Saturday, December 24, 2011
Ron Paul Jesus
For some reason there are certain people in political life whose (in)fallibility is of supreme importance, both for their supporters and detractors. On THE LEFT I used to see this a lot with Noam Chomsky, with people who liked him saying things like, "I haven't ever seen him be wrong about anything," while his detractors would point to any little mistake as proof he was a tremendous liar bent on the destruction of the United States and perhaps THE WORLD.
Newt
It looks like Iowa voters caucus-goers might be in the process of turning Ron Paul into a Newt.
In that event, I suppose the handicappers will decide that the bellwether Iowa Caucuses don't really count so much this time around.
And much hand-wringing will ensue on the left, as they try to decide whether or not they like a racist anti-war isolationist who favors a society of bare-foot, pregnant women smoking dope in the kitchen.
In that event, I suppose the handicappers will decide that the bellwether Iowa Caucuses don't really count so much this time around.
And much hand-wringing will ensue on the left, as they try to decide whether or not they like a racist anti-war isolationist who favors a society of bare-foot, pregnant women smoking dope in the kitchen.
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Middlemen
The new way to make money is to have the government mandate that you get 2% of every transaction.
“The culture of cash is strongly ingrained in Italians, even those that don’t evade,” Deputy Finance Minister Vittorio Grilli said at a Dec. 5 press conference in Rome. The government initially wanted to set a 300-euro or 500-euro cash limit but decided against it, Grilli said, reasoning that citizens needed time to adapt to new rules.
Italian banks, which charge businesses up to 2 percent for credit-card transactions, could end up being the main beneficiaries of the new rules, according to Rome-based consumer group Adusbef. “Unless banks cut fees on credit cards and current accounts, they’ll just make more money from the new law,” said Mauro Novelli, the general secretary of the organization, which represents banking and insurance customers.
It's Like It Never Happened
Early on in Our Great And Glorious Iraq adventure there was a bit of detailed coverage on the horrors of war, if only of the "clueless news anchors discover that bombs kill people" variety. Then it...just sort of faded away over time. So many dead and maimed, so many permanently altered.
So Much Fun
I don't know why specifically Ron Paul gets a lot of military support, but it's nice for someone to make the too rarely expressed point that maybe people in the military don't love endless stupid wars.
Any Opportunity
So many conservatives welcome anything which they think gives them license to associate a bunch of absurd racial stereotypes with Obama.
The Great Grift
It's almost as if they aren't too serious about this.
Four Republican presidential candidates – Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Ron Paul -- submitted paper work in time to qualify for Virginia's March 6 primary ballot.
No other GOP contender will be on the Virginia ballot. Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Sen. Rick Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman did not submit signatures with Virginia's State Board of Elections by today's 5 p.m. deadline.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Making Me Miss Little Debbie
I'll outsource the details to Weigel, as I'm mostly blogged out as I said, but I'll just add that this is another version of Above It All Journalism. You know, because after decades of living in this world and failing to actually form any discernible opinions about anything, with mere "hours of journalistic research" I am uniquely qualified to pass judgment on any subject. People who have actual opinions on things are probably guilty of knowing too much about them, and they should respect my expert authoritah. Or something.
Loo?
I think we do use more euphemistic phrases like "restroom," but the writer's point would have been valid if he'd used the word "toilet." Loo just isn't a word in the US.
I Thought Housing Hit Bottom In 2008?
I'll really never understand the failure to deal with this, especially as there really did seem to be win-win-win solutions.
The Zinths are wading back into a U.S. housing market where prices may fall further under the weight of foreclosures and not rebound until 2013, even as the economy builds momentum and mortgage rates remain at record lows, according to a survey of 109 economists released this week by Zillow Inc. When values do rise, the gains probably won’t match those seen in the years prior to the bursting of the bubble in 2006.
Prices for resold homes are down 31 percent since the July 2006 peak, based on the S&P/Case-Shiller Index that tracks 20 major metropolitan areas. Values have increased 3.1 percent since bottoming out in March, though more than a quarter of homeowners with a mortgage are “underwater,” or owe more than their property is worth.
MORAL HAZARD!!!!!
As we've been told for years, the devastating impact on the economy if Uncle Jim gets a wee principal reduction on his Riverside McMansion would last for decades, while perpetually bailing out people who love to light money on fire is the secret to strengthening modern capitalism.
Thursday Is New Jobless Day
364K new lucky duckies. Not so bad.
Also, too, today is growth day. 1.8% in 3rd quarter. Not so good.
Also, too, today is growth day. 1.8% in 3rd quarter. Not so good.
Beaters
This is a pretty astounding number
The *average* age is almost 11 years old? Wow.
The average age of cars and light trucks on the road today has risen to 10.6 years, Jenny Lin, senior U.S. economist at Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford Motor Co., said on a Dec. 1 conference call. That’s above the seven-to-7.5 years Ballew says is the long-term average.
The *average* age is almost 11 years old? Wow.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
I Could Use Some Recapitalization
If only we could all borrow at 1% and lend at 5-7%.
Finally we've found our Cadillac driving welfare queens.
Finally we've found our Cadillac driving welfare queens.
Chump Change
Considering the magnitude of the offense. But it's something.
Ah the post-racial society.
The Justice Department on Wednesday announced the largest residential fair-lending settlement in history, saying that Bank of America had agreed to pay $335 million to settle allegations that its Countrywide Financial unit discriminated against black and Hispanic borrowers during the housing boom.
A department investigation concluded that Countrywide had charged higher fees and rates to more than 200,000 minority borrowers across the country than to white borrowers who posed the same credit risk. It also steered more than 10,000 minority borrowers into costly subprime mortgages when white borrowers with similar credit profiles received prime loans, the department said.
Ah the post-racial society.
Strangely
"The Markets" aren't too thrilled about the giving of piles of free money to people who like to set those piles on fire.
We Did It Because We Loved Them Very Much
The easy point is that Tom Friedman is full of shit. More charitably (not really) is that no one can really remember why they supported the Iraq war because there were 300 competing reasons that didn't make any sense.
Even If You Save The Institutions
You can give the people who run then 5 minutes to collect their belongings and then escort them out of the building. It might not completely solve the problem of bad banks, but it at least solves the problem of bad bank managers.
SUPERTRAINS
I guess that's something.
KABUL, Afghanistan - Operators ran the first train down Afghanistan's first major railroad Wednesday, clearing the way for a long-awaited service from the northern border that should speed up the U.S. military's crucial supply flow and become a hub for future trade.
Maybe Do Something Good?
Going back to that article about how all the banksters have a sad face, it's worth remembering the last time people decided the rich assholes were destroying the country some of them decided to buy their reputations back by doing a few good works and building a few useful monuments. This generation has decided that their noblesse oblige leads them to advocate for higher taxes on poor people.
More Free Money For Banksters
So they can light it on fire.
It isn't that it's necessarily wrong, it's that rich assholes are having their absurd salaries maintained by the free money bazooka while everybody else is being asked to suck on it. In the name of the market! And after they light this pile of money they'll have another "liquidity event," otherwise known as not having enough money to pay your bills, and the free money bazooka will come out again.
FRANKFURT, Germany — The European Central Bank loaned a massive €489 billion ($639 billion) to 523 banks for an exceptionally long period of three years in an effort to steady a financial system under pressure from the eurozone debt crisis.
It isn't that it's necessarily wrong, it's that rich assholes are having their absurd salaries maintained by the free money bazooka while everybody else is being asked to suck on it. In the name of the market! And after they light this pile of money they'll have another "liquidity event," otherwise known as not having enough money to pay your bills, and the free money bazooka will come out again.
'Tis the Season
If you at all can, do something for our pal Strange from Rumproast. In our Exceptional America, you're always a bit of bad luck away from disaster, unless you are unfathomably wealthy.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
What It Says
I'm reasonably sure we wouldn't be sending drones over, say, Stockholm to kill terrorist cells with surgical precision while accidentally oopsie killing a couple of thousand other people.
But we apparently do that some places.
But we apparently do that some places.
Nominal Illusion And Assholes
Regularly you get people bitching about the "high" salaries of teachers, bus drivers, whoever. Often I punch these "high" salaries into ye olde CPI calculator to see their equivalent in the year I graduated college, 1993. My memory - and it could be faulty - is that at that time getting an entry level job of about $30,000 was about the low end of "good." It wasn't awesome, but it was slightly better than merely ok, and a reasonable expectation for someone who did pretty well in college in "sensible" degree programs. $24,000 was on the crap end and $40,000 was more in the "hit the lottery" range. I went to a second tier state college, so we aren't talking the expectations of the extremely privileged here.
$30,000 in 1993 money is worth $47,000 today.
$30,000 in 1993 money is worth $47,000 today.
The Problem With Charity
I think making people aware of better ways of helping charities is good, but there are some things to remember. First is that there is a problem with giving money in that it gets eaten up in salaries and overhead, and people know that their can of whatever is much more likely to get into the hands of someone who could use it than a random $10 check they mail in. Charities of course need to cover salaries and overhead, but small givers prefer the idea that their money is going directly to where it needs to go. Second is that...well...if someone's going to eat your not quite yet expired package of whatever that's been sitting in the back of your cupboard then they probably really need it.
Having said that, charities that provide food for people should educate donors on the best way to donate. They should be transparent, they should raise their salaries and overhead money in other ways, and explain specifically just what a $10 check will be used for. As in, please bring your can of whatever, but also know that with just $10 we can and will buy 100 cans.
Having said that, charities that provide food for people should educate donors on the best way to donate. They should be transparent, they should raise their salaries and overhead money in other ways, and explain specifically just what a $10 check will be used for. As in, please bring your can of whatever, but also know that with just $10 we can and will buy 100 cans.
Propose It
I'm perfectly aware that nothing much useful will get through this congress. I'm also aware that this provides an opportunity for cynical politicians to propose things they know won't pass. Like, you know, free ponies for everyone or a financial transactions tax.
I Suppose This Might Make A Few People Angry
What the fuck are we doing.
I'm sure they were all "bad."
Yet in carrying out hundreds of strikes over three years — resulting in an estimated 1,350 to 2,250 deaths in Pakistan — it has provided virtually no details to support those assertions.
I'm sure they were all "bad."
Monday, December 19, 2011
amirite?
I'd like some more commentary on my general point, that non-right wing nutcase economists have been too soft on the right wing nutcase economists.
My observation from when I was in that world was that... most (majority, not supermajority) economists were probably DeLongish Democrats. More than people would think, anyway. But there was a bias against left-leaning (mostly center left-leaning) economists ever piping up in public, even if that was the prevailing sentiment. It was really kind of weird.
My observation from when I was in that world was that... most (majority, not supermajority) economists were probably DeLongish Democrats. More than people would think, anyway. But there was a bias against left-leaning (mostly center left-leaning) economists ever piping up in public, even if that was the prevailing sentiment. It was really kind of weird.
I Suppose We'll Have To Reinvade
To save Iraqis from the Iraq we gave them.
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government was thrown into crisis on Monday night as authorities issued an arrest warrant for the Sunni vice president, accusing him of running a personal death squad that assassinated security officials and government bureaucrats.
Nuts Begetting Nuts
I wondered aloud on the twitter if Kim Jong-il was indeed as nutty as he was generally portrayed. The answer seems to be yes. Anyway, that doesn't bode very well for the new kid, growing up under the full crazy.
The Great Grift
I'm not a super sophisticated political reporter, but it occurs to me that candidates who don't try very hard to get themselves on ballots in a timely fashion might not be all that serious about what they're doing.
Hey Here's A Fresh New Idea
Which will certainly work.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports that Rajoy is planning to cut spending across the board, and only pension payouts will rise in the coming year. His plans include the reduction of public debt to 60% by 2020 from as much as 69% next year, according to Dow Jones. He also advocates a plan to privatize segments of the public sector.
Wakey, Wakey
Here's a satellite picture of the Korean Peninsula at night. North Korea has some catching up to do. With the death of Kim Jong Il, maybe they'll have the opportunity.
h/t notaboomer
For a glimpse into the daily grind in North Korea I recommend Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick.
h/t notaboomer
For a glimpse into the daily grind in North Korea I recommend Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Ancient History
The post-9/11 Iraq war runup era was completely fucked up in a way which will be hard to explain to anyone who didn't live through it, but at least there was a degree of justification for insanity. Not how the insanity played out, but that people were insane. But in the 90s people were driven insane by a blowjob. Unless you can subject people to thousands of hours of cable news, showing both the bobbleheads and the politicians, there really is no way to communicate what happened in that era.
Divided
The issues aren't exactly the same for high school students, but when I taught college I really thought the existence of barriers that prevented professors from interacting honestly with their students were a shame. Those barriers took various forms and had various premises. One is the age of legal alcohol consumption. I'm not looking for a return to Animal House era 'get stoned with your prof' parties, but the students drink when they have parties, and professors drink when they have parties, so there's an artificiality about any social activity when they mix. Everyone knows everybody else is just pretending, that it's a fake social event.
Two is the real but overblown fear of inappropriate relationships. Yes professor-student relationships are at best dumb, and of course at worst much worse than dumb, but if you allow professors and students to interact as adults, such things are possible. So there's a tendency not to interact as adults.
Three is the general increase in the degree to which college students as seen as and treated like kids. Unless they break the law, of course.
Anyway, the point is that there's a price to erecting barriers which prevent interaction between teachers and students.
Two is the real but overblown fear of inappropriate relationships. Yes professor-student relationships are at best dumb, and of course at worst much worse than dumb, but if you allow professors and students to interact as adults, such things are possible. So there's a tendency not to interact as adults.
Three is the general increase in the degree to which college students as seen as and treated like kids. Unless they break the law, of course.
Anyway, the point is that there's a price to erecting barriers which prevent interaction between teachers and students.
All Those Liberal Judges
Aside from the obvious "funny" of Newt auditioning for malevolent dictator, it's not as if liberals spend their time these days waiting for awesome liberal judges to do good things. Because, you know, over the past 31 years we've had 20 years of Republican presidencies and 11 years of Democrats.
Hey Where'd That Football Go
And on and on.
WASHINGTON — A day after the Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to extend a payroll tax cut for two months, House Republicans made clear Sunday that they would not support the measure.
Shit Is Fucked Up And Bullshit
It didn't/doesn't have to be this way. This is what we've decided.
But we do so love our children in this country.
Like a silent epidemic, the number of homeless children in Michigan schools is growing.
In the 2010-11 school year, more than 31,000 homeless students attended school -- 8,500 more than in the previous school year, a 37% spike attributed to the weak economy, loss of jobs and the foreclosure crisis. Overall, the number of homeless students in Michigan has jumped more than 300% in the last four years. Most experts say those numbers are low because many parents are embarrassed to admit they are homeless. And many school districts lack the resources to identify these kids, as required by federal law.
But we do so love our children in this country.
So, Uh
If these guys can steal your money fair and square it's probably best to not do business with them.
Sunday Bobbleheads
This Week has Paul Ryan, Barney Frank, George Will, and Robert Reich.
Face the Nation has NEWT.
Meet the Press has Boehner, Bachmann, and Haley.
If it's Sunday...
Face the Nation has NEWT.
Meet the Press has Boehner, Bachmann, and Haley.
If it's Sunday...
Um, The Joke Is?
A good example of how Milbank doesn't really understand how to employ humor either to be funny or make an argument.
But Jeebus are drivers really getting that bad? Glad I don't drive much...
But Jeebus are drivers really getting that bad? Glad I don't drive much...
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