It's dawned upon Robert Reich that all them ig'nrant, gun-totin', Bahble-thumpin, never-went-to-Harvard-but-can-read-the-Constitution, AstroTurfin, TeaBaggin', 8/28-attendin', tri-corner-hat, hand-lettered-sign-totin' people, and their friends and families, are alllllll showing up to vote on Tuesday, and that Tuesday is just the beginning, not the end, of the process.
His contempt for all those little people is unabated, but his dismissiveness has, well, turned into open worry.
What if those cretins actually reassert the rights of the states, because they will also be voting in state legislators from their own ranks?
What if they disassemble the IRS?
And the welfare state?
What if they decide that (OMG! OMG! OMG!) they need not pay the salaries of academics at state universities who despise them, like Robert Reich, who assume that the legislature will just keep sending money, no matter how badly they act? What if they decide not to spend money on degree programs in Wimmen's Studies, Queer Sociology, Ethnic History Studies, Ebonics, or any of the plethora of useless/politically-correct liberal arts offerings and special offices that have supplanted useful things like Classics, Ancient Languages, Modern Languages, etc. OMG! OMG!
What if they disassemble the IRS? (Oops, did that one already, but it's worth repeating. If you take away the money and power from the ruling elites, they have to find honest work out in the real world...)
What if they break the umbilical cord between the large corporations and the Federal Government, especially the large banks?
What if they insist the Supreme Court be comprised of justices drawn from schools other than Harvard or Yale?
What if they insist that we face the reality that we can't have a viable government if we have porous borders?
What if they insist that people who aren't citizens can't vote? Or that felons shouldn't vote?
Reich attempts, one final time, to explain it away:
Under normal times ideas like these wouldn’t gain much public traction. Why are they now? Because of the continuing effects of the Great Recession. History has shown that people threatened by losses of jobs, wages, homes, and savings are easy prey for demagogues who turn those fears into anger directed at major institutions of a society, as well as individuals and minorities who become easy scapegoats – immigrants, foreign traders, particular religious groups. Were it not for their ongoing economic stresses, Americans wouldn’t be receptive to abolishing the Federal Reserve and the IRS, or believe government and big business were conspiring against them, or turn nativist and isolationist.
It's the old 'ignorant rabble' theory. No need to worry, after all, right?
Robert Reich has reason to worry. The world he has inhabited, where everyone holds at least an M.A. from an Ivy, where everyone transitions seamlessly from government to academia to corporate boards and back again, an endless life of influence and cash flow, with almost no accountability, is now about to change, irrevocably.
He thought Obama would finally set it in stone for him and his tribe.
He didn't count on another tribe getting itself organized, without permission.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Spin, Spin, Spin--Until The Spin Stops Working: Memphis TN-9 Congressional Race
It appears that Charlotte Bergmann, the GOP candidate for TN-9, the Congressional seat for Memphis, may truly be poised to upset Steve Cohen, the Democratic incumbent.
Charlotte is the Democrats' nightmare: She's black, she's accompished, she's conservative, she's a church lady, and she's--well--a she. And she ain't skeered of nobody.
Memphis has been a virtual Democrat plantation for decades, dating back to its founding by Andrew Jackson, one of the founders of the Democratic Party, and Boss Crump, who ran the place for nearly four decades. He was succeeded by the Ford family, famous for its mortuary and funeral business, and its curious habit of voting the dead. Wonder how that happened, huh? The patriarch, John, is still serving out his sentence for selling his office of State Senator to undercover FBI agents with a briefcase of cash. They had him on video for the trial. He also raised eyebrows when he emptied his 9mm into a lorry that pissed him off one day on I-40, if memory serves.
It is also one of America's most blighted, violent, and racially divided cities. Portions are just fabulously beautiful, but so many who could escape to the eastern suburbs did just that. Memphis is a place unto itself, its own state of being.
It may be just about to wake up to what the welfare state has done to it.
This from The Memphis Commercial Appeal from last week.
It doesn't take a degree in political science or expertise in demography to understand the challenge Democrats find themselves facing after the first four days of early voting: Matching the energy and motivation of traditional Republican voters for the Nov. 2 elections is again proving difficult after an August election that was disastrous for local Democrats.
This time around, the results could reverberate well beyond Shelby County borders to the respective Capitol Hills in Nashville and Washington.
The data made available by the Shelby County Election Commission from the first three days of early voting (Wednesday through Friday) show that of the 15,600 people who cast early ballots, 8,623 were categorized as registered white voters, or 55.3 percent of the overall total -- a stunning number considering that white people make up just 29.8 percent of the county's 603,070 registered voters.
Compare that to ballots cast by 3,033 registered black voters, or just 19.4 percent of the total for the group that records show account for 34.4 percent of the county's electorate.
Hmmm....and a goodly number of those black voters could well be voting for Ms. Bergmann!
Soooo...the Machine has really ratcheted up the ground game, and Himself has dispatched Cabinet members to campaign in Memphis. Nobody used to bother, 'cuz Memphis was a Democrat plantation. In other words, they have reason to worry.
Now, remember the spin? How this election isn't about Obama? Well, let's check in with the Dems campaigning in Memphis:
The big Republican numbers came despite a week of strong Democratic organizing, according to county chairman Van Turner. Democrats had a big rally Tuesday night in conjunction with President Barack Obama's political arm, Organizing for America, that included popular Memphis Mayor A C Wharton and two top White House cabinet-level officials -- Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and U.S. trade representative Ron Kirk.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike McWherter also greatly increased his presence here last week, including participating on phone banking Saturday.
Turner acknowledged that "the energy is on the Republicans' side," which he ascribed to "hatred and fear" of national Democratic leaders.
"We're trying to tell people that they went to the polls in record numbers in 2008 and they should not sit this one out," Turner said. "We say that a vote from you this election is a vote for the president."
Did ya'll catch that last line?
"We say that a vote from you this election is a vote for the president."
That first pronoun of the sentence is in the plural, ya'll.
'We'.
As the day approaches, the veneer begins to slip away. The spin jest won't pass the sniff test no moh'.
If you're a registered voter in Memphis, and you love your city, this is the best opportunity in years to break the back of the machine that has victimized your town for so long. It's a way to break the back of the racial polarization that the machine has fed and exploited in order to remain in power.
Even if Charlotte doesn't win, but has a good showing, your vote for her sends the message that timez iz changed, and bizness az uzual jest won't do no moh'.
Howz'at foh sum Hope-n-Change, ya'll?
Charlotte is the Democrats' nightmare: She's black, she's accompished, she's conservative, she's a church lady, and she's--well--a she. And she ain't skeered of nobody.
Memphis has been a virtual Democrat plantation for decades, dating back to its founding by Andrew Jackson, one of the founders of the Democratic Party, and Boss Crump, who ran the place for nearly four decades. He was succeeded by the Ford family, famous for its mortuary and funeral business, and its curious habit of voting the dead. Wonder how that happened, huh? The patriarch, John, is still serving out his sentence for selling his office of State Senator to undercover FBI agents with a briefcase of cash. They had him on video for the trial. He also raised eyebrows when he emptied his 9mm into a lorry that pissed him off one day on I-40, if memory serves.
It is also one of America's most blighted, violent, and racially divided cities. Portions are just fabulously beautiful, but so many who could escape to the eastern suburbs did just that. Memphis is a place unto itself, its own state of being.
It may be just about to wake up to what the welfare state has done to it.
This from The Memphis Commercial Appeal from last week.
It doesn't take a degree in political science or expertise in demography to understand the challenge Democrats find themselves facing after the first four days of early voting: Matching the energy and motivation of traditional Republican voters for the Nov. 2 elections is again proving difficult after an August election that was disastrous for local Democrats.
This time around, the results could reverberate well beyond Shelby County borders to the respective Capitol Hills in Nashville and Washington.
The data made available by the Shelby County Election Commission from the first three days of early voting (Wednesday through Friday) show that of the 15,600 people who cast early ballots, 8,623 were categorized as registered white voters, or 55.3 percent of the overall total -- a stunning number considering that white people make up just 29.8 percent of the county's 603,070 registered voters.
Compare that to ballots cast by 3,033 registered black voters, or just 19.4 percent of the total for the group that records show account for 34.4 percent of the county's electorate.
Hmmm....and a goodly number of those black voters could well be voting for Ms. Bergmann!
Soooo...the Machine has really ratcheted up the ground game, and Himself has dispatched Cabinet members to campaign in Memphis. Nobody used to bother, 'cuz Memphis was a Democrat plantation. In other words, they have reason to worry.
Now, remember the spin? How this election isn't about Obama? Well, let's check in with the Dems campaigning in Memphis:
The big Republican numbers came despite a week of strong Democratic organizing, according to county chairman Van Turner. Democrats had a big rally Tuesday night in conjunction with President Barack Obama's political arm, Organizing for America, that included popular Memphis Mayor A C Wharton and two top White House cabinet-level officials -- Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and U.S. trade representative Ron Kirk.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike McWherter also greatly increased his presence here last week, including participating on phone banking Saturday.
Turner acknowledged that "the energy is on the Republicans' side," which he ascribed to "hatred and fear" of national Democratic leaders.
"We're trying to tell people that they went to the polls in record numbers in 2008 and they should not sit this one out," Turner said. "We say that a vote from you this election is a vote for the president."
Did ya'll catch that last line?
"We say that a vote from you this election is a vote for the president."
That first pronoun of the sentence is in the plural, ya'll.
'We'.
As the day approaches, the veneer begins to slip away. The spin jest won't pass the sniff test no moh'.
If you're a registered voter in Memphis, and you love your city, this is the best opportunity in years to break the back of the machine that has victimized your town for so long. It's a way to break the back of the racial polarization that the machine has fed and exploited in order to remain in power.
Even if Charlotte doesn't win, but has a good showing, your vote for her sends the message that timez iz changed, and bizness az uzual jest won't do no moh'.
Howz'at foh sum Hope-n-Change, ya'll?
Dear Messrs. Fincher And Herron: TN-8 Congressional Race
It seems presumptuous to write an open letter from behind the screen of a non-de-plume, but honestly, this writer's identity doesn't matter.
He and Mrs. OS, very reluctantly, voted for Mr. Fincher. They met the man during the primary at a restaurant where he was glad-handing, and had a conversation with him. To his credit, he sat down and talked, and was attentive. It was difficult to talk with him on the most basic subject of all, the true overriding ethical issue of our age, which is the public debt, and the fact that we will hand our children and grandchildren a country that resembles Argentina under the Peróns unless this is addressed. He wanted to talk about being pro-gun/pro-life/pro-military/pro-family, etc., the entire talking points list of the Religious Right, as well as the entire talking points list of the RNC. Here's what we couldn't get him to address directly that day:
(HT to Denninger at Market Ticker--look to your right, and you'll find him, America's Jeremiah of the 21st century.)
We're not even certain Mr. Fincher knows where Argentina is, or who Juan and Evita Perón were, or the damage they did to a once-great country. And, we asked the restaurant owner last week: Mr. Fincher has never made a return visit to our humble town, here on the outskirts of TN-8.
The only reason Mr. and Mrs. OS voted for Mr. Fincher is that we cannot survive as a country with Barack Obama in the White House and a Democrat majority in the House of Representatives.
Period.
So, here goes.
Gentlemen:
You are both very good men in your own way, and arrive to next Tuesday from very different paths. Both of you are family men, and are as morally upright as they come. Honestly, we're probably in good hands with either one of you.
But, as admirable as all that is, and as pious Christians we know you both to be, unless the problem posed by that graphic above is addressed, the other questions could become moot: Family life is already falling apart, the marriage rate will plummet, the military could be put in a position of having a much greater role than the Constitution ever contemplated; and yes, we'll be armed to the teeth, out of necessity.
It's not about Liberal/Conservative or GOP/Democrat. It's about math. We cannot continue this way, and survive. The entitlement programs of Medicare, Social Security, and the effects of the health care 'reform' that will kick in beginning 2014 will swamp the culture and economy. The money must come from somewhere, and even this economy cannot generate the revenues to sustain the system in place. That's not even accounting for emergencies, such as major hurricanes, earthquakes, oil spills, a major terrorist hit, a major war, or some other outside event like Europe melting down.
It's about math. We need sober grownups in charge. Obama and company do not qualify. Neither did his predecessors post-1989. It will be up to whomever of you wins, sitting on your back bench, shuttled off to obscure committees dealing with issues with which you have no experience or interest. You'll have to stand up and scream 'NO' when the Speaker wants to spend the next 40 billion on a pile of pork on a voice vote at 10 p.m. on a Friday night. It's about math, and courage.
An old friend tells a wonderful joke, with a proverb imbedded. Goes like this:
A young man asks for the following Monday off from work, telling his boss he's the best man at a Polish wedding in another city. Boss agrees, and wishes him safe travels.
A week late, the young man returns to work, looking like he has been run over by a truck--hung over, bloodshot eyes, exhausted, and relieved to be home. The boss demands--'You're a week late! What happened!
Young man replies: It was a Polish wedding. I had no idea. They hold a raffle at Polish weddings, and I won second prize.
Boss: Second prize?
Young man: Yeah, second prize is I get to take the bride out on the honeymoon, the cruise, the bedroom, the whole nine yards. It was exhausting. It was traumatic. I'm so grateful to be home, even if you fire me.
Boss: So, if that's second prize, what's the Grand Prize?
Young man: A canned ham.
Best wishes to the winner. If you lose, consider that Providence has done you a favor.
If you win, print up that graph, frame it, and set it on your desk. It's the only thing that deserves your undivided attention at work.
OS
He and Mrs. OS, very reluctantly, voted for Mr. Fincher. They met the man during the primary at a restaurant where he was glad-handing, and had a conversation with him. To his credit, he sat down and talked, and was attentive. It was difficult to talk with him on the most basic subject of all, the true overriding ethical issue of our age, which is the public debt, and the fact that we will hand our children and grandchildren a country that resembles Argentina under the Peróns unless this is addressed. He wanted to talk about being pro-gun/pro-life/pro-military/pro-family, etc., the entire talking points list of the Religious Right, as well as the entire talking points list of the RNC. Here's what we couldn't get him to address directly that day:
(HT to Denninger at Market Ticker--look to your right, and you'll find him, America's Jeremiah of the 21st century.)
We're not even certain Mr. Fincher knows where Argentina is, or who Juan and Evita Perón were, or the damage they did to a once-great country. And, we asked the restaurant owner last week: Mr. Fincher has never made a return visit to our humble town, here on the outskirts of TN-8.
The only reason Mr. and Mrs. OS voted for Mr. Fincher is that we cannot survive as a country with Barack Obama in the White House and a Democrat majority in the House of Representatives.
Period.
So, here goes.
Gentlemen:
You are both very good men in your own way, and arrive to next Tuesday from very different paths. Both of you are family men, and are as morally upright as they come. Honestly, we're probably in good hands with either one of you.
But, as admirable as all that is, and as pious Christians we know you both to be, unless the problem posed by that graphic above is addressed, the other questions could become moot: Family life is already falling apart, the marriage rate will plummet, the military could be put in a position of having a much greater role than the Constitution ever contemplated; and yes, we'll be armed to the teeth, out of necessity.
It's not about Liberal/Conservative or GOP/Democrat. It's about math. We cannot continue this way, and survive. The entitlement programs of Medicare, Social Security, and the effects of the health care 'reform' that will kick in beginning 2014 will swamp the culture and economy. The money must come from somewhere, and even this economy cannot generate the revenues to sustain the system in place. That's not even accounting for emergencies, such as major hurricanes, earthquakes, oil spills, a major terrorist hit, a major war, or some other outside event like Europe melting down.
It's about math. We need sober grownups in charge. Obama and company do not qualify. Neither did his predecessors post-1989. It will be up to whomever of you wins, sitting on your back bench, shuttled off to obscure committees dealing with issues with which you have no experience or interest. You'll have to stand up and scream 'NO' when the Speaker wants to spend the next 40 billion on a pile of pork on a voice vote at 10 p.m. on a Friday night. It's about math, and courage.
An old friend tells a wonderful joke, with a proverb imbedded. Goes like this:
A young man asks for the following Monday off from work, telling his boss he's the best man at a Polish wedding in another city. Boss agrees, and wishes him safe travels.
A week late, the young man returns to work, looking like he has been run over by a truck--hung over, bloodshot eyes, exhausted, and relieved to be home. The boss demands--'You're a week late! What happened!
Young man replies: It was a Polish wedding. I had no idea. They hold a raffle at Polish weddings, and I won second prize.
Boss: Second prize?
Young man: Yeah, second prize is I get to take the bride out on the honeymoon, the cruise, the bedroom, the whole nine yards. It was exhausting. It was traumatic. I'm so grateful to be home, even if you fire me.
Boss: So, if that's second prize, what's the Grand Prize?
Young man: A canned ham.
Best wishes to the winner. If you lose, consider that Providence has done you a favor.
If you win, print up that graph, frame it, and set it on your desk. It's the only thing that deserves your undivided attention at work.
OS
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Remember That Truism About Free Lunches?...House Purchase Tax Credits
As OS noted before, if you pull demand forward now, it caves in later.
With the expiration of all those car-dealer-like 'incentives' from Congress, e.g. 'Buy a house and we'll throw money at you.', demand has made a dramatic decline, and prices are not far behind. OS's good buddy the realtor, who is one hell of a great realtor, now finds himself with plenty of time for golf. 'Cuz ain't nobody buyin' no houses.
Don't take OS' word for it--he's just a know-nuthin' rube who don't know what's good fer 'im, cuz he harbors suspicions that ThePeopleInChargeOfSuchThings are clueless, and completely uninterested in learning. Hey, they got doctorates. They must be smart!
This from today's Economist:
THE storm clouds have been gathering for months. Almost immediately after the expiration of the government's tax credit for homebuyers, it became clear that American housing market stability had been remarkably dependent on the generous subsidy. Data on mortgage applications for purchase and new and existing home sales attested to a striking contraction in housing market activity. And eventually prices began to follow. In July, both of the national home price indexes published by S&P/Case-Shiller ticked downward after rising for much of the previous year. Data released this morning indicated that declines accelerated in August.
OS's other buddies who used to build all the houses they could say grace over are now scrambling for remodel and maintenance jobs. One hasn't built a house in two years. He'll be painting OS's old pickup this winter, and the other will be doing some overdue work here on the house. The inventory of really fine houses on the market stretches for months, and there's a lot more mediocre and unsalable inventory behind that.
And what about those 'lucky' homebuyers who bought a house at a price inflated by a tax subsidy that pulled them forward into the purchase? The tax credit is a one-time hit on the crack pipe. The mortgage lasts thirty years, and the house will be well underwater this time next year. The job goes away, or relocates, or, or, or...
There is no free lunch. Never has been. Never will be. Because math is math. Only when the free market freely sorts out valuation will a recovery begin in housing. Until then, buyers are taking out thirty-year mortgages on a crap shoot. Appetite for risk, anyone?
We have a government full of people who either lied or were self-deluded, claiming they could create The Free Lunch, like the alchemists of old creating gold from straw, or the Bernie Madoffs of today, creating 10% returns for years on end, when everyone else was scrambling for 6%.
As OS's British friends say: This will end in tears.
With the expiration of all those car-dealer-like 'incentives' from Congress, e.g. 'Buy a house and we'll throw money at you.', demand has made a dramatic decline, and prices are not far behind. OS's good buddy the realtor, who is one hell of a great realtor, now finds himself with plenty of time for golf. 'Cuz ain't nobody buyin' no houses.
Don't take OS' word for it--he's just a know-nuthin' rube who don't know what's good fer 'im, cuz he harbors suspicions that ThePeopleInChargeOfSuchThings are clueless, and completely uninterested in learning. Hey, they got doctorates. They must be smart!
This from today's Economist:
THE storm clouds have been gathering for months. Almost immediately after the expiration of the government's tax credit for homebuyers, it became clear that American housing market stability had been remarkably dependent on the generous subsidy. Data on mortgage applications for purchase and new and existing home sales attested to a striking contraction in housing market activity. And eventually prices began to follow. In July, both of the national home price indexes published by S&P/Case-Shiller ticked downward after rising for much of the previous year. Data released this morning indicated that declines accelerated in August.
OS's other buddies who used to build all the houses they could say grace over are now scrambling for remodel and maintenance jobs. One hasn't built a house in two years. He'll be painting OS's old pickup this winter, and the other will be doing some overdue work here on the house. The inventory of really fine houses on the market stretches for months, and there's a lot more mediocre and unsalable inventory behind that.
And what about those 'lucky' homebuyers who bought a house at a price inflated by a tax subsidy that pulled them forward into the purchase? The tax credit is a one-time hit on the crack pipe. The mortgage lasts thirty years, and the house will be well underwater this time next year. The job goes away, or relocates, or, or, or...
There is no free lunch. Never has been. Never will be. Because math is math. Only when the free market freely sorts out valuation will a recovery begin in housing. Until then, buyers are taking out thirty-year mortgages on a crap shoot. Appetite for risk, anyone?
We have a government full of people who either lied or were self-deluded, claiming they could create The Free Lunch, like the alchemists of old creating gold from straw, or the Bernie Madoffs of today, creating 10% returns for years on end, when everyone else was scrambling for 6%.
As OS's British friends say: This will end in tears.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Work, Work, Work, Work/Love, Love, Love, Love
Quickly, got much work to do today, so can't sit around and chew the fat.
But this is really a fabulous article posted at Acton Institute.
Enjoy, share, and tell yoh' friends how you found it.
But this is really a fabulous article posted at Acton Institute.
Enjoy, share, and tell yoh' friends how you found it.
TN-8 Congressional Race: Q & A From Each Candidate
An interesting Q & A article with responses from each candidate.
Fincher is a Tea Party endorsed GOP nominee.
Herron is a classic Blue Dog Democrat.
Two independents, who also add food for thought.
If reading from overseas, it's worth exploring to get a sense of the debate and the local flavor. The questions are pretty clear and specific, so everyone had to behave like a grownup and submit some clear and specific answers.
OS hopes this is helpful.
The thing is, ya'll, whoever wins is in for one hell of a bad time in his new job. If Roy wins, the left-edge socialists who run the place will make him a pariah, and have in fact already. Roy knows how to do math, and they'll despise him for it if he attempts to do it in D.C. They just think Uncle Ben will print up a bunch of fresh money for them any time they need it.
If Fincher wins, he'll have to learn how to say 'Hell, no' when John Boehner cooks his next side of pork, and he'll end up as a pariah as well. And he's got all the nut-job Religious Right fundamentalists all over his ass, demanding he spend his time beating up Disney or some other such nonsense. Good luck with that, bubbah Steve.
Either way, the BIG issue is the fact that our government has pointed our culture over the fiscal cliff over the past fifty years, and has floored the accelerator.
Argentina, move over, unless enough people in Congress act like grown-ups, finally.
It's gonna get painful, no matter what.
Fincher is a Tea Party endorsed GOP nominee.
Herron is a classic Blue Dog Democrat.
Two independents, who also add food for thought.
If reading from overseas, it's worth exploring to get a sense of the debate and the local flavor. The questions are pretty clear and specific, so everyone had to behave like a grownup and submit some clear and specific answers.
OS hopes this is helpful.
The thing is, ya'll, whoever wins is in for one hell of a bad time in his new job. If Roy wins, the left-edge socialists who run the place will make him a pariah, and have in fact already. Roy knows how to do math, and they'll despise him for it if he attempts to do it in D.C. They just think Uncle Ben will print up a bunch of fresh money for them any time they need it.
If Fincher wins, he'll have to learn how to say 'Hell, no' when John Boehner cooks his next side of pork, and he'll end up as a pariah as well. And he's got all the nut-job Religious Right fundamentalists all over his ass, demanding he spend his time beating up Disney or some other such nonsense. Good luck with that, bubbah Steve.
Either way, the BIG issue is the fact that our government has pointed our culture over the fiscal cliff over the past fifty years, and has floored the accelerator.
Argentina, move over, unless enough people in Congress act like grown-ups, finally.
It's gonna get painful, no matter what.
OldSouth 's Economic Epiphany: DaFed Undertakes QE Round 2
Epiphanies arrive uninvited, unexpected, and sometimes resemble a good ole-fashioned slap upside da head.
Today's WSJ coverage of DaFed's newest effort to save civilization was one of those moments. An epiphany.
The Federal Reserve is close to embarking on another round of monetary stimulus next week, against the backdrop of a weak economy and low inflation—and despite doubts about the wisdom and efficacy of the policy among economists and some of the Fed's own decision makers.
The skies opened, the angels sang, the sun peeked above the eastern horizon, bathing OS in the light of revealed wisdom:
Damn! So THAT's how it's done! (Sound of palm slapping forehead in amazement.) I just sit at my computer, and CREATE money to go buy stuff with! Silly me...
Today's WSJ coverage of DaFed's newest effort to save civilization was one of those moments. An epiphany.
The Federal Reserve is close to embarking on another round of monetary stimulus next week, against the backdrop of a weak economy and low inflation—and despite doubts about the wisdom and efficacy of the policy among economists and some of the Fed's own decision makers.
The skies opened, the angels sang, the sun peeked above the eastern horizon, bathing OS in the light of revealed wisdom:
Damn! So THAT's how it's done! (Sound of palm slapping forehead in amazement.) I just sit at my computer, and CREATE money to go buy stuff with! Silly me...
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Welcome Back, Lord Lavendon
After a summer hiatus, Lord Lavendon returns to enlighten us all with his clear thinking and erudition.
Welcome back! You were missed!
All ya'll need to pay him a visit.
Welcome back! You were missed!
All ya'll need to pay him a visit.
To Evry'thing, Spin-Spin-Spin....
...there is a season, spin-spin-spin;
and a spin for ev'ry screw-up under Heaven.
(OS can still hear the Byrds sing.)
This time, it's Robert Reich. He has reason to engage in pre-election spinning of results that are going to be dire for his posse. After all, he is one of the brain trust who advised the Obama transition team on matters economic, before returning to the safety of academia. That could have turned out better, one concludes...
His spin is: Well, people gets all upset in the first two years of a presidency, and besides presidents don't have that much say in how economies fare. and besides those Wascally Wepubwikans are meeeeannnn, shallow, authoritarian types, not enlightened and easygoing like us nice Democrats, so any thought of Himself changing anything should be banished from His Most Precious Mind, because those voters don't know nuthin' anyway. Just ignore those rubes. You izzz Da Wan!
Fer instance:
By the first midterm the public is almost always grouchy because the president wasn’t a messiah and didn’t change the world. No single president has that kind of power. The higher the expectations for change at the start of an administration, the greater the disillusionment.
Well, Bubbah Bobby, who-da-hell whipped up all them expectations? He Himself spoke of Himself in messianic language, if memory serves. Remember the iconic 'Hope' posters that seemed to pop up everywhere? The speech in Berlin, where he tried to portray himself as the new Kennedy? The journey to Washington that recreated Lincoln's journey to Washington? Starting off yoh' Presidency by printin' up and spendin' some 800 billion bucks, takin' over GM and Chrysler and handing them to the UAW and Fiat respectively? Remember that? All them shuttered-up car dealers? All that shit wuz DELIBERATE, Bubbah. Then there's that unemployment thang. Remember how Himself promised it would go below 8% if He got to spend Him 800 billion dollars to kick things off? Need any more 'xamples, or iz that enuf fer yew?
And youze surprahzed when people gets all pissed-off and stuff when things go so profoundly sour? What are you folks in Kuhlifornia smokin' after all? That there meth stuff will mess yo' brain up fer shure. Then there's all that Kool-Aid consumption--that don't help neither.
And there's this loo-loo:
Republicans think in terms of simple ideas, themes, and movements. It’s far harder to reverse course on these (look what happened to the first George Bush when he raised taxes), and easier to keep them alive: Republican presidents just continue looking for opportunities to implement them.
Republicans are also more disciplined (ask yourself which party attracts authoritarian personalities and which attracts anti-authoritarians). This makes it easier for them to stay the course. Their base continues to organize and fulminate even after midterm defeats. Democrats, on the other hand, are less organized. Electoral defeats tend to fracture and dissipate whatever organization they have.
Republicans are cynical about politics from the jump. Political cynicism fuels them. Democrats are idealistic about politics. When they become cynical they tend to drop out.
Well, at least he's candid about his contempt of the people who disagree with him and Himself. But, as OS has noted, candor can be dangerous.
So, does Reich get canned for his candor, or is freedom of speech still only reserved for the left, and the Friends of Himself?
and a spin for ev'ry screw-up under Heaven.
(OS can still hear the Byrds sing.)
This time, it's Robert Reich. He has reason to engage in pre-election spinning of results that are going to be dire for his posse. After all, he is one of the brain trust who advised the Obama transition team on matters economic, before returning to the safety of academia. That could have turned out better, one concludes...
His spin is: Well, people gets all upset in the first two years of a presidency, and besides presidents don't have that much say in how economies fare. and besides those Wascally Wepubwikans are meeeeannnn, shallow, authoritarian types, not enlightened and easygoing like us nice Democrats, so any thought of Himself changing anything should be banished from His Most Precious Mind, because those voters don't know nuthin' anyway. Just ignore those rubes. You izzz Da Wan!
Fer instance:
By the first midterm the public is almost always grouchy because the president wasn’t a messiah and didn’t change the world. No single president has that kind of power. The higher the expectations for change at the start of an administration, the greater the disillusionment.
Well, Bubbah Bobby, who-da-hell whipped up all them expectations? He Himself spoke of Himself in messianic language, if memory serves. Remember the iconic 'Hope' posters that seemed to pop up everywhere? The speech in Berlin, where he tried to portray himself as the new Kennedy? The journey to Washington that recreated Lincoln's journey to Washington? Starting off yoh' Presidency by printin' up and spendin' some 800 billion bucks, takin' over GM and Chrysler and handing them to the UAW and Fiat respectively? Remember that? All them shuttered-up car dealers? All that shit wuz DELIBERATE, Bubbah. Then there's that unemployment thang. Remember how Himself promised it would go below 8% if He got to spend Him 800 billion dollars to kick things off? Need any more 'xamples, or iz that enuf fer yew?
And youze surprahzed when people gets all pissed-off and stuff when things go so profoundly sour? What are you folks in Kuhlifornia smokin' after all? That there meth stuff will mess yo' brain up fer shure. Then there's all that Kool-Aid consumption--that don't help neither.
And there's this loo-loo:
Republicans think in terms of simple ideas, themes, and movements. It’s far harder to reverse course on these (look what happened to the first George Bush when he raised taxes), and easier to keep them alive: Republican presidents just continue looking for opportunities to implement them.
Republicans are also more disciplined (ask yourself which party attracts authoritarian personalities and which attracts anti-authoritarians). This makes it easier for them to stay the course. Their base continues to organize and fulminate even after midterm defeats. Democrats, on the other hand, are less organized. Electoral defeats tend to fracture and dissipate whatever organization they have.
Republicans are cynical about politics from the jump. Political cynicism fuels them. Democrats are idealistic about politics. When they become cynical they tend to drop out.
Well, at least he's candid about his contempt of the people who disagree with him and Himself. But, as OS has noted, candor can be dangerous.
So, does Reich get canned for his candor, or is freedom of speech still only reserved for the left, and the Friends of Himself?
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Spin Continues: Tortured Logic Award Of The Day
Well, actually, OldSouth didn't have sufficient imagination to think of this line of spin when he predicted the spin would begin in earnest.
This from an op-ed in today's YewNorkTimes:
Here it comes, wait for it!
“The best possible result for Obama politically is for the Republicans to gain control of both houses,” said Douglas E. Schoen, a Democratic pollster and strategist who helped President Bill Clinton recover from his own midterm Congressional defeat in 1994 to win re-election two years later. “That’s what Obama should want.”
Huh? To quote Jeff Foxworthy: 'Ya'll, I just can't make this stuff up!"
The whole op-ed is about the details of how Himself can maneuver and triangulate and foil those Weazewy Wepubwikans and get Himself re-elected in 2012. After all, that's the point, the goal of life, isn't it--to seize and maintain power?
The op-ed is so enlightening, because it betrays a cast of mind, a view of the world amongst our elites. They view this country, this culture, as some sort of backdrop against which they can play out their personal dramas, their competitions, their ambitions. It's our job to maintain the field, pay for the tickets, and cheer them from the stands.
But, what about us! Our families, our children, our schools, our towns, our businesses, our lives?
And OS isn't just railing at Democrat politicians and their journalistic hoes at places like the YewNorkTimes. The GOP has been just as guilty, as have the universities, banks, insurers, etc. etc. etc.
What about us?
This from an op-ed in today's YewNorkTimes:
Here it comes, wait for it!
“The best possible result for Obama politically is for the Republicans to gain control of both houses,” said Douglas E. Schoen, a Democratic pollster and strategist who helped President Bill Clinton recover from his own midterm Congressional defeat in 1994 to win re-election two years later. “That’s what Obama should want.”
Huh? To quote Jeff Foxworthy: 'Ya'll, I just can't make this stuff up!"
The whole op-ed is about the details of how Himself can maneuver and triangulate and foil those Weazewy Wepubwikans and get Himself re-elected in 2012. After all, that's the point, the goal of life, isn't it--to seize and maintain power?
The op-ed is so enlightening, because it betrays a cast of mind, a view of the world amongst our elites. They view this country, this culture, as some sort of backdrop against which they can play out their personal dramas, their competitions, their ambitions. It's our job to maintain the field, pay for the tickets, and cheer them from the stands.
But, what about us! Our families, our children, our schools, our towns, our businesses, our lives?
And OS isn't just railing at Democrat politicians and their journalistic hoes at places like the YewNorkTimes. The GOP has been just as guilty, as have the universities, banks, insurers, etc. etc. etc.
What about us?
Sunday, October 24, 2010
The High Price Of Candor: Juan Williams And Katherine Birbalsingh
It's been a tough couple of weeks for people who suffer from the vice of speaking candidly in public.
First, the lovely young Katherine Birbalsingh, an Oxford-educated teacher who had devoted her career to teaching kids in the forgotten neighborhoods of the the UK, was shown the door after speaking her mind candidly at the Conservative Party congress.
(If you haven't had the pleasure of hearing her brief address, this would be the time to invest about eight minutes of your time. Well worth every second.)
Of course, her sacking was accompanied by the usual British couching of inexcusable behaviour in the most civil-sounding of verbiage. But, for all their attempts to sound plausible and professional, her superiors at St. Michael and All Angels School come off sounding, well, like a bunch of petty academics in search of a scalp. And hers was an obvious choice.
Her crime? Candor, and an elegant and piercing command of the English language, employed for eight memorable minutes in a public forum, where she stated the obvious about the decayed conditions of state-funded education in the UK. Had she instead addressed the Tories and informed them they were the most unimaginable heartless scum who cared not a fig for the poor children whose families could not afford Eton, she would have returned to her school, and been hoisted upon the shoulders of her cheering colleagues for a victory lap around the halls. Too late she found out that academic freedom is only for the Left.
Juan Williams was not even afforded the faux civility shown Miss Birbalsingh. His boss fired him over the phone, with no opportunity to even discuss the situation, and then publicly dissed him and his opinions, saying that they should be between him and his pyschiatrist, or publicist, or whatever. OS heard the recorded comment, and the disdain and condescension were overt. Too late he found that freedom of speech is only for the Left.
Locally, poor Roy Herron, Democrat candidate for Congress in the Eighth District of Tennessee, was screwed royally by his ostensible allies. When it dawned on him that most people would not vote for him because they knew his first vote as a Congressman would likely be to return Nancy Pelosi to the Speaker's chair, he let it be known that he would oppose MizNancy's return to power. For his candor, the money allocated by the Democrats for his TV ads was summarily pulled. Too late, he found that freedom of conscience, and sensitivity to voters' sensibilities, is something for which the Left has no patience.
Roy is a good, honorable gentleman with whom OS disagrees, and for whom he could not bring himself to vote. OS was hoping he would run for governor, but 'twas not to be.
None of these folks were mean-spirited, or racist, or dishonest. They simply spoke words into the open air that they meant, and stated the obvious in the process: Schools are failing, sometimes climbing onto a plane with people who may be religious extremists is unnverving, Nancy Pelosi is a real liability to this country as speaker. The Sword of Damocles descended anyway. Luckily, all three will land on their feet, and blessedly we haven't heard the last from them.
And, I hear the reader say it already: Bubbah, you're bloggin' under a nom de plume! What-choo doin' blathering about candor?
OS admits to his cowardice, but he had to make a decision to protect his family. It is a matter of physical safety. Don't ask, 'cuz OS won't tell, and if you think you know, you're mistaken. Besides, ya'll, this is a hobby, and always will be. OS can't imagine people parting with their hard-earned money for the privilege of reading his scribble. Puh-leeze!
And, there are many things he won't write about, 'cuz he already knows the high price of complete candor. He hopes, while he has to be discreet, that he has helped add a bit of humor, a bit of insight, and a bit of dignity to the public discussion.
And he hopes he'll make it a safer world for candor, one fine day.
First, the lovely young Katherine Birbalsingh, an Oxford-educated teacher who had devoted her career to teaching kids in the forgotten neighborhoods of the the UK, was shown the door after speaking her mind candidly at the Conservative Party congress.
(If you haven't had the pleasure of hearing her brief address, this would be the time to invest about eight minutes of your time. Well worth every second.)
Of course, her sacking was accompanied by the usual British couching of inexcusable behaviour in the most civil-sounding of verbiage. But, for all their attempts to sound plausible and professional, her superiors at St. Michael and All Angels School come off sounding, well, like a bunch of petty academics in search of a scalp. And hers was an obvious choice.
Her crime? Candor, and an elegant and piercing command of the English language, employed for eight memorable minutes in a public forum, where she stated the obvious about the decayed conditions of state-funded education in the UK. Had she instead addressed the Tories and informed them they were the most unimaginable heartless scum who cared not a fig for the poor children whose families could not afford Eton, she would have returned to her school, and been hoisted upon the shoulders of her cheering colleagues for a victory lap around the halls. Too late she found out that academic freedom is only for the Left.
Juan Williams was not even afforded the faux civility shown Miss Birbalsingh. His boss fired him over the phone, with no opportunity to even discuss the situation, and then publicly dissed him and his opinions, saying that they should be between him and his pyschiatrist, or publicist, or whatever. OS heard the recorded comment, and the disdain and condescension were overt. Too late he found that freedom of speech is only for the Left.
Locally, poor Roy Herron, Democrat candidate for Congress in the Eighth District of Tennessee, was screwed royally by his ostensible allies. When it dawned on him that most people would not vote for him because they knew his first vote as a Congressman would likely be to return Nancy Pelosi to the Speaker's chair, he let it be known that he would oppose MizNancy's return to power. For his candor, the money allocated by the Democrats for his TV ads was summarily pulled. Too late, he found that freedom of conscience, and sensitivity to voters' sensibilities, is something for which the Left has no patience.
Roy is a good, honorable gentleman with whom OS disagrees, and for whom he could not bring himself to vote. OS was hoping he would run for governor, but 'twas not to be.
None of these folks were mean-spirited, or racist, or dishonest. They simply spoke words into the open air that they meant, and stated the obvious in the process: Schools are failing, sometimes climbing onto a plane with people who may be religious extremists is unnverving, Nancy Pelosi is a real liability to this country as speaker. The Sword of Damocles descended anyway. Luckily, all three will land on their feet, and blessedly we haven't heard the last from them.
And, I hear the reader say it already: Bubbah, you're bloggin' under a nom de plume! What-choo doin' blathering about candor?
OS admits to his cowardice, but he had to make a decision to protect his family. It is a matter of physical safety. Don't ask, 'cuz OS won't tell, and if you think you know, you're mistaken. Besides, ya'll, this is a hobby, and always will be. OS can't imagine people parting with their hard-earned money for the privilege of reading his scribble. Puh-leeze!
And, there are many things he won't write about, 'cuz he already knows the high price of complete candor. He hopes, while he has to be discreet, that he has helped add a bit of humor, a bit of insight, and a bit of dignity to the public discussion.
And he hopes he'll make it a safer world for candor, one fine day.
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