cut into the hands of a business or family, there's no guarantee that they're going to invest that or invest it in America. They're free to go invest anywhere that they want if they choose to invest.”
Looks like he supported tax cuts before he was against them. But I don’t come here to bury Kerry; I come to ask what the hell happened to him? Senator Kerry was one of the early, big supporters of Barack Obama’s candidacy. He even went to bat for the fledgling candidate shortly after early Obama missteps and sniping from candidate Hillary Clinton’s husband Bill (you remember him).
During the transition, it was even rumored that Kerry was under consideration for an Obama cabinet post, possibly even State. But then nothing.
Much has been made of Obama’s “Team of Rivals” – but what about your team of supporters? Even Richardson was thrown a bone over at Commerce.
Any thoughts?
Two Little Boys
There is news this morning out of the Middle East that Palestinian militants fired two rockets into southern Israel, violating an informal truce even as Israeli and Hamas leaders meet to iron out details for a longer, formal cease-fire agreement.
This continued provocation of Israel by Palestinian thugs, and Israel’s eventual and inevitable response is analogous to my own experiences growing up with older brothers. Naturally, being the youngest, best-looking and brightest of the brood, I was often the target of repression by my jealous older brothers. When these dust-ups occurred, I ran screaming to the sheltering arms of my mother, who promptly meted out her own brand of wooden spoon justice.
After awhile, I found it easier and perversely entertaining to play up the physical and psychological damage inflicted upon me, or to make it up altogether. But after a time, my mother grew impatient with my constant whining, becoming less and less sympathetic to my cause.
Eventually, one of us got the crap kicked out of us when out of earshot of my mother. Can you guess who that was?
Now can you guess who the Palestinians are in this little analogy?
This continued provocation of Israel by Palestinian thugs, and Israel’s eventual and inevitable response is analogous to my own experiences growing up with older brothers. Naturally, being the youngest, best-looking and brightest of the brood, I was often the target of repression by my jealous older brothers. When these dust-ups occurred, I ran screaming to the sheltering arms of my mother, who promptly meted out her own brand of wooden spoon justice.
After awhile, I found it easier and perversely entertaining to play up the physical and psychological damage inflicted upon me, or to make it up altogether. But after a time, my mother grew impatient with my constant whining, becoming less and less sympathetic to my cause.
Eventually, one of us got the crap kicked out of us when out of earshot of my mother. Can you guess who that was?
Now can you guess who the Palestinians are in this little analogy?
Liberal Pornography
Check out what is passing for soft core porn in liberal circles nowadays – showering with President Obama. While admittedly, I do have a sort of schoolboy crush on Barbara Bush (W’s daughter you numbskulls!), I can’t honestly say I’ve ever entertained the thoughts detailed in Warner’s piece. Well, OK, maybe making Barbara a sandwich, but that’s it. Really.
The Wrath Of Khan
A.Q. Khan, father of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, was freed recently from house arrest by the Pakistani High Court. Khan is credited with ushering in Pakistan’s nuclear program, and then promptly sharing its fissionable goodness with much of the Islamic world and North Korea.
Khan’s release has piqued the interest (and alarm) of the CIA and the State Department, who reportedly still have yet to be granted access to question Khan for his past activities.
I know a few bad guys who would love to have Khan assist them with their little science experiments…
Khan’s release has piqued the interest (and alarm) of the CIA and the State Department, who reportedly still have yet to be granted access to question Khan for his past activities.
I know a few bad guys who would love to have Khan assist them with their little science experiments…
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Return of “W”
Fear not Lefty lurkers, I don’t mean that W; I mean the growth curve. It looks as though the porkulus package, as some on the conservative blogosphere have dubbed it, will be pushed through after some rigorous late-night maneuvering. I haven’t read through all of the details of the package, but depending on which news outlet you read and the time of day, cost estimates run anywhere from $780 billion to $926 billion. Only in America can politicians claim to have cut spending while adding to overall costs.
Will it work? For possible answers to that, see my previous post on the Japanese experiment. My own feeling is that it will have a minor placebo-like effect in the short-term; that is to say that it will be difficult to discern if any recovery we experience toward the end of the year was due to the efforts of Washington, or the natural machinations of the business cycle. Whatever the case, the deal appears to have been done, so we need to hunker down and make the most of it.
My concern with the package is more on the longer term impact to the economy. Despite assurances by President Obama and democrats to the contrary, I don’t believe the spending provisions of this bill are “stimulative” at all – many of them appear to be here to stay.
Which leads to the title of my post. While economists appear to be split on which letter of the alphabet the eventual recovery will take – some favoring an “L” and some a “V” – I submit we are more likely to experience a “W”, where short term gains in growth are quickly offset by higher inflation, tightened credit markets and a weaker dollar. At some point, Obama will need to pay for this spending spree – he can raise taxes, take on more debt, or continue to print more money. None of these options is desirable, and may actually be counterproductive to any growth the economy may be experiencing at the time.
With most economists predicting recovery either in the latter part of this year or beginning of next, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to conclude under this scenario that another downturn may be waiting in the wings just about the time Obama gears up for re-election. And with Medicare and Social Security storms on the horizon, we may not be able to spend our way out of that one.
Will it work? For possible answers to that, see my previous post on the Japanese experiment. My own feeling is that it will have a minor placebo-like effect in the short-term; that is to say that it will be difficult to discern if any recovery we experience toward the end of the year was due to the efforts of Washington, or the natural machinations of the business cycle. Whatever the case, the deal appears to have been done, so we need to hunker down and make the most of it.
My concern with the package is more on the longer term impact to the economy. Despite assurances by President Obama and democrats to the contrary, I don’t believe the spending provisions of this bill are “stimulative” at all – many of them appear to be here to stay.
Which leads to the title of my post. While economists appear to be split on which letter of the alphabet the eventual recovery will take – some favoring an “L” and some a “V” – I submit we are more likely to experience a “W”, where short term gains in growth are quickly offset by higher inflation, tightened credit markets and a weaker dollar. At some point, Obama will need to pay for this spending spree – he can raise taxes, take on more debt, or continue to print more money. None of these options is desirable, and may actually be counterproductive to any growth the economy may be experiencing at the time.
With most economists predicting recovery either in the latter part of this year or beginning of next, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to conclude under this scenario that another downturn may be waiting in the wings just about the time Obama gears up for re-election. And with Medicare and Social Security storms on the horizon, we may not be able to spend our way out of that one.
Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Adrift
I came across this New York Times article by way of Greg Mankiw’s blog. Mankiw is a professor of economics at Harvard University who runs a neat economics blog in his spare time.
When faced with a similar economic downturn in the early 90’s following a real estate bubble, Japan embarked on its own program of massive spending on public works.
Did it work? The answer, frustratingly but not surprisingly is maybe. After all, this is economics we’re talking about. After over a decade of spending, Japan accumulated the largest public in the developed world, but has recorded anemic growth to show for it.
But since Congress appears determined to take us over these falls, the story does provide some interesting lessons as to where and how to spend. Are you taking any notes, Rep. Obey?
When faced with a similar economic downturn in the early 90’s following a real estate bubble, Japan embarked on its own program of massive spending on public works.
Did it work? The answer, frustratingly but not surprisingly is maybe. After all, this is economics we’re talking about. After over a decade of spending, Japan accumulated the largest public in the developed world, but has recorded anemic growth to show for it.
But since Congress appears determined to take us over these falls, the story does provide some interesting lessons as to where and how to spend. Are you taking any notes, Rep. Obey?
Friday, February 6, 2009
Obama’s Bully Pulpit Or Just Plain Bull?
Striking a slightly angrier rhetorical tone yesterday, President Barack Obama warned the American people that failure to enact his stimulus package could result in irreversible economic hardships. Interestingly, that’s just what I would say about passage of this heaping pile of crap.
Writing in an Op-Ed piece in Thursday’s Washington Post, Obama sought to reinforce the dire straits the US faces: “This recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.”
Obama also rejected traditional stimulus measures such as tax cuts to help jump start the economy. “I reject these theories,” said Obama, “and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change.”
Here, I think Obama may be in danger of misreading the American public’s desire for and the scope of his mandate for change. The financial market meltdown last Fall provided democrats with their own version of an “October Surprise”, sealing the deal for voters weary of eight years of republican executive management. Americans elected Obama largely because he sounded like the fiscally conservative grown up in the room, at least among independents. And as deficit projections from the proposed stimulus and financial bailouts balloon to over $2 trillion, with much of the spending provisions remaining a permanent fixture of federal spending, Americans are understandably nervous.
The president then promptly blamed republicans for holding up the package in Congress. In a speech before the party elite later in the day, Obama slammed the Bush Administration for running up the national debt, and mocked republicans for questioning the stimulative aspects of the package – “What do they think stimulus is, it’s spending!” But Democrats are firmly in the driver’s seat here and should have the votes necessary to pass the bill without republican support. And surely a bill that adds almost a $1 trillion to the public debt should be carefully reviewed, shouldn’t it?
Clearly, things are not going Obama's way. He needs to wrestle control of the debate back from the more left leaning elements of the party and recast it in a more bi-partisan and less fatalistic fashion. Wasn’t this type of fear-mongering the same tactic President Obama accused his opposition of relying upon during the campaign?
Writing in an Op-Ed piece in Thursday’s Washington Post, Obama sought to reinforce the dire straits the US faces: “This recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.”
Obama also rejected traditional stimulus measures such as tax cuts to help jump start the economy. “I reject these theories,” said Obama, “and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change.”
Here, I think Obama may be in danger of misreading the American public’s desire for and the scope of his mandate for change. The financial market meltdown last Fall provided democrats with their own version of an “October Surprise”, sealing the deal for voters weary of eight years of republican executive management. Americans elected Obama largely because he sounded like the fiscally conservative grown up in the room, at least among independents. And as deficit projections from the proposed stimulus and financial bailouts balloon to over $2 trillion, with much of the spending provisions remaining a permanent fixture of federal spending, Americans are understandably nervous.
The president then promptly blamed republicans for holding up the package in Congress. In a speech before the party elite later in the day, Obama slammed the Bush Administration for running up the national debt, and mocked republicans for questioning the stimulative aspects of the package – “What do they think stimulus is, it’s spending!” But Democrats are firmly in the driver’s seat here and should have the votes necessary to pass the bill without republican support. And surely a bill that adds almost a $1 trillion to the public debt should be carefully reviewed, shouldn’t it?
Clearly, things are not going Obama's way. He needs to wrestle control of the debate back from the more left leaning elements of the party and recast it in a more bi-partisan and less fatalistic fashion. Wasn’t this type of fear-mongering the same tactic President Obama accused his opposition of relying upon during the campaign?
Gibbs Can't Dance
Poor Robert Gibbs. Obama’s Press Secretary has had a lot of tap dancing to do before the press regarding recent cabinet nominee tax, um, oversights.
Presidential press relations is a hard, thankless job, and Gibbs is clearly not up to it as evidenced in this tête-à-tête with Jake Tapper:
Check out the look on Helen Thomas’ face about a minute into it – she looks like an angry Lasso Apso poised to gnaw off Tapper’s nose for daring to question the transparency of The One.
Gibbs will be replaced by the end of the month; not a good sign for the Administration.
Presidential press relations is a hard, thankless job, and Gibbs is clearly not up to it as evidenced in this tête-à-tête with Jake Tapper:
Check out the look on Helen Thomas’ face about a minute into it – she looks like an angry Lasso Apso poised to gnaw off Tapper’s nose for daring to question the transparency of The One.
Gibbs will be replaced by the end of the month; not a good sign for the Administration.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Executive Wage Controls
President Obama is said to be seriously considering rules that would seek to impose a $500,000 a year salary cap on executives whose firms receive government financial rescue funds. The rules are expected to be announced next week as part of a plan to spend the remaining TARP funds.
I reserve the right to reverse course once I see the complete details of the rules, but based upon the preliminary details, I’m a’gin it. The same argument that has been made to me about congressional pay (enticing the “best and brightest” to public service and all that) applies here. No one batted an eyelash when these executives were at the helm of institutions that were returning 20% on investment five years ago. And considering bad governmental policy and lax oversight are at the heart of the current mess, this strikes me as a bit hypocritical on the part of Congress.
How so? Take a look at these congressional perks, courtesy of the National Taxpayers Union:
- Pension benefits that are two to three times more generous than those offered in the private sector for similarly-salaried executives. Taxpayers directly cover at least 80 percent of this costly plan. Congressional pensions are also inflation-protected, a feature that fewer than 1 in 10 private plans offer.
- Health and life insurance, approximately 3/4 and 1/3 of whose costs, respectively, are subsidized by taxpayers.
- Wheeled perks, including limousines for senior Members, prized parking spaces on Capitol Hill, and choice spots at Washington's two major airports.
- Travel to far-flung destinations as well as to home states and districts. Despite recent attempts to toughen gift and travel rules, "junkets" are still readily available prerogatives for many Members.
- A wide range of smaller perks that have defied reform efforts, from cut-rate health clubs to fine furnishings.
If we're doing the whole Bolshevik thing here, we ought to go full-bore. I look forward to Obama’s plan to address these inequities.
Look, if you don’t like what the CEO of CitiGroup or whatever it’s called this morning makes, then don’t invest in it. Information on executive compensation is widely available to investors; in fact, executive pay is often put before shareholders vote.
But governmental intrusion and wage controls will only exacerbate the problem by attracting less qualified applicants to head these institutions “too big to fail”. They also amount to the classic slippery slope argument. What’s next, capping salaries for surgeons and other medical professionals – do you really want to go under the knife of a guy who suddenly makes minimum wage?
I reserve the right to reverse course once I see the complete details of the rules, but based upon the preliminary details, I’m a’gin it. The same argument that has been made to me about congressional pay (enticing the “best and brightest” to public service and all that) applies here. No one batted an eyelash when these executives were at the helm of institutions that were returning 20% on investment five years ago. And considering bad governmental policy and lax oversight are at the heart of the current mess, this strikes me as a bit hypocritical on the part of Congress.
How so? Take a look at these congressional perks, courtesy of the National Taxpayers Union:
- Pension benefits that are two to three times more generous than those offered in the private sector for similarly-salaried executives. Taxpayers directly cover at least 80 percent of this costly plan. Congressional pensions are also inflation-protected, a feature that fewer than 1 in 10 private plans offer.
- Health and life insurance, approximately 3/4 and 1/3 of whose costs, respectively, are subsidized by taxpayers.
- Wheeled perks, including limousines for senior Members, prized parking spaces on Capitol Hill, and choice spots at Washington's two major airports.
- Travel to far-flung destinations as well as to home states and districts. Despite recent attempts to toughen gift and travel rules, "junkets" are still readily available prerogatives for many Members.
- A wide range of smaller perks that have defied reform efforts, from cut-rate health clubs to fine furnishings.
If we're doing the whole Bolshevik thing here, we ought to go full-bore. I look forward to Obama’s plan to address these inequities.
Look, if you don’t like what the CEO of CitiGroup or whatever it’s called this morning makes, then don’t invest in it. Information on executive compensation is widely available to investors; in fact, executive pay is often put before shareholders vote.
But governmental intrusion and wage controls will only exacerbate the problem by attracting less qualified applicants to head these institutions “too big to fail”. They also amount to the classic slippery slope argument. What’s next, capping salaries for surgeons and other medical professionals – do you really want to go under the knife of a guy who suddenly makes minimum wage?
Obama's War
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Obama Administration and senior military commanders are putting the finishing touches on plans to deploy tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan by summer’s end in an effort to quell an upswing in violence in recent years, and reign in the re-emerging influence of the Taliban.
Virtually none of the new troop deployments are expected to head to the more populous regions of the country, but will instead focus on Afghanistan’s opium producing centers, rural villages and along the border with Pakistan.
This Afghan “surge” is in part President Obama’s response to his campaign pledge to refocus the US war on terror (or whatever the administration chooses to call it today) away from Iraq and toward the troubled regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Strategically, it’s a wise and long-overdue move; tactically, it will represent a significant shift from current methods of waging war – a shift for which I’m not quite sure the American public is prepared.
The speed and efficiency with which the US toppled the Taliban in 2002 surprised even its planners. Victory was accomplished through the coordinated effort of special forces and the CIA, making what would amount to be unholy alliances with some very unsavory characters. It’s easy enough to get them to kill themselves, harder still to get them to govern themselves.
During the run up to the Iraq war and its aftermath, democrats played the safe bet by criticizing the war without appearing to criticize the mission. The good and just war, they argued, was in Afghanistan – after all, that’s where the 9/11 plot was hatched.
Now, they have their wish. But the front has shifted to a region best described by war correspondent Michael Yon:
Afghanistan is a gaunt, thorny bush, growing amid rocks and dust on dry windswept plains, sweltering deserts, and man-crushing mountains. Its neighbors are treacherous. The Afghan people are mostly living relics, only more advanced than hidden tribes in the Amazon, but centuries behind the least advanced European nations.
Afghanistan is a gaunt, thorny bush, subsisting on little more than sips of humidity from the dry air. We imagined that we could make the bush into a tree, as if straw could be spun into gold or rocks transmuted to flowers. If we continue to imagine that we can turn the thorny bush into a tree, eventually we will realize the truth, but only after much toil, blood and gold are laid under the bush, as if such fertilizer would turn a bush into a tree. We did not make Afghanistan what it is. Afghanistan has existed for thousands of years. It grows the way it grows because the bush drops seeds that make more bushes, never trees.
We must alter our expectations for Afghanistan. There are bigger problems afoot. The ice is melting, banks are melting, and the prestige of great nations that do great things is melting, because they thought they could transform a thorny bush into a tree.
Alter our expectations indeed – speaking on CBS last Sunday, Vice President Biden sought to do just that: “I hate to say it, but yes, I think there will be more [US casualties]…there will be an uptick.”
In addition to altering these expectations, it is my hope that Obama and his advisors will suspend their disbelief long enough to LISTEN to their military advisors on the ground. It’s going to be hard, it’s going to be long and it will be costly.
Virtually none of the new troop deployments are expected to head to the more populous regions of the country, but will instead focus on Afghanistan’s opium producing centers, rural villages and along the border with Pakistan.
This Afghan “surge” is in part President Obama’s response to his campaign pledge to refocus the US war on terror (or whatever the administration chooses to call it today) away from Iraq and toward the troubled regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Strategically, it’s a wise and long-overdue move; tactically, it will represent a significant shift from current methods of waging war – a shift for which I’m not quite sure the American public is prepared.
The speed and efficiency with which the US toppled the Taliban in 2002 surprised even its planners. Victory was accomplished through the coordinated effort of special forces and the CIA, making what would amount to be unholy alliances with some very unsavory characters. It’s easy enough to get them to kill themselves, harder still to get them to govern themselves.
During the run up to the Iraq war and its aftermath, democrats played the safe bet by criticizing the war without appearing to criticize the mission. The good and just war, they argued, was in Afghanistan – after all, that’s where the 9/11 plot was hatched.
Now, they have their wish. But the front has shifted to a region best described by war correspondent Michael Yon:
Afghanistan is a gaunt, thorny bush, growing amid rocks and dust on dry windswept plains, sweltering deserts, and man-crushing mountains. Its neighbors are treacherous. The Afghan people are mostly living relics, only more advanced than hidden tribes in the Amazon, but centuries behind the least advanced European nations.
Afghanistan is a gaunt, thorny bush, subsisting on little more than sips of humidity from the dry air. We imagined that we could make the bush into a tree, as if straw could be spun into gold or rocks transmuted to flowers. If we continue to imagine that we can turn the thorny bush into a tree, eventually we will realize the truth, but only after much toil, blood and gold are laid under the bush, as if such fertilizer would turn a bush into a tree. We did not make Afghanistan what it is. Afghanistan has existed for thousands of years. It grows the way it grows because the bush drops seeds that make more bushes, never trees.
We must alter our expectations for Afghanistan. There are bigger problems afoot. The ice is melting, banks are melting, and the prestige of great nations that do great things is melting, because they thought they could transform a thorny bush into a tree.
Alter our expectations indeed – speaking on CBS last Sunday, Vice President Biden sought to do just that: “I hate to say it, but yes, I think there will be more [US casualties]…there will be an uptick.”
In addition to altering these expectations, it is my hope that Obama and his advisors will suspend their disbelief long enough to LISTEN to their military advisors on the ground. It’s going to be hard, it’s going to be long and it will be costly.
Danny DeVito Arrested In Baghdad?
Oops, mistaken identity; it’s not Danny DeVito, just “The Mother of Believers”, 50 year-old Baghdad resident Samira Ahmed Jassim who stands accused of recruiting dozens of female suicide bombers and masterminding 28 attacks in the region.
The plot goes something like this – young women were purposely raped and sent to Jassim for motherly advice. Jassim is then allegedly said to have counseled these women to become suicide bombers as the only escape from their shame and to reclaim their honor.
I keep looking for evidence of the whole “religion of peace” thing, but I’m not finding any.
The plot goes something like this – young women were purposely raped and sent to Jassim for motherly advice. Jassim is then allegedly said to have counseled these women to become suicide bombers as the only escape from their shame and to reclaim their honor.
I keep looking for evidence of the whole “religion of peace” thing, but I’m not finding any.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Dropping Like, Well, Tax Cheats…
This just in from the White House:
Dear Mr. President, I recognize that your agenda and the duties facing your Chief Performance Officer are urgent. I have also come to realize in the current environment that my personal tax issue of D.C. Unemployment tax could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay those duties must avoid. Because of this I must reluctantly ask you to withdraw my name from consideration.
I am deeply honored to have been selected by you and you have my deep appreciation for your confidence in me. You have my heartfelt support and best wishes for success in all your endeavors.
Respectfully yours,
Nancy Killefer
Killefer was recently named by President Obama as deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, as well as Chief Performance Officer, responsible for performance management of the entire federal government.
Can Daschle be far behind?
Dear Mr. President, I recognize that your agenda and the duties facing your Chief Performance Officer are urgent. I have also come to realize in the current environment that my personal tax issue of D.C. Unemployment tax could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay those duties must avoid. Because of this I must reluctantly ask you to withdraw my name from consideration.
I am deeply honored to have been selected by you and you have my deep appreciation for your confidence in me. You have my heartfelt support and best wishes for success in all your endeavors.
Respectfully yours,
Nancy Killefer
Killefer was recently named by President Obama as deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, as well as Chief Performance Officer, responsible for performance management of the entire federal government.
Can Daschle be far behind?
Batman Goes Bonkers
You think you have it hard? Try when a director of photography walks on to your set during the MIDDLE OF A SCENE!! As someone who just wrapped up production on his company’s sales meeting video, I totally empathize with my brother in craft, artisan Christian Bale.
Should you choose to play the audio link from TMZ, I recommend you do so in the privacy of your home or turn the sound down low in your office – the language is a bit salty.
But seriously Christian, it’s a movie about freakin’ robots.
Should you choose to play the audio link from TMZ, I recommend you do so in the privacy of your home or turn the sound down low in your office – the language is a bit salty.
But seriously Christian, it’s a movie about freakin’ robots.
A Few Good Jihadis
Word from Hollywood is that Aaron Sorkin is busy adapting Norman Mahler’s The Challenge: Hamdan v Rumsfeld and the Fight over Presidential Power into a screenplay. George Clooney has expressed interest in starring in and directing the project, which is described as a courtroom drama about a Navy lawyer representing Osama Bin Laden’s driver, who was imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay for five years.
I can imagine the voice over on the trailer now:
In a world where Bush Administration policy has gone to extremes, one man has the courage to reign in a renegade president and protect innocent foreign chauffeurs…that man is Lt. Col. Tuck McPecrock…
I think I’ll wait for the DVD.
H/T: Ain't It Cool News
I can imagine the voice over on the trailer now:
In a world where Bush Administration policy has gone to extremes, one man has the courage to reign in a renegade president and protect innocent foreign chauffeurs…that man is Lt. Col. Tuck McPecrock…
I think I’ll wait for the DVD.
H/T: Ain't It Cool News
Monday, February 2, 2009
Everyone Knows Frank
You know your day is about to take an ominous turn when the first email of the morning contains the subject heading: RIP Frank.
Frank....Frank….who is the hell is Frank? Then it dawned on me – Frank was the guy who hangs out in my professional drinking group. Not a group of professional drinkers mind you, but a group of guys I started out with professionally that gets together periodically to share stories of our old employer and point out each other’s burgeoning waistlines and thinning hairlines. A social club – demented, but social.
I knew Frank, and worked with him briefly in the mid-90’s before moving on to a new opportunity outside of the company. I can’t say we were friends, but I can’t say that about most of the people I’ve worked with over the years.
Frank died of a massive heart attack this past Saturday. He was 37 years old. Thirty-seven.
I googled Frank’s obituary this afternoon to get a better sense of who he was, because the guy I knew when he was 22 could not have been the same guy he was at 37. Full disclosure – I have a morbid fascination with obituaries. As I approach middle age, or more aptly hurdle through it, I find I'm reading them with increased frequency and interest. I love reading stories of people who’ve lived full lives – and I’m not necessarily talking about captains of industry, celebrities or diplomats, but regular guys who served in either WWII or Korea, came home, married their sweethearts and got busy living. Many of them went back to school to pursue a degree, graduated college, and worked for one company for forty or so years. They had children, played bridge on Saturdays and golf on Sundays and were members in good standing of the Rotary Club. In their spare time, they did cross word puzzles and built model sailing schooners. They maintained both a winter and summer residence, were avid sports nuts and often liked to travel in their retirement years. In short, a life well-lived.
Frank was well on his way to becoming one of those guys. He was born and raised in Philadelphia, and chose to attend college in the area as well. He was a third degree black belt in Taekwondo. He was a devoted husband, father, and brother. He liked to work with his hands, having recently completed a deck to his house. He was married for 10 years and had children roughly the same ages as my own son and daughter. Save for the whole working-with-your-hands and athletic thing, we were a lot alike.
His most recent employer described Frank as engaging, passionate, professional and dedicated. I didn’t know any of these things about Frank; mostly because I never bothered to find out. Now, I’m sorry that I didn’t. I would have liked to have known him.
It’s amazing how little we know of the people we spend so much of our time with anymore.
Frank....Frank….who is the hell is Frank? Then it dawned on me – Frank was the guy who hangs out in my professional drinking group. Not a group of professional drinkers mind you, but a group of guys I started out with professionally that gets together periodically to share stories of our old employer and point out each other’s burgeoning waistlines and thinning hairlines. A social club – demented, but social.
I knew Frank, and worked with him briefly in the mid-90’s before moving on to a new opportunity outside of the company. I can’t say we were friends, but I can’t say that about most of the people I’ve worked with over the years.
Frank died of a massive heart attack this past Saturday. He was 37 years old. Thirty-seven.
I googled Frank’s obituary this afternoon to get a better sense of who he was, because the guy I knew when he was 22 could not have been the same guy he was at 37. Full disclosure – I have a morbid fascination with obituaries. As I approach middle age, or more aptly hurdle through it, I find I'm reading them with increased frequency and interest. I love reading stories of people who’ve lived full lives – and I’m not necessarily talking about captains of industry, celebrities or diplomats, but regular guys who served in either WWII or Korea, came home, married their sweethearts and got busy living. Many of them went back to school to pursue a degree, graduated college, and worked for one company for forty or so years. They had children, played bridge on Saturdays and golf on Sundays and were members in good standing of the Rotary Club. In their spare time, they did cross word puzzles and built model sailing schooners. They maintained both a winter and summer residence, were avid sports nuts and often liked to travel in their retirement years. In short, a life well-lived.
Frank was well on his way to becoming one of those guys. He was born and raised in Philadelphia, and chose to attend college in the area as well. He was a third degree black belt in Taekwondo. He was a devoted husband, father, and brother. He liked to work with his hands, having recently completed a deck to his house. He was married for 10 years and had children roughly the same ages as my own son and daughter. Save for the whole working-with-your-hands and athletic thing, we were a lot alike.
His most recent employer described Frank as engaging, passionate, professional and dedicated. I didn’t know any of these things about Frank; mostly because I never bothered to find out. Now, I’m sorry that I didn’t. I would have liked to have known him.
It’s amazing how little we know of the people we spend so much of our time with anymore.
Six Inches Of Turf
That’s what stood between the Arizona Cardinals and their fairytale run at Super Bowl glory last night. Santonio Holmes’ circus catch in the right-hand corner of the end zone with under a minute to play capped off five great minutes of an otherwise so-so Super Bowl.
Holmes’ heroics will most likely be compared to another catch:
As for Springsteen’s halftime show – meh.
Holmes’ heroics will most likely be compared to another catch:
As for Springsteen’s halftime show – meh.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Hope Is A Trademark
News this morning of White House lawyers looking into legal remedies to control the use of President Obama’s image, including videos, speeches and campaign-related paraphernalia.
Does this mean that authorities will now descend on D.C. street corners looking to confiscate unauthorized Obama Executive “briefs” along with faux Gucci handbags?
Exactly how does this help to foster the entrepreneurial spirit Obama alluded to in his Inaugural Address, or stimulate commerce for struggling businesses?
Does this mean that authorities will now descend on D.C. street corners looking to confiscate unauthorized Obama Executive “briefs” along with faux Gucci handbags?
Exactly how does this help to foster the entrepreneurial spirit Obama alluded to in his Inaugural Address, or stimulate commerce for struggling businesses?
Czech Please…
After reading Vaclav Klaus’ comments over at the National Review Online yesterday, I’m giving serious consideration to moving to the Czech Republic (or at least retiring there). Its current President, Vaclav Klaus, sounds a heck of a lot more reasonable on climate change policy than the wackos in Washington.
“I don’t think there is any global warming,” said Klaus to reporters assembled at the recent confab in Davos, “I don’t see any statistical data for that.” Now, before you Gorebots go and dismiss Klaus as an uninformed rube, please at least consider that Klaus is a professional economist and statistician. He’s also an author on the subject – Blue Planet in Green Shackles: What is Endangered, Climate or Freedom?
Klaus doesn’t hide his disdain for Al Gore or the latter’s reliance on the UN’s IPCC, either. On Gore: “Environmentalism and the global warming alarmism is challenging our freedom. Al Gore is an important person in this movement.”
Read more on Klaus over at Jay Nordlinger’s Davos Journal over at NRO.
“I don’t think there is any global warming,” said Klaus to reporters assembled at the recent confab in Davos, “I don’t see any statistical data for that.” Now, before you Gorebots go and dismiss Klaus as an uninformed rube, please at least consider that Klaus is a professional economist and statistician. He’s also an author on the subject – Blue Planet in Green Shackles: What is Endangered, Climate or Freedom?
Klaus doesn’t hide his disdain for Al Gore or the latter’s reliance on the UN’s IPCC, either. On Gore: “Environmentalism and the global warming alarmism is challenging our freedom. Al Gore is an important person in this movement.”
Read more on Klaus over at Jay Nordlinger’s Davos Journal over at NRO.
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