Mud Slings and Wooden Arrows

This is October 2, 2008. The United States is on the precipice of, well, something. Nobody seems to know exactly what it is, but that is nothing new in American culture and politics. But I am sure that today you, like many others, are either transfixed by the prospect of the upcoming VEEP debate and/or scared to death about what happens next with the financial crisis. All I really know is this:

Re: the VEEP debate. Either Palin will finally and completely reveal herself as the single most unqualified person in the history of the country to hold high office, thereby irreversibly dooming the Republican campaign, or she will turn on her feminine charm (snake oil?) and seduce America once again (here, have an apple), thereby throwing the entire race into another cocked hat between now and the election. (Perhaps she will give everyone in America a sugar-laden sno-cone, to stave off the hunger pangs of the financial crisis) After reading everything I can get my hands on (I guess like the way Sarah reads newspapers: "All of um"), that is the best summarization I can manage about the nature of the debate , right now. Mostly, I just want her to GO AWAY! I have no more energy molecules to waste on her. Please, someone make it STOP! In the meantime, "I'll just hafta git back to ya." Gawd help us.

Re: The financial crisis. I am completely convinced the politicians (who are not economists) know absolutely nothing about what it is wrong or how to fix it. And with Dubya and Paulson leading the fray, it is clearly a case of the blind leading the blind ( Two MBA's in the same room is never a good thing: look at Wall Street). And the economists (who do what is going on and how to fix it) are largely being ignored by the politicians (who don't know...never mind. You know how that sentence ends). And these economists say that the bail-out/rescue/buy-in/relief effort bill is all wrong and misses the boat. In fact, in terms what America needs, long term, as well as any real for real help to come to Main Street (have you ever met a politician OR an economist on Main Street? I haven't), this bill not only misses the boat, it misses the dock, the shore and even the north American continent (parts of it do reach China, however).

Last night, the Senate (you elected 'em!) passed a version of this non-helpful legislation by a whopping 75% margin ( this just two days after the House rejected something like it by a similar margin: we are politically schizoid) . To no one's surprise, even in the midst of our darkest hour, it is packed chock full of earmarks and pork. The media pundits have said that these add-ons and taxation rule changes and FDIC modifications "sweeten" the bill enough for it to be passed by the House. The economists (whom the politicians don't listen to) say that despite all of this bombast and rhetoric (from the politicians who don't know what's wrong or how to fix it...there I said it again), that the Congress is saddling each American with an additional debt of around $2200.00. According to the politicians (who don't know..oops, sorry), we will get this back some day. Well, probably never in my (your) lifetime. Trust them. They are your friends. However, when you do get it back, it will be in Chinese currency.

This morning, that silly and irrelevant man pretending to be the President of the United States, met with some "business advisors" (Wall St. guys?) and then went on television to plead rather pathetically that the Congress should act quickly (that would be novel) because, "London Bridge is falling down, falling down". The only thing missing was the music. If you missed it, you missed nothing, because his oratory was simply "naw-some". That is to say. it was a combination of nauseous and awesomely bad. He didn't help. He should have been out walking Barney or riding his bike: either activity would have been as useful (he probably thinks he was offering his "contributoriness"). Lame ducks should never quack in public.

But the capper, here, may well be this: in his daily NYT op ed, Professor Krugman (Princeton and all that, one of those economists that politicians don't listen to) declared that this was not a good bill but it was the only one we had and we should do it...but he didn't like it. He then pointed out that one of the earmark/pork barrel/bill stuffers was a section that addressed special tax efforts on behalf of the makers of "certain kinds of wooden arrows, made for children".

If you can find something, anything more irrelevant or more absurd to attach to this landmark (boat-sinking?) legislation (which the economists say isn't going to work, anyway), then please tell me what it is. If the House has the gall, in the face of the huge public outcry against such an action, to pass this bill, then I submit to you that it simply won't matter whether Sarah Palin ends the evening looking like a pile of moose droppings on the snow, or comes off like the second coming of Mary Magdelene, speaking in tongues. We will all only have big government bags full of wooden nickels...er arrows... to show for it all. Somehow, I don't think that was what anybody had thought of as the perfect "rapture". Have a nice day and be careful what you do with your arrows.


Life goes on in Texas

Financial Black Ops for Main Street

Today, Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of (but not for) the House of Representatives (a group who obviously represents someone other than you and I), said that this gigantic, enormous, emergency (hurry up and pass this, before somebody notices) $700B Congressional bailout plan was:
"not a bailout. It's a buy-in".

If so, before I (we) start to feel better about this, I have a few questions (and so should you!). But before you even stop to consider the fact that the Congress has NEVER, EVER moved this fast, at any time in our history, you might review the following:

If it's not a "bail out", why is everyone carrying water buckets to and from Wall Street, and why are they filled with tax money?

If it's not a "bail out", why are the people carrying the buckets all taxpayers, while the people on Wall Street are looking smilingly out the windows, waiting for the buckets?

If it's not a "bail out", why are all the buckets coming back empty for the next five years?

If it is a "buy-in", who asked me (you) if I (we) wanted to buy in in the first place? Did I miss something?

If you were offered a chance to "buy-in", would you buy-in without a contract and some safeguards? "What's in your wallet?"

If you were offered a chance to buy in, would you do it with the Federal government as your partner? With George Bush as the CFO? With a contract written by government lawyers?(Put another way, how far are you prepared to bend over?)

If you were offered a chance to buy in, would you let Bernanke and Paulson be the brokers of record ?(remember that their lawyer was Roberto Gonzales...and he got fired)

Just in case someone might ask, would you like to have the option NOT to buy in? I don't hear Ms. Pelosi or the "Representatives" offering that one. (I thought I voted for these people. YOU?)

If this is not a "bail out", why are we so worried about the ship sinking? And if it is sinking, why hasn't someone looked for the leaks? Can anyone spell "Cause and Effect"? There must be"fault" lines here, somewhere.

And whether or not it is a "bail out" or a "buy in", why are the Chinese all smiling?

I think Ms. Pelosi is neglecting to tell us (lying through her teeth, maybe?) that this "buy-in" of Wall Street Real Estate is really like having us "buy-in" to beachfront property in Arizona. But that would explain two things:

It's probably why John McCain has awoken and is suddenly so keenly interested, as well as why we always talk about Wall Street as "swimming" in money.

WTF!?

Life goes on in Texas.

A Sporting Event

I tuned in tonight, armed with a glass of Gatorade and a handful of fig newtons, to watch the debate, the one referenced in the subject line, above. I must have had the tuner on the wrong station, because instead of the fire that I expected to break out, with flames shooting at me in high def, instead of claims and counter claims, accusations and blame-gaming, I saw two people in boring suits, with boring ties ( and one guy in a puke-green shirt) starring in a replay of a ping-pong match.

The guy on the left kept saying the guy on the right was inexperienced and naive. He said that about seven times. The guy on the right kept saying, "You're right, John". He said that about eight times. When both guys were asked (by the only guy who was really "on topic") what they would both do without (as President) because there would be no money in the bank, they ignored him and played more ping-pong. They did that three times. Back and forth. Back and forth.

Afterwards, some other guy on TV said the guy on the left was "contentious". I just thought he was being old and gnarly. Then someone said the guy on the right was "too nice" and "missed a few openings". I just thought he was showing respect for his elders. You have to go easy on old people, especially when they work for the government and crashed planes for a living.

There was some chit-chat about oil drilling and alternative energy sources and resurgent surges of terrorists, and the guy on the left denied ever being Miss Congeniality but said he and his newgirlfriend were both Mavericks. At that point I thought maybe the guy on the right would start a real argument over how to pronounce the name of the president of whatsitstan, but instead he talked about tax loopholes for the drilling people who already had more money than the alternative energy people who needed tax breaks to pay for health insurance for the people installing the alternative energy equipment. And for a moment I wondered if while that was going on, the guy on the left was thinking about drilling his girlfriend.

It was all very exciting. It was something like the thrill I experience when I watch my instant oatmeal heat up in the microwave every morning. Then Keith Olberman made some jokes, and Chris Matthews and Pat Buchanan yelled at the microphone about who went 15 rounds without a knockout, and I had some ice cream and went to bed.

Nobody ever did tell me what the hell they plan to do with that $700 billion. Maybe it's not important in ping-pong.

Life Goes On In Texas.

Klugman...er, Krugman on our money

I will just keep sending Krugman along to everyone until he stops making such good sense. HE should go to Washington and McCain should go somewhere else. Far away.

And FactCheck.org reports this morning that the police chief of Wassilla ordered rape victims to pay for their rape kits, not necessarily Palin, although she may have had something to do with it. And it turns out that they shoot grey wolves in Alaska because they are largely a menace, like rats in NYC. Of course we have menaces walking the halls of the capitol in DC and we don't shoot them...curious.
----- Original Message -----
From: ihentschel@austin.rr.com
To: ihentschel@austin.rr.com
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2008 9:20 AM
Subject: NYTimes.com: Where Are the Grown-Ups?




OPINION September 26, 2008 Op-Ed Columnist: Where Are the Grown-Ups? By PAUL KRUGMAN The grown-up thing to do is to rescue the financial system. If Henry Paulson isn’t the grown-up we need, are Congressional leaders able to fill the role?

Life Goes ON in Texas.

Say what?

This is amazing!

George Will, bless his perfectly coiffed and conservative Republican head, slipped up (oops!) and said about 20 words this week that were both almost nice and complimentary about Barack Obama. He also let it slip (oops!) that John McCain, among other nasty and personally objectionable habits, may have a problem with his temper! Wow! And George (no, not that one) even had the (gasp) audacity (remember that elitist phrase?) to suggest that this little character flaw might prevent plane-crash Johnny from being able to be a good commander in chief. (This all has something to do with little red buttons, 3 A.M. phone calls and a tolerance for 21rst century technology...but you figure it out).

But what has happened (and I'm sure Mrs. Will and George's best friends are completely flummoxed by this) is that in so doing, my new best friend, GEORGE (no, not THAT one!) has infused several thousand volts of energy into the Obama campaign. And the polls show it.

Of course, as far as government finances go, the fact that we have all been only recently reminded of the Keating Five debacle (Johnny says it was difficult time in his life), the $15,000/mo. Mr. Davis has been (not?)collecting from Fannie and/or Freddie, the fact that McCain has no idea what Wall Street does or what a "debit-buy-back-repurchase refund bail-out" is (I don't either, neither do you and neither does Henry Paulson...don't BS me on this), and the skies over Arizona don't look very good, right now (Maybe Cindy needs a new dress or Sarah needs to dress another moose. Whatever).

I sent Obama some money the other day. At the same time I offered to send McCain a voucher for dinner for two at a Viet Namese restaurant. After I was mildly chastised for considering this gesture (it was too good for him?), I just casually mentioned that the restaurant I had in mind was in the basement of the Hanoi Hilton. With any luck the dinner would take another five years, and this whole freaking disaster could be averted. I bet George Will never thought of that one!

In the meantime, thank you George (no, not THAT one) for showing America that miracles can take place, and let's all hope that all roads don't lead to Hooverville. Despite Condi Rice's fundamentals. Heard THAT one yet?

Life Goes On In Texas.

Money Matters

Foxes and Hen Houses

I’ve been waiting several days for someone to say this, but no one has (just like this, anyway), so I will:


The Fox is not only IN the henhouse, he holds the mortgage on it…and it is an ARM, sub-prime. The Fox controls the water supply to the henhouse. The Fox controls the electricity to the henhouse. The Fox has the henhouse’ checkbook. The Fox won’t let the roosters in and can’t understand why there are no fresh eggs. The Fox wants more eggs to sell to buy guns to protect the henhouse.

Any of the chickens in the henhouse that the Fox doesn’t eat, he screws. Paulsen wants to be a Fox and a Rooster and we will all be chickens if we don’t make Congress skin the bastard and make him into a fox stole. Even PETA would like that.

Life Goes on in Texas

This Day Started Out Nice

There are several cultural phenomena taking shape in the US right now that will have profound effects on both our immediate and long term futures. I am writing this because I have spent literally the entire day in front of the computer, reading countless articles and stories, which, taken together, add up to just plain frightening.

The most immediate, I suppose, is the proposed $700 billion bail-out of Wall Street and mortgage bankers by Bush, Paulsen and the neo-cons. Every piece I have read today, which is supported and bolstered by thousands of readers' comments, decry this as a VERY BAD IDEA. When I hear the likes of Paul Krugman and Robert Reich say "DON'T!", I have to stop and listen. This action will plunge America into a debt load which will be virtually impossible to recover from for any foreseeable future. You have a voice. You should use it to tell your congressional representatives to put a stop to this financial suicide. If you don't believe me about the seriousness of this situation, let me know, and I'll give you a half-dozen web sites to peruse for your own satisfaction.

The second unpublicized issue is the matter of the US beginning bombing runs in Pakistan, WITHOUT TELLING ANYBODY. This is precisely the kind of black ops shenanigans that the Bush administration is using to cloud the issues in the current domestic political debate, start more wars, spend more money we don't have, and kill people around the globe. I know the neo-cons don't think a few more dead US soldiers matter much, but perhaps you think otherwise. If they get away with this unnoticed, Iran will go up in flames next, oil prices will skyrocket and most the world will be embroiled in serious conflicts. By the way, the Pakistanis are shooting back at us with the same IF-16 warplanes WE SOLD TO THEM. Think about it. If you can justify any of that, please tell me how you figured that one out. Beats me.

The third unfolding narrative is the unparalleled polarization of left vs. right, blue vs.red in the political make-up of our country. The crowds attending political rallies for McCain-Palin are charged with shouts that are angry and vitriolic. The McCain campaign ads against Barack are borderline criminal and packed with outright lies. Sarah Palin generates a hateful and disdainful mood by her nearly obscene, nearly racist remarks. On the other side, the crowds for Obama and Biden are equally strident and seem almost unfazed by the critical nature of the discourse. Either they are completely naive, or they do not comprehend the imminent physical danger posed by the right wing to Obama, or how serious the real danger is that voting machines will be rigged in at least two states, in order to throw the election. And before you say it to me, I know some of Obama's ads and claims are not 100% truthful, either. That is not helping the overall polarization. Figures lie and liars figure, and both sides are proving this old adage.

If Obama wins, the uphill battle to wrest the country from the throes of monetary disruption and world-wide war will be nearly insurmountable, and the current and likely future Congress will be helpless (in addition to being useless) to do anything about it. If Obama is assassinated (and there is plenty of right-wing talk about that) or if even an serious attempt is made on his life, the inner cities will explode with rage. Repairing the aftermath of Ike will seem like child's play, by comparision.

If Mcain wins, legally or otherwise, all of the aspects of American life which are fragile right now will become tatters and shambles within months. And if he dies ( you haven't thought of that?), do you REALLY want Sarah Palin as your commander in chief? Unless you have no TV and cannot read, you should know enough about her by now to know that she is a preposterous joke thrust upon the American people. And one thing she is not is a friend to women.

But the right loves her to death while the left laughs at her, both of which make her dangerous. More polarization.

As I said, this day started out nice (nicely?), but it sure has gone down hill, fast. Stop Bush. Stop Paulsen. Stop McCain. Call or write your congressman. Hope as best you can for Obama. Worry about the Pakistani farmers. If you pray, pray for peace and sanity. Either one will help bring on the other.

Life goes on in Texas