Saturday, September 06, 2008
Foreign Central Banks
Priorities.
The proposal to place both mortgage giants, which own or back $5.3 trillion in mortgages, into a government-run conservatorship also grew out of deep concern among foreign investors that the companies’ debt might not be repaid. Falling home prices, which are expected to lead to more defaults among the mortgages held or guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie, contributed to the urgency, regulators said.
The details of the deal have not fully emerged, but it appears that investors who own the companies’ common stock will be virtually wiped out; preferred shareholders, who have priority over other shareholders, may also wind up with little. Holders of debt, including many foreign central banks, are expected to receive government backing. Top executives of both companies will be pushed out, according to those briefed on the plan.
Students
Always forget how much the population of this city (residents and visitors) swells when September arrives.
Hey, Grey Lady, I've Got A Bridge Here...
Is there any shit from the McCain campaign the press won't willingly eat?
U6
As I've mentioned before, the BLS constructs various measures of unemployment. There's no one "right" measure, they just measure different things. The broadest measure is U6. It's high.
Friday, September 05, 2008
If It's Friday
And another bank is eaten by the FDIC. Silver State Bank.
...was Andy McCain's bank.
...was Andy McCain's bank.
HENDERSON, Nev.--(Business Wire)--
Silver State Bancorp (NASDAQ:SSBX), the holding company for Silver
State Bank, announced today that Andrew K. McCain submitted his
resignation today as a director on the Boards of Directors of Silver
State Bancorp and Silver State Bank, citing personal reasons.
Mr. McCain previously served as a director of Choice Bank in
Scottsdale, Arizona from 2006 to April 1, 2008 when Choice Bank merged
into Silver State Bank. Mr. McCain had been appointed to the Boards of
the Company and Silver State Bank in February, 2008 and had served on
the Audit Committee. Mr. McCain has recently been appointed Chairman
of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, effective this month.
Fannie And Freddie Get Eaten
The bumper sticker version is probably the right thing given my knowledge (which is not great enough to really judge), but as with everything the devil is in the details and the Bushies are in charge of the details...
(ht p o'neill)
...WaPo has more. They're firing the top executives which is good, though I'm not sure why common stock shareholders won't be wiped out completely. Preferred, too.
Breaking News 9:01 PM ET:
Government Preparing Plan to Seize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Officials Say
(ht p o'neill)
...WaPo has more. They're firing the top executives which is good, though I'm not sure why common stock shareholders won't be wiped out completely. Preferred, too.
Still A Mystery
As much as I'm aware of the phenomenon Krugman is talking about, I do admit the underlying psychology is still somewhat of a mystery to me.
Minor Improvements
I think it's important to understand that even minor public transit innovcations can add up to quite a big deal. Bus travel is slowed down substantially by on board fare collection and single door entry. Remove those and the ride is faster.
Buses on an experimental route in the Bronx are moving significantly faster thanks to a series of innovations meant to cut travel time, including having riders pay before they board, transit officials said on Thursday.
...
A trip from end to end on the Bx12 route that previously took close to an hour now takes about 12 minutes less, a time saving of 20 percent, said Joe Smith, New York City Transit’s senior vice president for buses.
Pissing Off Liberals
It's long been the case that what really gets the Republican base excited is anything that pisses off liberals. There are genuine policy differences, of course, but to get an audience of Republicans on their feet and cheering you need to mention something, no matter how pointless, which pisses of liberals. It's the glue that keeps them together.
Almost 10%
As much as I've followed the tale of Big Shitpile, I still find this to be stunning.
- WASHINGTON (AP) -- An industry group says a record 9.2 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of June, as damage from the housing crisis continues to mount.
Sounds Familiar
John Hagee:
- Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick. Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist.
Ouch
More bad news.
The unemployment rate rose from 5.7 to 6.1 percent in August, and non-
farm payroll employment continued to trend down (-84,000), the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Deep Thought
Death is too good for the person who put "my friends" on the McCain drinking game list.
Deep Thought From 1988 John McCain
- "I can't believe that a guy that handsome [Dan Quayle] wouldn't have an impact" on women voters, said Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Deep Thought
I'm pretty sure that whoever writes the episode titles for The Middleman also writes the song titles for Of Montreal.
Uppity
Gonna get even worse.
Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the racially-tinged term "uppity" to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.
Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama.
"Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity," Westmoreland said.
McCain's Secret Plan
So, for 7 years McCain has been sitting on his secret plan to capture Bin Laden, unwilling to tell anyone what it is.
That, my friends, is putting country first.
That, my friends, is putting country first.
SUPERTRAIN
Up to CA voters now.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who promised not to sign any bills until lawmakers reach a budget deal, reversed his position Tuesday and signed a measure for a statewide bullet train system that he strongly supports.
Community Organizers
I suppose it's an alien concept to people who lack community, but they're vital in many neighborhoods.
...since it appears some people don't know...
There isn't one job for community organizers, but generally they're advocates and mediators for people in their neighborhoods, both acting in the interest of their neighborhood in general and helping people and families at the more individual level. They work to get both city and nonprofit attention to the needs of the neighborhood, try to provide greater voice and representation for residents, they help people link up with information and programs they need, they help people deal with day to day bullshit when they get in over their heads (things like tax help, dealing with creditors, etc...). Sometimes organizing is more explicitly oriented to a specific goal, and sometimes it's just adding a bit of glue to hold a neighborhood together. People looking out for you and your neighborhood. Your local lobbyist.
...since it appears some people don't know...
There isn't one job for community organizers, but generally they're advocates and mediators for people in their neighborhoods, both acting in the interest of their neighborhood in general and helping people and families at the more individual level. They work to get both city and nonprofit attention to the needs of the neighborhood, try to provide greater voice and representation for residents, they help people link up with information and programs they need, they help people deal with day to day bullshit when they get in over their heads (things like tax help, dealing with creditors, etc...). Sometimes organizing is more explicitly oriented to a specific goal, and sometimes it's just adding a bit of glue to hold a neighborhood together. People looking out for you and your neighborhood. Your local lobbyist.
Thursday Is New Jobless Day
Ouch.
The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped by 15,000 last week, the government reported on Thursday, adding to signs of a weakening labor market.
Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits climbed to a seasonally adjusted 444,000 in the week ended Aug. 30 from a revised 429,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 425,000 claims, the same as the previously reported count for the prior week.
Doing Stuff
What our noble media missed about John McCain for a very long time is that it has been a long time since he actually spent any time thinking about the actual process of governance. He's been a TV pundit and general media asskisser for as long as I've been aware of him, and the rest of it hasn't much interested him. Is he lying or does he just not know what he's talking about? With wingnuts that's always the question, and the answer really doesn't matter all that much.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Mickey Kaus's Rules
If the Enquirer is reporting it, every other outlet must devote significant resources to verifying it.
Sock Puppetry
Indeed it is a bit weird to write the speech before knowing who would be delivering it.
Blind Squirrel
Byron York's Hair finds a nut.
Perhaps I'm focusing on an irrelevant issue, but the presence, or non-presence, of Johnston on the stage tonight strikes me as important. It's one thing for delegates to be understanding and compassionate about the fix these two teenagers have gotten themselves into. It's another to actually celebrate it. And, given what we've learned in the last few days, if Johnston is up on stage with his girlfriend and the Palin family, and Republicans are wildly cheering, it will certainly look like they are celebrating this situation.
I don't usually engage in these scenarios, but I'll do it here. If the Obamas had a 17 year-old daughter who was unmarried and pregnant by a tough-talking black kid, my guess is if that they all appeared onstage at a Democratic convention and the delegates were cheering wildly, a number of conservatives might be discussing the issue of dysfunctional black families.
Compassionate Conservatism
Palin style.
Just think about this one for a moment. Palin is rabidly anti-choice, wanting it to be illegal in all cases except when the mother's life is threatened. This is a program which provides housing for teen mothers "in need of a place to live," presumably due to the fact that their parents and sperm donors are somewhat less than supportive. Despite this, these young women choose (that word!) to have their babies. And the program which might give them, and their newborns, a place to live is something Palin cuts the funding for. Maybe they can go live with the bears.
- ST. PAUL -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.
Just think about this one for a moment. Palin is rabidly anti-choice, wanting it to be illegal in all cases except when the mother's life is threatened. This is a program which provides housing for teen mothers "in need of a place to live," presumably due to the fact that their parents and sperm donors are somewhat less than supportive. Despite this, these young women choose (that word!) to have their babies. And the program which might give them, and their newborns, a place to live is something Palin cuts the funding for. Maybe they can go live with the bears.
SHE LOATHES THEM
Who am I to question Robert Novak?
And, wait, didn't he announce his immediate retirement due to health reasons recently?
And, wait, didn't he announce his immediate retirement due to health reasons recently?
She Detests Earmarks
HATES THEM SHE DOES
PAUL, Minn. (AP) John McCain touts his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, as a force in his battle against earmarks and entrenched power brokers.
But under her leadership, Alaska has asked the federal government for almost $300 per person in requests for pet projects this year. That's more than any other state received, per person, from Congress and runs counter to the image the GOP ticket is pushing.
SUPERTRAIN
Now with extra internets.
Redline Communications Group Inc. ("Redline") (TSX and AIM: RDL), a leading provider of WiMAX and broadband wireless infrastructure products, today announced that Utah Transit Authority (UTA) has selected Redline's RedACCESS AN80i broadband wireless platform to provide passengers with free Wi-Fi access aboard UTA's new high speed commuter train.
Redline's AN80i point to multipoint products were deployed on 12 double-decker trains on the new 40 mile (64 km) FrontRunner commuter rail between Ogden City and Salt Lake City in Utah. The RedACCESS system was installed along the tracks at 0.5 to 2.5 mile intervals. The track-side units communicate with on-board units connected to Wi-Fi access points on each train. As the train passes along the 40 mile corridor, connections from one access point to another are handed off, providing passengers seamless high speed connectivity.
Abortion
Maybe I'm wrong, but my memory of Democratic politicians is that they approach the abortion issue with euphemisms and hints (choice! judges!) and do their best to shun the word itself.
“Let me tell you: If Roe vs. Wade is overturned, the lives and health of women will be put at risk. That's why this election is so important,” says the nurse-practitioner who narrates Obama’s ad. “John McCain's out of touch with women today. McCain wants to take away our right to choose. That's what women need to understand. That's how high the stakes are.”
An announcer then claims that “as president, John McCain will make abortion illegal,” before playing an exchange on "Meet the Press" in which McCain told moderator Tim Russert that he favors “a constitutional amendment to ban all abortions.”
“We can't let John McCain take away our right to choose. We can't let him take us back,” says the ad.
Creep thread
Now they admit it.
Of course, it's only Democrats that are ever guilty of "partisanship".
Feh.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Of course, it's only Democrats that are ever guilty of "partisanship".
Feh.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Name One
AP's Tom Raum:
Email and ask, politely, for him to name and quote a single liberal suggesting any such thing.
traum@ap.org
Many liberals are belittling the choice, suggesting that as a mother of five children — including an infant with Down syndrome — she has neither the time nor the experience to become vice president.
Email and ask, politely, for him to name and quote a single liberal suggesting any such thing.
traum@ap.org
Is He Still Talking?
IT HURTS ME
...a good window into the Villager brain was provided by Margaret Carlson when she did an "exit interview" of Thompson when he left the Senate. Here are the questions she asked, responses omitted.
...a good window into the Villager brain was provided by Margaret Carlson when she did an "exit interview" of Thompson when he left the Senate. Here are the questions she asked, responses omitted.
CARLSON: Senator Thompson, let me ask you the sad question first. Why are you leaving us?
CARLSON: And you didn't even -- you didn't even run on term limits, and you just went into the sunset.
CARLSON: What's the tipping point in a Washington scandal?
CARLSON: Many of us in the press and many of your colleagues thought you would run for president. Your good friend, John McCain, did. You never did. Why not? And will you ever?
CARLSON: Friendship's never stopped any ambitions in Washington.
CARLSON: You were too tall...
CARLSON: Now, who are you going to miss in the Senate?
CARLSON: You can have a club.
CARLSON: Any Democrats?
CARLSON: I hold the record for watching "Law and Order," reruns in particular!
CARLSON: So I know that...
CARLSON: I've been -- I've caught a few of the ones that you're now in. Are the writers accommodating a loquacious ex-senator?
CARLSON: And you would filibuster anyway.
CARLSON: Well, now that you're in that life, you're kind of a Hollywood actor, maybe your foreign policy views will be taken seriously.
Are you and Sean Penn -- are you going to join...
CARLSON: Oh. Are you going to join Sean Penn in Baghdad?
"Angry Left"
Uh, George, maybe you've missed it but we're actually having quite the party these days.
The Enquirer Rules Their World
Their rules, not mine.
- Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin attempted to quietly have her daughter Bristol get married before news of her pregnancy leaked out, the NATIONAL ENQUIRER is reporting exclusively in its new issue. Palin planned for the wedding to take place right after the Republican National Convention and then she was going to announce the pregnancy. But Bristol, 17, refused to go along with the plan and that sparked a mother-daughter showdown over the failed coverup.
They Are Family
According to MSNBC, the Palin kids were told their Ohio trip was to celebrate an anniversary. In the dark about the Veep announcement.
I try not to tell people how to parent their kids, but last night I said to Mrs. Atrios something along the lines of, "I don't know what goes on in their family, but at the very least if I had a pregnant teen daughter and I was asked to be a VP candidate I'd sit down with her and make sure that was ok."
I try not to tell people how to parent their kids, but last night I said to Mrs. Atrios something along the lines of, "I don't know what goes on in their family, but at the very least if I had a pregnant teen daughter and I was asked to be a VP candidate I'd sit down with her and make sure that was ok."
Book Banning
I'd heard the librarian story, but missed the book banning angle.
When conservatives speak of freedom, what the hell are they talking about?
Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." The librarian, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire her for not giving "full support" to the mayor.
When conservatives speak of freedom, what the hell are they talking about?
Alaskan Separatist
Colorful simile:
As part of their pushback against the charges of Lynette and Dexter Clark of the AIP, the McCain campaign says that Palin did not even attend the AIP convention in Wasilla in 1994.
...For her part, Ms. Clark -- a self-employed gold miner who wants Alaska to become an independent nation -- says that the McCain campaign pushback that Pain was never part of the AIP is "hooey."
"This is like a cat covering up crap in its litter box," she says.
17-30
Silly Amanda, your uterus shrivels into a raisin on your 30th birthday, which coincides precisely with the moment that you become so hideous that no manfolk will touch you.
She
The shame of Swarthmore, Will Saletan, spends a very long time considering the possibility that some other candidate daughters may have gotten pregnant and then (no, really), got "rid of the mess." Typically, it never occurs to Will Saletan to think about the possibility that the penises of candidate sons may have "messed up," too.
Deep Thought
Tonight's speaking lineup is a clear attempt to repair the rift between the GOP and Droopy Dog-Americans.
Who's Running This Show?
The disclosures about the lack of vetting provide a view of the real John McCain, as opposed to the media created figure of the BBQ Master. He's fundamentally not interested in actually running things. Governance itself is boring. The presidency would just be a long pageant in his honor. The most observant and prescient line of this election was written by Digby:
John McCain is the man George W. Bush was pretending to be, right down to the flight suit.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Simple Answers To Simple Questions
K-Tee asks:
No.
This has been another edition of of simple answers to simple questions.
Would Sally Quinn write this if the candidate in question were the father, not the mother?
No.
This has been another edition of of simple answers to simple questions.
Going Forward
The Editors has the solution.
- Remember MEChA? Obama, al-Qaeda cat’s paw? Sully’s fifth column? It’s all here, folks, and it would be irresponsible not to speculate about the links between this and John McCain’s VC Manchurian Candidate problem. The only thing McCain can do to fix the situation is to literally throw Gov. Palin under the wheels of a speeding bus and then recruit Jeff Gannon to replace her. It’s the only way to keep this momentum going.
Chrome
I find Internet Explorer to be almost unusable, but curious what Google hopes to gain by challenging Firefox.
- This time, Microsoft’s opponent is Google, a familiar foe. On Tuesday, Google will release a free Web browser called Chrome that the company said would challenge Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, as well as the Firefox browser.
Thanks
To all those with the keys who have been jumping in recently. Comments volume has exploded recently, and try as I might I just can't manage to be here every 70 minutes or so 20 hours per day.
Amy Goodman and others arrested at RNC
I was going to link to Firedoglake about this since they've been covering it, but at the moment I can't get the page to load, but there's YouTube and Technorati links for the story.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
Palin Lawyers Up
Time to start a candidacy dead pool?
JUNEAU, Alaska -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP vice presidential candidate, has hired a private practice attorney to defend her and members of her staff in the investigation into the firing of her public safety commissioner.
Fresh Thread
Abstaining from Bill Bennett is the most effective method of maintaining one's sanity.
Although I do believe I just saw Wolf Blitzer demonstrate a vestigial spine.
Although I do believe I just saw Wolf Blitzer demonstrate a vestigial spine.
Choices
What does it mean when the candidates who want to coerce every pregnant woman into having the baby release a statement designed to reassure us that this particular woman wasn't coerced.
But Policy Matters
And the consequences of being against contraception distribution and pro-abstinence only education are rather obvious.
Poor Thing
I hope the media largely gives Bristol Palin the privacy she should be entitled to. Her mother is the candidate, not her.
At Least The War Is Over
Reed Hundt, April '07.
I highlight quotes like this because there has been, since after the '04 election, this weird faith in the fact that electoral politics would cause the Iraq war to magically end itself. Some things are just more powerful than popular opinion.
Other Republicans, especially those in the Senate and the House, will find that they simply cannot stay in support of this occupation through November 08. The White House won't like to bring the troop force down, but they will have to start that process before the election. And the Democrats will be obliged to continue to press for withdrawal. All that because of popular opinion. Democracy, for all its flaws, has one big thing going for it: the people feel empowered, and that makes their opinions valuable.
I highlight quotes like this because there has been, since after the '04 election, this weird faith in the fact that electoral politics would cause the Iraq war to magically end itself. Some things are just more powerful than popular opinion.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Facts Are Stupid Things
Wonder how long John McCain will keep lying about this.
When John McCain introduced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate Friday, her reputation as a tough-minded budget-cutter was front and center.
"I told Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere," Palin told the cheering McCain crowd, referring to Ketchikan's Gravina Island bridge.
But Palin was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it.
As With Katrina
If things hit the fan there will be a big push to blame the victims, those who were unwilling and unable to leave for various reasons. Some are too poor, too sick, too disabled, too old. And, yes, probably some are just stupid. But in any area, especially one with sizable poverty levels, there are always going to be people who don't perceive that they have the ability and resources to evacuate.
Don't Talk About The Oil
Apparently Sarah Palin is a left wing conspiracy nut who doesn't buy into the George Bush/Fred Hiatt line about freeance and peeance.
Republicans Get Stupider Each Day
I suppose by this reasoning, McCain's proximity to Mexico makes him personally responsible for the failure to secure the border. EPIC FAIL.
Thwarting The SUPERTRAIN
Judging from my experiences in Boston and Denver, the secret service, or whoever else is in charge of logistics and security, is no fan of SUPERTRAINS near political conventions. Both Boston and Denver shut down the nearby stops, so I'm not sure this matters much.
DENVER – As she walked the Pepsi Center grounds in the midst of the Democratic National Convention, Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia appeared convinced: Dallas should host this event in 2012.
...
Dallas' transportation and event capabilities, although already robust by national standards among the country's larger cities, will be even more so four years from now.
For example, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light-rail system will have opened a third line that will include a stop at Dallas Love Field and regular service to American Airlines Center.
Soulmate
As I wrote to a few people yesterday in email, I think Palin's on the ticket because McCain's an old guy with a crush.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Document the atrocities, in case you haven't already. Apparently I'm still on Mountain time.
Tap Tap Tap
Larry Craig has arrived for the convention and would like your attention for the morning wood thread.
Our Very Serious Leader
New Orleans residents will no doubt be reassured by the manly confidence with which he holds this very important folder.
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