Archive for September, 2008
Have You Already Seen This?
Sunday, September 28th, 2008I discourage those mass-feel-good emails that promise true love, enlightenment or the satisfaction of helping an Nambibian princess so maybe everyone but me has seen it. But it’s cool.
Liveblogging the McCain-Obama Debate
Friday, September 26th, 2008Here we go…..
Okay weird thing, what happened to Obama’s eyebrows? He looks like he has eyebrow shadows.
Obama pins the problem on McCain. Um….
Now, why isn’t McCain bringing up his solutions?
Obama says that two years ago he warned about the problem. Really? When? I’ve seen the McCain legislation, what did Obama do?
McCain talks about holding people accountable. Obama talks about “underlying issues” and says that McCain talked about “fundamentals are good”. ARGH! McCain is sounding like a Senator and not going at Obama. What in the hell?
Obama 1 McCain 0
8:10 p.m. CST What would you do to get Washington out of this crisis?
McCain says to get spending under control. Finally!
Obama says that McCain will have tax cuts for the rich. Oh here we go “tax cuts for 95% of working families”. Obama “pays for every dime of it”–of the plans that McCain brings up that Obama wants, including health care. The tax increases will pay for his plans. But only the rich will pay.
Interesting aside. I think Obama looks angry. And McCain looks intense, but he has obviously worked very hard to not look angry.
Round 2: McCain 1 Obama 0 Score: 1 to 1
8:21 CST What are you going to have to give up to pay for the rescue?
In 10 years time, Obama’s going to make America independent. Oy vey. It sounds ridiculous on its face and he keeps saying it. Does it focus group well, because to me, it sounds simple-minded.
McCain is all about cutting spending. “It’s hard to reach across the aisle from that far to the left.” Even Obama chuckles. Good zinger, John!
John Hawkins and I are chatting and he says, and I agree, that Jim Lerher is doing a great job. He has a very nice temperament to moderate.
John McCain says that he would have a spending freeze, but Obama feels that there is not enough money being spent on early childhood education. Oh for the love of all that’s good and decent. The educational system’s problem isn’t lack of money. Shizen! Are his kids in public school?
John McCain goes after energy independence.
Jim Lerher goes after both John McCain and Barack Obama’s spending plans in light of the economy. Barack Obama admits that there are “tough decisions” but he’s concerned about priorities. McCain goes after spending.
8:34 What are the lessons of Iraq?
McCain: You can’t have a failed strategy–in 2003, he went to Iraq and saw things needed to be changed. Praises Petraeus.
My brother just texted me: “Serious tired head with this debate. Lerher format blows.”
Obama: Doesn’t believe we should have been there to begin with. Snort. He called the Iraq war “a distraction”. Now he’s running down how bad the war has been. I cringe thinking about our soldiers hearing that they’ve fought a wasted war.
McCain: The next president of the United State isn’t going to have to decide whether to enter the war, it’s going to have to decide what to do now. Pow!
Why does it feel like Obama is being more assertive and McCain is being passive on the military?
Round 3: Draw. McCain 3 – Obama 3
8:45 CST More troops in Afghanistan?
Obama: Yes. More dead Americans. Why do liberals fetishize dead soldiers. It is so dang irritating. Okay. No one is saying this, but I’m going to say it. Every time Obama says “Pakeesthan” and “Taleebahn”, he sounds middle eastern. Say it like an mid-Westerner if you want to appeal to middle America.
McCain: Talking about strategies for Afghanistan.
Obama is talking right now, but I was asleep five minutes ago. He talks too much. And he talks more when he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. That’s a common trait–to confabulate when you don’t know what you’re saying. He’s confabulating.
Another commenter says and I agree:
Does anyone else think Obama has that same annoyed and condescending look because he has to share a stage with someone he considers his inferior that Gore had when he debated Bush? We all know how that worked out for Gore..
Posted by AlexinCT
McCain is going after Obama, whew!
Round 4: McCain 1, Obama 0 Score: McCain 4- Obama 3
8:55 CST What about Iran?
McCain: If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it is an existential threat to Israel. The Iranians are putting IEDs into Iraq. He wants economic sanctions.
Obama: He believes that the war in Iraq strengthened Iran. And notes that they are funding Hamas and Hezbollah. As if they weren’t before the Iraq war. He is going to have “tough diplomacy”. I’m laughing. He’s going to talk a crazy nutjob to death. Actually, I think he could do it. Every time he’s talking on and on I feel masochistic.
McCain is eating Obama’s lunch about meeting with dictators. This was a big, fat softball.
Obama called Iran a “rogue regime”, but that he would talk to them. And did Obama just give Bush props for sending a negotiator? Now, he’s taking it back and talking about North Korea and reversing progress.
9:10 CST Now, to Russia.
Obama: Hmmm…..won’t answer the question. Again. He talks too much. The man can’t give a short, direct answer. Now, he’s showing off his geography knowledge. Saying he wants to bring the surrounding states into NATO but doesn’t want another Cold War.
McCain: He’s going after Obama’s “naivité”. McCain looks into Putin’s eyes and sees KGB. And McCain notes that Obama’s response was to say “both sides should show restraint”–going after him for the moral equivalence thing. McCain is showing his knowledge of the international community–he says to “watch Ukraine”.
Obama is reframing his wobbliness directly after the Russian invasion. So now, Obama is trumpeting his foresight. Uh huh. He is the best 20/20 in hindsight genius I’ve ever seen. Oh my! Obama now says he’ll do clean coal and nuclear energy and the way to deal with Russia is to use alternative fuels.
9:20 CST What is the likelihood of another 9/11?
McCain says that we are safer now than we were one day after 9/11. “We have to do a better job of our human intelligence”. Strong statement against torture. America is safer than after 9/11. We are safer, but a long way to go.
Side note: McCain doesn’t look old and mean. Obama is still talking too much. The man can’t say a short sentence. Ugh.
And now, he’s saying “We have the greatest country in the world BUT there is much to be done to restore our standing”. Anytime someone follows a statement with “but” it is an indication that he doesn’t agree with the original statement.
Now, in the wrap-up, Obama is trying to link McCain with Bush. Talking about Obama. Now he’s tromping down the road to China. Obama believes that because we have focused on Iraq, we’ve ignored every other country. Now it’s off to health care–we can’t fund it because we’re spending money in Iraq. Now off to Veterans aren’t funded. Soldiers suffering with PTSD.
McCain is talking about Obama’s judgment and stubbornness to not admit that the Surge was successful. “I’ll take care of the Veterans”.
Oh sheesh, Obama brings up the origin of his last name. And Obama believes that children around the world now don’t want to come here. Is he crazy? What? They want to move to China? Venezuala? Iran? Russia? Germany? France?
McCain knows how to deal with “enemies and friends”.
Overall, I think McCain won. Obama looks angry afterward. What do you think? Who won?
LANDSLIDE!
Friday, September 26th, 2008Since I’m nearly always wrong about this thing, I want to reiterate what I’ve predicted before: McCain will win in a landslide.
Maybe this time I’ll be right.
Cross-posted at RightWingNews.com
Making Sense Of The Financial Deal–Updated
Friday, September 26th, 2008House Republicans “rebelled“, eh? Maybe it’s because their constituents are burning up the phone lines in all out mutiny. The Republicans have acted like Democrats “lite” for years now. I have a newsflash for the Republicans, including McCain, about this whole bill: It feels wrong to fiscal conservatives and taxpayers generally.
My most liberal of liberal friends gloated in a Facebook message that Bush will be ushering in socialism and add an economic failure to his military failure.
The problem in America is cultural: a bigger portion of the populace lives beyond their means than ever before. Too much stuff, too much house (that isn’t worth the money paid for it), too, too much.
The great thing about America is cultural: risk-taking, the ability to make mistakes and survive them, the opportunity to start again. Americans get a do-over if they make a mistake.
The question facing Congress and the President is this: Does Wall Street deserve a do-over? Does Congress deserve a do-over? Their stupid regulations forcing bankers to loosen credit when people who were very bad bets caused this problem. Why should Americans trust Congress with the solution? I think that’s where the do nothing sentiment comes from.
Will business start-ups be harmed by the contraction in credit? Yes. Will businesses fail? Yes. Will people lose jobs? Yes. Especially employees of small businesses.
It’s no wonder Congress has themselves tied up in knots. There are no guarantees no matter the choices. And there are great risks no matter how it’s handled.
The American patient is sick. Any intervention could potentially make it worse. Lack of intervention, could make it worse, too.
Updated:
The Anchoress says this (mind you, go to her page where she has TONS of links–I’m at a conference right now and blogging during a presentation so I don’t really have the time to give all this the attention it deserves, I will however, try to liveblog the debate):
EARLY RANT: (Scroll past this for latest updates) I need to first opine that the Democrats yesterday blew my mind with their last-minute addition of 56 billion to the bail-out, their sneaky, slippery attempt to play political games with some of this money – directing it to ACORN (!) – and their subsequent attempt to lie and to blame the GOP – the president – anyone but themselves for not passing a bill which the GOP CANNOT BLOCK. We already know that Nancy Pelosi has no leadership skills except in spite and obstruction – we see she is completely out of her depths here, but Barney Frank’s behavior last night, and his disrespect toward the GOP and the President was particularly egregious in a time of crisis. He behaved like a trapped animal trying to distract the hunters toward anyone but him. Meanwhile Chuck Schumer is unusually, uncharacteristically silent; Barack Obama – except when mentioned by a press pretending he is leading – seems irrelevant to the process and to have no genuine ideas or input, or a desire to lead. All he seems capable of doing is whining about the debate while Rome falls about his ankles. McCain is quite right that the debates would be less urgent if Obama had done the Town Halls McCain had asked for – debates Obama said he’d have “anytime, anywhere” before refusing all of them. I say at this point SCREW the moderated debates that tell us nothing and insist that these candidates town-hall it and speak DIRECTLY to the people who will be most affected by all of this – that would be the ordinary folk. And do the same for Biden and Palin if they debate.
The longer this goes on, the less people trust these dolts to take a wise course. Pelosi and Reid act like children bouncing around in one of those ball pits at McDonalds. Obama seems like a vestigial organ on a worthless appendage. Why should we trust these people to fix this problem?
And there is RAGE and I do not use this word carelessly about executive pay. And well there should be. It is outrageous to walk away from failure rich. But, and I’d like to add this, if we’re going to get all socialist about executive pay, lets take the money from all the losing basketball teams, too. What about those fat cat ball players. At least they have a skill. Actors in moronic movies that make no money should also not make a salary. How about that? So, while I think the compensation is vile, I’d like to point out that Tom Cruise makes at least $20 million a movie for essentially playing the same part over and over and over. Good grief, someone actually pays Charlie Sheen. So, life isn’t always “fair” and can’t be “made” to be fair, either.
Cross-posted at RightWingNews.com
Harry Reid Sneaks Provision To Ban Oil Shale Development Into
Thursday, September 25th, 2008Are the Democrats trying to give OPEC power? You know, they talk about energy independence, but what they mean is a damaged economy that is a slave to environmental fear-mongers.
Details from Jim DeMint.
Joe Biden: I Question Barack Obama’s Judgment
Thursday, September 25th, 2008That Joe Biden bungles even simple sentences surprises no one, no one, it seems, except Barack Obama. Let me get this straight: Since Barack Obama has no experience, we are supposed to vote for him for his temperament and judgment, right? Well, on the temperament front he seems either unwilling or unable to make a decision which is a-ok if you’re a sit-out-the-vote Senator. It’s problematic in the executive office. And on judgment. Who are we kidding? The Vice Presidential pick was to demonstrate Obama’s gravitas and judgment. What it demonstrates is his disregard for the country and his own candidacy. Some judgment.
Can you imagine Biden chatting up foreign dignitaries? Are there enough kiss-asses in the State Department to make what he does wrong, right?
The Myth Of The Free Press
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008Yesterday, on the Blog Talk Radio show with John Hawkins, he asked me whether the press should just give up the pretense and be open about their bias. My response was that intelligent people could perceive a bias already, but that yes, the press should just be open about their bias and be done with it.
Jeff Goldstein writes today about the problem:
For my part, I’d just like to again reiterate that, should the press be allowed to comport itself this way under the current mythology that it is dedicated to “objectivity,” then every election will be necessarily skewed — if not by Evan Thomas’ infamous 15 percentage points, than at least by a number significant enough that it could very well be the deciding factor in every major election.
At which point, we’re dealing with no more than simulacrums of free elections, and the idea that we live in a democratic republic is but a useful fiction we tell ourselves as we slide ever more toward western European socialism and away from the principles this country was founded upon.
What’s the solution? I don’t know. But my suggestion would be either a press that surrenders the pretense of objectivity all together, or else some brave upstart looking for market share to come in with a clean slate of dedicated reporters who are taught not to “frame” facts into narratives that deliver “lessons,” but are rather instructed to report basic facts, almost genealogically — and without even the trappings of narrative.
Even then, omission and sequencing can be used to affect interpretation; but at least such things are easily recognizable when the tropes of “storytelling” are entirely removed.
The last part, the omissions, are what worry me. Currently, it’s what we don’t know about Obama that will hurt us and what the press seems utterly disinterested in reporting.
Cross-posted at Right Wing News.
Go Lions!
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008Some good news today.
Thanks to reader Matt (no, not that Matt).
Democrat Disqualifies Thousands Of Republican Votes
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008Democrats: when they accuse you, they indict themselves. Today, it’s disenfranchising voters in Ohio. From Dan Riehl:
I think most of us that have been paying attention over the years are expecting an ugly year when it comes to these types of tactics on the part of so-called liberals. Well, here we go. McCain absentee ballots being disqualified in Ohio by a Democrat Secretary of State.
If Ohio polling looks like Chicago, ‘thank’ Brunner
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has a reputation as the most partisan state official in Ohio. And she works hard to earn it. The Democrat’s latest stunt rejected absentee ballots for thousands of Republicans.
But it’s not her first rodeo. Almost as soon as Brunner was elected in 2006, she tried to remove several Republican county elections officials, including Ohio Republican Party Chairman Robert Bennett. They accused her of “storm trooper tactics” to silence critics.
Democrat motto: By any means necessary.
Bailing On The Bailout Bill–UPDATED
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008It’s 700 Billion. Today. Assuming…do I need to finish that sentence?
It’s getting porkified.
It ties Republicans to Bush-Pelosi.
It turns American banking into a socialist enterprise.
It means trusting Paulson.
It has Democrats licking their FDR-loving, bacon dripping chops.
It will, somehow, make those who get paid for failure, even richer.
It reveals the crass political class, yet again.
It means it’s time to get educated about economics.
It reveals American greed. Ace says:
If the federal government were guaranteeing a trillion new dollars for no-money down car purchases with no credit checks or proof of employment or income, what do you think would happen to the price of cars?
They’d triple. For a while.
Housing market turns into dangerously overinflated bubble. Which is what always happens when a trillion fresh, cheap, easy dollars flow into a sector and begin chasing the same limited pool of goods.
[I'd like to point out, as a complete aside, that higher education is inflated in exactly this way. What happens when the government gets out of the student loan business? Why, colleges stop building their edifices and competition enters the market. Right now, tuition is soaring because of student loans.]
It all started with a Democrat policy that was to induce “fairness” and by forcing banks to loan to those who couldn’t afford to pay back the loans, NOW you, taxpaying fool that you are, should pay back the loans someone else couldn’t make.
I’m beginning to think this bill is a bad idea.
UPDATED:
Ben Stein’s take.
Because these giant financial companies never dreamed that the subprime mortgage securities could fall as far as they did, they did not enter a potential liability for these CDS policies anywhere near their true liability – which again, is virtually bottomless. They do not have a countervailing asset to pay off the liability.
This is what your humble servant, moi, missed. This is what all of the big investment banks and banks and insurance companies missed. This is what the federal government totally and utterly missed. This is what the truly brilliant speculators in these instruments did not miss. They could insure a liability they could also create and control. It is as if they could insure a Cadillac for its value upon theft – but they could control what the value the insurer had to pay off was. The insurer thought it might be fifty thousand dollars – but it was manipulated into being two million.
This is the whirlpool sucking down finance.
Now, we are about to have a similar phenomenon happen with commercial mortgage debt, debt from mergers and acquisitions, credit card debt, and car loan debt. Many trillions of dollars in Credit Default Swaps have been sold on all of this, and the prices of all of them have fallen and can be made to fall more.
As I said, the pit of loss is bottomless. Warren Buffett, the smartest man of all time in the world of finance, has called financial derivatives – of which Credit Default Swaps are a prime example – “weapons of financial mass destruction.” And so they are. As with the hydrogen bomb, no one thought they would ever be used to end the world. But unless someone figures a way out – and maybe the new RTC is and maybe it isn’t – we are in real peril. This should never have happened. Now that it did happen, should the taxpayer pay to make the billionaire speculators whole on their bets? What the heck is to be done?
You mean, you don’t know, Ben? Heaven help us. How is the average person supposed to know. In frightening situations, animals fight or flight or freeze. Right now, the collective world is staring, frozen in fear at what we think we might be beholding. Problem is, no one is quite sure what they see. Is this the end of the world as we know it? We don’t know.
Is a bailout the answer? That seems to me to be “fighting”.
Doing nothing, is that fleeing? There will be a run on the banks if this goes south and all the money dries up. Pure. Panic.
Mary Katherine Ham has what the players are saying.
So, I’m still trying to figure out what to do about this mess. If, as a business owner, you extended credit to those who couldn’t pay (and we all have), it’s a right off. But too many bad clients or charity cases makes for an insolvent business and it doesn’t matter how many paying customers you have. You cease to be able to make overhead and can’t produce anything because you don’t have enough money to make your product.
What happens? You go out of business or go beg for money from someone else to keep you solvent while you change your ways. Wall Street is asking for the latter because if they go out of business, they suck much of the economy with them.
But the problem, fundamentally, seems to be that too many Americans are wallowing in debt–not just those unqualified for homes. So, this problem is emblematic of how many Americans are living–way above their means. And this cultural problem extends from the average person all the way up. That is, the debt to income/capital ratio is off for everyone.
If you have money in stocks, you’ve already lost your money unless you’re big enough to be invested with Warren Buffett. So that’s gone for a while. What’s left? Your money market, credit cards, your home (but no one is giving loans against those now), and your cash flow. But you won’t have cash flow if there is a bank run. Is this doomsday scenario possible? That’s the question no one seems to be able to answer.
