2011 archive
Goldman’s Sacks 0
Greg Palasi, writing at the Guardian, reports that Goldman has started an offensive against the tiny People’s Federal Credit Union because People’s providing banking services and moral support for Occupy Wall Street. A nugget:
But there was a catch: Goldman would have to return a chunk of the public’s billions in the form of loans for low-income customers and members of its “community”, as required by the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977. Problem: Goldman has, it seems, no low-income customers, nor a “community”. Goldman was directed to find poor people and a community and hand over some cash.
So Goldman looked down from its riverfront tower in lower Manhattan and discovered Peoples. Over 80% of Peoples member-owners have low incomes. At least 65% are Latino.
Follow the link for to see an interview with the author.
The Great and Glorious Patriotic War for a Lie 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., sums up the war in Iraq. A nugget:
The surge worked? We should not have been there.
Americans killed by roadside bombs? We should not have been there.
Iraq becoming more stable? We should not have been there.
Service personnel coming home? Great. But we should not have been there.
Moreover, once there, we should have been universally appalled at the breathtaking cynicism with which the war was prosecuted.
A Consummation Devoutly To Be Wished 0
It’s silly and pointless, but it couldn’t be aimed at a more deserving target.
More Facebook Frolics 0
Kids have no couth, curmudgeon dept.
Facebook Frolics 0
There’s no friend like a Facebook friend.
“They put in there where they would be going on vacation and when they would be away and the friend just took advantage of it,” Newtown Police Department Lt. Glenn Forsyth said.
Knowing they were away, police say one of the couple’s Facebook friends, 36-year-old Steven Pieczynski of West Amwell, New Jersey, broke into the couple’s home and stole jewelry, gift cards, coins and DVDs.
A neighbor, a real human breathing person not in cyberspace, got suspicious and wrote down the mope’s license number.
America’s Original Sin: Not a Point of Pride 0
My ancestors wore the gray.
I can honor their memory without honoring (or repeating) their errors.
Via Contradict Me.
And This Surprises You How? 0
From Bloomberg:
’nuff said.
Details at the link.
The Fee Hand of the Market 0
Click for a larger image.
QOTD 0
Johnny Carson, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
People will pay more to be entertained than educated.
Mitt the Flippity-Gibbet 0
Once there were flappers. Now there is flipper:
Herman Cain’t 0
Dick Polman muses on the Republican fascination with ignorance as a plank in their platform:
The downside, however, is that Cain is profoundly uninformed about the fundamentals of civic and political life. He may have a silver tongue, but there’s a Grand Canyon between his ears.
I suppose Cain’s supporters consider that an asset. But I consider it disturbing, for instance, that Cain would go on Meet the Press and declare, “I’m not familiar with the neoconservative movement.”
For his information (assuming that knowledge is still important), the neoconservatives have been driving Republican foreign policy since the late 1970s, arguing that America should aggressively export democracy, even at the point of a gun. The hawkish movement was particularly active early in the last decade, when it helped propel us into Iraq, at a current cost approaching $1 trillion. But it’s immaterial to Cain whether he knows the movement or not, because, in his words, “I don’t believe the war in Iraq was a mistake.”
Click to read.
Facebook Frolics 0
Wismer posted plans to sell the baby on Facebook, authorities said.
I was never tempted to sell one of my kids, though there were times when I would have been willing to give them away . . .
TSA Security Theatre 0
Honestly, you can’t make this much stupid up.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
No doubt putting more money in Goldman’s Sacks will fix this.
QOTD 0
Carrie Fisher, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
As you get older, the pickings get slimmer, but the people don’t.