2009 archive
When Zombie Banks Walked the Earth 0
accompanied by their little zombettes:
(snip)
Total losses at those banks could surpass $200 billion over that period, according to the Journal’s analysis, which utilized the same worst-case scenario the federal government used in its recent stress tests of 19 large banks. Under that scenario, more than 600 small and midsize banks could see their capital shrink to levels that usually are considered worrisome by federal regulators. The potential losses could exceed revenue over that period at nearly all the banks.
Via RawStory.
Tesla Is Doomed 0
After all, aren’t these the same folks who were going to save Chrysler?
About Those “Green Shoots” 0
They are in the fields where all those unbuilt houses aren’t (not that I’m a big fan of filling fields with houses, but, even so):
The drop reflected a 46.1 percent plunge in groundbreaking activity for multi-family units and suggested homebuilding remains a drag on the economy. Starts for single-family homes, however, rose 2.8 percent, a second straight gain that showed the worst-hit part of the market was stabilizing.
I question whether housing is a drag on the economy. Rather, I think the economy is a drag on housing.
And Wall Street Banks are the deadweight in the drag.
Graph via Andrew Sullivan.
Novel Idea 0
That the reputed “owners” of a company might have rights:
I’m not holding my breath on this one.
A Newspaper Needs Many Voices 0
The Philadelphia Shrinquirer does its part.
First, John Yoo, who gives me the vapors, and now, for the vapors, Aye, there’s the rub.
What rub?
Why, the Vicks, of course.
When Zombie Banks Walked the Earth 0
When the dealer keeps the deals out of sight, the deck is likely crooked.
You can bank on it (emphasis added):
Gorton argues that shadow banking is “at the heart” of the financial crisis in his research in a paper “Slapped in the Face by the Invisible Hand: Banking and the Panic of 2007” last week at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Financial Markets Conference. Gorton argues that the recent financial crisis was really a banking panic in which banks, both in the shadows and in the light, were unable to meet their obligations.
Free hand of the market my anatomy.
Bar None 0
A lawyer is a hired gun, sure, but a hired gun whose first allegiance is supposed to be to the rule of law and whose second is to the client. Clients should be represented within the rule of law.
A lawyer who places his client above the rule of law becomes a whaddya-call-um, “mouthpiece.”
These guys were mouthpieces:
The coalition, called Velvet Revolution, asked the bar associations in four states and the District of Columbia to disbar the lawyers, saying their actions violated the rules of professional responsibility by approving interrogation methods, including waterboarding, that constituted illegal torture.
By writing or approving legal opinions justifying such methods, the advocates say, the Bush administration lawyers violated the Geneva Conventions, the Convention Against Torture and American law.
Support the Troops, Feres Doctrine Style 0
Military personnel have no protection from medical “errors.” Follow the link for full details:
Then, during frantic efforts to repair the damage, two surgical sponges were left in Wilson’s abdomen. Twelve hours after giving birth, she was dead.
In civilian surgeries, the doctors and nurses routinely count sponges. Indeed, they count everything.
Leaving a sponge or a piece of apparatus in a patient is ipso facto evidence of error, if not malpractice. Penalities attach; a doctor or nurse could easily lose his or her license, even if no legal action takes place.
Because of the Feres Doctrine, no such accountability attaches itself to military medical staff.
Whereas some of the aspects of the Feres Doctrine may make sense in the fog of war or on the field of combat, it does seem a stretch for it to apply to a routine obstetrical delivery at a stateside hospital.
I Don’t Know If Not-Great-but-Decent Comics Is Enough To Justify Keeping My Subscription 0
I’ve been following it, but Brendan lays it out very well.
It smells real bad.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has sold out to the forces of darkness.
Ventura Blvd. 0
Back in my tech support days, I would frequently talk with techs from Minnesota. Generally, they were embarrassed by their governor of the time, Jesse Ventura.
I remember telling one of them after he expressed his discombobulation, “Let me tell you how the rest of the country reacts to your governor.
“Most persons find it very refreshing to see a politician who speaks his mind without consulting the polls and spin doctors first. Sure, he shoots his mouth off from time to time. But he speaks honestly. That is a nice change.”
Watch Mr. Ventura cut through the wingnut hypocrisy and doubletalk:
Via the Great Orange Satan.
Greater Wingnuttery XXI 0
Seriously creepy. Almost, indeed, blasphemous.
Via Balloon Juice. Follow the Balloon Juice link for commentary.
Tax Exempt–>Unemployment Benefits Exempt 0
Outfits that depend on volutary contributions, such as churches, are hurting these days.
And the hurt has unexpected side effects. In Virginia:
(snip)
It was a hard way to learn that under Virginia law, tax exemptions for religious organizations include freedom from paying unemployment taxes. The groups still must pay Social Security and withholding taxes.
Gun Nuttery 0
Over at Jack’s Place.
Drinking Liberally 0
Triumph Brewing Company, 2nd and Chestnut, Philadelphia, Pa., Tuesdays, 6 p. For drivers, there’s plenty of parking on Front.
Whether or not I make it depends on how bad my dentist beats me up Tuesday morning.
“Mene, Mene, Tekel, Rustoleum” 0
The Wilmington News-Journal analyzes the spray paint on the wall:
“They all come from artistic backgrounds and a lot of these kids are very gifted, they’re just using it the wrong way,” said Officer Phil Young, who investigates taggers for the Elsmere police.
Though taggers come from all racial and economic backgrounds, the majority in Delaware are white middle- to upper-class youths ranging in age from 13 to 22, police said.
“It’s a whole culture that people don’t know about,” said New Castle County police Officer LaVincent Harris. “It’s their life. … If you can’t read it, so what? They want respect and notoriety.”
Wonder how the dollar amount of the damage compares to the time-honored practice of stealing stop signs?
By Any Other Name, Good Question Dept. 0
Regarding the naming of the carriers Bush and Ford:
I would not want to be the navigator of the Carrier Bush. I wouldn’t be able to believe anything the instruments told me.