Consensus and Deviancy

Jay Rosen discusses the conventional wisdom generation and status quo perpetuation machine that is our elite political-media industrial complex.

I think the most fascinating thing is how willfully blind many journalists are about this stuff. I don't know if they really can't see it, or if it's in their interest to pretend to not to see it. Either way.

Local Notes

We seemed to have settled in permanently to the new Philadelphia Center City Drinking Liberally, Triumph Brewing Co., 117 Chestnut St., every Tuesday 6-9pm. Conveniently located by the 2nd st. stop on the Market-Frankford subway/El. $3 beer (all kinds), $4 wine, etc. I haven't been in a couple of weeks, but last I was there we were upstairs so look for us there if you can't find us downstairs.

SUPERTRAIN

Since over time the sources of my little inside jokes get a bit obscure, SUPERTRAIN is not actually a reference to the one time most expensive television show ever produced, but instead the derailed (ha ha) commuter rail project that Campbell Scott's character was working on in the movie Singles.

Monsters

As I said yesterday, with America's new honesty at least now the monsters can be named.

SUPERTRAINS

All good people should register at change.gov and vote up the SUPERTRAINS.

Prosecuting The Schloz

Obviously he should be prosecuted, though it's unlikely given that we live in the post-accountability era. Still I'm curious. If the prosecutions come will Ruth Marcus and the gang write hand-wringing articles about how horrible this is, or are such treatises reserved for people of higher pay grades.

Just Obeying Orders

What's absurd isn't that the National Association of Realtors tended to be publicly optimistic about housing prices, what's absurd is that journalists regularly went to them fore quotes and forecasting as if they didn't have any skin in the game.

Record Import Plunge

As all good economists "know," one day our trade gap will have to shrink. But hopefully it shrinks, in part, because exports increase, not because imports plunge and exports fall.

The U.S. trade deficit shrank 28.7 percent in November, the biggest contraction in 12 years, as weak consumer demand and plummeting oil prices caused a record drop in imports, a U.S. Commerce Department report showed Tuesday.

The $40.4 billion trade gap in November was the lowest in five years and much lower than expected. Wall Street analyst had expected the trade gap to narrow to around $51.3 billion, from a downwardly revised $56.7 billion in October.

U.S. imports in November fell a record 12 percent to $183.2 billion, as the global financial crisis scared businesses and consumers into cutting their spending.

Morning Coffee Thread

Late Night

Rock on.

Occasionally Something Brings Me Back

Email Storms

When this happens you want to kill people, especially when the list is filled with academics who think the world needs to hear their repeated thoughts on why this is a bad thing.

Even More Thread

Enjoy.

Dinner Thread

Enjoy

And A Weary Nation Cheered

Good riddance, asshat.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush will deliver a televised farewell address to the American people on Thursday night, the White House said.

Apologies to finer asshats everywhere.

Still Not Sure What That Was All About

Oh well.

Democratic Senate Officials Certify Roland Burris, Will Be Seated Later This Week

Maybe Set Off Some Fireworks?

8 days left of this absurd tiny man.

One thing Bush hadn't shared previously was his thinking about Hurricane Katrina, which up until the financial crisis was seen as his biggest domestic failure.

"I've thought long and hard about Katrina; you know, could I have done something differently," he said. Like what? "[L]ike land Air Force One either in New Orleans or Baton Rouge."

Wanker of the Day

Arlen Specter.

Lunch Thread

enjoy.

Obama's Money Now

Maybe they can spend some of it to find out what happened to the first $350 billion.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House says President George W. Bush has asked Congress to release the remaining $350 billion intended to help the nation deal with its financial crisis.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said Bush acted on a request of President-elect Barack Obama. She said the Bush White House will continue working with Obama's transition team and with Congress on how best to proceed on the release of the money.

The idea is to make the money available to the new administration shortly after Obama takes office Jan. 20. The unpopular bailout has featured unconditional infusions of money into financial institutions that have done little to account for it.