…makes the inevitable, delayed withdrawal even more painful.
…”The basic strategy appears to be to try to bring us back to 2006 by propping up asset prices and reflating the popped credit bubble, subsidizing bank creditors and shareholders, and delaying needed bank recapitalizations while hoping for an economic recovery,” Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn said at the annual Ira Sohn Investment Research Conference.
…”Government intervention could draw this out much further than is necessary and is useful, although for some areas it may feel somewhat good in the interim,” said Sokol, a contender to succeed Warren Buffett as head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
…”As any drug addict knows, if you stop using drugs you will go through withdrawal. Government is making the situation worse,” said Schiff. “We don’t need any more stimulus. We are suffering from the stimulus we have already been given.”
He joked years of misguided U.S. fiscal policy has created a Ponzi economy, where new Treasury bonds must be sold to repay existing investors just to keep Uncle Sam solvent.
“I don’t know why we have Bernie Madoff in jail,” Schiff said.
“We should appoint him secretary of the Treasury.“
There was just something about that town…
One based on, say, calling their press a bunch of lying bastards
Politico has an extraordinary report on Robert Gibbs, the White House Press Secretary, launching a furious broadside against the British press. Here are Gibbs’ sneering and condescending remarks:
“I want to speak generally about some reports I’ve witnessed over the past few years in the British media,” Gibbs said. “In some ways, I’m surprised it filtered down.”
“Let’s just say if I wanted to look up, if I wanted to read a write-up of how Manchester United fared last night in the Champions League Cup, I’d might open up a British newspaper,” he continued. “If I was looking for something that bordered on truthful news, I’m not entirely sure it’d be the first pack of clips I’d pick up.”
Barack’s gonna have to send over a few more dvds and iPods…
Seriously, have you ever seen a more arrogant bunch than those controlling Washington these days?
Harken back to the tune of “Paperback Writer” and its first line. Got it? Now, substitute the snappy ~ and descriptive ~
Toilet Bowl Diver
…and you will know what skill that 110 pound, jowly, low-rent, Looosiana swamp dog of ours has suddenly become an expert in.
WTF, over?
Filed under: Whence Cometh Such EEE-ville?
Because all those electoral votes are coming to Washington with their hand out
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – If AIG was too big to fail, how about the world’s eighth-largest economy?
In a move with only one modern-day precedent, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Obama administration and members of Congress for federal loan guarantees to help the state out of a desperate, multibillion-dollar jam.
California is not asking for cash, like the tens of billions given to AIG, General Motors or Morgan Stanley. (MS) Instead, the state with the worst credit rating in the nation is asking that Washington act as a sort of co-signer on the state’s borrowing, to be backed up with money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Remember those innocent days our youth, when we were told that we “had” to give billions to Chrysler and GM or they might *gasp* have to declare bankruptcy? Remember how horrible-henny-penny-the-sky-is-falling we were told that would be? And now that we’ve collected on the daily double by both giving them billions and having them none-the-less declare bankruptcy…what was the point of wasting those billions? And the billions we’ve wasted on AIG, et al? Well, ok, trillions. My bad.
California has to cut their spending, and completely expunge their legislators (as does NJ).
California leaders say that would make it easier and cheaper for the state to borrow money on the bond market, reducing the interest rate by as much as half and saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
How about this: save taxpayers hundreds of millions by not spending hundreds of millions.
The Obama administration has responded cautiously to the idea, and members of Congress from other states worry that it would put the federal government in the business of backing municipal bonds – a job traditionally held by investment banks.
They worry also that the U.S. government could overextend itself and risk its triple-A credit rating if California and other states or cities in distress start coming to Washington hat in hand.
Could overextend itself? Could?
As an aside, oh for those happy, simpler times when the Dow being down 12 whole points would be reported as a “skid.”
…to the “no such animal*“ part.
Reporter Dragged Kicking and Screaming From Near Air Force One
…”I said, ‘I’ll take my chances if (the president) comes by here,'” said Lee, who identified herself as a Roman Catholic priestess* who lives in Anaheim, Calif. “He became annoyed that I wouldn’t give him the letter.”
Lee, who was wearing what she described as a cassock…
Her donuts not all being in the same box and discretion being the better part of valour, the ‘hauling away’ could be described as “a prudent move”.
…A BIG “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EBOLA !!!”
SCHMACK!!!!
…and raise you a fishy smelling one.
Renowned Restaurant Nobu Warns Diners Not to Eat Its Endangered Tuna
– Chris Park
Celebrity hotspot and renowned Japanese restaurant Nobu has written a note to diners at its London restaurants warning them not to eat the bluefin tuna on the menu because it is endangered, the London Telegraph reported Wednesday.
The restaurant, popular with stars like Brad Pitt and Kate Moss, calls the $50 dish on its own menu “environmentally challenged.” It asks patrons to “ask your server for an alternative.”
Where to begin? The most obvious point would be the fact that they left it ON the menu. If it’s ON the menu, then they must still be willing to serve it if someone hasn’t any “save the bluefin” misgivings. OR…if one of their glitterati clientele rationalizes that ~ again, since it’s still ON the menu ~ there must be a corresponding scombroid corpse on a cold slab in the kitchen, so…WTF? Can’t let his sacrifice be in vain! Order the tuna, since he’s dead already.
Gosh. Restaurant, patron, green conscience . Win, win, win.
She was only a whiskey maker, but I love her still.
Why, yes we are
(CNN) — President Obama marked another 100-day anniversary Wednesday — this time the anniversary of the enactment of his $787 billion economic stimulus package.
Addressing a crowd of military servicemen and women at Nevada’s sprawling Nellis Air Force Base, Obama said that “we are already seeing results” from the federal government’s economic boost.
Among other things, he said, the spending has saved or created roughly 150,000 jobs while providing sorely needed infrastructure repairs and fueling increased demand for businesses.
I love how they pull these jobs saved/created numbers out of the air. According to the BLS here’s the unemployment rate data for 2009:
Jan 7.6%
Feb 8.1%
Mar 8.5%
Apr 8.9%
How many jobs “saved ” do you see there? While I don’t doubt that Obama has in fact created a bunch of new government jobs I fail to see how growing employment in that particular sector of the economy helps the recovery in any way, shape or form.
Going purely by anecdotal evidence I see *no* increased business demand what-so-ever. Every one I talk to says business is down and they don’t see any sign of recovery, and with the banks that were bailed out using taxpayer money now effectively declaring war on us folks who pay off our bills…well, I frankly have no desire to use my credit card at all. Screw the banks. If I’m going to buy something I’ll pay for it in cash…but chances are I will simply cut my spending way back and not buy anything. And if I’m right I think that there are a lot of folks feeling the same way, which tells me that we are a long long way from seeing the economy improve.
Add to that the deadly combination of falling IRS tax revenue, the exploding deficit
and the corresponding explosion in interest rates that the Treasury has to pay to borrow all this money to spend. Multiply a debt of several trillion dollars by even just a few tenths of a percent and it soon adds up to real money, my friends. The only ways out of it are either to drastically cut spending or print lots of money.
So yes, we’re already seeing results of Obama’s policies: they’re putting us well along the road to 1980’s Argentina.
Because, you know, obviously cutting spending is a non-starter
With budget deficits soaring and President Obama pushing a trillion-dollar-plus expansion of health coverage, some Washington policymakers are taking a fresh look at a money-making idea long considered politically taboo: a national sales tax.
Common around the world, including in Europe, such a tax — called a value-added tax, or VAT — has not been seriously considered in the United States. But advocates say few other options can generate the kind of money the nation will need to avert fiscal calamity.
…”Everybody who understands our long-term budget problems understands we’re going to need a new source of revenue, and a VAT is an obvious candidate,” said Leonard Burman, co-director of the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, who testified on Capitol Hill this month about his own VAT plan. “It’s common to the rest of the world, and we don’t have it.”
I really really want to hit these guys with a clue-by-four: CUT SPENDING!
But as long as we keep voting them in, they’re going to keep spending.
And us and our kids are screwed.
…are growing on me
Registered as a religion in the United States, with celebrity members such as actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, Scientology enjoys no such legal protection in France and has faced repeated accusations of being a money-making cult.
The group’s Paris headquarters and bookshop are defendants in the case. If found guilty, they could be fined €5 million ($7 million) and ordered to halt their activities in France.
Seven leading French Scientology members are also in the dock. Some are charged with illegally practising as pharmacists and face up to 10 years in prison and hefty fines.
I’ll have to go out and buy more “Freedom” wine…
Imagine serving 81 years!
Britain’s longest living married couple have celebrated their 81st wedding anniversary.
Frank and Anita Milford, who live together in a nursing home in Plymouth, Devon, exchanged vows on 26 May, 1928.
Frank is 101 and Anita will be 101 next month. In February they will break the record to become the longest married couple in Britain.
Congratulations Frank and Anita!
May you have many, many more.
Another freakin’ “Czar”
President Obama is expected to announce late this week that he will create a “cyber czar,” a senior White House official who will have broad authority to develop strategy to protect the nation’s government-run and private computer networks, according to people who have been briefed on the plan.
The adviser will have the most comprehensive mandate granted to such an official to date and will probably be a member of the National Security Council but will report to the national security adviser as well as the senior White House economic adviser, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deliberations are not final.
Oh hooray. More heavy-handed government intrusion in our freedoms; what could possibly go wrong?
The report suggests that although it is a key government responsibility to help secure private-sector networks, regulation should be the last resort, the sources said.
Since when is it a “key” government responsibility to help secure private-sector networks?
Most Glorious Leader finally set one off
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) — North Korea fired two short-range missiles from its east coast Tuesday — a day after conducting a nuclear test — South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing a South Korean official.
“The North is continuing its saber-rattling,” the unnamed official said.
The firings came a day after the reclusive communist state conducted a nuclear test and fired another short-range missile.
So now NK has been allowed to go nuclear. Don’t you feel safe? But don’t worry!
The U.N. Security Council condemned Monday’s nuclear test as a “clear violation” of international law.
…At the United Nations, Security Council members took about an hour Monday to express their unanimous condemnation of the move. Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin called Monday’s test “very serious” and said it “needs to have a strong response.”
The UN has their best scribes scribbling furiously even now on a very strongly worded response.
And in the vigilant tradition of UN-o-philes everywhere our own Glorious Leader is expressing “grave concern”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Monday that nuclear and missile tests conducted by North Korea were a “grave concern to all nations” and a legal violation that warranted action by the international community.
“North Korea’s attempts to develop nuclear weapons, as well as its ballistic missile program, constitute a threat to international peace and security,” Obama said in a statement after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test and reportedly fired a short-range missile.
I mean, I really hate to quibble, but, dude, NK is not “attempting” to develop nukes; they have developed them.
The nuclear test was a major diplomatic challenge to Obama at a time when he is facing a global economic crisis and working to curb Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, which the West fears is aimed at producing nuclear arms but Tehran says is for energy.
Obama vowed when he took office to extend a hand to troublesome countries “willing to unclench your fist” but so far he has had little success with North Korea or Iran, which have continued to advance their nuclear programs and showed little interest in renewed dialogue.
And why should they stop? They know the West has now lost it’s spine and will do nothing but issue strong letters to dissuade them.
Sorry Japan. You’re SOL.
Once again Trey Parker and Matt Stone are five years ahead of the asswipes at Foggy Bottom.
I cooked 18 lbs of pork butt on Friday night, had a few folks over on Saturday and we had a great time. I had lots of pictures to torment y’all with, but my the batteries on my camera died while I was transferring them over and that little detail erased all the photos. I am not amused.
So I’ll leave you with some dog p0rn
…and give thanks.
We went there today ~ Barrancas National Cemetery ~ to say “hi” to our Uncle Nat. I always yell howdy from the car every time I go by the place, but we thought we’d park and find him this time. Say “hi” for reals.
Let’s hope we can recapture the spirit
…baaaaaaaaa-d.
So horrifying, I hoof goat to take a break.
Mountain goats are packed up and heading for turbine-free Afghani cave sanctuaries, preferring turbianned Taliban love fests over unmolested but sleepless nights in turbine twanged Taiwan.-TPI
Thanks loads, Blair. I hope the goasts of turbines past keep you up at night.
Or for reals…?
Governor plans to completely eliminate welfare for families
… The proposals would completely reshape the state’s social service network, transforming California from one of the country’s most generous states to one of the most tightfisted. The proposals are intended to help close a budget deficit estimated at $21.3 billion.
If ‘for reals’, I would offer some will be saying “it’s about effin’ time”, but they won’t be heard over the screams.
“…When the first government-mandated fuel-economy standards went into effect in the 1970s, cars got smaller and lighter, and traffic fatalities increased. The National Research Council estimated that the CAFE standards contributed to about 2,000 additional deaths per year. If these tighter standards lead to a similar increase in traffic deaths, that could mean more Americans killed each year due to President Obama’s new CAFÉ standards than have been killed during the Iraq war.“
I’m sure the answering argument will be “If you weren’t so FAT, you wouldn’t be propelled through the windshield so brutally!” and Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) will become:
Corpulent Americans Face Fried Fatty Feasting End (CAFFFFE)
You know he’ll do it.
Lots of grilling tonight, more bbq every day following.
Oh, and lots of wine.
What are your plans?
Yeah, it’s weak but I am so &*%#$@^ tired of all the sheeeet coming out of our Political Leaders these days that I just want to crawl into a hole and hide.
So I will, for the next three days.
You’re welcome to join me.
The Force is strong in this one
…Our government prevented attacks and saved lives through the Terrorist Surveillance Program, which let us intercept calls and track contacts between al-Qaeda operatives and persons inside the United States. The program was top secret, and for good reason, until the editors of the New York Times got it and put it on the front page. After 9/11, the Times had spent months publishing the pictures and the stories of everyone killed by al-Qaeda on 9/11. Now here was that same newspaper publishing secrets in a way that could only help al-Qaeda. It impressed the Pulitzer committee, but it damn sure didn’t serve the interests of our country, or the safety of our people.
That’s some serious smack-downage.
Read the whole thing.
It’s important.
(link via Allah)
…when I watch our president yet AGAIN on the telly, and ~ for all his prosing, posing and posturing ~ the ONLY descriptive word that springs immediately to mind?
“Pissy”.
Nanny State | Mr. Bingley | 
May 31, 2009 6:05 pm | 
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