From Gail Collins:
We are trying not to get too fixated on the fairness aspects of the bailout. However, this approach seems to resemble a plan in which you fix a classroom that's distracted by one disruptive pupil by sending said troublemaker to a private school in Lucerne equipped with an on-campus ski lift while the rest of the kids stay at Millard Fillmore Elementary, sharing textbooks…
Instead of dancing around the problem, can't we just have the government take over the impacted banks, hire all the unemployed bond traders to figure out how much the toxic assets are worth, dispose of them for whatever the market will bear and then sell the newly reconstituted banks back to private investors? That was Sweden's approach, and it worked rather well.
The answer is that Americans will never do anything that Sweden does. Never have, never will. Don't argue with me. It's a rule.
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Like a stranded Japanese soldier on a Pacific island
... who still thinks he's fighting WWII. That's how some of the Rush-bot Republicans seem to be thinking, imagining some dramatic turn that will save the Empire is just around the bend.
Example, Charlie Crist's recent support for the Obama stimulus package. The new secretary of the national Republican party is from Fort Lauderdale and says she's received a lot of phone calls from people who "weren't happy" with Crist, but she understands his position. Other Florida Republicans, not so much:
Broward County's state Republican committeeman, Ed Kennedy, isn't at all reticent."What that was, was an embarrassment to the governor himself, an embarrassment to the state and an embarrassment to the Republican Party. It was terrible," he said.
Kennedy said there's growing discontent among Republicans, but most aren't willing to speak about it publicly. "There's major grumbling within the party [but] because he is a powerful individual they're reluctant to express it publicly — yet."
Poor, delusional Ed. A poll released this week shows a 70% approval rating for Crist amongst Republicans, which is slightly higher than his overall approval rating. Boy, that's a lot of timid, "reluctant" Republicans who just can't resist telling the pollsters what they want to hear. Poor, meek darlin's.
But Ed's thinking seems right in line with that of the Congressional Republicans. So keep leading the charge, boys, and don't mind the rest of us giggling when we watch your faces as you realize that no one is following.
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There you go again: The GOP blames us for their crisis: http://casadelogo.typepad.com/factesque/2009/02/there-you-go-again-the-gop-blames-us-for-their-crisis.html#more
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It was bad enough when Nigel Haskett was shot at McDonald's in Little Rock, Arkansas. The worker had rushed to helped a woman who was struck by a man and was shot three times. He was then told by Claims specialist Misty Thompson with insurance company Ramsey, Krug, Farrell and Lensing responded, that he had no right to worker's compensation for his injuries. Hasket required three surgeries at a cost of $300,000 in medical bills and six months recovery.
In her statement, she states "we've denied this claim in its entirety, it's our opinion that Mr. Haskett's injuries did not arise out of or within the course of his employment."
What is particularly galling for many is that the insurance company noted that Haskett violated McDonald's policy, which says in a robbery situation it tells employees not to do anything that would put themselves or anyone else in danger. Nice.
McDonald's, it seems, could do a bit more here as a company. One obvious act would be to support him in his claim publicly and pledge to cover his expenses. While the policy may be to encourage employees not to try to thwart a robbery, this was an effort to protect a woman and customers from a violent individuals. Story here.
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Politico has discovered that despite Obama's claim to wanting diverse voices advising him, he has an amazing lack of CEOs in his cabinet.
It's a crying shame that he has neglected to include any of the scads of accomplished men and women who make up the country's richest class. Just think of what he might miss if he does not consider their input and well-being when creating policy.###
Here's a new poll from US World and News Report: "If you had a choice of four daycare centers run separately by Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi, which would you choose for your kids?"
Guess who the winner is? The mother of a pregnant teen, whose son enlisted in the Army to avoid a felony charge, a woman who has been caught not using a car seat, who went back to work days after her kids were born, and who got pregnant at age 44 when she knew the risk of having a child with Down Syndrome was high.
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Hold the eulogies, Kennedy says: http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/
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Morgan Stanley and Citi paying $3 billion to retain brokers - socialism for the elite.
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It seems people aren't hiring ex-Bushies
Maybe it's because they were all members of a transparent crime organization. Or maybe they're not hiring them because they were all criminally incompetent. If they don't run your company into the ground, they'll cause some kind of public relations disaster when they're hauled before a grand jury. Who in their right mind would hire even a low-ranking official of the Bush administration? Based on what? Their connections? The Republicans don't run anything anymore.
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Poison balloons
Check this out and tell me Hal Turner shouldn't be investigated for encouraging domestic terrorism.
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Why men shouldn't write advice columns
Dear Walter,
I hope you can help me here. The other day, I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't driven more than a mile down the road when the engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help. When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with the neighbors' daughter. I'm 32, my husband is 34, and the neighbors' daughter is 22.
We have been married for ten years. When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that they had been having an affair for the past six months. I told him to stop or I'd leave him. He was let go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant.
He won't go to counseling and I'm afraid I can't get through to him anymore.
Can you please help?
Sincerely,
Sheila
...........
Dear Sheila:
A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine... Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it's clear, check the vacuum pipes and hoses on the intake manifold and also check all grounding wires. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the injectors.
I hope this helps,
WALTER
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In case you didn't know - Twitter: Typing What I'm Thinking To Everyone Reading
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So does Gary Condit get an apology? http://brilliantatbreakfast.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-does-gary-condit-get-apology.html
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What's the point of sending 17,000 more to Afghanistan when they can't be supplied?
Kyrgyzstan served an eviction notice regarding the Manus Air Base on the US Ambassador.
SecDef Gates thinks that this is not a closed issue. I am not as optimistic, I don't see how the Kyrgyzstanis can easily back down without showing a really hefty bonus to justify their reversal.
The reasons behind all of this may be murky, but I don't know of anyone who is not convinced that the reasons for the base closure lie in the Kremlin. The Russians have said they are willing to provide logistical transport routes to Afghanistan, but the price will, no doubt, be high.
Let us not forget that all of this is because the Bush Admininstration neglected to finish what they began. They turned thier backs on Afghanistan, much in the same way that President George H.W. Bush did, and with much the same result. Bush also stuck with backing a military dictator who was not willing to confront the true danger facing his country and was not willing or able to take on the Taliban sympathizers within his own government.
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Mountaintop removal to the tune of Country Roads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oG3iK_SQzY&eurl=http://www.mockpaperscissors.com/blog/
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4,247 soldiers killed in Iraq; 657 in Afghanistan.
Oh, and we admitted to killing another 13 civilians in Afghanistan last Tuesday: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/world/asia/22afghan.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
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It looks like the guy we thought would bring change is siding with Bush on the rights of detainees at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, saying they don't deserve habeas corpus and cannot challenge their detention in US courts.
Four inmates at the Bagram prison, where the United States has approximately 600 detainees, were given a hearing by US District Court in Washington last month, seeking the same rights accorded to prisoners at the US naval facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090221/wl_asia_afp/usafghanistanattacksguantanamoprisonjustice
Defending those who ordered torture, refusing to even investigate the Bush Crime Family, allowing extraordinary rendition, and now denying habeas corpus. The change is breathtaking.
He's also broadening the number of radical groups targeted by the CIA inside Pakistan: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_expanding_military_operations_in_Pakistan_0221.html
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America's top 15 emptiest cities: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/Story?id=6914381&page=1
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