JDA always tells the tale best:
Arriving for work at the U.K. Treasury last week, the incoming chief secretary, David Laws, found a note from his predecessor, Liam Byrne, offering advice on the job.
“Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left,” Laws cited it as saying.
Had OS received the note, he would have had it framed.
It will be useful later.
Pass the sherry, please.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Naked Shorts: Germany Attempting To Stem The Tide
Our droll friend from London, Robert Peston, succeeds at explaining the sorts of trading practices the Germans wish to curtail.
The German ban is three-pronged: on short sales of eurozone government debt unless the investor has first borrowed the stock; on the use of credit derivatives to bet on a fall in the value of the debt of a eurozone government, unless the investor owns some of the relevant debt; and on short sales of the shares of German banks and insurers, unless the investor has first borrowed the shares.
Lots of talk and opinion out there about the wisdom/efficacy of this approach.
OS is dubious of guv'mints intervening in markets, but in this case, he may wish to rethink. After all, he prefers to drive in cities where the traffic signals work, go to hospitals and restaurants that adhere to sanitation standards, appreciates knowing how long that package of chicken breasts has been on the shelf, etc.
It seems the relevant question is, Does the person engaging in the transaction have any skin in the game? If so, he should be able to participate at a level appropriate with his resources. If not, he should leave the room. Otherwise, we're all mired in a deep pile of moral hazard, and the IBG/YBG (I Be Gone/You Be Gone) types can mop up and leave before anyone knows what happened. And poor schlub taxpayers and citizens end up, one way or another, bearing the cost of the moral hazard cleanup operation.
Here's an OS translation of the attempt at imposing some rules:
If ya'll don't own it, ya'll can't sell it. That's what we call fraud 'round heah'.
If'n you want to bet on a horse, use your own cash.
If'n you want to bet on a horse-race, you can't hobble the other horses. That's called cheating. It's also cheating to bribe jockeys.
If ya'll play by the rules and win, good on yah'. If'n you lose, well you lose, and we ain't gonna make yer house payments for yah'. Don't gamble with the mortgage money, bubbah.
You can't buy fire insurance on your neighbor's house, 'cuz it provides incentive to burn it down.
If you decide to cheat anyway, remember the classic Tennessee Defense, used successfully in murder trials to this day: He needed killin'.
The German ban is three-pronged: on short sales of eurozone government debt unless the investor has first borrowed the stock; on the use of credit derivatives to bet on a fall in the value of the debt of a eurozone government, unless the investor owns some of the relevant debt; and on short sales of the shares of German banks and insurers, unless the investor has first borrowed the shares.
Lots of talk and opinion out there about the wisdom/efficacy of this approach.
OS is dubious of guv'mints intervening in markets, but in this case, he may wish to rethink. After all, he prefers to drive in cities where the traffic signals work, go to hospitals and restaurants that adhere to sanitation standards, appreciates knowing how long that package of chicken breasts has been on the shelf, etc.
It seems the relevant question is, Does the person engaging in the transaction have any skin in the game? If so, he should be able to participate at a level appropriate with his resources. If not, he should leave the room. Otherwise, we're all mired in a deep pile of moral hazard, and the IBG/YBG (I Be Gone/You Be Gone) types can mop up and leave before anyone knows what happened. And poor schlub taxpayers and citizens end up, one way or another, bearing the cost of the moral hazard cleanup operation.
Here's an OS translation of the attempt at imposing some rules:
If ya'll don't own it, ya'll can't sell it. That's what we call fraud 'round heah'.
If'n you want to bet on a horse, use your own cash.
If'n you want to bet on a horse-race, you can't hobble the other horses. That's called cheating. It's also cheating to bribe jockeys.
If ya'll play by the rules and win, good on yah'. If'n you lose, well you lose, and we ain't gonna make yer house payments for yah'. Don't gamble with the mortgage money, bubbah.
You can't buy fire insurance on your neighbor's house, 'cuz it provides incentive to burn it down.
If you decide to cheat anyway, remember the classic Tennessee Defense, used successfully in murder trials to this day: He needed killin'.
Robert Reich Weighs In, And The News Isn't Good For Incumbents
Robert Reich, on faculty at Berkley, is no right-wing nutjob, as ObamaBob and company would like to characterize any who dare disagree.
As a matter of fact, he's come to the same conclusion as Denninger--the economy is not recovering, and having the guv'mint hose it down with cash isn't helping.
What does all this portend for November’s midterm election? Unless the economy moves into high gear, and unless America’s anxious class feels substantially better, incumbents are in trouble.
....
In fact, if you exclude temporary boosts like the government stimulus and the restocking of company inventories, the U.S. economy would not have grown in the first quarter. As these temporary boosts fade later this year, consumer spending is the only thing that will keep the economy going. But consumers won’t be able to spend what they don’t have.
Some economic cheerleaders predict employers will increase wages as their profits grow. That’s nonsense. With five jobless workers for every job opening, employers are under no pressure to raise wages.
This conclusion from a man on the Obama transition team. How will ObamaBob explain him away?
As a matter of fact, he's come to the same conclusion as Denninger--the economy is not recovering, and having the guv'mint hose it down with cash isn't helping.
What does all this portend for November’s midterm election? Unless the economy moves into high gear, and unless America’s anxious class feels substantially better, incumbents are in trouble.
....
In fact, if you exclude temporary boosts like the government stimulus and the restocking of company inventories, the U.S. economy would not have grown in the first quarter. As these temporary boosts fade later this year, consumer spending is the only thing that will keep the economy going. But consumers won’t be able to spend what they don’t have.
Some economic cheerleaders predict employers will increase wages as their profits grow. That’s nonsense. With five jobless workers for every job opening, employers are under no pressure to raise wages.
This conclusion from a man on the Obama transition team. How will ObamaBob explain him away?
Arlen Specter Is Shown The Door In Pennsylvania, Rand Paul Kicks In The Door In Kentucky
The poster child of RINOism, Arlen (I don't give a fig about which party I'm in, just so long as I can stay in office!) Specter, went down in flames in the Democrat primary tonight.
OS caught his concession speech. The old gent truly looked shell-shocked. He rambled, almost incoherently. Not even the rooms full of people cursing him last summer at town hall meetings had managed to break through his ego, his vision of himself as an American Institution. Finally, tonight, it dawned on him: 'Gosh, everyone's really really pissed at me!'.
Rand Paul, on the other hand, kicked ass. He beat Grayson, the GOP establishment candidate, 60-40. Not even close.
Here's the raw video from his acceptance speech:
Of course, by tomorrow evening, the White House and their shills in Yew Nork will have it all explained away, assuring themselves and us that nothing is amiss, Arlen was just an old fool who needed to go, and Rand is just a TeaPartyNutJobFromKentucky (you know, where all those unwashed Kentucky people hang out...). No problem, no worries.
Of course, if we start tallying it up--Brown takes Massachusetts, Christie takes New Jersey, Stupak runs away, Tanner runs away...hell's bells--a bunch of Democrats have run away! Charlie Crist gets out of the GOP while he can, 'cuz he's going down in flames, Bennett is shown the door by the GOP in Utah...
The list is growing. Folks out here really really really are ticked-off, and they're tired of writing their Congressman, 'cuz he stopped listening a long time ago. Or, like the good Rep. Souder of Indiana, he was too busy nailing the office staff to pay attention.
Oh, by the way, in the Kentucky race (from the Washington Post):
With 99 percent of the vote counted in the Kentucky GOP primary for U.S. Senate ...
-Rand Paul outpaced Trey Grayson in every major region of the state, scoring his biggest win in the North, an area that includes the fast growing areas around Cincinnati and Louisville that have become reliably GOP. In that region, Paul won 65 percent of the vote, to Grayson's 32 percent.
-Paul won 109 counties; Grayson 11.
It'll be entertaining to watch ObamaBob explain this away tomorrow...there's always an explanation, more people to label as racists, AstroTurf, sexual perverts, rednecks, nutters, etc.
Chin-straps on, friends and neighbors.
OS caught his concession speech. The old gent truly looked shell-shocked. He rambled, almost incoherently. Not even the rooms full of people cursing him last summer at town hall meetings had managed to break through his ego, his vision of himself as an American Institution. Finally, tonight, it dawned on him: 'Gosh, everyone's really really pissed at me!'.
Rand Paul, on the other hand, kicked ass. He beat Grayson, the GOP establishment candidate, 60-40. Not even close.
Here's the raw video from his acceptance speech:
Of course, by tomorrow evening, the White House and their shills in Yew Nork will have it all explained away, assuring themselves and us that nothing is amiss, Arlen was just an old fool who needed to go, and Rand is just a TeaPartyNutJobFromKentucky (you know, where all those unwashed Kentucky people hang out...). No problem, no worries.
Of course, if we start tallying it up--Brown takes Massachusetts, Christie takes New Jersey, Stupak runs away, Tanner runs away...hell's bells--a bunch of Democrats have run away! Charlie Crist gets out of the GOP while he can, 'cuz he's going down in flames, Bennett is shown the door by the GOP in Utah...
The list is growing. Folks out here really really really are ticked-off, and they're tired of writing their Congressman, 'cuz he stopped listening a long time ago. Or, like the good Rep. Souder of Indiana, he was too busy nailing the office staff to pay attention.
Oh, by the way, in the Kentucky race (from the Washington Post):
With 99 percent of the vote counted in the Kentucky GOP primary for U.S. Senate ...
-Rand Paul outpaced Trey Grayson in every major region of the state, scoring his biggest win in the North, an area that includes the fast growing areas around Cincinnati and Louisville that have become reliably GOP. In that region, Paul won 65 percent of the vote, to Grayson's 32 percent.
-Paul won 109 counties; Grayson 11.
It'll be entertaining to watch ObamaBob explain this away tomorrow...there's always an explanation, more people to label as racists, AstroTurf, sexual perverts, rednecks, nutters, etc.
Chin-straps on, friends and neighbors.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
You Mean I'm S'pozed To Actually READ A Law Before Denouncing It?: Janet Napolitano Admits She Hasn't Read The Arizona Law, Either
Simply, utterly amazing...
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano admitted Monday that she has not read the controversial Arizona immigration law even though she's gone on television to criticize it, and continued to assert that it was "bad law enforcement law."
The admission comes after Attorney General Eric Holder, who earlier warned the law could create a "slippery slope" toward racial profiling, told a House committee last week that he had not read the bill either. On Tuesday, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said he too had not read the bill, even as he defended diplomatic official Michael Posner for comparing the law to Chinese human rights violations.
Remember, these public servants were appointed by the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the former editor of Harvard Law Review.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano admitted Monday that she has not read the controversial Arizona immigration law even though she's gone on television to criticize it, and continued to assert that it was "bad law enforcement law."
The admission comes after Attorney General Eric Holder, who earlier warned the law could create a "slippery slope" toward racial profiling, told a House committee last week that he had not read the bill either. On Tuesday, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said he too had not read the bill, even as he defended diplomatic official Michael Posner for comparing the law to Chinese human rights violations.
Remember, these public servants were appointed by the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the former editor of Harvard Law Review.
Questions? We Don't Need No Blanking Questions!: Obama's Refusal To Answer
This from Chip Reid at CBS News. Remember CBS News? These are guys who took the forged papers on Bush II and couldn't wait to present them as the real McCoy! The same folks who carried the water for Himself in 2008, and hoisted Him upon their humble shoulders across the finish line. They've been the shills for every hare-brained Democrat politician since forever. They were positively breathless about such luminaries as the Clintons, John Edwards, John Kerry, and Tennessee's Favorite Son AlGore.
Suckahs!
There was some rich irony at the White House today -- President Obama signed the Press Freedom Act, and then promptly refused to take any questions.
The new law expands the State Department's annual human rights reports to include a description of press freedoms in each country. It seemed a good opportunity to showcase press freedom in this country.
Recall that last Friday the president refused to take any questions after delivering his angry statement on the oil spill in the Rose Garden. And he has not held a prime-time White House news conference in many months, despite much pleading from pundits and members of the media.
So after he signed the bill, and as the press "wranglers" began aggressively herding us out of the room, I asked if he still has confidence in BP. He ignored the question so I tried this: "In the interest of press freedom, would you take a couple questions on BP?"
That did elicit a smile, and he told me I was free to ask questions. Someone else shouted, "Will you answer them?"
He said he's not holding a press conference today as we were escorted out the door.
And He won't be holding one tomorrow, or the day after that, or...
At least ole' Chip is beginning to tumble to the fact that he was scammed, and his editors at CBS News, by allowing him to publish, are acknowledging the same.
Wonder if they'll ever locate their bollocks, and actually start telling the truth about this White House, before the last shreds of their credibility melt away? It may, finally, be about their own self-preservation.
Suckahs!
There was some rich irony at the White House today -- President Obama signed the Press Freedom Act, and then promptly refused to take any questions.
The new law expands the State Department's annual human rights reports to include a description of press freedoms in each country. It seemed a good opportunity to showcase press freedom in this country.
Recall that last Friday the president refused to take any questions after delivering his angry statement on the oil spill in the Rose Garden. And he has not held a prime-time White House news conference in many months, despite much pleading from pundits and members of the media.
So after he signed the bill, and as the press "wranglers" began aggressively herding us out of the room, I asked if he still has confidence in BP. He ignored the question so I tried this: "In the interest of press freedom, would you take a couple questions on BP?"
That did elicit a smile, and he told me I was free to ask questions. Someone else shouted, "Will you answer them?"
He said he's not holding a press conference today as we were escorted out the door.
And He won't be holding one tomorrow, or the day after that, or...
At least ole' Chip is beginning to tumble to the fact that he was scammed, and his editors at CBS News, by allowing him to publish, are acknowledging the same.
Wonder if they'll ever locate their bollocks, and actually start telling the truth about this White House, before the last shreds of their credibility melt away? It may, finally, be about their own self-preservation.
Is This University Necessary?: Lambuth University Seeks Purchaser
Via Inside Higher Ed (a great resource, by the way, for families as they peer over the precipice toward university life for their children), news that a small Methodist university in Jackson, Tennessee is about to close its doors.
Lambuth University's president said Friday that the financially struggling private Methodist college's future will be decided next week as school officials continue to seek a buyer.
In a brief statement Friday afternoon, Lambuth President Bill Seymour said: "There's a higher risk of closure if a deal is not done by next Friday, but we are doing everything possible to get a deal in place and things will be decided next week in a (board of trustees) meeting."
Meanwhile, Jackson and community leaders said Friday they were preparing as best they could for Lambuth's future and praying the school survives.
School officials said Thursday there was no viable purchasing deal ready and that they would not be able to make payroll on time for May. Seymour said then that negotiations with potential management companies will continue and the school has until May 28 to cement a deal and submit it to the Southern Association of College and Schools, which accredits Lambuth.
Not knowing the details, OS hesitates to comment directly about it. But a few thoughts come to mind:
Some (probably many) institutions have a shelf-life, especially in the United States, where change is our only constant. As Lambuth is inspected one last time for signs of life, perhaps it's better to dispense with sentiment, and ask: Is this university necessary? Has its shelf-life expired? Is it doing anything uniquely valuable that isn't being better done by someone else in this part of the world?
Unless there is a compellingly good answer to that question, it's probably time to wind the institution down in an orderly fashion. Liquidate what will turn to cash, turn the archives over to worthy hands for safekeeping, distribute the parts of the library that can find a good home elsewhere, make sure the pensions of the oldest and most loyal employees (especially the custodial staff, groundskeepers, cooks, and the like) are safely in place, and walk away. Leave the buildings and grounds in saleable condition, and if there's any cash, use it to prevent physical deterioration.
Once everyone knows the patient indeed is dead, some clever soul or souls can look at it with fresh eyes, and think of a worthy use for it. It's happened before, and will again, if allowed to happen.
Secondly, it's a good time ask: What are the common traits of the institutions that haven't gone extinct, like Harvard, Yale, Duke, Princeton?
How did they do that? How do they re-invent themselves while remaining deeply connected with a strong tradition?
More importantly, how do we do that, here in our more humble circumstances?
Lambuth University's president said Friday that the financially struggling private Methodist college's future will be decided next week as school officials continue to seek a buyer.
In a brief statement Friday afternoon, Lambuth President Bill Seymour said: "There's a higher risk of closure if a deal is not done by next Friday, but we are doing everything possible to get a deal in place and things will be decided next week in a (board of trustees) meeting."
Meanwhile, Jackson and community leaders said Friday they were preparing as best they could for Lambuth's future and praying the school survives.
School officials said Thursday there was no viable purchasing deal ready and that they would not be able to make payroll on time for May. Seymour said then that negotiations with potential management companies will continue and the school has until May 28 to cement a deal and submit it to the Southern Association of College and Schools, which accredits Lambuth.
Not knowing the details, OS hesitates to comment directly about it. But a few thoughts come to mind:
Some (probably many) institutions have a shelf-life, especially in the United States, where change is our only constant. As Lambuth is inspected one last time for signs of life, perhaps it's better to dispense with sentiment, and ask: Is this university necessary? Has its shelf-life expired? Is it doing anything uniquely valuable that isn't being better done by someone else in this part of the world?
Unless there is a compellingly good answer to that question, it's probably time to wind the institution down in an orderly fashion. Liquidate what will turn to cash, turn the archives over to worthy hands for safekeeping, distribute the parts of the library that can find a good home elsewhere, make sure the pensions of the oldest and most loyal employees (especially the custodial staff, groundskeepers, cooks, and the like) are safely in place, and walk away. Leave the buildings and grounds in saleable condition, and if there's any cash, use it to prevent physical deterioration.
Once everyone knows the patient indeed is dead, some clever soul or souls can look at it with fresh eyes, and think of a worthy use for it. It's happened before, and will again, if allowed to happen.
Secondly, it's a good time ask: What are the common traits of the institutions that haven't gone extinct, like Harvard, Yale, Duke, Princeton?
How did they do that? How do they re-invent themselves while remaining deeply connected with a strong tradition?
More importantly, how do we do that, here in our more humble circumstances?
Monday, May 17, 2010
'Ripples': Some Hopeful Words From John Thomas Dodson
OS, wired from a long drive, runs across this inspiring post.
It tells the story of how someone most readers here never have heard of, one Prince Esterhazy, living in the mid-18th century, changed the course of history for the better, for us all.
He deeply loved music, and spent a portion of his wealth hiring an unknown kid from Vienna named Josef Haydn. This works out well, to say the least, as over the next 30 years this kid becomes the most formidable musician in Europe, week in and week out doing his job. Haydn nurtures the genius of Mozart, and Beethoven learns much of his craft from Haydn as well.
Dodson makes a wonderful point:
During his lifetime, Haydn will compose over 100 symphonies, develop the new genre of the string quartet, and set the standard against which Mozart will be measured. He'll be the most famous musician of his age, and all of this because of you.
And that leads me to think of ripples.
Each one of us lives a life based on our values. We gradually form them, nurture them, and ultimately, become them. Behind us, we leave ripples of our having been here. Behind us, things happen: Some, because we decide to make a difference; others, the unanticipated results of the things we choose to do.
Because Prince Nikolaus recognized talent and nurtured it, Haydn found his way out of anonymity and into History. The story of music changed. Because of his stature, Haydn would find Mozart, and Beethoven would seek out Haydn. But Prince Esterházy could see none of that. He simply saw that around him he wanted music of the highest order.
Each one of us lives a life based on our values...we leave ripples behind...
The obscure prince, living out his values, changed the world, and died not even knowing he had done it.
Not too shabby.
It tells the story of how someone most readers here never have heard of, one Prince Esterhazy, living in the mid-18th century, changed the course of history for the better, for us all.
He deeply loved music, and spent a portion of his wealth hiring an unknown kid from Vienna named Josef Haydn. This works out well, to say the least, as over the next 30 years this kid becomes the most formidable musician in Europe, week in and week out doing his job. Haydn nurtures the genius of Mozart, and Beethoven learns much of his craft from Haydn as well.
Dodson makes a wonderful point:
During his lifetime, Haydn will compose over 100 symphonies, develop the new genre of the string quartet, and set the standard against which Mozart will be measured. He'll be the most famous musician of his age, and all of this because of you.
And that leads me to think of ripples.
Each one of us lives a life based on our values. We gradually form them, nurture them, and ultimately, become them. Behind us, we leave ripples of our having been here. Behind us, things happen: Some, because we decide to make a difference; others, the unanticipated results of the things we choose to do.
Because Prince Nikolaus recognized talent and nurtured it, Haydn found his way out of anonymity and into History. The story of music changed. Because of his stature, Haydn would find Mozart, and Beethoven would seek out Haydn. But Prince Esterházy could see none of that. He simply saw that around him he wanted music of the highest order.
Each one of us lives a life based on our values...we leave ripples behind...
The obscure prince, living out his values, changed the world, and died not even knowing he had done it.
Not too shabby.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Kinda' Gives An Entirely New Meaning To The Term 'Red State': Illinois, Obama's Home State, Is About To Melt Down
Gosh. If you spend way way way more than you take in, borrow borrow borrow the rest, one day, you'll have a several billion dollar shortfall in the ole' state budget.
From the WSJ:
Illinois lawmakers were in disarray Thursday as they groped for stopgap measures to address a $13 billion deficit equaling nearly half of the state's general-fund revenue.
The state faces one of the nation's worst budget crises, spilled over in part from the broader national economic crunch, and its current bond ratings lag only California's. But the confusion in the legislature indicates that serious steps to fix state finances won't be taken until after the November elections—if then.
Illinois lawmakers have little appetite for drastic spending cuts. An income-tax increase proposed by Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is going nowhere. Even temporary steps, such as borrowing to make pension payments, have stalled. Illinois is months late on many of its bills and has no plan for catching up.
The legislature may push the problem to the governor's office by granting Mr. Quinn emergency budget powers and adjourning Friday, about three weeks earlier than usual.
Yeah, baby! Talk about-cher' profiles in courage!
And they don't have a Reagan or a Bush to blame for it. The One is in the White House, and if he ponies up $20 billion or so to bail Illinois out, with no chance of repayment, then Katie-Bar-The-Door on Election Day.
Does sort of make one reconsider that definition of 'Red State'.
Tennessee, on the other hand, is grappling with a shortfall of about 100 million--a lot of money, but Democrat Governor Bredesen and the Republican-dominated legislature stoked away a bunch of cash during the good times. So now the argument is about if and how much of those funds to tap versus how much to cut. They'll get through it, and won't be adjourning early. It won't be pleasant, but everyone will survive.
Read more about the knock-on effect in Illinois at Doug Ross Journal.
From the WSJ:
Illinois lawmakers were in disarray Thursday as they groped for stopgap measures to address a $13 billion deficit equaling nearly half of the state's general-fund revenue.
The state faces one of the nation's worst budget crises, spilled over in part from the broader national economic crunch, and its current bond ratings lag only California's. But the confusion in the legislature indicates that serious steps to fix state finances won't be taken until after the November elections—if then.
Illinois lawmakers have little appetite for drastic spending cuts. An income-tax increase proposed by Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is going nowhere. Even temporary steps, such as borrowing to make pension payments, have stalled. Illinois is months late on many of its bills and has no plan for catching up.
The legislature may push the problem to the governor's office by granting Mr. Quinn emergency budget powers and adjourning Friday, about three weeks earlier than usual.
Yeah, baby! Talk about-cher' profiles in courage!
And they don't have a Reagan or a Bush to blame for it. The One is in the White House, and if he ponies up $20 billion or so to bail Illinois out, with no chance of repayment, then Katie-Bar-The-Door on Election Day.
Does sort of make one reconsider that definition of 'Red State'.
Tennessee, on the other hand, is grappling with a shortfall of about 100 million--a lot of money, but Democrat Governor Bredesen and the Republican-dominated legislature stoked away a bunch of cash during the good times. So now the argument is about if and how much of those funds to tap versus how much to cut. They'll get through it, and won't be adjourning early. It won't be pleasant, but everyone will survive.
Read more about the knock-on effect in Illinois at Doug Ross Journal.
And Now, For Something Completely Different...
Sunday Morning at a 'Seeker Church':
Sunday Morning at a 'Signs and Miracles Church: The Holy Ghost Hokey-Pokey (no kidding!)
And, finally, a church service with just a bit more dignity:
"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.
Sunday Morning at a 'Signs and Miracles Church: The Holy Ghost Hokey-Pokey (no kidding!)
And, finally, a church service with just a bit more dignity:
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