Bit of a slow news week, so this will probably be pretty short. Of course I thought that last week too. Look how that turned out.
The CEO of Citigroup sent out a mass e-mail to all his employees Tuesday morning that the corporation turned a profit during the first two months of this year. Once that news hit the airways, Wall Street got nostalgic for the good old days of 2007 and boosted the domestic markets about 5%, and shares of the company 40% - to $1.45 a share. That’s right; a share in the second largest bank in the nation can be yours for the price of large fries at McDonald’s. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at upcoming regulations designed to prevent institutions like Citigroup and AIG from becoming “too big to fail.” Common sense has come to Washington, and its name is Ben.
Minnesota is the new Florida. Four months after Election Day, Minnesota still has only one U.S. Senator, and there is no end in sight. Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken remain separated by 225 of over 3 million votes in a recount process that makes glacial retreat look expeditious. Have some rhubarb pie and count the votes people! How difficult can this possibly be?
The wife of newly sworn-in Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was killed in an automobile accident late last week that also injured the Prime Minister. Accident. Right. Whatever gets you through the day, Mugabe.
Pakistani lawyers are on the march again, protesting the failure of the current president to reinstate the chief justice of the Supreme Court dismissed by the previous president. Tension and increasing bitterness between the ruling party and the main opposition continue to threaten the stability of a weak government already overwhelmed by the global economic downturn and lawlessness along its northern border. I think we’ve seen this movie before. Let’s hope this one doesn’t end with any assassinations.
Early last week, American arch-nemesis Hugo Chavez expropriated (nationalized) the Venezuelan operations of U.S. food conglomerate Cargill, and threatened to do the same to various other industries. Suffering from the crash in oil prices, the Chavez government is suffering through a domestic political crisis with rising commodity prices, ballooning unemployment, rising discontent. Of course, instead of accepting responsibility, Chavez is blaming everyone he can point a finger at, from the United States, to the European Union to the people under the stairs for creating instability in his socialist dystopia. He’s like the Terrell Owens of world leaders, dropping the ball and blaming the quarterback, the lights, the turf and the ball for not magically sticking to his fingers.
Speaking of T.O., seems like Jerry Jones finally came to his senses. After insinuating a week ago that Owens would remain a key element of the team, the Dallas Cowboys owner surgically removed this cancer from his franchise and dumped him on the free agent market, where he was promptly scooped up and grafted onto the right flank of the struggling Buffalo Bills. As if there wasn’t enough to loathe about Buffalo. Why teams keep signing this character, I don’t know. If they simply want to flush $6.5 million down the toilet, I’m sure I can find a way to accomplish it without destroying the chemistry of the franchise in the process.
Apparently last week Tuesday was “square root day.” If you already knew that, get a life.
Flipping through the channels the other day I noticed something interesting. Black people are everywhere! Not only are African-Americans finding themselves in leading roles in films and scripted television shows, they are now marketing everything from cellular phones to cooking spray, to auto insurance to German cars to erectile dysfunction tablets with bathtubs in the middle cornfields. It’s phenomenal! It’s like Madison Avenue suddenly discovered that there is a whole… I don’t know… race, of people out there who eat the same food, drive the same cars, watch the same television, wear the same clothes and have the same concerns as everybody else in America. Seriously, when black people are modeling for the Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch, a breakthrough has been made somewhere. Hmm. I wonder what brought that on?
Finally, Barbie turned 50-years-old yesterday. She still looks pretty good for her age. Since the original (based on a German prostitute doll) debuted in 1959, Mattel has sold more than a billion dolls worldwide, saddling little girls everywhere with the desire to support shameless commercialism (“Let’s go shopping!”), gender stereotypes, (“Math is hard!”), and unattainable physical dimensions. Happy birthday Barbie! Hope you didn’t purchase the Malibu beach house with a sub-prime loan.
3.10.2009
3.03.2009
...The Rest of the Story
Over the weekend we lost one of the great voices in American radio. The legendary Paul Harvey died on Saturday at the age of 91. Rest in peace Paul.
Congratulations. In addition to our 36% stake in Citigroup, we the taxpayer are now 80% shareholders in the steaming pile of doo doo that used to be AIG. This might actually have been fun a year ago when AIG shares were trading at $70 each. Now that they’re hovering around 40 cents, ownership is somewhat less appealing. I understand how enormous this company is (over a trillion dollars in assets worldwide) and the absolute disaster that would befall the world markets should it fail, but to borrow an analogy I heard earlier today, if the pipe is leaking, you can’t fix it by pumping more water through it. Yes, increasing the pressure (flooding it with capital) will ensure that SOME water still makes it to the faucet on the other end, but at some point, you have to REPAIR the pipe. This afternoon AIG posted a $62 billion quarterly loss. That’s $689 million a day over the past 90 days. And they will continue to lose that kind of money until the underlying cause of that loss is removed from the books. The company “invested” heavily in creative financial instruments like credit default swaps, which are essentially insurance policies on sub-prime loans – real and imagined, purchased with leveraged capital. So, every time someone defaults on their loan, AIG pays out obscene amounts of money that it never had in the first place to cover the payout on the insurance policy. Despite all the talk of the creation of a “bad bank” to absorb all these so-called “toxic assets” and remove them from the balance sheets of the investments banks, the government has been hesitant to do so because they are afraid of over-paying for assets for which no one can seem to assign a value to. But they are simply delaying the inevitable, and flushing money down a leaky pipe in the process. As long as the assets remain on the books, the hemorrhaging will continue. Fix the pipe. Set a price and buy the assets so the banks and insurance companies can start over with healthy balance sheets, and make sure this is never allowed to happen again.
President Obama addressed the Nation from the floor of the House of Representatives last Tuesday night in a not-quite-State of the Union speech in which he tried to be all thing to all people. Indications are that he succeeded. People seemed to think he was realistic, yet optimistic. Enthusiastic, yet reserved. Professorial, yet inspirational. A little bit country, a little bit rock-n-roll. All of which set the stage for the much anticipated Republican response, delivered by “rising GOP star”, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. How would would-be President Jindal respond to Obama’s oratory? Um… not so well. Jindal more closely resembled an animatronic Mr. Rogers than a serious conservative leader, relating partially fabricated stories about cutting through government bureaucracy, ridiculing wasteful government spending that might not be so wasteful after all, perpetuating false claims about his state’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina without Federal Government help, and insisting that all would be right with the world if we only gave everyone a tax cut. I know it’s early – way too early to be talking about another election, but if this is the best the Republican Party can do, it’s going to be a long 8 years (at least) for them.
On the heels of the Tuesday night speech, Obama release his first budget blueprint, outlining what he hopes to accomplish over the next four years. It calls for $3.6 trillion in spending this coming year, with a total federal deficit of 1.75 trillion. In many ways it is a more accurate budget than any during the past several decades in that it includes funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and leaves out revenue from the Alternative Minimum Tax, which Congress always patches and never actually collects. There are increases for defense, and education, a tax cut for all families earning less than $250,000 per year, and sets aside $600 billion for healthcare reform, which is a far more serious look at the healthcare system than anyone has taken I recent memory. The biggest battle is Congress is sure to be over the coming tax increase on the top income bracket in 2011. Obama wants to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, while Republicans want them to continue. However, passage of the Federal Budget does not require a 60-vote Senate majority, and is therefore not subject to a filibuster. So, the chances of Republicans throwing a hissy-fit and getting their way on that issue are virtually non-existent.
Note to House Minority Whip Eric Cantor; you sir are no Newt Gingrich. And his name is Newt for crying out loud.
Congressman Bobby Rush needs to get as far away from television cameras as humanly possible. A product of the Civil Rights era, Rush sees himself as defender of all things Afro-American, whether or not those things are defensible. His cause du-jour is one Illinois Senator Roland Burris, who stands accused of impropriety in obtaining his Senate seat from now disgraced Illinois Governor Blagojevich. Burris recently admitted to being asked to and attempting to raise money for Blago’s re-election while under consideration for President Obama’s vacated seat. Burris defended himself by claiming that because he was unsuccessful at raising money, his incompetence absolves him of any wrong-doing. Bobby Rush agrees, adding in a not-so-veiled reference to Ted Kennedy, something to the effect of, “it’s not like someone drove off a bridge… no one died.” Note to Congressman Rush; pointing to one person’s poor behavior to justify someone else’s unethical behavior only serves to damage your own credibility. Defending the indefensible because it was perpetrated by a member of your own race makes you look foolish and disinclines people to take you seriously. Ask Al Sharpton.
Could someone please lock Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann in her closet, before she hurts herself? Seriously, it’s for her own good. During the Presidential campaign she suggested that members of Congress be questioned regarding their allegiance to the United State, a la Joseph McCarthy. In a talk radio interview last week following the pseudo State of the Union address she complained that due to taxation, America is, “running out of rich people.” (I’m not sure what Soviet nightmare Bachmann is living in, but the number of millionaires in the United States as of 2007 had grown to about 3.2 million, up from about 2.4 million in 2004.) Her latest foot-in-mouth moment came at the Conservative Political Action Conference over the weekend when she told newly elected RNC Chairman Michael Steele that he, “…be da man!” To be fair, Steele has set himself up for such stupidity by talking about bringing conservatism into “urban, suburban hip hop setting.” But Bachmann should be embarrassed to make such a fool of herself in front of so many people. The fact that she isn’t embarrassed should tell us something about Michelle Bachmann.
Speaking of Michael Steele, apparently he didn’t get the memo. Steele is under the impression that just because he was elected leader of the Republican Party, that he is indeed leader of the Republican Party. The actual leader of the Republican Party and the self-proclaimed standard-bearer of conservatism Rush Limbaugh felt the need to slap him down a few notches this past weekend. Limbaugh has been on quite a tear lately, attacking everyone from David Brooks, to Bill Kristol to Charles Krauthammer to (insert conservative pundit here) for not labeling Obama the anti-Christ. In one Sunday interview, Steele had the audacity to refer to Rush as an entertainer who sometimes engaged in ugly rhetoric. Naturally averse to the truth, Limbaugh fired back at Steele, accusing him of secretly supporting the President and the House and Senate leadership, and wanting to turn the party over to the Democrats. I actually feel a little sorry for Michael Steele. I’m not sure he fully understood what he was up against in trying to revamp the image of the GOP. Conservatives are fundamentally averse to change. It’s right there in the name, conservative. Antonym of progressive. Good luck with that urban suburban hip hop conservatism. Keep an eye on the apology clock. UPDATE: Michael Steele has come to his senses and apologized to his overlord and savior Rush Limbaugh, begging forgiveness for his insubordination. Steele now says of his relationship with Limbaugh, after last night’s heart to heart, that “We are all good.” And so they lived happily ever after. Elapsed time; 48 hours.
For his part, Limbaugh is engaging in the same behavior for which he has lambasted liberals for at least the past eight years. His hatred of Obama and of progressives and of liberalism has lead him to openly rout for four more years of economic, political and social disaster to ensure the survival of himself and the Republican Party. He would rather see America collapse into a third world country than to accept the idea that there might be some measure of validity to an approach different from his. Congratulations Rush. You are what you despise.
The State of Georgia is considering allowing counties to decide whether or not they will allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays. For some reason this is causing consternation among people in Georgia who don’t seem to see the absurdity of the current system. I am not drinker. I can count the number of alcoholic beverages I’ve consumed in my lifetime on one hand. But I cannot for the life of me understand why it is that in some states, one can legally purchase an adult beverage Monday thru Saturday, yet not on Sunday? Is the liquor toxic on Sunday? Why is it acceptable for someone to drive to a bar, consume liquor, then drive home intoxicated, but unacceptable to drive to the store sober, take the liquor home and drink it there?
Actress and smokin’ hot babe Megan Fox called off her engagement to now ex-boyfriend Brian Austin Green. That’s right fellas, there’s still hope. Lock up your Cape Buffaloes and hide Olivia Wilde.
Have I mentioned that I hate Tom Brady? If not, here it is; I hate Tom Brady. The 31-year-old three-time Superbowl-winning quarterback commercial pitchman and Internet porn connoisseur married long-time girlfriend and Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bundchen last Thursday in a small private ceremony attended by, among other family members, her three dogs. First, who gets married on a Thursday? How lame is that? But I guess when you’re Tom Brady you can get away with that crap. Second… you know what, never mind. There is no second. At least I don’t have to hear about him fixing peoples flat tires at midnight on the side of the road or taking homeless guys to the movies.
Several weeks ago a story appeared in the New York Times about the lifestyle changes CEOs would have to make to conform to the new salary limits imposed on recipients of government bailout funds. Such “sacrifices” included cutting back to a single nanny, reducing trips to swanky Manhattan restaurants and canceling the week in Hawaii with the mistress. This week the Times printed another story explaining how smaller bonuses due to the financial crisis mean fewer upscale New Yorkers can afford to send their four-year-olds to $22K per year kindergarten. I remain undecided as to whether these stories are intended to be serious or satirical. It’s difficult to take anything printed in the Style section of the Times seriously, but I assume the writers intends the readers to do just that. If the purpose of these articles is to engender some sort of empathy for parents who spend (in this case) upwards of $66,000 “educating” a toddler, they fail miserably. No one living anywhere but the Upper East Side reads about the “plight” of these people without laughing so hard they shoot milk out of their noses. Want to save a little money? Try parenting. It’s cheaper. It’s articles like these that help the New York Times retain its snooty East Coast liberal elitist reputation.
Finally, a new topless coffee shop has opened for business in Vassalboro, Maine. Word is it’s just like any other coffee shop, except that the servers are topless. Why on earth did I not think of this? What goes better with coffee than bare breasts? To be fair and non-discriminatory, the cafe employs both topless men and women. Business is fairly brisk, yet still hampered by the cold, snowy New England winter. I’m sure sales will “perk up” once the temperature rises.
Congratulations. In addition to our 36% stake in Citigroup, we the taxpayer are now 80% shareholders in the steaming pile of doo doo that used to be AIG. This might actually have been fun a year ago when AIG shares were trading at $70 each. Now that they’re hovering around 40 cents, ownership is somewhat less appealing. I understand how enormous this company is (over a trillion dollars in assets worldwide) and the absolute disaster that would befall the world markets should it fail, but to borrow an analogy I heard earlier today, if the pipe is leaking, you can’t fix it by pumping more water through it. Yes, increasing the pressure (flooding it with capital) will ensure that SOME water still makes it to the faucet on the other end, but at some point, you have to REPAIR the pipe. This afternoon AIG posted a $62 billion quarterly loss. That’s $689 million a day over the past 90 days. And they will continue to lose that kind of money until the underlying cause of that loss is removed from the books. The company “invested” heavily in creative financial instruments like credit default swaps, which are essentially insurance policies on sub-prime loans – real and imagined, purchased with leveraged capital. So, every time someone defaults on their loan, AIG pays out obscene amounts of money that it never had in the first place to cover the payout on the insurance policy. Despite all the talk of the creation of a “bad bank” to absorb all these so-called “toxic assets” and remove them from the balance sheets of the investments banks, the government has been hesitant to do so because they are afraid of over-paying for assets for which no one can seem to assign a value to. But they are simply delaying the inevitable, and flushing money down a leaky pipe in the process. As long as the assets remain on the books, the hemorrhaging will continue. Fix the pipe. Set a price and buy the assets so the banks and insurance companies can start over with healthy balance sheets, and make sure this is never allowed to happen again.
President Obama addressed the Nation from the floor of the House of Representatives last Tuesday night in a not-quite-State of the Union speech in which he tried to be all thing to all people. Indications are that he succeeded. People seemed to think he was realistic, yet optimistic. Enthusiastic, yet reserved. Professorial, yet inspirational. A little bit country, a little bit rock-n-roll. All of which set the stage for the much anticipated Republican response, delivered by “rising GOP star”, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. How would would-be President Jindal respond to Obama’s oratory? Um… not so well. Jindal more closely resembled an animatronic Mr. Rogers than a serious conservative leader, relating partially fabricated stories about cutting through government bureaucracy, ridiculing wasteful government spending that might not be so wasteful after all, perpetuating false claims about his state’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina without Federal Government help, and insisting that all would be right with the world if we only gave everyone a tax cut. I know it’s early – way too early to be talking about another election, but if this is the best the Republican Party can do, it’s going to be a long 8 years (at least) for them.
On the heels of the Tuesday night speech, Obama release his first budget blueprint, outlining what he hopes to accomplish over the next four years. It calls for $3.6 trillion in spending this coming year, with a total federal deficit of 1.75 trillion. In many ways it is a more accurate budget than any during the past several decades in that it includes funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and leaves out revenue from the Alternative Minimum Tax, which Congress always patches and never actually collects. There are increases for defense, and education, a tax cut for all families earning less than $250,000 per year, and sets aside $600 billion for healthcare reform, which is a far more serious look at the healthcare system than anyone has taken I recent memory. The biggest battle is Congress is sure to be over the coming tax increase on the top income bracket in 2011. Obama wants to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, while Republicans want them to continue. However, passage of the Federal Budget does not require a 60-vote Senate majority, and is therefore not subject to a filibuster. So, the chances of Republicans throwing a hissy-fit and getting their way on that issue are virtually non-existent.
Note to House Minority Whip Eric Cantor; you sir are no Newt Gingrich. And his name is Newt for crying out loud.
Congressman Bobby Rush needs to get as far away from television cameras as humanly possible. A product of the Civil Rights era, Rush sees himself as defender of all things Afro-American, whether or not those things are defensible. His cause du-jour is one Illinois Senator Roland Burris, who stands accused of impropriety in obtaining his Senate seat from now disgraced Illinois Governor Blagojevich. Burris recently admitted to being asked to and attempting to raise money for Blago’s re-election while under consideration for President Obama’s vacated seat. Burris defended himself by claiming that because he was unsuccessful at raising money, his incompetence absolves him of any wrong-doing. Bobby Rush agrees, adding in a not-so-veiled reference to Ted Kennedy, something to the effect of, “it’s not like someone drove off a bridge… no one died.” Note to Congressman Rush; pointing to one person’s poor behavior to justify someone else’s unethical behavior only serves to damage your own credibility. Defending the indefensible because it was perpetrated by a member of your own race makes you look foolish and disinclines people to take you seriously. Ask Al Sharpton.
Could someone please lock Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann in her closet, before she hurts herself? Seriously, it’s for her own good. During the Presidential campaign she suggested that members of Congress be questioned regarding their allegiance to the United State, a la Joseph McCarthy. In a talk radio interview last week following the pseudo State of the Union address she complained that due to taxation, America is, “running out of rich people.” (I’m not sure what Soviet nightmare Bachmann is living in, but the number of millionaires in the United States as of 2007 had grown to about 3.2 million, up from about 2.4 million in 2004.) Her latest foot-in-mouth moment came at the Conservative Political Action Conference over the weekend when she told newly elected RNC Chairman Michael Steele that he, “…be da man!” To be fair, Steele has set himself up for such stupidity by talking about bringing conservatism into “urban, suburban hip hop setting.” But Bachmann should be embarrassed to make such a fool of herself in front of so many people. The fact that she isn’t embarrassed should tell us something about Michelle Bachmann.
Speaking of Michael Steele, apparently he didn’t get the memo. Steele is under the impression that just because he was elected leader of the Republican Party, that he is indeed leader of the Republican Party. The actual leader of the Republican Party and the self-proclaimed standard-bearer of conservatism Rush Limbaugh felt the need to slap him down a few notches this past weekend. Limbaugh has been on quite a tear lately, attacking everyone from David Brooks, to Bill Kristol to Charles Krauthammer to (insert conservative pundit here) for not labeling Obama the anti-Christ. In one Sunday interview, Steele had the audacity to refer to Rush as an entertainer who sometimes engaged in ugly rhetoric. Naturally averse to the truth, Limbaugh fired back at Steele, accusing him of secretly supporting the President and the House and Senate leadership, and wanting to turn the party over to the Democrats. I actually feel a little sorry for Michael Steele. I’m not sure he fully understood what he was up against in trying to revamp the image of the GOP. Conservatives are fundamentally averse to change. It’s right there in the name, conservative. Antonym of progressive. Good luck with that urban suburban hip hop conservatism. Keep an eye on the apology clock. UPDATE: Michael Steele has come to his senses and apologized to his overlord and savior Rush Limbaugh, begging forgiveness for his insubordination. Steele now says of his relationship with Limbaugh, after last night’s heart to heart, that “We are all good.” And so they lived happily ever after. Elapsed time; 48 hours.
For his part, Limbaugh is engaging in the same behavior for which he has lambasted liberals for at least the past eight years. His hatred of Obama and of progressives and of liberalism has lead him to openly rout for four more years of economic, political and social disaster to ensure the survival of himself and the Republican Party. He would rather see America collapse into a third world country than to accept the idea that there might be some measure of validity to an approach different from his. Congratulations Rush. You are what you despise.
The State of Georgia is considering allowing counties to decide whether or not they will allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays. For some reason this is causing consternation among people in Georgia who don’t seem to see the absurdity of the current system. I am not drinker. I can count the number of alcoholic beverages I’ve consumed in my lifetime on one hand. But I cannot for the life of me understand why it is that in some states, one can legally purchase an adult beverage Monday thru Saturday, yet not on Sunday? Is the liquor toxic on Sunday? Why is it acceptable for someone to drive to a bar, consume liquor, then drive home intoxicated, but unacceptable to drive to the store sober, take the liquor home and drink it there?
Actress and smokin’ hot babe Megan Fox called off her engagement to now ex-boyfriend Brian Austin Green. That’s right fellas, there’s still hope. Lock up your Cape Buffaloes and hide Olivia Wilde.
Have I mentioned that I hate Tom Brady? If not, here it is; I hate Tom Brady. The 31-year-old three-time Superbowl-winning quarterback commercial pitchman and Internet porn connoisseur married long-time girlfriend and Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bundchen last Thursday in a small private ceremony attended by, among other family members, her three dogs. First, who gets married on a Thursday? How lame is that? But I guess when you’re Tom Brady you can get away with that crap. Second… you know what, never mind. There is no second. At least I don’t have to hear about him fixing peoples flat tires at midnight on the side of the road or taking homeless guys to the movies.
Several weeks ago a story appeared in the New York Times about the lifestyle changes CEOs would have to make to conform to the new salary limits imposed on recipients of government bailout funds. Such “sacrifices” included cutting back to a single nanny, reducing trips to swanky Manhattan restaurants and canceling the week in Hawaii with the mistress. This week the Times printed another story explaining how smaller bonuses due to the financial crisis mean fewer upscale New Yorkers can afford to send their four-year-olds to $22K per year kindergarten. I remain undecided as to whether these stories are intended to be serious or satirical. It’s difficult to take anything printed in the Style section of the Times seriously, but I assume the writers intends the readers to do just that. If the purpose of these articles is to engender some sort of empathy for parents who spend (in this case) upwards of $66,000 “educating” a toddler, they fail miserably. No one living anywhere but the Upper East Side reads about the “plight” of these people without laughing so hard they shoot milk out of their noses. Want to save a little money? Try parenting. It’s cheaper. It’s articles like these that help the New York Times retain its snooty East Coast liberal elitist reputation.
Finally, a new topless coffee shop has opened for business in Vassalboro, Maine. Word is it’s just like any other coffee shop, except that the servers are topless. Why on earth did I not think of this? What goes better with coffee than bare breasts? To be fair and non-discriminatory, the cafe employs both topless men and women. Business is fairly brisk, yet still hampered by the cold, snowy New England winter. I’m sure sales will “perk up” once the temperature rises.
2.24.2009
The Right Thing to Do
Tonight, (Tuesday) President Obama will address a joint session of Congress and, through the magic of television, the rest of the country as well. Although technically not a State of the Union address, it might as well be. It will be broadcast on every major television network (no, the CW is not a major television network), every cable news outlet and every politically-related blog on the Internet. But, I’m going to save everyone a lot of time by providing a summary of the night’s events. Ready? Here goes. The President will stand up in the house chamber and tell everyone that things are pretty bad right now. But with the hard work and sacrifice of the American people, and the policies of his administration, things will turn around and America will once again lead the world in everything, just in time for the next election. After which, a representative of the opposition will sit in front of a television camera and explain how everything the President just told us was a lie, and that only by cutting taxes will we solve the economic crisis, eradicate poverty, find a cure cancer and stop global warming - if such a thing actually existed. There you go. The State of the Union in two sentences. Now you can use that hour you would have wasted watching it on television to laugh at YouTube clips of skateboarders sliding down handrails and face-planting in the concrete.
There is very little more entertaining than political hypocrisy. A handful of Congressional Republicans are now attempting to take credit for any economic benefit brought to their districts by the very stimulus bill they fought tooth and nail to obstruct. It must be liberating not to be weighed down by ethics or a conscience. In a related story, about a half-dozen Republican state governors seem prepared to take up the challenge issued by several last week and stand on principle and refuse federal stimulus money if they so opposed the bill - sort of. They intend to accept some of the money, but decline anything they don’t view as stimulus. Unfortunately the President doesn’t have the same option to veto portions of legislation he dislikes, but I guess there are advantages to not holding the highest office in the land. I’m sure it’s also no coincidence that the governors in question all have designs on the White House.
Just when you were beginning to miss disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich, someone else has stepped in to fill the void. We don’t even have to waste time getting acquainted. That special someone is the new junior Illinois Senator Roland Burris. Oh yes, the same Roland Burris appointed to the vacant senate seat under dubious circumstances just weeks ago by the afore mentioned Blagojevich. When he was deposed regarding the scandal, Burris insisted he had no contact with anyone associated with Blago, and certainly never discussed anything to do with fundraising. Well, turns out that wasn’t entirely accurate. In fact, not only did Burris have extensive contact with the Governor’s brother, but he also raised upwards of $10,000 for the Blagojevich campaign. Awkward. This new information has forced even some of the characters who insisted Burris be seated despite Blagojevich’s troubles to change their tune and call for his resignation. But for his part, Burris has plucked a page from his appointer and refuses to step down, claiming he’s done nothing wrong and blaming the media for distorting the facts and exaggerating his misdeeds. If only Senate Democrats had stood on principle and denied him the seat in the first place, he/we could have been spared all this additional embarrassment. Wait, did I just use senate and principle in the same sentence?
General Motors and Chrysler returned to Capitol Hill last week with their restructuring plans in one hand, and their stick-up notes in the other. After telling everyone they planned trim their fleets and lay off almost 100,000 employees between them, they also added a request for an additional $21.6 billion in government loans, just to stay afloat. I think we’ve seen this movie before. I’m not sure this sequel will end as well for Detroit as the original. You can only go to the well so many times before you find there’s no water left. Unfortunately, before this is all over, it is likely that the Big Three will become the Big Two, and Detroit’s influence over the automotive industry will diminish significantly. Sad for them. Worse for hundreds of thousands who used to work for them.
Early this week, Indiana Senator Richard Lugar called the 42-year-old U.S. embargo of Cuba “ineffective.” Really? Is there a school these guys go to where they learn different ways to state the obvious? Of course the Cuban embargo has been ineffective. It’s been an absolute failure. If the best way to open closed societies and closed markets like communist China is through free and fair trade, why would the opposite be true for communist Cuba? Hasn’t this farce gone on long enough?
California Republican Congressman Darrell Issa has demanded the new administration establish procedures to ensure all government e-mail communications are preserved, whether they were sent on official government accounts or not. He might have more credibility on this issue had he not ridiculed this very concept for the past eight years.
There has been a significant amount of chatter in recent days about the possible nationalization of several of the nations largest banks. The President, the Treasury Secretary and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve have stated repeated that they have no interest in nationalization, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Part of the problem might stem from the fact that there is a significant portion of the population that has no idea what the term actually means. USA Today reported a poll in which 54% of respondents indicated they approved of the government “temporarily taking over major banks in danger of failing.” However, only 43% of respondents in the same survey approved of the government “temporarily nationalizing major banks in danger of failing.” Apparently, 11% of respondents didn’t realize they were asked the same question twice. That survey is more than just an illustration of Americans’ lack of understanding of the concept of nationalization, it is a microcosm of our collective political and economic illiteracy. Too many Americans don’t seem to understand how serious this problem is and just how close this economy came to - and hovers around - complete financial collapse. This is so far beyond simply punishing people who made bad decisions or bought more house than they could afford it isn’t funny.
Two Pennsylvania judges have plead guilty to receiving $2.6 million in kickbacks to send about 5,000 juveniles to two privately run youth detention centers. You just can’t make this stuff up. Did they seriously think no one would notice two-and-a-half million dollars? I hope they get sent to boot camp.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was released from jail today. Rumor is he is off to Texas to try to find employment in the private sector. Good luck Texas. He’s your problem now. Unfortunately, due to some stupid election rules, the city of Detroit must hold two elections to determine who will finish Kilpatrick’s current term, then two more elections to decide who the new mayor will be. Four elections in the space of one year, at a cost of $6 million dollars. Three guesses as to why Detroit is such a mess.
To aid in closing budget shortfalls, a California state legislator has offered a solution. Legalize marijuana, then tax the hell out of it. According to this particular lawmaker, weed is a $14 billion-a-year business in the state and if it were legal, and taxed at a rate of $50-an-ounce, it would net California an additional billion dollars in revenue. That’s a pretty big pot of money. (Sorry. I couldn’t resist.) But noting that the deficit California just closed was in the neighborhood of $42 billion, and additional billion dollars hardly seems worth it.
Finally, last week an Illinois high school boys basketball team provided us a poignant lesson in sportsmanship. Rival Milwaukee Madison senior Johntell Franklin, who had lost his mother to cancer the previous week, decided he wanted to play in a game against DeKalb, Illinois. He arrived at the game - from the hospital - in the second quarter. But because his coach was not expecting him to play, his name was not listed on the roster. In order to place Franklin in the game, Milwaukee Madison would be assessed a technical foul - two free throws and the ball to the opposition. DeKalb coach Dave Rohlman and his team knew of Franklins situation and told the referees they did not want the penalty assessed. But the rules are the rules, and DeKalb was instructed to select someone to shoot the two free-throws. Darius McNeal walked to the line, spotted up to take the shots, and intentionally missed them both. “I did it for the guy who lost his mom,” McNeal said after the game. “It was the right thing to do.” Even though Milwaukee Madison won the game, no one from DeKalb regrets their decision, or would do anything differently given the opportunity. Madison coach Aaron Womack was so impressed with the gesture, he wrote a letter to the DeKalb Daily Chronicle praising the DeKalb players and coaches and thanked them for not only coaching their young men, but teaching them how to be leaders. Compare that story to the story out of Dallas a few months ago in which a Christian high school girls basketball team defeated a vastly inferior rival 100-0, jacking up three-pointers with less than five minutes remaining in the game and tell me which kids and coaching staffs acted more Christ-like. Christians do not have a monopoly on values.
There is very little more entertaining than political hypocrisy. A handful of Congressional Republicans are now attempting to take credit for any economic benefit brought to their districts by the very stimulus bill they fought tooth and nail to obstruct. It must be liberating not to be weighed down by ethics or a conscience. In a related story, about a half-dozen Republican state governors seem prepared to take up the challenge issued by several last week and stand on principle and refuse federal stimulus money if they so opposed the bill - sort of. They intend to accept some of the money, but decline anything they don’t view as stimulus. Unfortunately the President doesn’t have the same option to veto portions of legislation he dislikes, but I guess there are advantages to not holding the highest office in the land. I’m sure it’s also no coincidence that the governors in question all have designs on the White House.
Just when you were beginning to miss disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich, someone else has stepped in to fill the void. We don’t even have to waste time getting acquainted. That special someone is the new junior Illinois Senator Roland Burris. Oh yes, the same Roland Burris appointed to the vacant senate seat under dubious circumstances just weeks ago by the afore mentioned Blagojevich. When he was deposed regarding the scandal, Burris insisted he had no contact with anyone associated with Blago, and certainly never discussed anything to do with fundraising. Well, turns out that wasn’t entirely accurate. In fact, not only did Burris have extensive contact with the Governor’s brother, but he also raised upwards of $10,000 for the Blagojevich campaign. Awkward. This new information has forced even some of the characters who insisted Burris be seated despite Blagojevich’s troubles to change their tune and call for his resignation. But for his part, Burris has plucked a page from his appointer and refuses to step down, claiming he’s done nothing wrong and blaming the media for distorting the facts and exaggerating his misdeeds. If only Senate Democrats had stood on principle and denied him the seat in the first place, he/we could have been spared all this additional embarrassment. Wait, did I just use senate and principle in the same sentence?
General Motors and Chrysler returned to Capitol Hill last week with their restructuring plans in one hand, and their stick-up notes in the other. After telling everyone they planned trim their fleets and lay off almost 100,000 employees between them, they also added a request for an additional $21.6 billion in government loans, just to stay afloat. I think we’ve seen this movie before. I’m not sure this sequel will end as well for Detroit as the original. You can only go to the well so many times before you find there’s no water left. Unfortunately, before this is all over, it is likely that the Big Three will become the Big Two, and Detroit’s influence over the automotive industry will diminish significantly. Sad for them. Worse for hundreds of thousands who used to work for them.
Early this week, Indiana Senator Richard Lugar called the 42-year-old U.S. embargo of Cuba “ineffective.” Really? Is there a school these guys go to where they learn different ways to state the obvious? Of course the Cuban embargo has been ineffective. It’s been an absolute failure. If the best way to open closed societies and closed markets like communist China is through free and fair trade, why would the opposite be true for communist Cuba? Hasn’t this farce gone on long enough?
California Republican Congressman Darrell Issa has demanded the new administration establish procedures to ensure all government e-mail communications are preserved, whether they were sent on official government accounts or not. He might have more credibility on this issue had he not ridiculed this very concept for the past eight years.
There has been a significant amount of chatter in recent days about the possible nationalization of several of the nations largest banks. The President, the Treasury Secretary and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve have stated repeated that they have no interest in nationalization, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Part of the problem might stem from the fact that there is a significant portion of the population that has no idea what the term actually means. USA Today reported a poll in which 54% of respondents indicated they approved of the government “temporarily taking over major banks in danger of failing.” However, only 43% of respondents in the same survey approved of the government “temporarily nationalizing major banks in danger of failing.” Apparently, 11% of respondents didn’t realize they were asked the same question twice. That survey is more than just an illustration of Americans’ lack of understanding of the concept of nationalization, it is a microcosm of our collective political and economic illiteracy. Too many Americans don’t seem to understand how serious this problem is and just how close this economy came to - and hovers around - complete financial collapse. This is so far beyond simply punishing people who made bad decisions or bought more house than they could afford it isn’t funny.
Two Pennsylvania judges have plead guilty to receiving $2.6 million in kickbacks to send about 5,000 juveniles to two privately run youth detention centers. You just can’t make this stuff up. Did they seriously think no one would notice two-and-a-half million dollars? I hope they get sent to boot camp.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was released from jail today. Rumor is he is off to Texas to try to find employment in the private sector. Good luck Texas. He’s your problem now. Unfortunately, due to some stupid election rules, the city of Detroit must hold two elections to determine who will finish Kilpatrick’s current term, then two more elections to decide who the new mayor will be. Four elections in the space of one year, at a cost of $6 million dollars. Three guesses as to why Detroit is such a mess.
To aid in closing budget shortfalls, a California state legislator has offered a solution. Legalize marijuana, then tax the hell out of it. According to this particular lawmaker, weed is a $14 billion-a-year business in the state and if it were legal, and taxed at a rate of $50-an-ounce, it would net California an additional billion dollars in revenue. That’s a pretty big pot of money. (Sorry. I couldn’t resist.) But noting that the deficit California just closed was in the neighborhood of $42 billion, and additional billion dollars hardly seems worth it.
Finally, last week an Illinois high school boys basketball team provided us a poignant lesson in sportsmanship. Rival Milwaukee Madison senior Johntell Franklin, who had lost his mother to cancer the previous week, decided he wanted to play in a game against DeKalb, Illinois. He arrived at the game - from the hospital - in the second quarter. But because his coach was not expecting him to play, his name was not listed on the roster. In order to place Franklin in the game, Milwaukee Madison would be assessed a technical foul - two free throws and the ball to the opposition. DeKalb coach Dave Rohlman and his team knew of Franklins situation and told the referees they did not want the penalty assessed. But the rules are the rules, and DeKalb was instructed to select someone to shoot the two free-throws. Darius McNeal walked to the line, spotted up to take the shots, and intentionally missed them both. “I did it for the guy who lost his mom,” McNeal said after the game. “It was the right thing to do.” Even though Milwaukee Madison won the game, no one from DeKalb regrets their decision, or would do anything differently given the opportunity. Madison coach Aaron Womack was so impressed with the gesture, he wrote a letter to the DeKalb Daily Chronicle praising the DeKalb players and coaches and thanked them for not only coaching their young men, but teaching them how to be leaders. Compare that story to the story out of Dallas a few months ago in which a Christian high school girls basketball team defeated a vastly inferior rival 100-0, jacking up three-pointers with less than five minutes remaining in the game and tell me which kids and coaching staffs acted more Christ-like. Christians do not have a monopoly on values.
2.17.2009
Major Malfunctions
Congratulations. You’ve been stimulated. Feel any different?
Congressional Republicans spent Sunday morning rounding the talk show circuit trying to convince America that President Obama failed miserably in his first legislative battle. A battle over the passage of an economic stimulus package, which he then signed into law two days later in Denver. Now I was under the impression that getting Congress to pass a bill you wanted passed would be considered a victory. After all, that’s how legislative victory has been defined for at least the past eight years. But apparently I lost something in translation. According to Senators Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell and John McCain, the new measure of success and failure is how many Republicans sing on to an article of legislation. I don’t know how this bogus determination was made, but this is national politics, not college football. A win is a win – even if you don’t run up the score.
When they weren’t busy trying to label victory as defeat and complaining about not having time to read a bill they never intended to vote for anyway, GOP leaders were pushing the talking point that since the President promised a new era of bipartisanship, and because Congressional Republicans failed to unclench their fists to accept the outstretched hand, Obama did not deliver on his promise. It’s sort of like a shopkeeper closing his store, and then complaining he can’t sell any goods. Bipartisanship requires the co-operation of two parties, hence the term bipartisan, “bi” meaning two and “partisan” meaning parties. If one party demands concessions from the other, yet refuses to concede anything of its own, there is never going to be a workable agreement – which was the intention of the Republican Party all along. As if to prove this point, on Monday afternoon, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor informed reporters that House Republicans intend to oppose the President’s foreclosure prevention plan. Only the President has yet to inform anyone of what that plan is. They don’t even know what it is they plan to oppose. Cantor and company will obstruct anything coming out of the White House, regardless of what it is. If Republicans want someone to blame for the failure of bipartisanship, they need only look in the mirror.
If no budget compromise is reached this week, the State of California will issue lay-off notices to 20,000 state employees, to take effect at the end of the month. Somehow, California has managed to dig itself a $42 billion deficit, and for the past year have been unable to agree on how to remedy the problem. The sticking point now is a budget proposal containing $15 billion in spending cuts and $14 billion in tax increases. California law requires both a balanced budget and a supermajority to pass any budget and/or tax increase. I’m sure that seemed like a good idea at the time that law was passed, but it sure looks like a royal pain in the ass now. Republicans in the Statehouse refuse to approve the tax increase, and Democrats refuse to cut spending any further. And so the stalemate continues. California has already issued I.O.Us in lieu of income tax refunds, and if no solution is reached by the end of the month, state government will essentially be shut down and California will be forced to issue I.O.Us for all their debt obligations. The sad part about this is that 20,000 public employees, and exponentially more in the private sector are being held hostage by ideologues in the Statehouse who can’t seem to understand that this is not some academic exercise in some classroom somewhere, isolated from reality. Real live human beings are going to be damaged by their gamesmanship.
Ditto for Kansas. Although the Kansas state budget deficit of $186 million seems laughable next to that of California.
Former presidential candidate and would-be Revlon spokesman Mitt Romney has placed two of his four houses on the market - including his Utah ski resort (described as a 9,500 square foot cabin) for which he is asking $5.25 million. I’m almost an architect. I don’t think a 9,500 square foot residence qualifies as a “cabin,” even if it is made out of logs. Lodge, maybe. Cabin, no. But at least Romney knows how many houses he has.
British and French military officials admitted this week that two of their nuclear submarines suffered significant damage when they collided with each other while submerged in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month. I’m sorry, what? Do you realize how vast the Atlantic Ocean is? How do you collide with another ship in the ocean? Don’t you have sonar to prevent crap like that from happening? That’s like two bumblebees flying into each other over Texas! If you can’t avoid hitting another submarine in the Atlantic, maybe you shouldn’t be piloting a submarine.
The lead-in for a story appearing today on CNN.com: “The founder of an upstate New York TV station aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes has been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife, who was beheaded, authorities say.” Sometimes the irony writes itself.
In an interview with U.S. News and World Report, televangelist Pat Robertson was asked if he subscribed to the Rush Limbaugh, “I hope (Obama) fails,” school of thought with regard to the new administration. In a stunning moment of clarity, Robertson responded with the following: That was a terrible thing to say. I mean, he’s the president of all the country. If he succees, the country succeeds. And if he doesn’t, it hurts us all. Anybody who would pull against our president is not exactly thinking rationally.” Note to Rush: if Pat Robertson thinks you’re crazy, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate
Bristol Palin told Fox News that although she wishes she had waited ten years to have a baby, simply telling young people to be abstinent and expecting that to work is “not realistic at all.” I guess she would know.
Finally, in case you missed it, last Friday at 6:31 p.m. marked 1234567890 o’clock in Unix time. For those of us without pocket protectors and coke-bottle glasses, that means 1,234,567,890 seconds since the computer operating system Unix was created. Apparently that’s important.
Congressional Republicans spent Sunday morning rounding the talk show circuit trying to convince America that President Obama failed miserably in his first legislative battle. A battle over the passage of an economic stimulus package, which he then signed into law two days later in Denver. Now I was under the impression that getting Congress to pass a bill you wanted passed would be considered a victory. After all, that’s how legislative victory has been defined for at least the past eight years. But apparently I lost something in translation. According to Senators Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell and John McCain, the new measure of success and failure is how many Republicans sing on to an article of legislation. I don’t know how this bogus determination was made, but this is national politics, not college football. A win is a win – even if you don’t run up the score.
When they weren’t busy trying to label victory as defeat and complaining about not having time to read a bill they never intended to vote for anyway, GOP leaders were pushing the talking point that since the President promised a new era of bipartisanship, and because Congressional Republicans failed to unclench their fists to accept the outstretched hand, Obama did not deliver on his promise. It’s sort of like a shopkeeper closing his store, and then complaining he can’t sell any goods. Bipartisanship requires the co-operation of two parties, hence the term bipartisan, “bi” meaning two and “partisan” meaning parties. If one party demands concessions from the other, yet refuses to concede anything of its own, there is never going to be a workable agreement – which was the intention of the Republican Party all along. As if to prove this point, on Monday afternoon, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor informed reporters that House Republicans intend to oppose the President’s foreclosure prevention plan. Only the President has yet to inform anyone of what that plan is. They don’t even know what it is they plan to oppose. Cantor and company will obstruct anything coming out of the White House, regardless of what it is. If Republicans want someone to blame for the failure of bipartisanship, they need only look in the mirror.
If no budget compromise is reached this week, the State of California will issue lay-off notices to 20,000 state employees, to take effect at the end of the month. Somehow, California has managed to dig itself a $42 billion deficit, and for the past year have been unable to agree on how to remedy the problem. The sticking point now is a budget proposal containing $15 billion in spending cuts and $14 billion in tax increases. California law requires both a balanced budget and a supermajority to pass any budget and/or tax increase. I’m sure that seemed like a good idea at the time that law was passed, but it sure looks like a royal pain in the ass now. Republicans in the Statehouse refuse to approve the tax increase, and Democrats refuse to cut spending any further. And so the stalemate continues. California has already issued I.O.Us in lieu of income tax refunds, and if no solution is reached by the end of the month, state government will essentially be shut down and California will be forced to issue I.O.Us for all their debt obligations. The sad part about this is that 20,000 public employees, and exponentially more in the private sector are being held hostage by ideologues in the Statehouse who can’t seem to understand that this is not some academic exercise in some classroom somewhere, isolated from reality. Real live human beings are going to be damaged by their gamesmanship.
Ditto for Kansas. Although the Kansas state budget deficit of $186 million seems laughable next to that of California.
Former presidential candidate and would-be Revlon spokesman Mitt Romney has placed two of his four houses on the market - including his Utah ski resort (described as a 9,500 square foot cabin) for which he is asking $5.25 million. I’m almost an architect. I don’t think a 9,500 square foot residence qualifies as a “cabin,” even if it is made out of logs. Lodge, maybe. Cabin, no. But at least Romney knows how many houses he has.
British and French military officials admitted this week that two of their nuclear submarines suffered significant damage when they collided with each other while submerged in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month. I’m sorry, what? Do you realize how vast the Atlantic Ocean is? How do you collide with another ship in the ocean? Don’t you have sonar to prevent crap like that from happening? That’s like two bumblebees flying into each other over Texas! If you can’t avoid hitting another submarine in the Atlantic, maybe you shouldn’t be piloting a submarine.
The lead-in for a story appearing today on CNN.com: “The founder of an upstate New York TV station aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes has been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife, who was beheaded, authorities say.” Sometimes the irony writes itself.
In an interview with U.S. News and World Report, televangelist Pat Robertson was asked if he subscribed to the Rush Limbaugh, “I hope (Obama) fails,” school of thought with regard to the new administration. In a stunning moment of clarity, Robertson responded with the following: That was a terrible thing to say. I mean, he’s the president of all the country. If he succees, the country succeeds. And if he doesn’t, it hurts us all. Anybody who would pull against our president is not exactly thinking rationally.” Note to Rush: if Pat Robertson thinks you’re crazy, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate
Bristol Palin told Fox News that although she wishes she had waited ten years to have a baby, simply telling young people to be abstinent and expecting that to work is “not realistic at all.” I guess she would know.
Finally, in case you missed it, last Friday at 6:31 p.m. marked 1234567890 o’clock in Unix time. For those of us without pocket protectors and coke-bottle glasses, that means 1,234,567,890 seconds since the computer operating system Unix was created. Apparently that’s important.
2.12.2009
This Judd's For You
After lobbying President Obama for the position, New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg has withdrawn his name from consideration for Commerce Secretary, citing “irresolvable conflicts” with his new administration. According to Gregg, he and the President “are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.” Really? You mean Republicans and Democrats actually differ on items of policy? Question, Judd; did you not know that the President is a Democrat? Were you somehow under the impression that McCain had won the election? I don’t understand what you thought was going to happen once you became Commerce Secretary. Did you think you would be able to get up in front of the cameras at every subsequent press conference and say, “You know, I really respect my employer and all, but I think everything he does wrong?” Why did you ask for the position if you weren’t going to be able to do the job? What is wrong with you?
Ordinarily I would appreciate the idea of a piece of legislation devoid of earmarks. But this time I think the lack of earmarks might be doing more harm than good. In a way, the inability to specifically target the economic aid is making it easier for Congressional Republicans to obstruct the process. Devoid of earmarks, opponents can simply claim the stimulus will help no one, without ever having to justify their statements. And, in the event it does work, they still reap the benefits of the legislation they fought tooth and nail to kill. However, with earmarks, the writers of the bill could target tax cuts and spending to the home districts of the most stalwart opponents of the stimulus package and force them to explain why they would vote to deny their own constituents desperately needed assistance. How many Republicans in Congress would actually vote against money targeted to their voters?
To help resolve this issue, I propose an experiment. Divide the stimulus spending and tax cuts by Congressional district. Provide stimulus benefits to districts that voted in favor of the package, provide nothing for districts that voted against it. Then wait a year and evaluate the progress. If the stimulus opponents are correct, there should be no economic difference between districts that received stimulus money and those that didn’t. If that’s the case, stimulus backers should admit they were wrong and capitulate to their opponents’ demands for doubling the tax cuts and eliminate all the spending. But, if the communities that received stimulus money are faring better than those that received nothing, then the constituents of the obstructionists should demand they be thrown out of office.
Ordinarily I would appreciate the idea of a piece of legislation devoid of earmarks. But this time I think the lack of earmarks might be doing more harm than good. In a way, the inability to specifically target the economic aid is making it easier for Congressional Republicans to obstruct the process. Devoid of earmarks, opponents can simply claim the stimulus will help no one, without ever having to justify their statements. And, in the event it does work, they still reap the benefits of the legislation they fought tooth and nail to kill. However, with earmarks, the writers of the bill could target tax cuts and spending to the home districts of the most stalwart opponents of the stimulus package and force them to explain why they would vote to deny their own constituents desperately needed assistance. How many Republicans in Congress would actually vote against money targeted to their voters?
To help resolve this issue, I propose an experiment. Divide the stimulus spending and tax cuts by Congressional district. Provide stimulus benefits to districts that voted in favor of the package, provide nothing for districts that voted against it. Then wait a year and evaluate the progress. If the stimulus opponents are correct, there should be no economic difference between districts that received stimulus money and those that didn’t. If that’s the case, stimulus backers should admit they were wrong and capitulate to their opponents’ demands for doubling the tax cuts and eliminate all the spending. But, if the communities that received stimulus money are faring better than those that received nothing, then the constituents of the obstructionists should demand they be thrown out of office.
2.11.2009
Vitamin T
Our snow finally melted this week. You’re forgiven Indiana. Until Thursday when it snows again.
Note to CNN.com: “Obama Bumps His Head,” is NOT news, and is certainly not a headline. Seriously, what’s next? Biden takes a dump? Get a hobby people.
Got a headache? Take a tax cut, it’ll make you feel better. Lose your job this week? Here, have a tax cut; don’t spend it all in one place. Run your airplane into a flock of geese killing both your engines and think you need to ditch that bird in the Hudson River? Don’t worry; a tax cut will get you back to cruising altitude in no time. Haven’t you heard? They’re the new penicillin.
President Obama held his first primetime news conference this week. He answered 13 questions in about an hour – including the obligatory sports question – which apparently wasn’t good enough for some members of the media. Apparently they would prefer single sentence answers to 50 questions in 60 minutes, which they could then later criticize as glib and inadequate. I thought he was serious, thoughtful and thorough with his answers, carefully explaining his position in complete sentences. After eight years of press conferences in which we were treated to incoherent answers revealing nothing, I found Obama’s parlance refreshing.
After a week of bickering, Senate Democrats and the three Senate Republicans that don’t despise the American worker finally passed a version of an economic stimulus package. Following that breakthrough, the revised bill headed to conference committee, where in less than 24 hours, House and Senate negotiators honed it into a $790 billion morsel they believe will survive votes in both chambers. House Republicans continue to perpetuate their fraudulent claims that no GOP ideas were considered – let alone adopted by negotiators, while Senate Republicans insist that none of the spending present in the bill can really be considered stimulus. They are, at best, either ignorant or stupid, and at this point it matters little which. But at worst, they’re walking the very fine line between stretching the truth and outright lying. The stimulus bill, in its original form, was comprised of approximately 30% tax cuts and 70% spending. The current version of the bill is approximately 40% tax cuts and 60% spending. To my knowledge, Democratic representatives didn’t demand a reduction in spending and an increase in tax cuts, and 600-plus page legislation simply doesn’t edit itself. And the idea that things like replacing the federal fleet with hybrid vehicles and funding school construction and/or renovation do not amount to economic stimulus is just preposterous. Allow me to demonstrate.
When the government authorizes the construction of a new school building, the school corporation goes out and hires an architectural firm – like the one I work for. We have about 14 employees. The architecture firm then hires consultants to help plan the project, a civil engineering firm, structural engineering firm, mechanical engineering firm, information systems firm, lighting designer, and so on and so one. Each of those firms employs maybe ten or twelve people. Once the building is designed and the construction drawings have been completed, the project is turned over to a contractor to build. For something like a school, the contractor will need to employ several hundred workers of various disciplines in order to complete the job. Each of those carpenters and glazers and drivers and roofers eat lunch at local restaurants, sometimes stay in local hotels, purchase new jeans and work boots from the local Wal-Mart and go out for drinks at the local taverns – all of which employ people raising families in the community. Every single person in that chain owes some portion of his or her paycheck to the fact that the local government provided funding for the construction of a new school.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the spending of money – regardless or who is doing the spending – stimulates economic growth. The same Republican politicians now arguing against that fact, admitted it as recently as last year. In fact, for five years, Congressional Republicans insisted that it was our moral obligation to rebuild the country we had blown to smithereens the year before by dumping hundreds of billions of American dollars into Iraqi infrastructure, security and education. They told the nation that those dollars would put Iraqis to work building roads and bridges and power plants and schools and help improve their standard of living. How can these clowns get up on television and with straight faces insist that infrastructure spending creates jobs in Iraq, yet absolutely WILL NOT create jobs in America? The answer is, they can’t. Not with any credibility. Instead, they continue to peddle tax cuts as the panacea for all that ails the economy. News flash: people without jobs don’t have any income, and therefore don’t pay taxes. Your proposed tax cuts provide absolutely NOTHING for the 600,000 people who lost their jobs last month! Why do so many people still take these charlatans seriously?
This past Monday, New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez admitted he used steroids during his stint with the Texas Rangers early in this decade. Surprise! The highest-paid player in the history of baseball cheated the game on his way to the top. Does this surprise ANYBODY? Anyone? Didn’t think so. Baseball is a fraud. It always has been, always will be. For decades the Powers-That-Be in Major League Baseball have known players were taking illegal substances and done absolutely nothing about it, because the game desperately needed the fastball and the long ball. Baseball sold its soul for ratings and deserves every single line of bad press it gets.
Brett Favre retired from football today. Again. We’ll miss you Brett. But please, stay retired this time.
The Grammys were awarded on Sunday. No one cared. The real drama apparently took place on the way to the awards show. Some dude named Chris Brown (I’m told he’s some sort of pop star) and his girlfriend Rhianna (another pop star – apparently with no last name) got into an argument in her vehicle as they were heading to the event. Brown reportedly physically assaulted Rhianna, and then fled the scene before the police arrived. Brown has since been charged with making criminal threats and released from jail on $50,000 bail, with additional charges pending. Much of the subsequent ink devoted to this story has discussed whether or not Mr. Brown has permanently tarnished his image. No one seems to remember the woman in this story with the bruises on her face. The moral of this story? Stop beating up your girlfriend! Among other things.
Finally this week, a group of fisherman decided to bridge two Lake Erie ice flows in order to gain access to water further from shore. (You know where this is going, don’t you?) After about a hundred or so fisherman made the pilgrimage, the flow broke away from the ice pack and began floating out into the lake. (Un)Fortunately, someone had a cell phone and called for help, forcing the Coast Guard to rescue a hundred people who probably should have been left to float across the lake to Canada, be denied entry by Canada Customs and sent back to where ever it is they came from on the iceberg they floated in on. Once again nature attempts to weed out those unfit to procreate and we interfere to stop it. When are we going to learn?
Note to CNN.com: “Obama Bumps His Head,” is NOT news, and is certainly not a headline. Seriously, what’s next? Biden takes a dump? Get a hobby people.
Got a headache? Take a tax cut, it’ll make you feel better. Lose your job this week? Here, have a tax cut; don’t spend it all in one place. Run your airplane into a flock of geese killing both your engines and think you need to ditch that bird in the Hudson River? Don’t worry; a tax cut will get you back to cruising altitude in no time. Haven’t you heard? They’re the new penicillin.
President Obama held his first primetime news conference this week. He answered 13 questions in about an hour – including the obligatory sports question – which apparently wasn’t good enough for some members of the media. Apparently they would prefer single sentence answers to 50 questions in 60 minutes, which they could then later criticize as glib and inadequate. I thought he was serious, thoughtful and thorough with his answers, carefully explaining his position in complete sentences. After eight years of press conferences in which we were treated to incoherent answers revealing nothing, I found Obama’s parlance refreshing.
After a week of bickering, Senate Democrats and the three Senate Republicans that don’t despise the American worker finally passed a version of an economic stimulus package. Following that breakthrough, the revised bill headed to conference committee, where in less than 24 hours, House and Senate negotiators honed it into a $790 billion morsel they believe will survive votes in both chambers. House Republicans continue to perpetuate their fraudulent claims that no GOP ideas were considered – let alone adopted by negotiators, while Senate Republicans insist that none of the spending present in the bill can really be considered stimulus. They are, at best, either ignorant or stupid, and at this point it matters little which. But at worst, they’re walking the very fine line between stretching the truth and outright lying. The stimulus bill, in its original form, was comprised of approximately 30% tax cuts and 70% spending. The current version of the bill is approximately 40% tax cuts and 60% spending. To my knowledge, Democratic representatives didn’t demand a reduction in spending and an increase in tax cuts, and 600-plus page legislation simply doesn’t edit itself. And the idea that things like replacing the federal fleet with hybrid vehicles and funding school construction and/or renovation do not amount to economic stimulus is just preposterous. Allow me to demonstrate.
When the government authorizes the construction of a new school building, the school corporation goes out and hires an architectural firm – like the one I work for. We have about 14 employees. The architecture firm then hires consultants to help plan the project, a civil engineering firm, structural engineering firm, mechanical engineering firm, information systems firm, lighting designer, and so on and so one. Each of those firms employs maybe ten or twelve people. Once the building is designed and the construction drawings have been completed, the project is turned over to a contractor to build. For something like a school, the contractor will need to employ several hundred workers of various disciplines in order to complete the job. Each of those carpenters and glazers and drivers and roofers eat lunch at local restaurants, sometimes stay in local hotels, purchase new jeans and work boots from the local Wal-Mart and go out for drinks at the local taverns – all of which employ people raising families in the community. Every single person in that chain owes some portion of his or her paycheck to the fact that the local government provided funding for the construction of a new school.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the spending of money – regardless or who is doing the spending – stimulates economic growth. The same Republican politicians now arguing against that fact, admitted it as recently as last year. In fact, for five years, Congressional Republicans insisted that it was our moral obligation to rebuild the country we had blown to smithereens the year before by dumping hundreds of billions of American dollars into Iraqi infrastructure, security and education. They told the nation that those dollars would put Iraqis to work building roads and bridges and power plants and schools and help improve their standard of living. How can these clowns get up on television and with straight faces insist that infrastructure spending creates jobs in Iraq, yet absolutely WILL NOT create jobs in America? The answer is, they can’t. Not with any credibility. Instead, they continue to peddle tax cuts as the panacea for all that ails the economy. News flash: people without jobs don’t have any income, and therefore don’t pay taxes. Your proposed tax cuts provide absolutely NOTHING for the 600,000 people who lost their jobs last month! Why do so many people still take these charlatans seriously?
This past Monday, New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez admitted he used steroids during his stint with the Texas Rangers early in this decade. Surprise! The highest-paid player in the history of baseball cheated the game on his way to the top. Does this surprise ANYBODY? Anyone? Didn’t think so. Baseball is a fraud. It always has been, always will be. For decades the Powers-That-Be in Major League Baseball have known players were taking illegal substances and done absolutely nothing about it, because the game desperately needed the fastball and the long ball. Baseball sold its soul for ratings and deserves every single line of bad press it gets.
Brett Favre retired from football today. Again. We’ll miss you Brett. But please, stay retired this time.
The Grammys were awarded on Sunday. No one cared. The real drama apparently took place on the way to the awards show. Some dude named Chris Brown (I’m told he’s some sort of pop star) and his girlfriend Rhianna (another pop star – apparently with no last name) got into an argument in her vehicle as they were heading to the event. Brown reportedly physically assaulted Rhianna, and then fled the scene before the police arrived. Brown has since been charged with making criminal threats and released from jail on $50,000 bail, with additional charges pending. Much of the subsequent ink devoted to this story has discussed whether or not Mr. Brown has permanently tarnished his image. No one seems to remember the woman in this story with the bruises on her face. The moral of this story? Stop beating up your girlfriend! Among other things.
Finally this week, a group of fisherman decided to bridge two Lake Erie ice flows in order to gain access to water further from shore. (You know where this is going, don’t you?) After about a hundred or so fisherman made the pilgrimage, the flow broke away from the ice pack and began floating out into the lake. (Un)Fortunately, someone had a cell phone and called for help, forcing the Coast Guard to rescue a hundred people who probably should have been left to float across the lake to Canada, be denied entry by Canada Customs and sent back to where ever it is they came from on the iceberg they floated in on. Once again nature attempts to weed out those unfit to procreate and we interfere to stop it. When are we going to learn?
2.04.2009
100 Percent Lambswool
“It’s the NASCAR of sheep shearing!” I actually heard that phrase today. That's just wrong, on so many levels.
An Ode to Rod Blagojevich, former Governor of Illinois.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
And that fair place is Springfield, mighty Blago's been thrown out.
Congressional Republicans continue their “Just Say No” campaign on Capitol Hill this week, manufacturing opposition to the much-needed economic stimulus package. The latest obstructions du jour came in the form of a “wasteful spending list” and a $700 billion counter-stimulus proposal, heavy on tax cuts and light on spending. If the situation weren’t so serious, it might actually be somewhat amusing. Republicans are now demanding “relief for underwater homeowners,” and provisions that would “keep families in their homes.” The irony that these same Republicans have blocked every attempt by the Democratic Congress and leaders in the Treasury Department to do exactly what they are now demanding should be lost on no one. It’s like they’re living in a time warp, convinced that Bush is still President and they are still in control of Congress with the mandate to set the agenda. When asked why the Republican Party insists on needlessly bickering and stalling while hundreds of thousands of Americans continue to lose their jobs, one apologist on a radio talk show this morning stated, “...we have a better idea.” Really? Seems to me that if you truly did have better ideas, you and the Republican majority in Washington could cajole President McCain into signing all the tax cut legislation you want. But the people decided otherwise. Get out of the way or get out of the way.
What is with all these people who can’t pay their taxes? Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle withdrew his name from consideration for Secretary of Health and Human Services today following his mea culpa for failing to pay $140,000 in back taxes until he was nominated to head HHS. This came on the heels of the withdrawal of Nancy Killefer for the position of Chief Performance Officer due to her failure to pay the employment taxes for her domestic help. Don’t these people have accountants? If not, shouldn’t they get accountants? If you can afford to have a driver, or domestic help, you can probably afford to hire an accountant to prevent embarrassing situations such as these.
Is it me, or is the media obsessed with the economic crisis? Eight out of every ten news stories play up some aspect of the downturn. Five of those stories are about how awful things are and how much worse they’re going to get if we don’t pour trillions of dollars into fixing the problem immediately, while the remaining three stories caution us of how unbelievably expensive it’s going to be to fix the problem. It’s like they’re urging us to take action while paralyzing us with the fear of the consequences. It make for a good story. But it does nothing to solve the problem.
Word came late last week that Wall Street payed out $18.4 billion in bonuses this past year. That is the sixth-highest bonus total ever. Hmm. I guess that means Wall Street had it’s sixth-best year ever, right? Wait, what do you mean the markets lost 45% of their value? Then why the hell... oh never mind. Answered my own question. Note that when asked for his opinion on the subject, former mayor Rudi Giuliani stated that it is exactly that type of excess which helps makes New York City the world class destination it is. That’s right Rudi. Nip that 2012 Presidential campaign in the bud. I’m sure that will go over well in “Real America.”
My NFL Thoughts for Superbowl Week:
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers on their sixth Superbowl championship. Someone had to break the record. At least it wasn’t the Cowboys.
I have to admit this was the first Superbowl I can remember that I had absolutely no interest in. I did catch the last two minutes of each half, and from everything I heard it was a fantastic game - one of the best ever. I just couldn’t muster any interest. At least this time - unlike their victory over the Seahawks in Superbowl XL - they earned the trophy. Nobody handed them the title on phantom holding calls or non-existent chop-blocks or touchdowns that never broke the plane. Just football. Until next year.
My Superbowl Predictions for 2010: New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts.
Miley Cyrus decided she didn’t like the just barely pre-owned Porsche her mother gave her for her birthday, trading it in for a brand new, Toyota Prius. At least we’ll never have to read about an intoxicated Hanna Montana wrapping her Porsche around a tree at 90 miles-an-hour. Seriously. No one drives drunk - or fast - in a Prius.
Olympic superstar Michael Phelps found himself in the spotlight again this weekend, only this time, not for swimming. A British tabloid published a photo of Aquaman a party taking a hit of marijuana from an object resembling a bong. One could be forgiven for thinking the sports world had come to an end with the amount of ink devoted to said photograph and subsequent discussion of how Phelps had embarrassed himself and abandoned his position as a role model for children and should forfeit his medals and blah blah blah blah blah. Let’s get a few things straight. First, marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug. It is nothing like injecting one’s self with steroids to gain a physical advantage over one’s opponent. There is no evidence and are no allegations of a positive drug test during the Olympics, but if Michael Phelps could go out and win eight Olympic gold medals high on the reefer, then he deserves every single one of those medals. Second, is it really surprising to anyone that a 23-year-old kid at a party with other 23-year-old kids took a hit from a bong? Finally, people need to quite pretending that only drop-outs, hippies and musicians smoke pot. Some of the best students I knew in college were regular connoisseurs of cannabis. As a matter of fact, approximately 40% of people surveyed (including three former Presidents) admitted to at least trying marijuana. Some of the “good kids” get high too. Be your own child’s role model. Don’t leave it up to people you see on television.
London, England has been completely shut down by what is being called the worst snowstorm in the past 18 years. Or, as we Canadians refer to it, flurries. Yes, the financial capital of Europe ground to a halt this past Monday when it was hit with three inches of snow. Seriously? Three inches? What are you people, Texans? It’s not even enough to shovel. Just think of the snow flakes as cold crispy raindrops. Londoners understand rain, right?
Finally, I ran across an interesting statistic this weekend. Apparently, the only major restaurant chain to turn a profit in 2008, was Hooters. Imagine that. Who would have thought wings, thighs and breasts would be such a winning combination?
An Ode to Rod Blagojevich, former Governor of Illinois.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
And that fair place is Springfield, mighty Blago's been thrown out.
Congressional Republicans continue their “Just Say No” campaign on Capitol Hill this week, manufacturing opposition to the much-needed economic stimulus package. The latest obstructions du jour came in the form of a “wasteful spending list” and a $700 billion counter-stimulus proposal, heavy on tax cuts and light on spending. If the situation weren’t so serious, it might actually be somewhat amusing. Republicans are now demanding “relief for underwater homeowners,” and provisions that would “keep families in their homes.” The irony that these same Republicans have blocked every attempt by the Democratic Congress and leaders in the Treasury Department to do exactly what they are now demanding should be lost on no one. It’s like they’re living in a time warp, convinced that Bush is still President and they are still in control of Congress with the mandate to set the agenda. When asked why the Republican Party insists on needlessly bickering and stalling while hundreds of thousands of Americans continue to lose their jobs, one apologist on a radio talk show this morning stated, “...we have a better idea.” Really? Seems to me that if you truly did have better ideas, you and the Republican majority in Washington could cajole President McCain into signing all the tax cut legislation you want. But the people decided otherwise. Get out of the way or get out of the way.
What is with all these people who can’t pay their taxes? Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle withdrew his name from consideration for Secretary of Health and Human Services today following his mea culpa for failing to pay $140,000 in back taxes until he was nominated to head HHS. This came on the heels of the withdrawal of Nancy Killefer for the position of Chief Performance Officer due to her failure to pay the employment taxes for her domestic help. Don’t these people have accountants? If not, shouldn’t they get accountants? If you can afford to have a driver, or domestic help, you can probably afford to hire an accountant to prevent embarrassing situations such as these.
Is it me, or is the media obsessed with the economic crisis? Eight out of every ten news stories play up some aspect of the downturn. Five of those stories are about how awful things are and how much worse they’re going to get if we don’t pour trillions of dollars into fixing the problem immediately, while the remaining three stories caution us of how unbelievably expensive it’s going to be to fix the problem. It’s like they’re urging us to take action while paralyzing us with the fear of the consequences. It make for a good story. But it does nothing to solve the problem.
Word came late last week that Wall Street payed out $18.4 billion in bonuses this past year. That is the sixth-highest bonus total ever. Hmm. I guess that means Wall Street had it’s sixth-best year ever, right? Wait, what do you mean the markets lost 45% of their value? Then why the hell... oh never mind. Answered my own question. Note that when asked for his opinion on the subject, former mayor Rudi Giuliani stated that it is exactly that type of excess which helps makes New York City the world class destination it is. That’s right Rudi. Nip that 2012 Presidential campaign in the bud. I’m sure that will go over well in “Real America.”
My NFL Thoughts for Superbowl Week:
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers on their sixth Superbowl championship. Someone had to break the record. At least it wasn’t the Cowboys.
I have to admit this was the first Superbowl I can remember that I had absolutely no interest in. I did catch the last two minutes of each half, and from everything I heard it was a fantastic game - one of the best ever. I just couldn’t muster any interest. At least this time - unlike their victory over the Seahawks in Superbowl XL - they earned the trophy. Nobody handed them the title on phantom holding calls or non-existent chop-blocks or touchdowns that never broke the plane. Just football. Until next year.
My Superbowl Predictions for 2010: New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts.
Miley Cyrus decided she didn’t like the just barely pre-owned Porsche her mother gave her for her birthday, trading it in for a brand new, Toyota Prius. At least we’ll never have to read about an intoxicated Hanna Montana wrapping her Porsche around a tree at 90 miles-an-hour. Seriously. No one drives drunk - or fast - in a Prius.
Olympic superstar Michael Phelps found himself in the spotlight again this weekend, only this time, not for swimming. A British tabloid published a photo of Aquaman a party taking a hit of marijuana from an object resembling a bong. One could be forgiven for thinking the sports world had come to an end with the amount of ink devoted to said photograph and subsequent discussion of how Phelps had embarrassed himself and abandoned his position as a role model for children and should forfeit his medals and blah blah blah blah blah. Let’s get a few things straight. First, marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug. It is nothing like injecting one’s self with steroids to gain a physical advantage over one’s opponent. There is no evidence and are no allegations of a positive drug test during the Olympics, but if Michael Phelps could go out and win eight Olympic gold medals high on the reefer, then he deserves every single one of those medals. Second, is it really surprising to anyone that a 23-year-old kid at a party with other 23-year-old kids took a hit from a bong? Finally, people need to quite pretending that only drop-outs, hippies and musicians smoke pot. Some of the best students I knew in college were regular connoisseurs of cannabis. As a matter of fact, approximately 40% of people surveyed (including three former Presidents) admitted to at least trying marijuana. Some of the “good kids” get high too. Be your own child’s role model. Don’t leave it up to people you see on television.
London, England has been completely shut down by what is being called the worst snowstorm in the past 18 years. Or, as we Canadians refer to it, flurries. Yes, the financial capital of Europe ground to a halt this past Monday when it was hit with three inches of snow. Seriously? Three inches? What are you people, Texans? It’s not even enough to shovel. Just think of the snow flakes as cold crispy raindrops. Londoners understand rain, right?
Finally, I ran across an interesting statistic this weekend. Apparently, the only major restaurant chain to turn a profit in 2008, was Hooters. Imagine that. Who would have thought wings, thighs and breasts would be such a winning combination?
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