"Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize."That pretty much sums up my response to most recent headlines.
[Tom Lehrer]
Bush orders emergency bailout of the auto industryThe news is absurd absent my commentary.
Judge toughens Madoff's home detention rules
Iraqi judge orders Baath party plot suspects freed
Mother of Palin daughter's boyfriend arrested
Oil dropping below $40/bbl.I'm left speechless, capable only of quoting a tasteless comedy gem:
Price of everything dropping - more rapidly than anytime since 1933 ("... it was a very good year").
Chrysler & Ford to idle U.S. plants. (GM still hasn't a clue.)
W attacked by shoe-flinging journalist in Iraq.
Madoff admits running a $50Bn Ponzi scheme, in which, apparently, half the capitalist world invested.
W is musing publicly about his soul.
"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue!Have a nice day.
Against The Odds, Snow Dumps On Las Vegas
7,000 Without Power In Vegas Area
Thursday, December 18, 2008 LAS VEGAS
What's happening in Las Vegas is staying in Las Vegas: snow.
Bush: "... One of the major theaters against al Qaeda turns out to have been Iraq. This is where al Qaeda said they were going to take their stand. This is where al Qaeda was hoping to take ..."Rove suggesting that without the WMD intel, we wouldn't have invaded...
[ABC News' Martha] RADDATZ: But not until after the U.S. invaded.
BUSH: Yeah, that's right. So what?
Don't let 'em do it!Matt Ygelsias puts it well:
The harsh reality is that this [Iraq fiasco] was not a noble undertaking done for good reasons. It was a criminal enterprise launched by madmen cheered on by a chorus of fools and cowards. And it’s seen as such by virtually everyone all around the world — including but by no means limited to the Arab world. But it’s impolitic to point this out in the United States, and it’s clear that even a president-elect who had the wisdom not to be suckered in by the War Fever of 2002 has no intention of really acting to marginalize the bad actors. Which, I think, makes sense for his political objectives. But if Americans want to play a constructive role in world affairs, it’s vitally important for us to get in touch with the reality of what the past eight years of US foreign policy have been and how they’re seen and understood by people who aren’t stirred by the shibboleths of American patriotism.
[An Empire of Sentimentality]
"... In one passage, for example, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell is quoted as saying that in the months after the 2003 invasion, the Defense Department “kept inventing numbers of Iraqi security forces — the number would jump 20,000 a week! ‘We now have 80,000, we now have 100,000, we now have 120,000.’ ”This has a very familiar ring to it.
"... Enron projected earnings per share of $1.80 for 2001. But the real delight was 2002 - $2.25 a share. Impressive. But how? There was nothing explaining what Enron was planning to do to achieve such stellar results.Cool!
During a negotiating session later that day, Tarpley decided to ask. He looked across the table at Dave Delainey.
"Dave," Tarpley said, "I'd really like to get a copy of Enron's business plan for 2002."
Couldn't happen Delainey said. "We don't have a business plan available," he said.
How then, Tarpley asked, did Enron get its 2002 projections if it didn't know what it was planning to do?
Delainey shrugged. "We just increased the prior year's results by 25 percent," he said simply.
des·ul·to·ryYes - this is a desultory post!]
1. Moving or jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
[The Free Dictionary Online]
Report Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding BlundersThe article is worth a read!
By JAMES GLANZ and T. CHRISTIAN MILLER
Published: December 13, 2008
NYT
BAGHDAD — An unpublished 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure.
Humpty DumptyI doubt it.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses
And all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again!
“A Date Which Will Live in Infamy”: FDR Asks for a Declaration of War(note: I probably wouldn't have remembered this anniversary if it weren't for TV today!)
President Franklin D. Roosevelt: Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our secretary of state a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese government also launched as attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Wake Island.
And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As commander in chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. . .
Bush: Jobless rate shows U.S. in recessionSitemeter reflects no activity from anything that looks like a WH server, but who knows? Maybe AQA is W's first read in the morning!
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. jobless rate shows the country is in a recession resulting from poor housing and the troubled financial markets, President George Bush said Friday.
1. Why do you want to retain the team that got you into the mess you're in?I know it's a lousy analogy, but there are a number of "successful" college football coaches losing their jobs at the end of this season due to recent poor performance - it doesn't matter that they have an overall winning record - this year and maybe last were not up to expectations. Time to get new blood!
2. Where are these guys going to find other jobs?
Article I, Section 6SoS salary has increased during Sen. Clinton's current term. Can she serve as SoS?
... No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time...
Nicholas Eymerich, inquisitor general of the Inquisition of the Crown of Aragon; 1357-1360, 1366(?)-1381(?):Today?He was the first inquisitor to get around the Church's prohibition against torturing a subject twice by interpreting directive very liberally, permitting a separate instance of torture for a separate charge of heresy.After many years as Inquisitor General, he finally concluded that,
[Wikipedia entry, Nicholas Eymerich]"Quaestiones sunt fallaces et inefficaces."
["Torture is deceptive and ineffectual."]
I'm Still Tortured by What I Saw in IraqTorture does NOT work.
By Matthew Alexander
Sunday, November 30, 2008
WaPo op-ed
"... Torture and abuse are against my moral fabric. The cliche still bears repeating: Such outrages are inconsistent with American principles. And then there's the pragmatic side: Torture and abuse cost American lives.
I learned in Iraq that the No. 1 reason foreign fighters flocked there to fight were the abuses carried out at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Our policy of torture was directly and swiftly recruiting fighters for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The large majority of suicide bombings in Iraq are still carried out by these foreigners. They are also involved in most of the attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. It's no exaggeration to say that at least half of our losses and casualties in that country have come at the hands of foreigners who joined the fray because of our program of detainee abuse. The number of U.S. soldiers who have died because of our torture policy will never be definitively known, but it is fair to say that it is close to the number of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. How anyone can say that torture keeps Americans safe is beyond me -- unless you don't count American soldiers as Americans."
"Quaestiones sunt fallaces et inefficaces."
["Torture is deceptive and ineffectual."]
White House Still Won’t Use The Word ‘Recession,’ Press Corps Doesn’t Seem To NoticeDoes it matter that WH refuses to use the word "recession"?
Prez-elect Obama delivered an economy-related press conference Mon-Wed last week.Meanwhile, whenever W or his minions addressed the economy, the market tanked.
Each day the market shot up.
Paulson held a press conference, promising, "We are actively engaged in developing additional programs to strengthen our financial system so that lending flows into our economy."Day-trading based on who's holding an economy-related press conference (W/minions vs Obama) could be profitable.
As predicted, the market tanked!
"One of our greatest blessings as Americans is that we live in a country with a growing economy -- where people can pursue their dreams, turn ideas into enterprises, and provide for their families. It is a measure of our economy's resilience that even with high oil prices and softness in the housing market, we're still growing. In November, our economy added jobs for the 51st straight month, making this the longest period of uninterrupted job growth on record. Unemployment is a low 4.7 percent. Exports are up. And the fundamentals of our economy are strong."And today?
[President's Radio Address]
US in recession since December 2007: official panelYep - W's on top of it!
by Rob Lever Rob Lever
Mon Dec 1, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A US recession began in December 2007, a panel of economists charged with the official designation of business cycles said Monday.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.This year bro- and sis-in-law (my wife's sister) are hosting. In addition to standard Thanksgiving, the feast will likely include tamales from a local eatery - sis-in-law Brenda almost always provides these for large gatherings!
It's secular - religious overtones are secondary.
It's American - the rest of world goes on happily without us.
Most of all, for me the basic premise - giving thanks - is a good thing. Yes, I am thankful for my family, for my undeserved good-fortune in life, for friends.
Most of my family is in town. None of us started out here - we all just ended up here. I've 3 sisters. 2 of 'em are in town, with their husbands. My mom is in town. My wife's folks are in town. Her sister & bro-in-law are in town. A sister's sister-in-law is in town. Our kids are in town. My daughter-in-law's folks are in town.
What this means from a Thankgiving perspective is that we enjoy a pretty phenomenal feast each year. Someone volunteers to host - this year it was my son & daughter-in-law. Host is responsible for turkey. Everything else is provided by everyone else. Everyone brings enough to feed everyone.
My bad: I do not feel guilty about this surfeit. I AM thankful!
So: Happy Thanksgiving, with friends & family!
Looking for new ideas to help the economy? Please don't look to Rep. John Boehner for any new ideas. And this is not from the debate episode of the West Wing.[sic] something you can never forget.
He said this on FNS:“If we’re really serious about creating jobs, what we ought to do is, we ought to eliminate the capital gains tax for the next two years on any equities that are purchased,” he said. He argued that cutting the corporate income tax would help boost employment.As Krugman notes:The answer is, eliminate the capital gains tax. Now, what was the question?He's
This brings back a memory: on Sept. 13, 2001, I got frantic calls from staffers on Capitol Hill. They informed me that Republican leaders in the House were trying to use the terrorist attack to ram through, you guessed it, a cut in the capital gains tax.
Meanwhile, at a panel discussion with Rich Lowry of National Review, I heard the latest argument against the Employee Free Choice Act: now would be a really bad time to make union organizing easier, because it would hurt business confidence in a recession.As I've noted previously:
Recession, recovery, whatever: it’s always proof that the Bush years should continue forever.
Folks, when "tax cuts" is THE solution for the economy in all cases - whether it's in dire straits or robust & healthy - then we all oughta be saying, "Hmmmm".... The re-emergent anti-union theme is just a nice cherry on top of the sundae! Labor bad! Management good!
... and, for what it's worth, the folks that are selling us "tax cuts" oughta be labelled as snake-oil salesmen!!!
"Damn those unions for destroying Citigroup!!!"Have a nice day.
GDP = C + I + X + G, withConsumer spending is in the tank & going nowhere but down.C = personal/household Consumption,
I = Investment
X = net Exports
G = Government purchases (consumption + investment)
"This company is dead. I didn't kill it. Don't blame me.In the days, weeks, months, and years to come, our respected Republican opponents will do whatever they can to pin the messes of Iraq & Afghanistan, and the disaster that is our economy, on Obama and congressional Dems.
It was dead when I got here."
[Lawrence Garfield (the Danny Devito character), Other People's Money, 1991]
These are W's failed wars.For the economy, it wouldn't hurt to pin the blame on the Republicans' Saint Reagan and "supply-side", "trickle-down" economics.
This is the Republicans' critically ill economy.
"Excuse me. W and his enablers, including a very vocal Republican congress, got us into these straits. Republican worship of Saint Reagan and his now-debunked trickle-down, anti-regulation economics is to blame for the mess we're in now. Republican ideology got us into Iraq under false pretenses. Republican ideology misgoverned Iraq for over two years - putting ideological purity above basic competence - and allowed the insurgency to flourish. Republican failures of imagination contributed to the attacks on 9/11, and to a blind faith in market self-regulation."If your respected opponent persists and perhaps suggests that, "Government is never the solution", be prepared!
"Well, yes - I can understand your point of view.Stop the madness (before it begins!).
If Republican governance is the standard, then you are, of course, correct.
Government per se is not dysfunctional.
Only Republican government!.
But, a well-run government - the government you will get from President Obama and congressional Dems - is a different story.
We happen to believe that good governance is possible - and we intend to prove it."
"Damn those unions for destroying Citigroup!!!"(I'm amazed that Atrios maintains his sense of humor!)
"[The First Brigade Combat team] had reinforced a berm - a continuous mound of earth - that surrounded the city, constructed watchtowers for constant surveillance, and set up three check-points through which much of the city's population passed. Samarra was broken into a dozen neighborhoods, each one protected by a perimeter of blast walls."Recall:
[Iraq: Before & After, and Now, Joshua Hammer, The New York Review of Books, 4 Dec 2008]
Baghdad's highway of death takes on new lifeYes - the road is now safe... it is "an impregnable security corridor".
Mar 25, 2008
BAGHDAD (AFP) — The sale in Baghdad of peaked caps boasting "I survived Route Irish" have slumped -- reaching the capital's international airport is no longer the perilous dash it used to be, and the slogan is losing its relevance.
...
"We are turning it into an impregnable security corridor. No one will be able to penetrate it to be able to plant roadside bombs," [Police] Colonel Asadi told AFP, while inspecting one of the endless checkpoints set up along the four-lane highway.
Baghdad bombs kill 20, 1 hits Green Zone entry... this dated TODAY!
Japan: 82.07 yrs (CIA World Factbook); [82.6 (U.N.)]Infant mortality? Again, the U.S. trails:
France: 80.59 yrs; [80.7]
Canada: 80.34 yrs; [80.7]
Italy: 79.94 yrs; [80.5]
Germany: 78.95 yrs; [79.4]
U.K.: 78.70 yrs; [79.4]
U.S.: 78.06 yrs; [78.2]
Russia: 65.87 yrs; [65.5]
(deaths/1000 live births)Finally, early childhood mortality:
Japan: 2.80 (CIA World Factbook); [3.2 (U.N.)]
France: 3.36; [4.2]
Germany: 4.08; [4.3]
U.K.: 4.93; [4.8]
Canada: 5.08; [4.8]
Italy: 5.61; [5.0]
U.S.: 6.30; [6.3]
Russia: 10.81; [16.6]
(deaths/1000 live births, children under 5)Maybe if we started calling it "universal health care" - NOT "socialized medicine" - it'd be more appealing to us rugged individualists!
Japan: 4.2 (U.N. Population Division)
France: 5.2
Germany: 5.4
Canada: 5.9
U.K.: 6.0
Italy: 6.1
U.S.: 7.8
Russia: 20.9
1. One lasting legacy of the Jonestown tragedy is the saying, “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.” This has come to mean, "Don’t trust any group you find to be a little on the kooky side." or "Whatever they tell you, don't believe it too strongly".I note that in my final job before retirement I was often accused of not drinking the kool-aid.
The phrase can also be used in the opposite sense to indicate that one has embraced a particular philosophy or perspective.
Alice: Hey, did you hear that Joe is working on the Nader campaign?
Bob: Yeah, he really drank the Kool-Aid on that one.
Chris: I'm thinking about attending a PETA rally
Donna: Whatever you do, don't drink the Kool-Aid!
2. To completely buy into an idea or system, whether good or bad.
Coach Bellichick got his players to drink the kool-aid.
3. Going along with what a crowd desires. Often used when a person changes positions on a topic.
Dave got a haircut and a new suit. Looks like his company is making him drink the kool-aid.
As a condition of the rescue, Citigroup is barred from paying quarterly dividends to shareholders of more than 1 cent a share for three years unless the company obtains consent from the three federal agencies. The bank is currently paying a dividend of 16 cents, halved from a 32-cent payout in the previous quarter. The agreement also places restrictions on executive compensation, including bonuses.Well - it's a start... but I see nothing here suggesting any long-term regulation. Seems Citi'll be able to return to its profligate ways if they survive. Not the outcome I'd hope for.
Importantly, the agreement calls on Citigroup to take steps to help distressed homeowners.
My complaint about Mr. Russ SypeHave a nice day.
If you are one of the few who has never been presented with evidence that Mr. Russ Sype plans to instill distrust and thereby create a need for his demonic views, then be glad that the task to educate yourself has just become easy. With this letter, I compile all of the necessary evidence into one easy-to-read document. Let me cut to the chase: Just the other day, some of his contemptible faithfuls forced a prospectus into my hands as I walked past. The prospectus described Mr. Sype's blueprint for a world in which cocky, demented propagandists are free to boss others around. As I dropped the prospectus onto an overflowing wastebasket I reflected upon the way that Mr. Sype likes to imply that granting him complete control over our lives is as important as breathing air. This is what his solutions amount to although, of course, they're daubed over with the viscid slobber of disorganized drivel devised by his expositors and mindlessly multiplied by rotten, obdurate tightwads.
We mustn't be content to patch and darn, to piece and cobble at the worn and rotten fabric of Mr. Sype's blathering, dishonest reports. Instead we must fight on the battleground of ideas for our inalienable individual rights. Mr. Sype's most progressive idea is to bamboozle people into believing that everyone with a different set of beliefs from his is going to get a one-way ticket to Hell. If that sounds progressive to you, you must be facing the wrong way.
I see two problems with Mr. Sype's indiscretions on a very fundamental level. First, mankind, with all of its accumulated knowledge, wonderful machines, scientific methods, and material power, still has much to fear from prissy, judgmental libertines like him. And second, his fabulous success is not firmly connected with meritorious ability. That said, let me continue.
Mr. Sype loves getting up in front of people and telling them that jujuism is a wonderful thing. He then boasts about how he'll force us to bow down low before querulous tricksters in the blink of an eye. It's all part of the media spectacle that is Russ Sype. Of course, he soaks it up and wallows in it like a pig in mud. Speaking of pigs and mud, Mr. Sype is a small part of a large movement that seeks to egg on negative externalities in the form of evasion, collusion, and corruption. Now that's a strong conclusion to draw just from the evidence I've presented in this letter so let me corroborate it by saying that we should hinder the power of sophomoric deadheads like Mr. Sype. (Goodness knows, our elected officials aren't going to.) As another disquieting tidbit the following must be stated: Mr. Sype coins polysyllabic neologisms to make his strictures sound like they're actually important. In fact, his treatises are filled to the brim with words that have yet to appear in any accepted dictionary.
To most people, the idea that Mr. Sype lacks the dim flicker of sentience one needs to qualify as an imbecile is so endemic, so long ingrained, that when others conclude that his bromides are propaganda to the point of comedy and are so easily refuted as to render them useless even as such, this merely seems to be affirming an obvious truth. A central fault line runs through each of his inclinations. Specifically, even his lapdogs, who are legion, are afraid that he will advocate infantile philippics sooner than you think. I have seen their fear manifested over and over again and it is further evidence that I, not being one of the many asinine talebearers of this world, don't care what others say about Mr. Sype. He's still scabrous, snappish, and he intends to sound the standard "they're out to get us" call and rally his spin doctors to elevate his opinions to prominence as epistemological principles. When asked to mend his ways, Mr. Sype will give people a wink and a smile, but when the wheels begin to turn, it's business as usual.
Mr. Sype thinks that his way of life is correct and everyone else's isn't. However, his initiatives would be completely risible if they weren't so wild. It's easy for armchair philosophers to theorize about him and about hypothetical solutions to our Mr. Sype problem. It's an entirely more difficult matter, however, when one considers that the last time I heard him ramble on in his characteristically bibulous blather he said something about wanting to inspire a recrudescence of conniving fatuity. I feel sorry for the human race when I hear stuff like that.
As we all know, Mr. Sype hates me for my determination and my aggressive stance for what is right. I am not fooled by his belligerent and eristic rhetoric. I therefore gladly accept the responsibility of notifying others that if we complain about nutty lie-virtuosi then the sea of masochism, on which Mr. Sype so heavily relies, will begin to dry up. I was, however, going to forget about the whole thing when it suddenly occurred to me that he is not interested in what is true and what is false or in what is good and what is evil. In fact, those distinctions have no meaning to him whatsoever. The only thing that has any meaning to Mr. Sype is irreligionism. Why? That's not a rhetorical question. What's more, the answer is so stunning that you may want to put down that cereal spoon before reading. You see, you may have noticed that Mr. Sype's screeds are a spiritually destructive propaganda instrument aimed at our children. But you don't know the half of it. For starters, I believe I have found my calling. My calling is to maximize our individual potential for effectiveness and success in combatting Mr. Sype. And just let him try and stop me.
Mr. Sype says that truth is merely a social construct. This is noxious falsehood. The truth is that he presents one face to the public, a face that tells people what they want to hear. Then, in private, Mr. Sype devises new schemes to confuse, disorient, and disunify.
Consequently, if a cogent, logical argument entered Mr. Sype's brain, no doubt a concussion would result. Put simply, some day, in the far, far future, Mr. Sype will realize that his general prostration before expansionism confirms that the ineluctable outcome of Mr. Sype's adages is a world in which stolid gadflies conceal information and, occasionally, blatantly lie. This realization will sink in slowly but surely and will be accompanied by a comprehension of how he would have us believe that it's inappropriate to teach children right from wrong. Yeah, right. And I also suppose that Mr. Sype has mystical powers of divination and prophecy? The fact of the matter is that his premise (that his vices are the only true virtues) is his morality disguised as pretended neutrality. Mr. Sype uses this disguised morality to support his sound bites, thereby making his argument self-refuting. Even as I write those words I can feel Mr. Sype cringe. That's okay. Cringe. I don't care because if I have a bias, it is only against sinful guttersnipes who eroticize relations of dominance and subordination.
Well, sure; Mr. Sype is hampered by a load of contradictory and absurd assumptions of the school that he follows, but that doesn't change reality. He should do some research next time before printing half-truths and misinformation. Hence and therefore, Mr. Sype's admirers are hardly strangers to escapism. End of story. Actually, I should add that some people apparently believe that if we don't bother him, he won't bother us. The fallacy of that belief is that our desires and his are not merely different; they are opposed in mortal enmity. Mr. Sype wants to eavesdrop on all sorts of private conversations. We, in contrast, want to alert people that I am not predicting anything specific. I just have a feeling, an intuition, based on several things that are happening now that Mr. Sype will ignite a maelstrom of antagonism one day. That's all for this letter. For those that don't like my views, get over it. I allege that I have as much a right to my views, and to express them, as anyone else. So when I say that uppity tax cheats differ from each other only in the degree to which they create a regime of filthy feudalism, you can agree with me or not. That's all there is to it.
The Hydra had the body of a serpent and many heads (the number of heads deviates from five up to one hundred there are many versions but generally nine is accepted as standard), of which one could never be harmed by any weapon, and if any of the other heads were severed another would grow in its place (in some versions two would grow).I'd bet our military's estimate of the number of AQI leaders aligns well with mythology: between 5 and 100!... I've lost count of how many we've killed, but the total number seems not to have changed.
[Hydra, Encyclopedia Mythica]
Files show Md. police watched variety of activists"... those labeled as terrorists"!!!
By BEN NUCKOLS, Associated Press Writer
Wed - Nov 19, 2008
BALTIMORE – Surveillance of anti-death penalty protesters and other activists by the Maryland State Police was broader and went on longer than previously disclosed, according to files that were turned over by police to dozens of activists who were improperly labeled as terrorists.
The files revealed that those labeled as terrorists included environmentalists, peace activists, animal rights activists and some people who have never participated in protests in Maryland.
Amendment IThere is a name for a Government that asserts the right to spy on its own citizens:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Police State... and it is this REPUBLICAN Administration under W that has delighted in asserting this right!
1. Plant the seeds of doubt in the Muslim world regarding bin Laden's sanity.If nothing else, more frequent communiques from us would dilute Osama's genuine message!
(Mohammed is the final Prophet - for bin Laden to suggest that he is a "new" prophet is extreme heresy.)
2. Perhaps get bin Laden to show his hand - say, for example by increasing signal activity that NSA just might be able to trace.
"Now that we have lost sight of our mission, direction is no longer important.
It's speed that counts!"
Decision Analysis:Introductory Lectures on Choices Under Uncertainty,There are lots of books out there with similar titles.
by Howard Raiffa
"There is no playbook for responding to turmoil we have never faced," Paulson said in prepared remarks before the House Financial Services Committee.This has an eerily familiar ring to it. Oh, yeah!
Administration fends off demands for war estimates"There is no playbook" - that pretty much sums up the planning for W's Iraq misadventure, too! - We don't know, so we can't plan. These guys are the best & the brightest???
Monday, March 3, 2003
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The number of U.S. troops that would be required to administer Iraq after a U.S.-led military campaign is "not knowable" because of the large number of variables in how a conflict might unfold, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday.
He also said it "makes no sense to try" to come up with cost estimates for a war in Iraq because the variables "create a range that simply isn't useful."
Iraq cabinet approves troop agreement with U.S.Note the wording: "Iraq cabinet."
Iraqi troop accord reachedNow, in parliamentary systems, "the government" and "the cabinet" are interchangeable...
or
Iraq's government approves security pact with US
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Dana PerinoThe negotiated SOFA sets a date. W views this as only "aspirational".
MS. PERINO: As we've been saying since July, when we said that we would work with the Iraqis to establish a date that we would aspire to...
... One of the points that we conceded was that we would establish these aspirational dates.
1. Reduces demand for gasolinePlease don't hate me!
2. Increases government revenue
Paper Money, by Adam SmithThis volume is almost 30 years old, but speaks to today. A quotation:
[no - not THAT Adam Smith!]
"We are going to sell America for a product that burns up in the atmosphere."... speaking, of course, of oil.
Can't hurt.The "bailout vs bankruptcy" dilemma does not fit this paradigm.
Might help.
Costs nothing.
DO IT!
1. RestructuringGM (as a convenient example) has a good deal of valuable physical infrastructure and intellectual property - simply liquidating these assets may not be the best option. How 'bout we structure a bailout to look like a Chapter 11 bankruptcy?
2. New management
Successful Congressional campaigns don't end!They become permanent campaigns for re-election.
"THE PRESIDENT: They will try to hide, they will try to avoid the United States and our allies - but we're not going to let them. They run to the hills; they find holes to get in. And we will do whatever it takes to smoke them out and get them running, and we'll get them."... followed by:
[President Urges Readiness and Patience, Remarks by the President, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Attorney General John Ashcroft; Camp David; Thurmont, Maryland; 15 Sep 2001]
[Mullah] Omar: I am considering two promises. One is the promise of God, the other is that of Bush. The promise of God is that my land is vast. If you start a journey on God's path, you can reside anywhere on this earth and will be protected... The promise of Bush is that there is no place on earth where you can hide that I cannot find you. We will see which one of these two promises is fulfilled."Looks like Karzai is casting his lot with Mullah Omar.
[Mullah Omar - in his own words, The Guardian, Wednesday September 26 2001]
"... And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. (Applause.) From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime."Will W conclude that Afghan President Karzai has aligned himself with terrorists?
[President George W. Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, 20 Sep 2001]
Will the so-called "religious right" declare that G-d is punishing California for passing Prop 8?No, I'm not holding my breath.
New documents show improper conduct, possible jury tampering in Siegelman prosecution.My dilemma?
New documents obtained by TIME magazine show that a U.S. Attorney who recused herself from the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL) continued to be actively involved in the case, e-mailing advice to subordinates who were still involved in the prosecution. The documents, provided by DOJ whistleblower Tamarah Grimes, also show “extensive and unusual contact between the prosecution and the jury”:A key prosecution e-mail describes how jurors repeatedly contacted the government’s legal team during the trial to express, among other things, one juror’s romantic interest in a member of the prosecution team. “The jurors kept sending out messages” via U.S. marshals, the e-mail says, identifying a particular juror as “very interested” in a person who had sat at the prosecution table in court. The same juror was later described reaching out to members of the prosecution team for personal advice about her career and educational plans. […]The U.S. Attorney, Leura G. Canary, had recused herself from the case because her husband was a “top GOP operative and close associate of Bush adviser Karl Rove,” who has been accused of orchestrating a political prosecution of Siegelman.
Further undisclosed evidence of prosecution team members speaking with jurors following the verdict emerges in Grimes’ written statement to the DoJ. In it, she says a member of the team prosecuting Siegelman had spoken with a juror suspected of improper conduct — apparently at the time the judge was due to question the juror about that conduct. Grimes quotes the lead prosecutor in the case as saying someone had “talked to her. She is just scared and afraid she is going to get in trouble.”
[Artcile lifted in its entirety from Think Progress]
U.S. Shifts Focus in Credit Bailout to the ConsumerMeanwhile, we have this encouraging news:
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
Published: November 12, 2008
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department on Wednesday officially abandoned the original strategy behind its $700 billion effort to rescue the financial system, as administration officials acknowledged that banks and financial institutions were as unwilling as ever to lend to consumers.
Bush: Economic crisis not a failure of free marketIn fact, I agree with W: we need smarter government. Let's wait a couple months to get it!
By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer
13 Nov 2008
NEW YORK – President George W. Bush asserted Thursday that the global financial crisis is "not a failure of the free market" and urged world leaders to adopt modest financial reforms that stop short of the tighter regulations Europeans favor.
"Our aim should not be more government. It should be smarter government," Bush said during a speech in New York, a day before about two dozen world leaders converge on Washington for a weekend summit he is hosting.
1. If the bailout wasn't approved immediately the world would come to an end.Two months later Paulson & the rest of W's minions admit that, gee, it didn't work.
2. They knew what they were doing.
"Fixed fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of man. If anything made by God can be overcome, anything made by man can be overcome."W's vaunted missile-defense system is simply a high-tech "fixed fortification".
"It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he's the one who proposed this national security force," Rep. Paul Broun said of Obama in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. "I'm just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may - may not, I hope not - but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism."My question for Congressman Broun:
Broun cited a July speech by Obama that has circulated on the Internet in which the then-Democratic presidential candidate called for a civilian force to take some of the national security burden off the military.
"That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did," Broun said. "When he's proposing to have a national security force that's answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he's showing me signs of being Marxist."
Where were you and where was your outrage when W and his minions proposed the TIPS (Terrorism Information and Prevention System) program?There is a name for a nation that asserts the unlimited right to spy on its citizens:Operation TIPS, where the last part is an acronym for the Terrorism Information and Prevention System, was a failed program designed by President George W. Bush to have United States citizens report suspicious activity.Where were you and where was your outrage when W's Administration successfully coerced telecom companies into tapping U.S. citizens' phones without warrants?
[Wikipedia entry, Operation TIPS]
Where were you and where was your outrage when the so-called Patriot Act authorized National Security Letters in lieu of warrants to obtain information about the activities of U.S. citizens?
Where were you and where was your outrage when MY Government asserted that the Fourth Amendment was a "quaint, historical document"???
Police State!And - W's Administration, abetted by Rep. Broun and his Republican colleagues in Congress, are the folks who threaten our liberty!
I'd really like to see a serious cost/benefit analysis from someone...Today's NYT has article suggesting similar point of view:
What's the likely total cost to "rescue" GM?
Can GM honestly be rescued?
What is the cost of GM failure?
G.M.’s Troubles Stir Question of Bankruptcy vs. a BailoutYes - there are alternatives to bailouts... Yes, bankruptcy would be painful... BUT: what are the relative risks involved?
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
Published: November 12, 2008
DETROIT — Momentum is building in Washington for a rescue package for the auto industry to head off a possible bankruptcy filing by General Motors, which is rapidly running low on cash.
But not everyone agrees that a Chapter 11 filing by G.M. would be the disaster that many fear. Some experts note that while bankruptcy would be painful, it may be preferable to a government bailout that may only delay, at considerable cost, the wrenching but necessary steps G.M. needs to take to become a stronger, leaner company.
"I don't know for sure that just letting GM filing for bankruptcy is the best route, but if it isn't then it just means there's something wrong with our bankruptcy laws and/or our dealings with "too big to fail" companies.I note that Atrios is one of the folks who anticipated the current crisis many many moons ago, for over a year referring to mortgage-backed securities as "big shitpile".
...
The system needs to have standard ways of dealing with these things. If the ones in place don't work, we need new ones, not free money for failures."
Senator Bingaman:If not Mr. Ackman, please - get a quick tutorial from somebody!
Before the Senate votes on the next bail-out package, would you and your Democratic colleagues be willing to invest an afternoon to become better informed regarding business, finance, and economics?
No, I'm not selling anything. I am one of your New Mexico constituents whose knowledge of business, finance, and economics can be written in big block letters on a postage stamp.
But, there are knowledgeable people out there.
One such fellow, William A. (Bill) Ackman, was on Charlie Rose today, speaking in very simple terms about the current economic and financial crisis.
Mr. Ackman is the Harvard-educated CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P.
I note that AIG executives are still taking retreats on the tax-payer's dime.
Most large businesses require annual training for their employees - including senior executives.
I suggest only that the Senate Democratic Caucus follow this example and schedule an off-site training session with Mr. Ackman or some other well-qualified expert. I suspect a 4-hour short course presented by Mr. Ackman would help you deal with the current economic crisis as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Mr. Ackman can be reached at Pershing Square Capital Management:Phone: 212-813-3700Corporate headquarters:
Fax: 212-419-2341888 Seventh AvenueI've no idea if Mr. Ackman would be willing to provide a 4-hour short-course for the Senate Democratic Caucus, but he did take the time to prepare a brief presentation for Secretary of Treasury Paulson (delivered electronically), so he just might be interested in helping members of Congress better understand the current crisis and his views on how to resolve it.
New York, New York 10019
This is a serious suggestion!
