Words Fail Me category archive

This is beyond disgusting.

Crusading against the facts of life and death in Italy. The lady in question has been in a coma for 16-years.

The usual crowd of fantasists insists on keeping the empty shell of her being “alive”:

Justifying his campaign to save Englaro’s life, the prime minister (Silvio Berlusconi–ed.) added that, physically at least, she was “in the condition to have babies”, a remark described by La Stampa newspaper as “shocking”. Giorgio Napolitano, Italy’s president, has refused to sign the decree, but if it is ratified by the Italian parliament doctors may be obliged to resume the feeding of Eluana early this week.

But, in a moving interview with the Observer, Eluana’s father Beppino said last week that the doctors were carrying out his daughter’s wishes by allowing her to die. “If she couldn’t be what she was (before the accident in 1992) then she would not have wanted to live”.

Addendum:

Commentary from P. Z. Myers, via the Canadian Cynic.

Oh, my.

I guess it’s good that Mr. Obama is not an enthusiastic bowler.

Via Phillybits.

Reuters (and everyone else) is reporting the President Obama wants to cap executive compensation at businesses receiving bail out money.

This is a direct consequence of those same businesses’ showing a level of irresponsibility, arrogance, and greed that would make the Emperor Nero jealous.

What caught my attention in the Reuters story were comments from Wall Streeters, particularly this one (emphasis added):

LAUREN SMITH, ANALYST AT KEEFE, BRUYETTE & WOODS

“There is certainly a possibility” of talent flight from the big firms to the smaller investment banks if there are compensation limits. . . .”

Go here.

Then riddle me this:

Shorter New York Times:

Wall Street says

We just made up whacky investments, seduced the ratings agencies into our velvet-lined handcuffs, ignored due diligence, sold boxes of air for real money, ran Ponzi schemes, drained our employers’ treasuries with fantastickal bonuses to pay for our houses in Greenwich and the Hamptons, and generally gobbled up all the cookies that investors trusted us to protect in our cookie jars.

But, golly gosh gee, Mr. Interlocutor, we had nothing to do with what happened.

It’s not our fault.

Addendum, after Sausage and Eggs:

Words still fail me.

But they didn’t fail John Cole. Or his commenters.

No.

Afterthought: At one time, persons could talk about the “rights of Englishmen”–and English women.

Indeed, the Founders did so in the Declaration of Independence; one of their grievances against King George III included the phrase,

For abolishing the free System of English Laws . . . .

Not any more.

Now it’s the surveillance of Englishpersons.

And it’s happening in the U. S. A. too.

Report from the field:

Only two of the woman had Health Insurance through the company. The other eight women have health insurance elsewhere (S-CHIP or other family plans).

Two women were laid off today – the only two with health insurance. When my wife asked why she was being laid off, the reply was quick, “Because you and her have health insurance and I must reduce costs.”

Felony murder charges.

Larry Whitfield was on foot, his getaway car wrecked, his rookie attempt at robbing a bank thwarted by a set of locked doors, according to detectives. Looking for a place to hide in September, police say, he found himself inside the home of a frightened old woman.

There’s no evidence Whitfield ever touched 79-year-old Mary Parnell. Authorities say he even told the grandmother of five he didn’t want to hurt her, directing her to sit in a chair in her bedroom. But investigators have no doubt he terrified her so much that she died of a heart attack.

Now Whitfield, a 20-year-old with no prior criminal record, is charged with first-degree murder, a rare defendant accused of literally scaring a person to death.

Spotcheck a few posts.

I suggest starting with this one.

Via Huffington Post.

The smallness of what passes for contemporary political thought is mind-gagging.

H/T Karen for the link.

For believing Bush’s words and ignoring his deeds.

Fred Hiatt.

Steve has the details.

From an insecure disclosed location.

And just hope your kid’s name isn’t Ted Kennedy.

Via Susie.

Brendan points out how Philadelphia, which is looking to close libraries, many in the city’s poorer neighborhoods to save the $8,000,000.00 they have been unable to collect from the Iggles, went to Uncle Sugar to request money for casino development.

And, ya know what? if the Iggles win a championship, I bet Philly will blow more than $8,000,000.00 on the parade.

Via Phillybits.

I’m hearing this American church librarian from Pennsylvania on the BBC (I missed her name, but wouldn’t use it anyway) saying

“George Bush throughout his presidency has been the picture of a perfect Christian gentleman.”

Except, I guess, for the lies, the torture, the spying, the duplicity, the deceit, the arrogance, the pointless deaths of tens of thousands of innocents.

Sorry, lady, morality is not something that exists only below the waist.

What planet do these people inhab Oh, never mind.

Dumb must be its own reward.

You can’t make this stuff up:

Bank of America, which has already received $25 billion from the government, told the U.S. Treasury Department last month it might not be able to complete the Merrill deal because of Merrill’s larger-than-expected fourth-quarter losses, a source familiar with the matter said. Fearing a blow to financial markets if the deal unraveled, the Treasury agreed to work with Bank of America on a plan that includes new government capital, the person said.

The possibility of more government assistance is likely to stir new worries about the bank’s health in a city that has already seen its second-biggest bank, Wachovia, acquired by San Francisco’s Wells Fargo. Bank of America is in the midst of slashing up to 42,500 jobs worldwide and Wells Fargo is expected to cut its work force here as well.

In other news, Secretary of the Treasury Paulson et familia wants a cash-strapped city to build them a stadium:

As Henry Paulson engineers the $700bn economic bail-out for America’s banks billed to the taxpayer, his family is leading a quieter, smaller-scale effort in Portland, Oregon to take $85m more.

In Portland, Merritt Paulson, the 35-year-old son of the US Treasury secretary, is 80% owner of the Portland Timbers – a second-division professional soccer team that has its sights set on Major League Soccer – and the Portland Beavers, a Triple-A baseball team. His father, who’s reportedly worth $700m himself, owns the other 20% of the two teams.

The Paulsons have agreed to fork over the $40m MLS franchise fee but argue they need $85m in public money to renovate the local PGE Park into a soccer-only stadium and to build the Beavers a new stadium at a separate location.

or sense of morality than a box of rocks.

Via Atrios.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Selling inauguration tickets isn’t illegal, not yet anyway. But it was still embarrassing for one former congressional aide who now works at a powerful lobbying firm when she was caught this week trying to sell tickets to Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony for big bucks.

The former aide is Gina Santucci, who now works as associate general counsel at BGR Holding, the lobbying, public relations and financial advisory firm formerly known as Barbour Griffith & Rogers, founded by current Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and veteran GOP political strategist Ed Rogers.

H/T Karen for the link (she reads this stuff so we don’t have to).

Jesus H. Christ.

How the hell did he ever graduate from Romper Room?

Not just crazy. Bleeding delusional.

I cannot wait until Lt. First Son gets a boss who lives in the real world.

H/T Karen for the link and the nitro pill for my heart palpitations.