February, 2009 archive
Something to Which To Look Forward 0
Friday evening is when the FDIC eats banks.
News Lead of the Day 0
I double-dog dare you to find a better lead to a news story than this:
Aside: The drug charges are for having prescription-strength Ibuprofen, for heaven’s sake, for use in his allegely phony vet practice. The DA or whatever they call ’em in New Jersey is guilty of piling on.
I Need a Drink (Updated) 0
Some Republican CPAC attendee was on Marconi’s Magic Box talking about “intellectual honesty.”
Oxy Moron.
Addendum, 11:49:
The Booman and Steve have the crazy.
Un-Be-Gideon-Lievable. 0
Who woulda thunk?
“Whoa-Whoa-Whoa-Whoa-Those Wildwood Days” 0
Those wild-wild-wild-Wildwood Days:
Ashley Fuhrmeister, 21, a business major at Atlantic Cape Community College and Miss North Wildwood 2007, was arrested Friday along with her mother, Kelly A. Nowacky, 44, on charges of forgery and possession of forgery devices.
Via Philly Blunt.
R2D2 USPS 0
Over at Cpaphil Vintage Postcards.
Social Networking and Facebook 0
Yesterday’s Radio Times included a discussion on social networking websites and on Facebook in particular. From the website:
Follow the link above to visit the website and search for February 25, 2009, or listen here (MP3).
(I really have to write them a letter about how lame it is that you can’t link the particular episodes at the site.)
Dumb in the City 1
A pedestrian mall. How 1970s.
The plan will provide amenities for outdoorsy types, including cafe tables and benches.
Every city that I know that has turned part of downtown into a pedestrian mall has subsequently ripped out the pedestrian mall and replaced it with streets.
The High Price of Low Regulation 0
‘Twasn’t the fly. Nor was it Senator Schumer who killed Cock Robin. It was the failure-to-regulatory agency:
“The thrift’s high-risk business strategy warranted more careful and much earlier attention” from regulators, according to the report distributed by the Treasury’s Office of the Inspector General.
IndyMac’s “nontraditional” loans and “insufficient underwriting” helped lead to its seizure by regulators in July, according to the audit. The FDIC estimated last month that IndyMac’s failure would cost the insurance fund $8.5 billion to $9.4 billion, up from its prediction in July of $4 billion to $8 billion.
Moral: You don’t just need cops. You cops who actually walk there beat.
Stray Thought 0
I don’t know why it rubs me the wrong way, but it does. I really dislike hearing a man refer to his spouse as “the wife.”
Oh! Horrors! Nanny Tax Dept. 0
And this surprises us how?
My guess is that, in many cases, this happens through ignorance and laziness, not through cupidity.
Anyone who has a profession tax advisor, though, has no excuse:
That means that, at a minimum, tens of thousands of Americans fail to pay the tax – but experts in the field say that the number is probably much higher.
“It’s hard to estimate how many nannies are working, because the vast majority are paid off the books,” said Michelle LaRowe Conover of the International Nanny Association, the umbrella organization for in-home child care.
Jon Swift on Jindal 0
As is his custom, Mr. Swift cuts to the quick. Two nuggets:
(snip)
And instead of having bureaucrats build roads and bridges why not let people build their own roads and bridges? With all of the companies laying off people and outsourcing jobs to Gov. Jindal’s native country, there are plenty of people with time on their hands looking for something to do during the day. It would give people a sense of accomplishment and distract them from worrying about how they will pay the mortgage or pay for health care for their children.
Follow the link for the rest.
Cause<---Effect 0
Yeah. I know the arrow is supposed to point the other way.
But that’s the Republican equation.
Witness this column from the Guardian:
There’s much more at the link, but I didn’t want to waste any more electrons on it.
The author leaves out what necessitated this budget: decades of misgovernance under Republican Economic Theory, which, from passing Prop. 13 to requiring a super-majority to pass a state budget, has left California virtually ungovernable.
He left out that, the day before the budget was passed, California was shutting down. And what is government? It’s not Nyarlothotep, though it’s seldom perfect, just as you and I are seldom perfect.
It’s police, fire fighters, food and housing inspectors, persons who serve the public (and, by and large, persons who, unlike bankers, don’t get bonuses for failure). Government is the engine that makes civilized society possible.
Republicans don’t like government, therefore they must not li–oh, never mind.
Throw a Sheet over It 0
Not all bigots are stupid.
Just most of them.
Honest to Pete, the modern Civil Rights struggle started over 50 years ago. Why haven’t bigoted white folks figured out what they can say in public yet?
Truth. No Reconciliation. 0
Evil has been done in the name of the people of the United States of America.
(lots of snippage)
But a USA Today/Gallup poll this month found that 62 percent of Americans support either a criminal investigation or an independent panel to look into allegations of torture and other abuses of power during the Bush administration.
As I have said before, I do not favor prosecutions. But I do favor the truth.
If you sweep evil under the rug, it just lies there waiting to bite you in the behind.
‘Tis better to expose it to the plain light of day.
More here.
Via PDA, who, methinks may have jumped the gun.
Equal Time 0
FactCheck dot org. Nitpicked in parentheses. Follow the link for the full analysis:
- He said “we import more oil today than ever before.” That’s untrue. Imports peaked in 2005 and are substantially lower today. (Because unemployed persons don’t drive far–ed.)
- He claimed his mortgage aid plan would help “responsible” buyers but not those who borrowed beyond their means. But even prominent defenders of the program including Fed Chairman Bernanke and FDIC chief Bair concede foolish borrowers will be aided, too. (Bair and Bernanke were both appointed by Republicans–ed.)
- He said the high cost of health care “causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds.” That’s at least double the true figure. (That’s over half a million bankruptcies a year, rather than over a million a year. Significant.–ed.)
- He flubbed two facts about American history. The U.S. did not invent the automobile, and the transcontinental railroad was not completed until years after the Civil War, not during it. (The Transcontinental Railroad was funded in 1862, the second year of the war, and completed in 1869. I think FactCheck blew this one–ed.)
- He claimed that his stimulus plan “prevented the layoffs” of 57 police officers in Minneapolis. In fact, it’s far more complicated than that, and other factors are also helping to save police jobs.
The president also repeated some strained claims we’ve critiqued before.
