[See this for background.]
I was contemplating just how it is that someone like Richard Fuld of Lehman can look himself in the mirror right now and not throw up. But I’ve got a hypothesis about people such as Fuld, who operate in the rarefied atmosphere of finance at its highest levels. Continue reading →
Just when you think the anti-Palin press has covered itself with enough shame, it sinks still lower. James Taranto has found a real howler: Continue reading →
Please, please, please read this. And then send it to everybody you know.
The LA Times does its best to twist the truth for Obama’s sake. Talk about a truncated quote!
This testimony certainly underscores those accusations about Wall Street “fat cats” and greed.
Although in this case rats leaving a sinking ship might be a more appropriate image—if you can picture rats carting off chests filled with booty as they flee.
I must be a glutton for punishment, because I’ve been glancing at MSNBC again. The tone of the talking heads there (maybe that’s a misnomer; some of them seem more like shouting heads) is frenetic and energized. They look like people who’ve absorbed a big blow and are scrambling to figure out what hit them, floating theories as fast as they can as they watch the Dow plummet minute by minute.
The bailout bill was passed, and it was supposed to help. But the first hint that it wouldn’t came from reports last night that the overseas markets were down, and when the US stock exchange opened today it followed suit. Credit isn’t flowing yet, and if I’ve learned one thing in the last couple of weeks it’s that credit greases the engine that drives our economy. Without credit, the whole thing seizes up much like my car did one awful pre-cellphone night some thirty years while driving on a dark rural road.
Confidence is one psychological factor that’s necessary for the markets to move upwards again. Continue reading →
Sarah Palin is a woman, in case you hadn’t noticed. But she’s got a special problem with women—at, rather, many women appear to have a special problem with her.
I noticed it almost immediately after her nomination, when Palin-bashing became commonplace among my female friends and acquaintances, even those who usually don’t talk about politics. And they weren’t just expressing disagreement with her positions, either. That would hardly explain the intensely personal nature of the remarks I’ve heard, and their quality of hissing contempt (yes, I’m purposely using a cat reference; it’s almost unavoidable).
What’s going on? Continue reading →
Fifty-nine percent of those polled want to turn in their Congressional tiles and pick some new ones.
Of course, when you do that, sometimes you get an even worse hand. But if the tiles you’re holding are bad enough—all vowels, for example—you’re willing to get rid of them and take your chances.
I suppose that’s part of what makes some people want to vote for Obama. Especially those who see him as that magical blank tile that can be anything you want it to be.
This clip fails to answer the burning question of whether those who work for the MSM are abysmally stupid or whether they are unashamedly in the tank for Obama and think we are abysmally stupid.
Actually, it does. It’s the latter, but who’s counting? Certainly not Soledad O’Brien.
I’d much rather write about the Red Sox.
They’re doing great, up two in the best of five series against the Angels. Watching the game last night reminded me of one of the many things that’s so wonderful about sports: they channel some of the passion of politics while remaining “light” rather than heavy. They are clear rather than murky, visible and knowable rather than inscrutable. They are finite; with a beginning, middle, and end. They unite us geographically—for example, most of New England, young or old, Democrat or Republican, roots for the Sox. They tend to feature good-looking young guys instead of botoxed old ones.
When we care deeply about both endeavors, it’s in very different ways. It’s even possible sometimes for Yankee fans to talk to Red Sox fans without coming to blows.
Politics is very different these days. Continue reading →
Michael Totten, who knows a thing or two about Lebanon, calls Joe Biden on his egregious error last night (hat tip: Instapundit), describing it as “the strangest and most ill-informed thing I have ever heard about Lebanon in my life.” It was far worse than any ignorance Palin, the supposed novice, has shown on any foreign policy issue to date.
But don’t sit on a hot stove till the MSM makes a big deal out of this one. Joe’s an expert, you see—and besides, he’s Barack Obama’s running mate.
Here’s the NY Times on the subject—-not:
Short of a complete bravura performance that would have been tough for even the most experienced national politician to turn in – or a devastating error by the mistake-prone Mr. Biden, who instead turned in an impressively sharp performance – there might have been little Ms. Palin could have done to help Mr. McCain.
Nope, no errors by Mr. Biden. Maybe the Times doesn’t know much about Lebanon either. Or maybe they’re just lying through their hypocritical teeth.
Do you detect a note of anger in me? If so, you would be correct. I would suggest a phone-and-email blitz on the Times if I thought they had any conscience or any shame, but I gave up that idea long ago.
[NOTE: I said I’d write about the bailout bill today, but I’m going to do it tomorrow instead.]
I’ve got an article up today at Pajamas Media. It’s a meditation on Palin’s appearances of the past few weeks, and how they reflect her history as a clutch athlete who gives her best performances when under the pressure of competition and in front of an audience.
[NOTE: I’ll be writing here about the bailout bill later today.]