Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Spite
A little bit of voting for Rumproast in the otherwise moronic Weblog Awards would be a blow for the True, the Good, and the Funny.
Back to the Future
My understanding is that auto loans were once a major product for credit unions, until the automakers muscled them out with their own financing arms.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Automakers General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, along with a group of credit unions, said Wednesday that they are expanding to all 50 states programs that offer low-cost loans and special pricing incentives to credit union members.
David Adams, president and chief executive of the Michigan Credit Union League and the national credit union group CUcorp, said the expansion of the ''Invest in America'' program is expected to give 90 million members of nearly 8,000 credit unions potential access to low-interest loans for GM and Chrysler vehicles.
And They Get Even More Absurd
Really impossible to parody.
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- Joe The Plumber is putting down his wrenches and picking up a reporter's notebook.
The Ohio man who became a household name during the presidential campaign says he is heading to Israel as a war correspondent for the conservative Web site pjtv.com.
Contempt
As I said before, I don't really care what Ann Coulter says, but I have no idea why mainstream news organizations have such contempt for their viewers, themselves, and any concept of factual journalism.
Playing Poker With Harry Reid
As Jane predicted, AP/NPR are reporting that Burris is going to be seated after all. Good thing we had all that Politico-loving "drama" for, you know, no reason at all. Unlike Josh I was actually losing a little sleep over these shenanigans, as it opens the door for seriously playing politics with the process of seating senators. And once you open those doors, Republicans are good at running through them.
Friday's Jobs Numbers Today
Not really, but every month the ADP report, a private estimate of what the gov't report will tell us on Friday, comes out a couple of days beforehand.
That's a big owie.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private-sector employers shed 693,000 jobs in December, a private employment service said on Wednesday in a report that was far worse than expected and pointed to more ugly news from the government's jobs data due later this week.
The drop, much bigger than the revised 476,000 private sector jobs lost in November, is consistent with about a 670,000 fall in December non-farm payrolls, said Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, which jointly develops the private sector employment report with ADP Employer Services.
That's a big owie.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
John Galt Corp.
Of course.
- NEW YORK (AP) -- A construction official falsely billed $1.2 million for supplies not delivered to clean up a toxic ground zero skyscraper in exchange for cash, clothes and trips to the Caribbean, prosecutors said Tuesday. Robert Chiarappa was the purchasing agent for the John Galt Corp., which was hired to clean up the former Deutsche Bank tower after it was heavily damaged in the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center across the street.
Long
Not exactly shiny happy people.
As Federal Reserve officials met last month to confront the deepening recession, they worried that even a dramatic cut in interest rates and unprecedented new measures in monetary policy would not be enough to cauterize the country’s economic troubles quickly.
...
“The overwhelming message gleaned from the minutes of the meeting is one of fear — fear of a deep recession, and fear of a debilitating deflationary spiral that would capsize a debt-laden economy,” Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist at MFR, wrote in a note.
Death to DRM
Apple's iTunes DRM was so easy to break it was basically just a minor nuisance, but still it was a pointless minor nuisance which did nothing to prevent any music piracy. Glad the record companies may have finally figured that out.
He also said Apple worked with all the major record labels to get songs free of ''digital rights management'' technology that limits people's ability to copy songs or move them to different devices.
Holiday Over
Anyway, a big reason why travel is a pain isn't because it makes it harder for my to deliver my words of wisdom to my adoring readers, it's because during the middle of the day I'm hitting 90+ emails per hour. Leave the computer behind for a couple of hours and...
So Many Swearing Senators
Went to check out the swearing-in ceremony from one of the Senate office buildings along with a reception. Was pretty creepy watching Dick Cheney give that oath.
Outrageous Partisanship
Somehow Nancy Pelosi elected Speaker instead of that nicely tanned Mr. Boehner.
Cram Down
Allowing bankruptcy judges to deal with mortgage debt has always been the most sensible way to deal with the foreclosure crisis in a way which allows people to keep their homes without reinflating the bubble. Hopefully it really passes. In the old regime of 10%+ down, ability to pay, and 30 year fixed rate mortgages exempting mortgages from bankruptcy probably had a certain logic to it, but there's no reason that all of these "exotic" mortgages should be. Hopefully it actually passes.
Brad Miller has been pushing for this for some time.
Brad Miller has been pushing for this for some time.
Still Building
I'm in some exurban zone between Wilmington and Baltimore, and there are plenty of newly minted and still under construction housing developments of the very worst kind. I think one thing people fail to notice sometimes is just much land these things use. I remember hearing a talk in the 90s, when I was living in Providence, about the attempts to revitalize the downtown core of that city. To provide a sense of scale the presenter demonstrated using scale models how the entire Providence downtown area easily fit within the footprint of a moderately sized local suburban mall&parking lot.
The Magic Of Wireless Broadband
For a long time travel - even relatively short trips - would stress me out quite a bit as even a trip to New York or DC during the day was incompatible with this blogging thing. Getting a USB wireless broadband plan cured that. Now I just need one of those little netbook thingies which suddenly became cheap...
Bizness
We often forget just how corrupt state and local politics is - at all levels - and that the real tragedy of the long decline of the news business isn't that Time magazine has to fire a few reporters, or whatever, it's that there are fewer local news outlets and reporters to shine a light on this stuff. And it isn't just big city corruption, though that tends to get what little investigative attention there is, this stuff is rampant - and often legal! - everywhere.
After extracting $17 million in donations from Peco Energy, former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo raised the ante with Verizon Pennsylvania, demanding more than $50 million in contributions to settle a legal dispute, Verizon's former president testified yesterday.
Fumo wanted Verizon to deposit $10 million in his family-owned bank. He wanted $2.5 million in legal work for his law firm. And he wanted $15 million to go to Citizens' Alliance for Better Neighborhoods - the nonprofit that is at the center of the federal indictment against Fumo.
Daniel Whelan, who was then the president of Verizon Pennsylvania, told the jury in Fumo's federal corruption trial that he rejected most of the demands.
Goosed Porter
Given DiFi's little temper tantrum over Panetta, I was curious how she reacted to the appointment of the buffoon Porter Goss to the top CIA post.
"After much thought and a careful review of the record, I voted today to confirm the nomination of Representative Porter Goss to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (DCI). But I do have some serious concerns - especially about the impact of this nomination on intelligence reform and his record of partisanship in Congress.
I believe the President should have the prerogative to appoint who he wants to be the DCI, or for any other senior position, subject only to the requirement that the person be qualified for the job. As a former CIA officer, a former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and a former Army intelligence officer, I think he is certainly qualified. If he is confirmed, I would hope that he demonstrates the necessary independence required of the DCI. But there are still some open questions, which gave me some hesitancy in supporting the nomination.
Monday, January 05, 2009
The Company
It's about the club, insider knowledge and privilege, and, yes, crimes, criminals, and their enablers.
Gotta keep it in the family, otherwise who knows what might happen?
Gotta keep it in the family, otherwise who knows what might happen?
The Heroic Fantasies Of Cowards
If you want to imagine you're in the military so badly, just join the freaking military already.
Senator Franken
I was at a conference in Minnesota over the summer at some point, and every local I talked to was really pissed off the Franken was their candidate, thought he was running a lousy campaign, was convinced he was going to lose, etc.
Deep Thought
I can't believe NBC is depriving Ann Coulter her first amendment right to appear on their networks any time she wants to.
Your Liberal Media
Stupid bloggers like me can make this point over and over again and Howie Kurtz will just stare blankly and say, "what's your point?" But, to make it again, it's quite amazing that MSNBC has become the very liberal cable network in what is supposedly a very liberal media universe generally, by virtue of the fact that liberals have 2 hours of original programming per weekday, while conservative Republican Joe Scarborough has his show on for 3 hours every day.
Panettamania
From last March. Works for me.
I think it's more that Bush was trumping the law by, you know, trumping it. Otherwise known as breaking it. But, well, not bad for the Village.
More recently, President Bush vetoed a law that would require the CIA and all the intelligence services to abide by the same rules on torture as contained in the U.S. Army Field Manual.
But all forms of torture have long been prohibited by American law and international treaties respected by Republican and Democratic presidents alike.
Our forefathers prohibited "cruel and unusual punishment" because that was how tyrants and despots ruled in the 1700s. They wanted an America that was better than that. Torture is illegal, immoral, dangerous and counterproductive. And yet, the president is using fear to trump the law.
I think it's more that Bush was trumping the law by, you know, trumping it. Otherwise known as breaking it. But, well, not bad for the Village.
Shorter Andrew Keen
The Nazis could not have gained power and committed genocide without the internets.
Panetta
I don't really have any opinions about Panetta - I probably once did, but memories of those days are becoming hazy - but I'm glad Obama has chosen someone to head the CIA who wasn't involved with torturing and driving inmates insane.
Plummeting Car Sales
Not surprised.
For many people cars are basically a necessity, but new cars aren't.
DETROIT (AP) -- Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales plummeted 32 percent in December and Toyota Motor Corp.'s fell 37 percent as car and truck buyers continued to steer clear of showrooms due to the dismal economy.
For many people cars are basically a necessity, but new cars aren't.
Outrage
It appears that Obama's appointed a crazy hippie freak to the OLC who thinks it's appropriate to be outraged when high ranking government officials lie and break the law. The appropriate Village way is to declare them to be elder statesmen and let bygones be bygones.
Sorry, Norm
Lost again.
The Minnesota Supreme Court today rejected a bid by Norm Coleman in the disputed U.S. Senate election to consider counting hundreds of rejected absentee ballots from mostly Republican-leaning areas.
Coleman
I'm not one to push for people to concede elections. There's a tendency by our media to portray "votes tallies at the time they want to go to bed on election night" as the real election counts when they generally aren't. If the Coleman campaign genuinely believes they have a legitimate legal challenges to bring, they should feel free. But if they're just playing games, it's probably time to stop.
Because They're Really Really Stupid
One of the enduring amusements of right blogistan is Red State, those impotent self-promoters who just can't ever quite understand why they are not Very Very Important And Powerful. You can respect them enough for understanding that The Left has managed to do something online that The Right has not, but after that it's all pretty much pointing and laughing.
But, basically, they fail because they and their readers are, well, pretty stupid. What the online right doesn't get is that they had all the "power" a few years ago, and they've had lots of money thrown at them (PJ Media, etc.), and they hitched it all to George Bush and his Excellent Iraqi Adventure. Not much of an audience for Bush dead enders and Iraq war enthusiasts.
But, basically, they fail because they and their readers are, well, pretty stupid. What the online right doesn't get is that they had all the "power" a few years ago, and they've had lots of money thrown at them (PJ Media, etc.), and they hitched it all to George Bush and his Excellent Iraqi Adventure. Not much of an audience for Bush dead enders and Iraq war enthusiasts.
Happy Birthday Mütter
I've never been, as I probably wouldn't make it through without passing out, but it's supposedly quite interesting.
You've probably heard of the Mütter Museum, the 150-year-old Philadelphia institution that is known worldwide for its impressive collection of medical artifacts and oddities.
Besides the primitive surgical tools and macabre organs in jars, the museum is now displaying samples of lipstick, candy, beer steins, antique toy soldiers, paint and pesticide - all pieces in the long and ongoing story of lead's impact on public health.
Back To Cable News Hell
One thing I managed to do during my recent travels was avoid cable news. Very therapeutic.
Good Luck With That
Krugman:
It's a mystery why Dems think this way.
News reports say that Democrats hope to pass an economic plan with broad bipartisan support. Good luck with that.
It's a mystery why Dems think this way.
Morning Thread
Normal Life recommences.... now.
--Molly I.
(And remember, Atrios: Just because you're in a two-man novelty band doesn't mean it's all about bootie....)
--Molly I.
(And remember, Atrios: Just because you're in a two-man novelty band doesn't mean it's all about bootie....)
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Frost/Nixon
I haven't seen the movie, though I thought the production in New York that I saw was really brilliant. Frank Langella, fellow granfalloon Alpha Chi Rho brother, was truly brilliant, the kind of performance you see (and have opportunity to give) only a couple of times in life.
As a minor side note, comp tix to Frost/Nixon was one of the best perks of blogging I've ever received! Note that, PR people. I'm more likely to review TV pilots and theatrical productions than I am nonfiction books.
As a minor side note, comp tix to Frost/Nixon was one of the best perks of blogging I've ever received! Note that, PR people. I'm more likely to review TV pilots and theatrical productions than I am nonfiction books.
CRE Hell
The next phase of fun.
While I pulled almost all of the vast Eschaton portfolio out of anything resembling stocks awhile ago, there's still a tiny bit in REIT. DOH!
Vacancy rates in office buildings exceed 10 percent in virtually every major city in the country and are rising rapidly, a sign of economic distress that could lead to yet another wave of problems for troubled lenders.
With job cuts rampant and businesses retrenching, more empty space is expected from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles in the coming year. Rental income would then decline and property values would slide further. The Urban Land Institute predicts 2009 will be the worst year for the commercial real estate market “since the wrenching 1991-1992 industry depression.”
While I pulled almost all of the vast Eschaton portfolio out of anything resembling stocks awhile ago, there's still a tiny bit in REIT. DOH!
Shorter Trudy Rubin
- I believe I can neatly illustrate the sunk cost fallacy.
Slightly Longer Trudy Rubin:
Too many Americans and far too many Iraqis have died for us to pull out with undue haste and watch Iraq slide backward.
Atrios For Commerce Secretary
It seems there's an opening.
Though I'd prefer Secretary for SUPERTRAINS.
WASHINGTON — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama’s commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation.
Obama’s transition office said Sunday that Obama has accepted Richardson’s withdrawal.
A federal grand jury is investigating how a California company that contributed to Richardson’s political activities won a lucrative New Mexico state contract.
Though I'd prefer Secretary for SUPERTRAINS.
The Coultergeist Is Back
Conservatives (And their mainstream enablers) have long suffered under the misapprehension that Ann Coulter "enrages" liberals or some such nonsense. What does annoy us is that supposedly serious mainstream news outlets regularly give her an uncritical platform to advertise her latest goods.
Money For Everything Except Saving The Economy
Ah, those fiscally conservative Democrats. The ones who spend hundreds of billions to kill people half way across the globe but who balk at a few hundred million to give health care for kids or to, you know, prevent a depression.
It's important to remember that in the House, at least, the Dems have a sizeable majority and if they wanted to they could tell the Republicans to pound sand on every single issue. And people get all upset when crazy lefties suggest that running primaries against bad Democrats is a good idea.
- Still, Democrats are wary of slowing down the economic stimulus by provoking the opposition of Republicans, who have warned in recent days that the package must be neither excessive nor rushed. They are also fielding concerns from fiscally conservative Democrats.
It's important to remember that in the House, at least, the Dems have a sizeable majority and if they wanted to they could tell the Republicans to pound sand on every single issue. And people get all upset when crazy lefties suggest that running primaries against bad Democrats is a good idea.
Pushing On A String
One can certainly take issue with the bailout and the subsequent behavior by banks and other entities which are stealing all our money, but too many people seem to miss or gloss over the simple idea that maybe banks aren't lending money because it'd be pretty stupid to lend money right now. What are they supposed to lend it for? Commercial real estate development? Jumbo mortgage loans as home prices fall? Car loans when unemployment is rising? Industrial development when capacity usage is declining?
The bailout was a bad idea because they wrote idiots a $700 billion blank check. I know people always think in crises doing something is better than nothing, and for all I know this was the case here, too, but the people in charge have all along failed to understand what was going wrong.
The bailout was a bad idea because they wrote idiots a $700 billion blank check. I know people always think in crises doing something is better than nothing, and for all I know this was the case here, too, but the people in charge have all along failed to understand what was going wrong.
Meanwhile
Over there.
- >
BAGHDAD A female suicide bomber blew herself up in Baghdad's Kadhimiyah district Sunday morning as thousands of religious pilgrims flocked to the area's holy Shiite Muslim shrine.
The attack, which killed at least 40 and wounded another 72, was the second in eight days in the district. The earlier bombing killed at least 24. On Friday, a bombing south of Baghdad killed 30.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Document the atrocities.
ABC's "This Week" — Senate appointee and former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris, D-Ill.; Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
___
CBS' "Face the Nation" — Vice President Dick Cheney.
___
NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.
___
CNN's "Late Edition" — Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat; Govs. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., and Mark Sanford, R-S.C.; former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass.; Queen Noor of Jordan; Israeli Cabinet Minister Isaac Herzog; Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyu.
"Fox News Sunday" _ Former President George H.W. Bush.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Another Potential Systemic Failure
CRE's about to blow.
From apartments to shopping malls, office towers to dockyard industrial space, the commercial real estate market will be marked by rising vacancy rates and weak to no rent growth. And the choke hold on credit could push many property owners that need to refinance into foreclosure.
Nearly 40 percent of real estate investors need to refinance part of their portfolios this year, according to more than 1,100 investors surveyed in October by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services and National Real Estate Investor magazine. The investors also expect prices to decline 15 percent on average this year.
"It's hard to be an optimist right now," said Dan Fasulo, managing director of research firm Real Capital Analytics. "We're at the point where there's another potential systemic failure that the industry is trying to avoid."
Deep Thought
Other countries' wars are much more important - and warrant much more televised coverage - than our own.
Economists Behaving Badly
It is a puzzling thing about my former profession that after spending many years in graduate school and beyond, economists are happy to let the public face of the profession be the first 50 pages of an Econ 101 textbook. It isn't some crazy area of the profession where various forms of market failure are discussed. You can even get it in the 2nd 50 pages of a typical Econ 101 textbook!
Heckuva job!
I think this is too nice. Economists do offer opinions about things you can't really be sure about, they just don't usually offer ones which deviate from an Econ 101 framework. Those things aren't "known," they're just easy.
To most people, academic economics is indistinguishable from Larry Kudlow.
Heckuva job!
“Most academics are really reluctant to take part in the public dialog, because the public dialog requires you to have an opinion about things you can’t really be sure about,” says Mr. Rajan. “They fear talking about things where everything is not neatly nailed in a model. They stay away and let the charlatans occupy the high ground.”
I think this is too nice. Economists do offer opinions about things you can't really be sure about, they just don't usually offer ones which deviate from an Econ 101 framework. Those things aren't "known," they're just easy.
To most people, academic economics is indistinguishable from Larry Kudlow.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Twelve Beers!
Athenae talks about hangovers. The best cure for a hangover, of course, is a lot of cocaine. True story!
UPDATE. Whoops! Silly me, I meant "coffee," not "cocaine." Darn typos.
UPDATE. Whoops! Silly me, I meant "coffee," not "cocaine." Darn typos.
Karmic Rebalancing
Couldn't have happened to a bigger asshole.
Ha Ha [/muntz]
The American who lost the most - $24 billion - was casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, a City College of New York dropout reputed to be worth $28 billion in March.
Ha Ha [/muntz]
Freedom’s Watch, a deep-pocketed conservative group led by two former senior White House officials, made an audacious debut in late August when it began a $15 million advertising campaign designed to maintain Congressional support for President Bush’s troop increase in Iraq.
...
Among the group’s founders are Sheldon G. Adelson, the chairman and chief executive of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, who ranks sixth on the Forbes Magazine list of the world’s billionaires; Mel Sembler, a shopping center magnate based in St. Petersburg, Fla., who served as the ambassador to Italy and Australia; John M. Templeton Jr., the conservative philanthropist from Bryn Mawr, Pa.; and Anthony H. Gioia, a former ambassador to Malta who heads an investment group based in Buffalo, N.Y. All four men are long-time prolific donors who have raised money on behalf of Republican and conservative causes.
Ponzi Ponzi Everywhere
Such fun.
Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. regulators working to untangle Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme are probing other money managers suspected of using similar tactics, two people with knowledge of the inquiries said.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is pursuing at least one case in which investors may have been cheated out of as much as $1 billion, according to one person, who declined to name the manager and asked not to be identified because the probe isn’t public.
Regulators may discover additional Ponzi arrangements as declining stock markets prompt investors to withdraw their cash and they question how their money is being managed. This week, the SEC said it halted what the agency described as a $23 million scam targeting Haitian-Americans, and said the Florida- based operators had tried as recently as last month to bring in more investors.
The Republican Village
Just echoing what Josh says, it isn't clear that the Village media-industrial complex is Republican, but it is clear that most of them think that only the opinions of Republicans really matter. Expect David Gergen to wield a sort of extra-constitutional veto over everything Obama does.
Meanwhile
Over there.
-
A private group’s measure of manufacturing activity has fallen more than expected in December, hitting the lowest reading in 28 years as new orders and employment continue to decline.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said Friday that its manufacturing index fell to 32.4 in December from 36.2 in November. Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected the reading to fall to 35.5.
Heckuva Job, Bushie
New records set every day.
-
A private group’s measure of manufacturing activity has fallen more than expected in December, hitting the lowest reading in 28 years as new orders and employment continue to decline.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said Friday that its manufacturing index fell to 32.4 in December from 36.2 in November. Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected the reading to fall to 35.5.
Krgthulu
Presents the novel argument that Republicans suck ass.
As the new Democratic majority prepares to take power, Republicans have become, as Phil Gramm might put it, a party of whiners.
Some of the whining almost defies belief. Did Alberto Gonzales, the former attorney general, really say, “I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror”? Did Rush Limbaugh really suggest that the financial crisis was the result of a conspiracy, masterminded by that evil genius Chuck Schumer?
But most of the whining takes the form of claims that the Bush administration’s failure was simply a matter of bad luck — either the bad luck of President Bush himself, who just happened to have disasters happen on his watch, or the bad luck of the G.O.P., which just happened to send the wrong man to the White House.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Blago
I really think the Senate Dems are going to make themselves look ridiculous if they try to avoid seating Burris. Whatever one thinks of Blago, he's still the governor, and he hasn't even been indicted or impeached. If there's no suggestion that this specific appointment is tainted, then I really don't see what the problem is.
All stupid, really.
All stupid, really.
Principles
I'd almost respect the guy for sticking up for his principles except that, you know, he didn't.
But, seriously, I think any governor should see their job as taking any and every federal dollar they can get, at least any dollar without dumb strings attached.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Just hours before the unemployment benefits fund was to run out in South Carolina, the state with the nation’s third-highest jobless rate, Gov. Mark Sanford relented Wednesday and agreed to apply for a $146 million federal loan to shore it up, after weeks of refusing to do so.
The governor’s position had drawn rebukes even from fellow Republicans in the Legislature, one of whom denounced Mr. Sanford as “heartless,” and from newspaper editorial pages. On Wednesday, The State, the daily newspaper here in Columbia, accused the governor of playing “chicken with the lives of the 77,000” who are unemployed in South Carolina.
For weeks, Mr. Sanford, newly elected as head of the Republican Governors Association and known for being a fierce free-market foe of government spending, stuck to his stand, questioning the probity of the South Carolina Employment Security Commission and demanding a new audit of the agency.
But, seriously, I think any governor should see their job as taking any and every federal dollar they can get, at least any dollar without dumb strings attached.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)