2010 archive
iYawn 0
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Via the Inverse Square Blog.
Light Bloggery 0
I’m taking the day off to unpack and stuff.
New Depths of Tone Deaf 0
Oh, my goodness.
As I think I have mentioned here before, I attended Catholic churches for 18 years. Something to do with being married to someone brought up in the Catholic Church.
All the priests I knew were decent fellows who were trying as best they could to do the jobs they had taken on. Not a one of them has ever had his honor questioned.
It is a shame to see them betrayed by their management in such a fashion. I wonder whether the Catholic Church has considered what protecting malefactors does to the religious who are not malefactors.
I would guess not.
For every hinky priest, there is a hinky Protestant preacher.
The individual misconduct was individual sin; protecting the malefactors was organizational sin, for which the organization must answer.
I have seen it before in other large organizations. The first impulse is to circle the wagons. The second, third, and fourth impulses are to circle, circle, circle. And the circle remains unbroken, as the sin perpetuates.
The sex abuse problems in the Catholic church are management problems. Management knew about it, management protected it, management thereby encouraged it.
I wonder what St. Peter will have to say when these clowns appear at his doorstep.
Life under the Regency 0
Bachmann trumps Blackstone, until it doesn’t:
Cuccinelli’s director of communication, Brian Gottstein, said he erred last week in stating that residents could legally refuse to provide “basic financial information, such as salary range, … if they do not feel comfortable giving out that information.”
The 2010 census, which is under way with Thursday marking national Census Day, does not include a question about household income.
However, such information is requested by the agency’s American Community Survey, which is conducted with a sample of about 250,000 U.S. households per month.
‘twould be nice to have an AG who cracked the occasional law book.
Via Not Larry Sabato.
Cost, Not Care 0
Shaun Mullen:
. . . which moment coincided with the move of hospitals and health insurance companies from a non-profit cooperative model to a for-profit one.
You young ‘uns may not remember that, once upon a time, BCBS was non-profit, as were many, if not most, hospitals. And it wasn’t called “health insurance,” it was called “hospitalization.”
Sure, they made money, but making money was not their goal. Care was their goal. Now that country club memberships for executives is their goal, care is sacrificed to it.
Choosing to wring profits from misery makes misery.
Good Work Habits 0
It’s not a good idea to drink on the job:
Asking for Trouble 0
And they got it:
Follow the link for the rest of the story.
Where Was Moody’s When the Lights Went out? 1
According to McClatchy, in the dark:
Moody’s blue-ribbon board of directors stopped receiving key information from an internal committee that was supposed to keep the board informed of risks to the company, a McClatchy investigation has found.
Read the whole thing to see how the ratings agency turned into a dating agency to help poor lost worthless lonely insecure securities find sugar daddies–and take their sugar.
The Entitlement Society 0
MarketWatch looks at how the bonus babies will give us more of the same.
Shorter version: Banks must be broken up into pieces that are small enough to fail so that banksters can be pay the price in for incompetence through losing their jobs.
Dog Bites Man Is Not News . . . 0
. . . because it’s more of the same.
So is this: Health insurance companies that don’t want to insure (anything but country club memberships for executives, that is):
The industry take on this sounds like the Peter Sellers “Pink Panther’’ routine where he sees a dog at the hotel door and asks the clerk if his dog bites. The clerk says no; the dog bites; Sellers re-questions the clerk and the clerk says, “but that is not my dog.’’
QOTD 0
Otto von Bismarck, who also said, “Politics is the art of the attainable,” via the Quotemaster:
Laws are like medicine; they generally cure an evil by a lesser or a passing evil.
Aside:
Some of my friends who are continually gnashing their teeth because Mr. Obama has not attained Perfection in Our Time(tm) need to grow up and remember this.
Have Cake, Eat It Too, in the Regency 0
Blue Commonwealth on Republicans’ taking credit for jobs created by Democratic initiatives:
(snip)
“Apparently, being chief job creation officer means taking credit for jobs that other people have created. Bill Bolling should drop the double-talk and admit that the Recovery Act is creating jobs in Virginia. Just one year ago, Bolling said the Recovery Act ‘was not a stimulus plan at all.’ Virginians have to wonder, has he changed his mind? Or did he just think he could get away with hypocrisy?” said DPV spokesman Jared Leopold.
Evidently, Republicans think that they can get away with voting against every proposal of the Obama administration, while simultaneously reaping benefits. After all, the Hypocrisy Hall of Shame now has over 100 GOP members.
Not a Good Idea (Updated) 2
Only a bandaid, and a bandaid that will tear off when the first hurricane comes up the coast.
it’s been a long time since a hurricane came full force up the east coast. Folks forget what they can do.
Addendum:
Mad Kane:
Liberal Drilling? Chill, Obama, Chill!
By Madeleine Begun KaneObama’s pronouncement ain’t thrilling.
He plans to expand off-shore drilling.
As a gal from the left
I am Mad and bereft.
Tell me, what has Obama been swilling?
Addendum-dee-dum-dum:
Mithras takes the long view. And again.
Worth considering.
The Fee Hand of the Market 0
Bloomberg investigates the fall of AIG: amongst the factors, traders selling Credit Debt Obligations (CDOs), then changing the collateral supporting the CDOs:
The possibility of downgrading the collateral was mentioned in the prospectus, so that made It All Okay.
Just like you know the pea is going to get switched in the old shell game.
Senator Cosmo Brown’s Cosmology 0
Tom Levenson comments on Cosmo’s piece in the Boston Globe. A nugget:
Follow the link for point-by-point take down.
Carlyfornication 1
Leavened with ignorance.