Open thread . . .
Thoreau over at Unqualified Offerings muses that Glenn Greenwald (to use Jon Stewart voice) . . . “Nailed It !” Yorkshire Ranter sets forth a pithy analysis of the British nationalization of Bradford & Bingley — and why U.S. analogies do not hold.
All in all, we come out where Jim Hanley does at Positive Liberty. As he says, we’re kind of glad this happened — for all the reasons he lays out. (And thanks also to the folks there for the kind words about Speed Racer – isms). We also share the skepticism voiced in the comments about House Republicans. They indeed are incapable of anything but short term tactical political ploys, saying ‘no’ or regurgitating Rightist fantasies with ideological kool aid recipes. (As a VRWC veteran, believe it, we know the cant all by heart).
Spengler over at Asia Times argues persuasively that new measures that fail to address how important leverage is to the average American household, let alone industry, will be a misfire. He ends on a somewhat sanguine note:
Sadly, the Asian public and private sector will continue to pour money into the United States because their home markets are not deep or secure enough to provide an alternative. America will have an extended grace period to put its house in order before the rest of the world finds alternatives to its capital markets.
(Emphasis, er, emphatically ours).
Dr Leo Strauss says
Scalia: Damnit ! Souter’s clerk forgot to Sheppardize these string cites! Again ! (slams down pages on desk and looks out doorway)
You ! You? Whose clerk are you? Get over here.
Fredo: Mr. Justice Scalia, I am your new colleague, Alfredo Gonzales . . . let me find you a clerk.
Scalia: Come on in, come on in. Don’t be shy. I won’t waterboard you. You know, I grew up in a great neighborhood in Brooklyn. We had wops, that’s me, Je . . . Irish, all sorts. I love working with people. So, Speedy, just Sheppardize these and get me a coffee, black, too. You aren’t with Souter are you?
Fredo: Sir, I . . .
Scalia: Just don’t tell the other clerks they screwed up again. And when you’re done in a year, I’ll write you a great letter of recommendation for OLC or somewhere in Justice . . .
Anon says
Tweety – jumping the shark re himself
http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200810020014?show=1
Comment says
Jim Pinkerton has become very erratic on bloggingheads.
Comment says
Wow – those couric interviews were really bad for Sarah – Couric was brutal in her non brutal but persistant follow ups. Palin had always escaped follow ups.
Meanwhile McCain is still telling people Ike offered to resign if D-Day failed – even though his staff has been repeatedly warned this was false.
If McCain wins (increasingly unlikely) can you imagine a staffer trying to tell him the surge is failing?
If his staff seems to fear telling him to stop making minor gaffes.
Comment says
Leo, pre- Miers and pre Gonzales apocalypse, some thought Gonzales was Bush’s pick for SCOTUS – did you think he would have picked Gonz? If it was possible?
Comment says
Bill O’factor – wondering why Soros doesn’t fund Cuba – since he loves socialism so much.
Comment says
We go to the drugstore – at the register they print out the receipt and coupon – The coupon is a Free AARP membership – We still have a few years to go before we join, but we can’t help but be puzzled by AARPs marketing – they have an attractive 30-something woman doing yoga on the beach as the picture on the coupon
Anon says
“When it was suggested that Palin’s lack of experience worried voters, McCain turned sarcastic.
“Really? I haven’t detected that in the polls, I haven’t detected that among the base,” he said. “If there’s a Georgetown cocktail party person who, quote, calls himself a conservative who doesn’t like her, good luck. I don’t dismiss him. I think the American people have overwhelmingly shown their approval.” – CBS
Georgetowne Cocktail Party People? lol – isn’t that the name of a band?
Anon says
Leo – get your MP3 player ready:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0OZ9W2K_z0
Anon says
Mostly true stuff from Mr. POS:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/henry-blodget/bailout-a-done-deal-so-wh_b_130820.html
Comment says
meant to say Heroes in Error, not Heros. But come to think of it, Heros seems better.
Comment says
Heros In Error (props to Chalabi) – It would be great to give Bush, Pelosi, and the House GOP machiavellian credit – but they seem to be accidental heroes.
France’s huge bailout may not have been necessary if the Paulson plan was rammed thru early – same with Ireland, and Netherland, Belgium, and Lux.
Europe want the US to pay for all of this – now Europe (plus asia) will pay much more of the cost.
Timing was key – thankfully.
Europe would have had to put up money eventually – but the delays are forcing more now today!
Comment says
Here’s how Biden could be set up
Palin: The DC elite is not used to Joe Sixpack and I represent Joe Sixpack.
Biden: I know Joe Sixpack, Joe Sixpack is a friend of mind, and Gov – you are no Joe Sixpack
(moderate laughter)
Palin – Well JOe, John McCain knew Lyllod Bentsen, Bentsen was a friend of his, and Llyod bensten would agree that he doesn’t like your plagerism habit.
Comment says
Debate prediction: Palin will say she is Joe Sixpack – Biden will say I know Joe Sixpack, Joe Sixpack was a friend of mind, and you are no Joe Sixpack, Palin will then mock him for plagerising Llyod Bentsen – cable news will show Neil Kinnock footage for a week.
A Random Quote says
“The fate of the giant insurance company AIG is a tale with a clear moral. Over a period of 40 years, Hank Greenberg built this company up from a storefront, turning it into the greatest insurer in the world, doing business successfully, and often as a pioneer, all over the globe.
Eliot Spitzer, as New York attorney general, said on television that he thought Greenberg had violated criminal statutes (which has never been alleged since, formally or otherwise, though the same can’t be said of Spitzer), and threatened prosecution of AIG directors if they did not remove Greenberg as chairman — despite the fact he was the company’s controlling shareholder and founder. Greenberg left, and now the State of New York, of which Spitzer was briefly the governor, and the U.S. Federal Reserve, have had to organize an $85-billion rescue package, for a company at which government meddling had already been instrumental in vapourizing $40-billion of shareholders’ money. Government took away, and has tried belatedly to give back. The moral: Best not to take away in the first place.”
~Conrad Black
Fantasy and Projection
Comment says
Oh we just read that Hitchens (we will find the quote) just predicted the coming demise of the US – Just a few years ago we saw him lecturing a hall full of ectomorphs about the patriotic cause in Iraq and how important it was to be loyal and his new citiznship.
Anon says
Qualcomm’s stock went ballistic right after we sold it – sometime in 98 or 99 to 2000. We were abroad and not really watching things and we looked and realized while we were not looking the stock went up some several thousand percent – then we noticed lots of insider sales being made. supposedly for ‘estate planning’ reasons. Shortly later, the stock went down.
Anon says
Issa was confronted by someone over the CDMA issue and he supposedly blew his top – will send the link
when we find it.
DrLeoStrauss says
Ran into Jim Moran today. He wasn’t a happy camper . . . as this should make clear.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5glpCcaixksJ_sYSty4VRB3Tvn2_wD93H18P80
Dr Leo Strauss says
re Holbrooke,
He should re read De Caulaincourt to get a sense of just how long it will be. That assumes a mediocrity like Tony Lake and others will remain within the Boy King’s nimbus. We wouldn’t be surprised if Lake is already a walking ghost and doesn’t know it. (Unlike say Mark Brzezinski we never bothered — for obvious reasons — to even try and worm our way beyond superficial hellos into *that* crowd (not that the anti-bodies wouldn’t have gone on red alert anyway, from both sides).
Holbrooke is bright but few people like him once he is 10 feet away, especially FSOs and the permanent Foggy Bottom apparat. Like a description of ‘American Gigolo’ we read somewhere recently but can’t recall where for proper attribution. Richard Gere/Holbrooke asks why he was set up, and the character played by Bill Duke replies with serious disdain, “You were expendable and no one liked you.”
Alex says
The only bit of the reconstruction that actually worked, and he did his best to fuck it up…
DrLeoStrauss says
Alex, a gem. Had forgotten that one. Who needs the Iraqis to have interoperability with the world lol
Alex says
Issa is an ass of the first water, anyway. Anyone remember when he was trying to enforce locally useless CDMA technology on the Iraqis, in his role as Congressman from Qualcomm?
Anon says
Spengler says some interestings – but it is interesting that Spengler (along with a number of others – mostly rightists) winds up with wishing ill on the country. He is similar to many neocons who project their own lack of patriotism onto Obama:
“Sadly, the Asian public and private sector will continue to pour money into the United States because their home markets are not deep or secure enough to provide an alternative. America will have an extended grace period to put its house in order before the rest of the world finds alternatives to its capital markets.”
Anon says
Holbrooke begins the Long March back to Barack:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amb-richard-c-holbrooke/calm-methodical-obama-vs_b_130343.html
Comment says
Scene at the treasury
Paulson: Please get my secretary on the phone
Secretary: Yes, Mr. Secretary
Paulson: Why is there some Guatamalan man standing next my desk
Secretary: I dunn…
Gonzales: I’m an American sir
Paulson: (hangs up the phone and turns to alberto) Oh, I’m sorry. Are you visiting, Mister …
Gonzales: Well – I do have Mexican heritage, but I am American
Paulson: You look familiar – did my daughter assign …
Gonzales: I’m the former Attorney General of the United States. My friend President Bush has sent me here to help clean up this debt mess sir.
Paulson: Oh. Er. Uhhh. Hmmmm. When I was at Goldman , we had a great program for training ..
Gonzales: Sir, I don’t need training. I am here to help. Let’s start saving stuff. I got the President out of jury duty and I will get you off the corporate s*** list.
Comment says
Yorkshire ranter reminds us of one other point about McCain’s gambling – Doc, did you read the NY Times piece?
It was rather vague on the point , but the Times implied McCain wins a lot at gambling – more than makes sense statistically.
more ranter – Bank of England = hospice for dying banks.
That would have been a great line to us for Paulson’s idea.
Dr Leo Strauss says
Fredo Asset Manager: I’m your colleague, Hank, and I was stepped over!
Hank Paulson: That’s the way the Warlord wanted it.
Fredo Asset Manager: It ain’t the way I wanted it! I can handle things! I’m smart! Not like everybody says… like dumb… I’m smart and I want respect!
Hank Paulson: I’ve always taken care of you, Fredo.
Fredo Asset Manager : Taken care of me? I’m with W longer thank you, Hank, and you’re taking care of me? Did you ever think about that?
Comment says
Even thoough we suspect lots of value we’d be reluctant to change mark to market requirments – When Issa talks about that , it’s just a stunt,
Comment says
Why doesn’t Paulson appoint Alberto Gonzales & Harriet Miers and co-counsel special masters in charge of all mortagage purchases?
Comment says
Comment confesses to be pleased by today’s vote – we have mixed feelings – We have not read those posts yet, but will soon.
As we watched Ted Poe on the House floor let the spittle fly about city slickers (ironically, the same slickers who subsidized fund Poe’s district – much to his unawares) we had to laugh.
Bush and Paulson are stuck with the rustic base and cynical populist frauds, so they wan’t Pelosi to come to the rescue.
There were aspects of the plan that seemed promising – Comment thinks there are good assets hidden under mark-to-market securities. They are hidden.
Hunter says
More support for the Positive Liberty view…
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/09/mussolini-style-corporatism-in-action.html