Saturday, October 11, 2008
Yer doin' it wrong ....
As I said the other day:
Dday today:
Coulda told you that 3 weeks ago from Europe:
Indeed. Taking non-voting shares as equity for our investment will do nothing to reign in, or dictate, the behavior of the banks just as any of the big companies you and I hold stock in could give shit less what we think. Ain't nothing gonna change until these companies are nationalized ... properly. That means removing the officers and board and putting government regulators in their place until the pieces of the business can be sold off, to the public's profit and benefit.
A complete auditing of the financials should also be done and any illegalities uncovered should be prosecuted. That would give people confidence. Anything less won't work.
Unfortunately, there will be a lot more pain before these idiots finally do get it.
...
If we're going to spend taxpayer money to soften the blow, the taxpayers have to have a stake in the outcome. If we're going to bail out a bank or an investment house, the taxpayer, in the persona of the U.S government, must have a controlling interest in said institution. There is no confidence in the bunch of infidels (and imbeciles) who have been running the show and that confidence won't return until investors know all are playing with the same rulebook, a rulebook (yet to be written) that doesn't allow for shady deals using questionable instruments, leveraged 100:1.
...
Dday today:
...
There was a ridiculous amount of news for a Friday night, the foremost being that President Paulson is finally giving in and doing what should have been done in the first place, purchasing an equity stake in failing banks. The problem is that he is still doing it wrong.
...
Coulda told you that 3 weeks ago from Europe:
...Paulson said the government’s program would be designed to complement the efforts of banks to raise fresh capital from private sources. He said that the government’s stock purchases would be of nonvoting shares so that the government will not have power to run the companies.
Actually, we need the power to run the companies, or at least tell the bankers what to do, more specifically that they must lend to one another. They aren't the kind of shares that Warren Buffett got from Goldman Sachs. If this doesn't change bank behavior then it essentially will do nothing. A bank that refuses to lend is not a functional bank, and the government ought to take it over. As Krugman says, this is a half-Gordon - referring to Gordon Brown's recapitalization plan (not the part about suing Iceland).
Indeed. Taking non-voting shares as equity for our investment will do nothing to reign in, or dictate, the behavior of the banks just as any of the big companies you and I hold stock in could give shit less what we think. Ain't nothing gonna change until these companies are nationalized ... properly. That means removing the officers and board and putting government regulators in their place until the pieces of the business can be sold off, to the public's profit and benefit.
A complete auditing of the financials should also be done and any illegalities uncovered should be prosecuted. That would give people confidence. Anything less won't work.
Unfortunately, there will be a lot more pain before these idiots finally do get it.
Pilgrimage
Normally I would put a video like this over at Fixer & Gordon, but I think this one is beautifully done and will be enjoyable even for non-gearheads. Pretty scenery, a well-chosen song, and a sentiment that applies to all of us at one time or another.
A coupla observations:
Lane discipline is essential over there if you value the side of yer rig! Or yer life!
Riding a motorcycle is a more stable mode of transport than walking sometimes (2:22). Rebuttal: Think so, huh? (:32)
Watch for a blazing full-throttle 1000-yard three-car pass worthy of the F-Man hisself at 2:28!
From Trials Central:
More on the Scottish Six Days Trial, Fort William, and Donnie Munro.
A coupla observations:
Lane discipline is essential over there if you value the side of yer rig! Or yer life!
Riding a motorcycle is a more stable mode of transport than walking sometimes (2:22). Rebuttal: Think so, huh? (:32)
Watch for a blazing full-throttle 1000-yard three-car pass worthy of the F-Man hisself at 2:28!
From Trials Central:
The journey to the 2007 SSDT. Without doubt, some of the best scenery in the world en route to the best Trial in the world.
More on the Scottish Six Days Trial, Fort William, and Donnie Munro.
An Observation
I don't know how anyone who considers themselves to be a decent human being can possibly cast a vote for McCain/Palin on election day. It has simply gone too far. The scenes that I am seeing remind me more and more of scenes from Hitler's rise to power in the '20s and early '30s in Munich. It is, very simply, frightening.
JG.
JG.
Quote of the Day
"John McCain had to choose between losing this election or dishonor.
He chose dishonor.
He shall lose."
— Paul Abrams in "McCain, Media & Meltdown: A Witches' Brew for Election Violence" at HuffPo
He chose dishonor.
He shall lose."
— Paul Abrams in "McCain, Media & Meltdown: A Witches' Brew for Election Violence" at HuffPo
Friday, October 10, 2008
Bobo ...
Our pal Comrade PhysioProf deconstructs David Brooks:
It was Clinton's fault, you know ...
...
"If Democrats weren’t such pointy-headed coastal-elite pantywaists, the Republican Party would never have become the refuge of deranged racist misogynist theocratic gibberers."
It was Clinton's fault, you know ...
Lone Pine on location
For a break from McCain-Palin lynch mobs rallies, here's a piece on one of my favorite Eastern Sierra/Owens Valley towns, with video.
The town is about a mile long and 1/4-mile wide, so that's easy. And you can do a little cow tipping on the way out.
One of the centers of the Line Pine Film Festival is the Beverly and Jim Rogers Museum of Lone Pine Film History, which will host notable Western authors this weekend, including Elmer Kelton and Dan O'Brien. The local high school will screen "Hi-Yo Silver!" and other classics. Other events include a "Wagon Train" celebration with many of the actors from the classic TV series; a tour of Alabama Hills, Ansel Adams' favorite locale in the area; and "Iron Man and Beyond," another tour focusing on the locations used in the Robert Downey Jr. blockbuster movie.
For the townies, it's quite a weekend. "Lone Pine really welcomes the filmmaking community, it's a big boon for us," Langley said, but he admits that for some of the residents, it's a bit much. "You either got to volunteer that weekend or get out of town."
The town is about a mile long and 1/4-mile wide, so that's easy. And you can do a little cow tipping on the way out.
McCain's Moronic Journey into Madness
In tracking the exotically gruesome vicissitudes of the McCain campaign, we can only conclude we've indeed entered Rod Serling territory. Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.
They're no longer citizens of the real, political world. They are, instead, otherworldly cryptofreaks methodically stripping off their freakish masks. They're neither Republican nor conservative, neither populist nor passable demagogue.
At their heartland Nürnberg rallies (and I am not prone to such severe metaphors), where they incite chants for the murder of their fellow citizens, they're already unmasked. But even in the quiet of their proposal-plotting strategy room they catch egregious mistakes of accidental thoughtfulness and lunge for their instant reversal. Unmasked, and unhinged.
If this gaggle of lunacy comes in from the Zone on November 4 with any more than token, ultrapartisan support, it'll be a lasting disgrace to, and permanent stain on the name of, whatever's left of American democracy.
Amen, P.M.
First Bailout Results Known
Seeing The Forest
Repugs and their Masters don't give a shit how blatant it is. They're beyond accountability. IOKIYAR. Grrr...
Update:
LATimes
Son. Of. A. Bitch.
The National REPUBLICAN Congressional Committee has received $8 MILLION from Wachovia Bank.
Credit crunch? Unsecured loans impossible to find?
Chris Bowers at OpenLeft writes that,
in the short term, this is effectively an $8 million donation to the NRCC from Wachovia at a time when Wachovia is supposedly in dire straits, about to be bought out by other banks, and will receive money from the government via the bailout.
The Bush administration is about to start handing out taxpayer cash for bad debts, and suddenly the NRCC gets $8 million from Wachovia. Come on. How blatant can it be?
Repugs and their Masters don't give a shit how blatant it is. They're beyond accountability. IOKIYAR. Grrr...
Update:
LATimes
As ailing Wachovia Corp. waits to see whether it will be acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. or Citigroup Inc. -- possibly with taxpayers paying the tab for hundreds of billions of dollars in bad loans -- some of the company's top brokers are preparing to depart Saturday for an all-expenses-paid cruise of the Greek Isles.
Son. Of. A. Bitch.
Yes, McCain is on drugs
So if you listen to McCain and say to yourself, "He's on drugs!", you're right. And not in the good way. I've posted on this before and I'm doing it again.
Americablog. Links at site.
Oh swell. "I pushed the Red what?"
Better late than never, dude.
Somebody even less qualified than he is, no doubt. If such is even possible, they'll find a way. Maybe they've found her.
Scary. Please read the rest.
Americablog. Links at site.
An Ambien amnesia presidency
Oh swell. "I pushed the Red what?"
So what exactly is going on with John McCain's health? John posted yesterday about McCain's "energy" drink and mentioned that McCain was taking Ambien. McCain's Ambien drug use isn't new, it's been covered by ABC News here, but in the flurry of the Democratic primary, I missed it. Reading it yesterday for the first time, my jaw dropped.
Better late than never, dude.
While Ambien is a heavily advertised drug here in the US - $200 million annually in ad spending - it's extremely potent and has the potential to be addictive. That's why it's a D.E.A. Schedule IV controlled substance.
Fotinakes added that sleeping pills and other sedatives have been proven to be more potent in the elderly. In light of this, he said, "It may not be the best idea for the commander-in-chief to be under the influence when he or she may have to make a snap decision regarding national security in the middle of the night; Hillary's so-called telephone call at 3:00 a.m."
"The key is to use Ambien-like sleeping medications in moderation and don't mix them with other sedative drugs or alcohol," Fotinakes said. "Most importantly, avoid use in the event you have to consider escalation from Defcon 4 to Defcon 3."
Again, this isn't a joke. This is what Ambien does to some people. It makes them do things, while having no idea they're doing them. They tell you not to drive a car after having taken this drug. How is John McCain going to drive a country? To accept the former as fact, yet not worry about the latter, is illogical and dangerous.
And if John McCain won't be answering the phone from dusk until dawn, who will? Cindy (a-la Edith and Woodrow Wilson)? Sarah Palin? Who will really be in charge for the 1/3 of the Presidency McCain would sleep away?
Somebody even less qualified than he is, no doubt. If such is even possible, they'll find a way. Maybe they've found her.
That this hasn't been an enormous issue since the Palin appointment is shocking. It's why Presidential candidates let reporters see their medical records - so the country knows what to expect if the candidate becomes President. If all of this hasn't yet scared you into thinking that McCain's medical records need a REAL exploration, ponder this - do you think that terrorists or other national enemies might want to strike us while the President is incapacitated by his sleeping pills?
Scary. Please read the rest.
McCain Attended Fundraiser for Domestic Terrorist
BuzzFlash, links to Pensito Review
A comment:
These people would denounce Archie as a flaming Librul.
McCain attended a fundraiser sponsored by a hate group in 1993 in support of a woman who had shot a former Navy surgeon because he had performed legal abortions. At the fundraiser, McCain did not object when Marilyn Shannon, a leader of the hate group, praised the shooter as a "fine lady." The woman's sentencing judge called her a "terrorist." This year, Shannon was a McCain delegate at the GOP convention.
A comment:
It is lovely to see the crazies that endorse the Archie Bunker ticket.
These people would denounce Archie as a flaming Librul.
*Flew into Miami Beach, BOAC ...
Unlike the Chimp & Paulson, et al, the Brits have a pretty decent plan for shoring up the markets. Krugman wonders if the rest will get it:
While I'm no economist, nor anything resembling a money guy, I do have a little common sense. I'm also old enough to remember the crash of '87 and the dotcom bubble and the resulting failures. it seems to me, watching the market for the better part of 30 years, that markets don't like artificially inflated values on anything and try to correct themselves. Unfortunately, a lot of debt had been leveraged on loans for real estate that was/is woefully overvalued.
Sorry, but much as I love my home, much as I work to make it nicer and more comfortable for us, I know damn well it ain't worth a half-million. That's what it was 'worth' 2 years ago and my bank would gladly have given me a mortgage for that amount. The amount of people who are 'underwater' (their houses are now worth less than their mortgages) today is unbelievable, thanks to this wave of over-valuation. It's just like the Dotcom Days when everybody with a web page attracted capital like flies to one of Shayna's deposits in the back yard on a hot summer day. There was a correction then too and the herd was culled; only those with a reasonable, workable, business plan survived. Shit, Amazon just started showing a profit a couple years ago. The only internet business to show a profit from the get-go was the porn industry.
As I said a couple weeks ago:
And I still stand by that. I don't think anything done so far (and at the rate the markets are approaching terminal velocity Earthward, it would bear that out) will make much of a difference until the markets are comfortable with home values first; thus establishing a value for all the pieces of Shitpile all these banks and mortgage brokers own. Until we know what exactly all of Shitpile is worth, we won't know how to go about paying for it.
Throwing money at the greedy idiots who perpetuated this mess, who propped up this artificial 'bubble' (because they had to prop it up or risk the bottom falling out) using dubious investment instruments and practices, will only prolong it.
If we're going to spend taxpayer money to soften the blow, the taxpayers have to have a stake in the outcome. If we're going to bail out a bank or an investment house, the taxpayer, in the persona of the U.S government, must have a controlling interest in said institution. There is no confidence in the bunch of infidels (and imbeciles) who have been running the show and that confidence won't return until investors know all are playing with the same rulebook, a rulebook (yet to be written) that doesn't allow for shady deals using questionable instruments, leveraged 100:1.
Until the 'Wild West' atmosphere on Wall St. is put to bed, none will have the confidence to hand their money over to this current generation of Gordon Gekkos and keeping them solvent with taxpayer funds (without strict management oversight) will only prolong the agony. Without real change and reform, no amount of cash will help.
And an addendum before I go to work: This is what the 'Bush Economy' will be known for. When the nation went to war, the people were told to shop, to live large on the (over-inflated) value of their homes. It will be known as a time of nearly free, unlimited credit for anyone who had their hand out. As the government has been run (record deficits, a war that's not even on the books), the American people have also been encouraged to engage in 'deficit spending'. I've said it many times; if I ran my personal finances the way the government did theirs, I'd be living out a refrigerator box under a bridge somewhere. It seems many of my fellow Americans did.
...
Why do we need international cooperation? Because we have a globalized financial system in which a crisis that began with a bubble in Florida condos and California McMansions has caused monetary catastrophe in Iceland. We’re all in this together, and need a shared solution.
...
What should be done? The United States and Europe should just say "Yes, prime minister." The British plan isn’t perfect, but there’s widespread agreement among economists that it offers by far the best available template for a broader rescue effort.
...
While I'm no economist, nor anything resembling a money guy, I do have a little common sense. I'm also old enough to remember the crash of '87 and the dotcom bubble and the resulting failures. it seems to me, watching the market for the better part of 30 years, that markets don't like artificially inflated values on anything and try to correct themselves. Unfortunately, a lot of debt had been leveraged on loans for real estate that was/is woefully overvalued.
Sorry, but much as I love my home, much as I work to make it nicer and more comfortable for us, I know damn well it ain't worth a half-million. That's what it was 'worth' 2 years ago and my bank would gladly have given me a mortgage for that amount. The amount of people who are 'underwater' (their houses are now worth less than their mortgages) today is unbelievable, thanks to this wave of over-valuation. It's just like the Dotcom Days when everybody with a web page attracted capital like flies to one of Shayna's deposits in the back yard on a hot summer day. There was a correction then too and the herd was culled; only those with a reasonable, workable, business plan survived. Shit, Amazon just started showing a profit a couple years ago. The only internet business to show a profit from the get-go was the porn industry.
As I said a couple weeks ago:
...
Coming out of a bubble of over-inflated home prices (artificial) and inflated stock prices, I get the feeling that if nothing is done the market will stabilize in the 7000 - 9000 range, probably where it should be. The only reason action is so "imperative" is to relieve the fat cats of their losses without pain to them. It does nothing for us.
...
And I still stand by that. I don't think anything done so far (and at the rate the markets are approaching terminal velocity Earthward, it would bear that out) will make much of a difference until the markets are comfortable with home values first; thus establishing a value for all the pieces of Shitpile all these banks and mortgage brokers own. Until we know what exactly all of Shitpile is worth, we won't know how to go about paying for it.
Throwing money at the greedy idiots who perpetuated this mess, who propped up this artificial 'bubble' (because they had to prop it up or risk the bottom falling out) using dubious investment instruments and practices, will only prolong it.
If we're going to spend taxpayer money to soften the blow, the taxpayers have to have a stake in the outcome. If we're going to bail out a bank or an investment house, the taxpayer, in the persona of the U.S government, must have a controlling interest in said institution. There is no confidence in the bunch of infidels (and imbeciles) who have been running the show and that confidence won't return until investors know all are playing with the same rulebook, a rulebook (yet to be written) that doesn't allow for shady deals using questionable instruments, leveraged 100:1.
Until the 'Wild West' atmosphere on Wall St. is put to bed, none will have the confidence to hand their money over to this current generation of Gordon Gekkos and keeping them solvent with taxpayer funds (without strict management oversight) will only prolong the agony. Without real change and reform, no amount of cash will help.
And an addendum before I go to work: This is what the 'Bush Economy' will be known for. When the nation went to war, the people were told to shop, to live large on the (over-inflated) value of their homes. It will be known as a time of nearly free, unlimited credit for anyone who had their hand out. As the government has been run (record deficits, a war that's not even on the books), the American people have also been encouraged to engage in 'deficit spending'. I've said it many times; if I ran my personal finances the way the government did theirs, I'd be living out a refrigerator box under a bridge somewhere. It seems many of my fellow Americans did.
*Apologies to the Beatles.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Little dicks ...
The Rethugs haz them:
Above link via the General:
Heh ... Okay, so maybe satire ain't dead.
...
It's possible that Republican men, sexual inadequates that they are, really believe that women will vote for a woman just because she's a woman. They're unfamiliar with our true natures. Do they think vaginas call out to each other in the jungle night? I mean, I know men have their secret meetings at which they pledge to do manly things, like being irresponsible with their semen and postponing household repairs with glue and used matches. Guys will be guys, obviously.
...
Above link via the General:
...
It simply isn't true. We're just more efficient. We can't waste time on things like foreplay; we have important things to do like watching NASCAR and spying on our neighbors. So we get undressed, visualize a naked woman, a rifle,a goat, or something, and go to town for about 10 to 15 seconds. Then, we're done. Those of us who are multi-taskers might also spy on our neighbors and watch NASCAR while we're doing it, thus increasing our efficiency even more.
Of course, some of my fellow conservatives are not so sexually proficient. But it's still wrong to say they are inadequate. They're just ignorant. No one has ever sat them down to have "the air pressure talk." It's a difficult concept to master, air pressure. Anything under 10 psi causes your partner to become gelatin-like making it easy to fall off, mid-stroke. That distracts you from thinking about rifles.
...
Heh ... Okay, so maybe satire ain't dead.
Joe!
Say it to his face, bitch:
...
"All of the things they said about Barack Obama in the TV, on the TV, at their rallies, and now on YouTube … John McCain could not bring himself to look Barack Obama in the eye and say the same things to him," Biden said this morning. "In my neighborhood, when you’ve got something to say to a guy, you look him in the eye and you say it to him."
...
Link thanks to UL.
Life On Mars
Tonight's the night! Go see some previews of this new show debuting tonight.
I want it to be a big hit so our pal deuddersun (Click it!) can keep working and I can keep getting my Social Security...
I want it to be a big hit so our pal deuddersun (Click it!) can keep working and I can keep getting my Social Security...
“The last week has severely damaged Republican candidates”
Noo Yalk Times
It hurts me to say this, and you may fire at me at will for it, but THANK GOD FOR THE DEPRESSION if it gets the Repugs thrown out in significant numbers.
I think we stand a pretty good chance of getting through a depression before we get out from under the damage done in the last eight years. Even with a Democratic majority.
The economic upheaval is threatening to topple Republican Congressional candidates, putting more Senate and House seats within Democratic reach less than a month before the elections, lawmakers and campaign strategists say.
Top campaign officials for both parties, pollsters and independent experts say the intense focus on the economic turmoil and last week’s bailout vote have combined to rapidly expand a Democratic advantage in Congressional contests. Analysts now predict a Democratic surge on a scale that seemed unlikely just weeks ago, with even some Republicans in traditional strongholds fighting for their political careers, and Democratic leaders dreaming of ironclad majorities.
Democrats say they feel confidently ahead in five Senate races where they hope to pick up Republican seats, and they believe their candidates are running competitively in seven more.
In the House, Democrats say they could capture a dozen of the 26 Republican seats left open by retirements, and challengers are closing in on Republican incumbents in Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New York and elsewhere.
It hurts me to say this, and you may fire at me at will for it, but THANK GOD FOR THE DEPRESSION if it gets the Repugs thrown out in significant numbers.
I think we stand a pretty good chance of getting through a depression before we get out from under the damage done in the last eight years. Even with a Democratic majority.
Heels
The Last Chance Democracy Cafe
A little too creepy on many levels.
Here's an old one:
Masochist: "Ooh! Beat me! Beat me!"
Sadist: "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
The Repug base loves pain. They must. They keep voting for ying-yangs who are experts at inflicting it on them.
Of course then they blame it on Libruls.
Is it just me, or is there something a little weird, creepy even, about the McCain campaign’s obsession with Sarah Palin’s high heels?
”The heels are on, the gloves are off.”
Think about this for a moment: here we have a female candidate for vice president referring to wearing her heels — her high heels — as a way of expressing her intention, as a woman, of getting tough with a man. Does that strike anyone else as just a wee bit familiar? Putting you in mind, perhaps, of a certain outside the mainstream form of sexuality involving the use of whips, ropes and, yes, heels in the infliction of pain?
Is it possible that in this historic year of political firsts, we are now seeing yet another one — the first explicit use of S&M imagery by a major party candidate for national office?
Certainly, at a minimum, the reaction of many of Palin’s male right wing fans — hooting and hollering in ecstasy over the viciousness of her attacks — makes one wonder, whatever Palin’s intent, whether this isn’t how a good many of these dudes see her. I mean, let’s face it: there’s always been something more than a little odd about the extreme passion these same bozos feel towards vicious female “pundits” like Ann Coulter. (You can almost hear them panting: “She may not be that pretty, but, man, she makes it hurt so good!”)
I don’t know, but the whole thing is starting to feel more than a little creepy to me.
A little too creepy on many levels.
Here's an old one:
Masochist: "Ooh! Beat me! Beat me!"
Sadist: "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
The Repug base loves pain. They must. They keep voting for ying-yangs who are experts at inflicting it on them.
Of course then they blame it on Libruls.
McCain's Wife Says Obama Has Waged "The Dirtiest Campaign In U.S. History"
Tony Peyser
Cindy, Cindy, Cindy, Cindy
Poor dear ... you're hanging by threads:
You're not supposed to talk
To the press when you're off your meds.
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