Senator Franken

If the phrase Senator Franken has as much appeal to you as it does to me, then perhaps you are wondering, as I do, why Barak Obama isn't using his coat tails to help Al Franken.

Should not each day be regarded as an opportunity to remind the state of Minnesota that it has a duty to seat a senator?

A fair election was held and the results were counted, but the wealth and poor grace of Norm Coleman is allowed to obstruct the wishes of a majority of Minnesota voters.

How long must America wait?

Bush on Broadway

Will Ferrell discusses his new one-man Broadway play, in which he parodies George W. Bush as he leaves:

You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush

It runs through March 15th in New York and you can get tickets here:

Your Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush

Starvation diet

Benjamin Franklin, under the nom de plume Richard Saunders, wrote that "He that lives on Hope will die fasting" (Poor Richard's Almanac of 1757).

In order to turn Famine away from his door, perhaps, Chris Hedges has written an article titled "It's not going to be OK" in which Hope is kicked, choked, humiliated, and then stabbed repeatedly. For instance, he writes...

"At no period in American history has our democracy been in such peril or has the possibility of totalitarianism been as real. Our way of life is over. Our profligate consumption is finished. Our children will never have the standard of living we had. And poverty and despair will sweep across the landscape like a plague. This is the bleak future. There is nothing President Obama can do to stop it. It has been decades in the making. It cannot be undone with a trillion or two trillion dollars in bailout money. Our empire is dying. Our economy has collapsed."

Later, Chris interviews Sheldon S. Wolin, who informs us that the political Left in America...

"...has crumbled. It sold out to a bankrupt Democratic Party, abandoned the working class and has no ability to organize. Unions are a spent force. The universities are mills for corporate employees. The press churns out info-entertainment or fatuous pundits. The left, he said, no longer has the capacity to be a counterweight to the corporate state. He said that if an extreme right gains momentum there will probably be very little organized resistance."

Poor Hope! What abuse!

Benjamin Franklin also wrote, "Industry pays debts, while despair increases them", but I find it difficult to be industrious without Hope.

Doesn't everybody?

Honoring Pledges

Barak Obama seems to be quietly and quickly fulfilling his campaign pledges. On the first full day of his new employment he commanded that his generals conduct the "planning necessary to execute a responsible military drawdown” from Iraq.

Source

If, like me, you think that Iraq is a quagmire for our troops and a drain on the treasury, then you are quite pleased to see action in the right direction.

If, like Bush, you think that Iraq will eventually adopt democracy and then serve as a shining beacon of freedom in the Middle East, you are no doubt disappointed, particularly if you also believe Iraq is the "central front in the war on terror".

The thing about being president is, it is more than an intellectual exercise. We shall soon see what future awaits Iraq.

Was Carter wise?

Sometimes you have to wait out wise words to understand that they were wise. Here is former president Jimmy Carter talking about energy:



I imagine we would be in a much better situation today if we had recognized the chains upon us and faced the new dawn. It must be that he was not the leader we needed.

"Can we hear him now?", I wonder.

A New Day

To boding sacred awe night's shadow
Awakes the better self in men.
Now lie aslumber savage urges
With every vehemence of deed;
Now love of man for man resurges,
The love of God is stirred and freed.

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe -

Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-Dee-Aye!

Mixing George Bush's exit with Barak Obama's entrance is like putting gravy on cranberry sauce. I prefer not to mix my entrances and exits. Today, therefore, I shall think of as George W. Bush's denauguration. I feel like a parade, perhaps with crowds of midgets singing and dancing.

Goodbye George Bush, Goodbye!
We hope you don't expect us to cry.
We might shed a tear
For one we hold dear, but
In your case we'll just say bye bye.

Goodbye George Bush, Goodbye!
We grew weary of all of your lies.
You trembled in fear
For seven and one year, and
We'd rather see your back than your eyes.

How's about?

I thought of another way to manage these bank bail outs and it goes like this.

The federal government offers homeowners a refinance loan at 2% fixed interest. This puts money in the pockets of homeowners, while also capitalizing the banks. It takes a bottom-up approach that bypasses the bottlenecks in the financial system (i.e. Bank of America, AIG, and pals). What it does do is make sure that American Taxpayers get bang for their bailout buck.

Concur not conquer

I recently spent time in Grenada and as far as I could tell from talking to the people I met, they view the Reagan invasion as a salvation. I toured an old airport with rusting relics of the Soviet Empire and saw graffiti celebrating the removal of the K.G.B. (my favorite was "K.G.B. Behave!")

I started to think that it was good to travel abroad as an American citizen and not be identified solely with the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I also started to think that maybe there is opportunity for mutually beneficial trade in the ECU (Eastern Caribbean Union).

In Grenada, for instance, they grow delicious bananas that aren't as big as baseball bats. They have lots of spices, like nutmeg and a particularly excellent Cinnamon. They make rum and have breadfruit and papaya. They have a warm climate and white sand beaches.

Maybe the US should spend more time with nations that want our presence and less with nations that don't going forward?

It's a wonderful bank

Here is a fantastic article on a sector of the banking community that is doing well:

Too Small to Fail


My own experience with a community bank mortgage wasn't so romantic. Before the ink had dried the mortgage was sold to another bank and the first letter I got in my new home informed me I was doing business with a national chain (now partly owned by the benevolent government of Singapore).

I signed up for the George Bailey experience but he sold me out to Mr. Potter.

My "local" bank was eventually bought.

Where's the beef?

As I watch Obama make appointments and make statements a recurring question comes to mind and it is this: "Is he going to represent the people that elected him, or only those that voted against him?"

It's all well and good to pretend that there is such a thing as bipartisanship in Washington D.C., but to act on such belief seems a bit daft to me.

Catching up...

I have been without power for days and so I am currently playing catch-up.

The big news story is that an Iraqi journalist threw two shoes at the president Bush.

My first thought was of Mike Myers in the role of Austin Powers:



The Truth seems no longer stranger than fiction.

On Dreaming...

My dream is to see Barney Frank replace Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House. Nancy lacks pizzaz and therefore makes for a dull majority leader.

Barney, though, turns a phrase like this:

"[Obama's] going to have to be more assertive than he's been. At a time of great crisis with mortgage foreclosures and autos, he says we only have one president at a time. I'm afraid that overstates the number of presidents we have. He's got to remedy that situation."

Source

I think he's got the wit and flair to make a headline-grabbing majority leader, and when you can grab headlines you can steer the news coverage.

I think he would also bring out the very worst in Republicans for all Americans to see.

More job cuts announced

Santa to cut 12,000 jobs and slash spending

Thu Dec 4, 2008 10:13am EST

Santa Claus said he would eliminate 12,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of his workforce, a fresh wave of cuts to cope with an economic downturn that has exacerbated a decline in the irrational exuberance of children.

Santa said on Thursday he will cut the jobs over the remainder of 2008 and 2009, and take a charge of about $600 million in this year's fourth quarter for severance.

Santa attributed the job cuts to "economic pressures, a changing business mix and a more streamlined organizational structure."

Santa also plans to cut his 2009 capital spending from this year's levels, though actual spending plans have not yet been finalized. Santa said he would provide details on his capital spending in late January.

The cuts come as the Santa Claus struggles with declining demand, as many children switch their hopes to cheaper, Chinese-made plastic toys, and away from the traditional Elvin-crafted playthings.

The move follows Santa’s April announcement of cutting 4,600 jobs, mostly in management, as well as a three-year plan disclosed at the end of last year to cut 10,000 jobs.

Santa has been trying to maintain childhood irrational exuberance by investing in new, high-speed Internet and video services. But, children have yet to embrace the new wooden snowpod devices or elf-tunes music service. Said Christopher Robbins, a potential customer and Pooh-companion, “I checked out the music service, but who wants to listen to flutes and lutes?”

Nonetheless Santa has promised there will be no interruption of services this year, but if trends continue he may face some belt tightening and leaner days.

Mumbai

Here is a photo collection by the Boston Globe concerning the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai:

Attack in Images

In this Daily Show episode from December 1st, John Oliver analyzes the Bombay attacks with profundity and profanity.

Casting Stones

One thing that bothers me about the Democratically-led Congress post 2006 is the go-along-to-get-along chumminess of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Their underlying assumption, if they are stupid as opposed to complicit, is that making nice with Republicans and with Joe Lieberman is like an investment that pays off down the road in a tit-for-tat warm gesture book-balancing accounting.

Does not the hand that feeds a lion look like a steak when the meat locker is empty?

The president Bush, for all his bungling of the national interests, has time and again received what he wanted without a fight. Yet, I have never witnessed a genuine cooperative gesture in his administration. He is still out there, in fact, bullying from his bully pulpit, a champion moron to the finish line.

I found a voice recently that does a rather good job of expressing my sentiments and her name is Ann Davidow:

She Writes...

I happen to think that ridicule is the most potent defense against a bully with a Messiah complex. I suppose it is because it is hard to be taken seriously when one isn't, and president Bush has been taken far too seriously for far too long.

About face?

By announcing that Robert Gates will keep his job and by allegedly placing Hillary Clinton at Secretary of State and by smooching political favors to Joe Lieberman I'd say Barak Obama has no intention of getting us out of Iraq.

Why would he place sincere neocons and hawks in his own way if he intends to follow through on his campaign promises?

That sucking sound

If George W. Bush were a traitor or a spy you'd have to admire his competence, especially in light of the current financial consequences of republican rule.

Citigroup seems destined to become the latest recipient of treasury secretay Henry Paulson's public-purse pick-pocketing, while Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid attend dutifully.

What we are seeing, in essence, is the robber baron class taking America's electoral hopes (which require public funds) and sending them down the cash-to-crony crapper.

Paul Krugman said this about the Citigroup "plan":

"a lousy deal for the taxpayers, no accountability for management, and just to make things perfect, quite possibly inadequate, so that Citi will be back for more."

Source

Is there a credible reason why Congress can't shut off the money press until Obama and his team are in charge?

Why is the American taxpayer bailing out United Arab Emirates Sovereign Wealth Fund and the Government Investment Corp. of Singapore (who own large stakes in Citibank)?

Shouldn't Nancy Pelosi, who allegedly has some type of Congressional "purse-string" authority, seek to attach strings to purse disbursements?

I think that to fail as much as George W. Bush unintentionally requires an implausible measure of bad fortune, but perhaps I fail to pay proper respect to ignorance.

Looking on the bright side...

One of the inspirations for this blog was the Monty Python skit, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", from the movie Life of Brian. The other major influences were Charlie Chaplin's final speech in the Great Dictator, and the sad life and times of George W. Bush.

There is now a Monty Phython Channel on YouTube and that allows me to provide you with the following inspirational music video:



If you have a favorite Monty Python clip, you can likely find it here.

May you spend the rest of the day whistling.

My Holy Politics

It occurs to me this morning that conservative republicans want to privatize the public interest and take the private interest public. After having that thought it seemed right to state the obvious on a bumper-sticker.