2009 archive
Bushonomics: The Hangover 0
And those economists at WellsWachovia should know about downturns (emphasis added):
“Real economic activity fell off a cliff during the fourth quarter, producing a sharp drop in employment, output and spending,” wrote economists at Wachovia.
It’s gonna take a long time to clean up this mess.
And the worst part is that it’s not over. Economists expect another huge decline in the first quarter, with a smaller contraction in the second quarter.
Flip-Flopped 0
Wonder how well that odious telly vision show Flip This House will do in the ratings this year when the real estate market seems to be flying on a bling and a prayer?
Local shops that sell religious paraphernalia are reporting phenomenal sales of tiny statuettes of St. Joseph – the earthly father of Jesus and the patron saint of the home and house sellers – to real estate agents and homeowners.
Missed Landmarks 0
Apparently, there was a pageant today.
Side Issue 0
As long as I can remember–and I am older by the minute–the Governors of many states have had the right to fill a U. S. Senate vacancy pending the next regularly scheduled commercial interruption election.
It’s worked just fine–not great, but okay.
Despite the fulminations of the Washington Post–which has over the past eight years demonstrated in its editorials a disturbing tendency to miss the point–the kerfuffle over New York’s Caroline Kennedy and Illinois Governor Blagomumble’s (insert mandatory “alleged” here) flea market does not impeach that method of filling out a Senatorial term.
All it does it impeach Caroline Kennedy’s pretensions and Governor Blagomumble’s conduct.
Bushonomics: The Hangover 4
The Washington Post looks at why Chapter 11 Bankruptcy isn’t working any more. Companies are giving up reorganizing and, instead, giving up the ghost.
Now, I’m not familiar with Mervyn’s, Steve and Barry’s, or Whitehall Jewelers.
I am familiar with Circuit City and have mentioned them here probably more times than I ever went into one of their stores (which was twice). At least in my little Circuit City store, they had a lousy selection unattractively arranged.
I am familiar with Linens ‘n Things and Sharper Image. Their selection ranged from the over-priced to the useless to the over-priced useless. Heck, Sharper Image made Brookstone look like a five and dime (Brookstone, for all it’s expensive, does sometimes have useful stuff that you just can’t easily find anywhere else).
In bad times, customers don’t buy over-priced unnecessary junk. Heck, they don’t even buy over-priced necessary junk.
I am not an economist (though I do have some economic training), and I’m guessing Bed Bath and Beyond is probably shaking in its bed bath and beyond slippers.
These are not times when persons are going to buy $120.00 coffee makers.
These are times when persons buy house brands, not brand hype.
Quote of the Day 0
Via (with miswording and misattribution) Gene Weingarten, who was doing it off the top of his head, and got the wording a little wrong, while capturing the essence, and attributed it to FDR Benjamin Franklin.
While you’re at it, read Weingarten’s column from Sunday.
They Have Learned Nothing 0
Still lying after all these years.
John Cole sums it up and suggests a remedy (emphasis added):
(snip)
From now on, anything the Republicans say I am just going to have to assume is a lie, until proven otherwise. I don’t know how else to handle this, as they simply can not be trusted to tell the truth or do the right thing, regardless what the stakes are.
Follow the link for the evidence.
Bank Shot 0
Another one bites the dust.
In other news, Andy Stern, President of SEIU, prepares to attend the Davos World Economic Forum for the first time. He’s done his homework:
Making Lemonade (Updated) 0
Robert Reich:
It’s called Lemon Socialism. Taxpayers support the lemons. Capitalism is reserved for the winners.
And the folks who planted the lemon trees are still going home with their pay for performance bonuses and their fancy cans.
Oh.
I forget.
Performance has nothing to do with it.
They get the bonuses because, well, they wear three-piece suits, write good memos emails, and look good in meetings.
They take us for fools.
And we prove them right.
Addendum, the Next Morning:
Polly Toynbee in the Guardian:
(snip)
But it’s business as usual for the masters of this failed universe. Who is to stop them? Shareholder democracy was always an empty myth. The government relies on the men who profited in the balloon years to get us out of this, making them ministers in the Lords to oversee their own. No doubt they will regulate the worst, but don’t expect a scintilla of culture change. There is a sense right now that the financial and political worlds still don’t get it. They are like cartoon characters who have run off a precipice, suspended in mid-air before realising how hard they are going to crash.
Great Moments in Journalism 0
Not.
“Responsible journalists” are so busy patting themselves on the back that they keep forgetting to get the damned story.
The press wonders why newspapers and traditional media are failing financially.
In other words, they wonder why fewer persons are willing to pay for their product.
Has the press considered that their consistently missing the story may have something to do with it?
Persons don’t like to pay for a defective product.
Question 4
Why would the Department of Homeland Security want to look at my picture of a magnolia tree?
From the stats (emphasis added):
URL: /weblog/?m=200604
Date: 2009-Jan-23 15:53:32
Referer: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pineviewfarm.net/graphics/magnolia.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pineviewfarm.net/weblog/%3Fm%3D200604&usg=__dPjKV009qCbCCtyjW80S–urFL0=&h=497&w=435&sz=222&hl=en&start=20&tbnid=rZe-p23wXqEhYM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=1
IP: 204.248.24.163
Host: sbcp4.dhs.gov
Browser: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; DHSI60SP1001; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; InfoPath.1)
One would think they could find better things to do with our time. Not, of course, that I ever surfed the web while at work.
(Frankly, I think it should never had been created. Congress blew that one. And, if it had to be created, it should have been called the “Department of Domestic Security.” “Homeland” sounds too much like “Vaterland.“)
“Whois” information below the fold.
Sinkholes 5
Bonddad on the TARP. After a detailed analysis, he concludes that:
However, I would caution that the anger be stored away from the current discussion and instead brought out when we discuss reform which will be forthcoming. Right now the goal is to keep the economy moving — or, perhaps more precisely, to keep it from falling off a cliff. It’s a bit like lecturing a drunk driver while he’s in the emergency room; yes, he needs to be dealt with, but it’s more important at that time to keep him alive. That’s what we have to do right now — keep the economy alive.
You Feed It, It’s Yours 2
A bill pending in the Colorado state legislature wants to bell license the cats and make their owners liable for keeping them licensed and leashed:
8 (4) “OWNER” MEANS ANY PERSON WHO KEEPS, HAS PERMANENT
9 CUSTODY OF, OWNS, MAINTAINS, HARBORS, PROVIDES CARE OR
10 SUSTENANCE FOR, OR HAS CONTROL OR CHARGE OF OR RESPONSIBILITY
11 FOR A CAT OR WHO PERMITS A CAT TO HABITUALLY BE OR REMAIN ON OR
12 BE LODGED OR FED WITHIN SUCH PERSON’S PROPERTY OR PREMISES.
13 REFUSAL TO PERMIT AN ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER TO IMPOUND A CAT
14 SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE EVIDENCE OF OWNERSHIP UNLESS OWNERSHIP OF
15 THE CAT BY ANOTHER PERSON IS ESTABLISHED.
I assume that this is a jobs bill to create large number of positions for new cat catchers animal control officers.
All seriousness aside, I recognize that stray cats, dogs, iguanas, marmots, and the occasional downsized gecko are problems, but arbitrarily assigning them to owners seems to be a screwy solution.
If they want to make it illegal to feed strays, then make feeding strays illegal and stop mincing words.
Must be the water.
H/T Karen for the link.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes 0
Whitehouse dot com, which was a porn site for as long as anyone can remember (as many embarrassed websurfers found out while helping their kids with homework about the presidency of the United States, the site for which is Whitehouse dot gov) is now a news site.
The “About” page says the site is non-partisan (but, then, most everyone claims to be, don’t they? Especially when they are not), but does not specify the source of their support.
In other news, Whitehouse dot org seems to have been experienced a burst of two or three new items after a long period of dormancy.
Whitehouse dot com story via NSP.