Friday, June 26, 2009

Mark his words

6-24-09—On behalf of the people of Illinois and New York, I’d like to thank South Carolina for giving us Mark... Finally, a governor who’s weirder than Rod Blagojevich and less rsponsbile than Eliot Spitzer. ...before this search for a [GOP] presidential nominee goes any further, I’m thinking it’s time for the Republicans to apologize for putting us through the Clinton impeachment. W seem to have pretty well established that sexual stone-throwing is a dangerous sport. –Gail Collins—NYT A21

Monday, June 22, 2009

update

--6-20-09—“I don’t believe in colleges and universities, I believe in libraries.”—Ray Bradbury NYT A1
--If Mr. Sarkozy campaigned on the idea of working more to earn more, Mr. Cohn-Bendit [Danny the Red, now Danny the Green] said the Green coalition urged “work differently for a better life.”—NYT A4
--People on the government’s terrorist watch list tried to buy guns nearly 1000 times in the last five years, and federal authorities cleared the purchases 9 time out of 10 because they had no legal way to stop them, according to a new government report.—NYT A10

Friday, June 19, 2009

ya gotta love these guys

--6-19-09—CEOs of bailed-out banks flew to resorts on firms’ jets. WSJ A1

Thursday, June 18, 2009

6-18-09

--The American College of Physicians attributes much of the high cost of the US health care system to its relative excess of well-paid specialists and lack of primary care doctors. ... Another very important but often overlooked reason for greater health expenditures in the US is that, more than in any other advanced country, large parts are owned by investors. As a result, the entire industry behaves like a profit driven industry ... Nearly a half-century ago, Kenneth Arrow, later a Nobel laureate, convincingly argued that medical care cannot conform to market laws because patients are not ordinary consumers and doctors are not ordinary vendors. –NYRB, 7-2-09 p. 38
--6-18-09—[Senator Gregg (R-NH)) said the Kennedy [health care draft] bill looked as if it had been written by Rube Goldberg, Karl Marx and Ira Magaziner. ... Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) fired back. “Our current system is a combination of Adam Smith, Darth Vader and the ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” she said. “So I like our plan better.”—NYT A19

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Republican solution to everything

6-17-09—Senator John Ensign, Republican of Nevada, admitted Tuesday that he had an extramarital affair with a member of his campaign staff... He and his wife, Darlene, were active for a time in Promise Keepers, a Christian evangelical ministry that promotes strong families and marriages. In a statement released by his office in Washington, Mr. Ensign said, “I take full responsibility for my actions ...” NYT A15

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

bloomsday 2009

Bloomsday, 2009—The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China are gathering in Russia to plot how they can exert more control over the global financial system... While they are far from a monolithic group, they are generally united in their frustration with the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, which enables Washington to run budget deficits without fears of facing the kind of budgetary day of reckoning that other countries risk. NYT A1, A5
--Ohio State University researchers concluded this year that strong conservatives were more likely than liberals to perceive that Colbert shows their political beliefs. –SBT,A5
--The State Department overpaid the security firm once known as Blackwater by tens of millions of dollars for its work in Iraq, an audit found. WSJ A1

Sunday, June 14, 2009

gimme culture

6-13-09—With Real Madrid spending money as if the global recession were a myth, it has been an interesting week for Joan Laporta, president of Real Madrid’s chief rival, F.C. Barcelona. But having just completed the most successful campaign in Barcelona’s history by winning La Lipa, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, Laporta, 46, is preaching serenity ahead of his final season in charge... [he said:] “One model is you build a team with checks and money. And another model is the one we have, where we have a trajectory, where we are mature, and identified with our culture. Of the players we have in our first team, more than 50% come from our youth teams.... In the global financial crisis, we in football have to be examples in many things. And in this case, common sense is telling us something different [from Real Madrid]. ... Like I say, they sign names, and we have a team. NYT B12

--6-13/14-09—Picture an America that is run not, as now, by a top-heavy Washington autocracy, but, in freewheeling style, by an assemblage of largely autonomous regional republics reflecting the eclectic economic and cultural character of the society. [Republics, as “envisioned by some percolating secessionist movements” would include:
• Alaska-self-explanatory
• Hawaii—self-explanatory
• Cascadia—Vancouver down through Seattle
• Cali Baja—Greater San Diego through Northern Baja
• Texas—self explanatory
• Lakotah—Amerindians want ND, SD, MONT., WY, NB
• North Star Republic—MN, WI, MI—socialist republic
• Novacadia—NH, VT, ME, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Lsland and Nova Scotia, modeled on Denmark
• Southern National Congress—MO, KY, MD and everything south except for SC
• Christian Exodus—SC, a sovereign Christian run state
WSJ W1-2

--6-13/14-09--...the USA Today story this week on a Gallup poll saying nearly half the country’s Republicans and Republican-leaners can’t come up with a name when asked who their party’s leader is. Of those who could think of a name, 10% said Rush Limbaugh, 10% Newt Gingrich, 9% Dick Cheney. WSJ A13

Friday, June 12, 2009

have a good weekend

6-12-09--Back in April, there was a huge fuss over an internal report by the Department of Homeland Security warning that current conditions resemble those in the early 1990s — a time marked by an upsurge of right-wing extremism that culminated in the Oklahoma City bombing.
Conservatives were outraged. The chairman of the Republican National Committee denounced the report as an attempt to “segment out conservatives in this country who have a different philosophy or view from this administration” and label them as terrorists. But with the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-abortion fanatic, closely followed by a shooting by a white supremacist at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the analysis looks prescient.
There is, however, one important thing that the D.H.S. report didn’t say: Today, as in the early years of the Clinton administration but to an even greater extent, right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment.—Krugman, NYT A23
--House’s No. 2 Republican [Rep. Eric Cantor] compares Obama to Putin. –SBT A3
--Andrews [chair of a white advocacy group] said he voted for Obama because “I want to see the Republican Party destroy, so it can be reborn as a party representing the interests of white people, and not entrenched corporate elites.”—Ibid.
--Movies at one South Bend theatre: Angels & Demons, Drag Me to Hell, The Hangover, Imagine That, Land of the Lost, My Life in Ruins, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Star Trek, The Taking of Pelham, Terminator Salvation. –SBT D6

more than a club

6-12-09—The outlaw for Messrs. Ronaldo and Kaka of more than $220 million also came two weeks after Real Madrid’s bitter rival, FC Barcelona, beat Mr. Ronaldo’s Manchester United in the final of the UEFA Champions League, the world’ most prestigious tournament for professional clubs.... The rivalry between Barcelona and Madrid, known as “the derby,” is fueled by simmering political resentments. During the reign of Francisco Franco, Madrid was the favored team of the fascist establishment while Barcelona was the team of the Catalan resistance. WSJ B2

Thursday, June 11, 2009

floats my boat

6-11-2009—If the Democrats enact a public-option health-insurance program, America is on the way to becoming a European-style welfare state. 00Karl Rove, WSJ A11

--Two years ago, America’s two publicly traded strip-club chains were thriving, reporting big sales gains, buying clubs on a nearly monthly basis and posting three- and four- fold stock price gains. Then the recession hit...—WSJ B1

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

6-10-09

6-10-09--...the director of financial aid gave the [admissions team at Reed College] another task: drop more than 100 needy students before sending out acceptances, and substitute those who could pay full freight [nearly $50,000 per year]. NYT A1
--GWB spent “a total of 490 days” in the tumbleweed isolation of Crawford—NYT A27
--Boomers to this year’s grads: We are really, really sorry. WSJ A11
--A larger reason for the shock and surprise [at the killing of Dr. Tiller, the Oklahoma bombing]—and this is true for the right generally—is this: The culture wars are not meant to be taken seriously. ... these are the ingredients of entertainment, not politics.—A13

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

6-9-09

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's Pirate Party, striking a chord with voters who want more free content on the Internet, won a seat in the European Parliament, early results showed on Sunday.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

6-7-09

6-7-09—Russia says dollar makes a poor reserve currency. NYT B3

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

6-3-09 WSJ headlines

6-3-09—China Firm to Buy Hummer
--Germany Blasts “powers of the Fed”
--Congress Helped Banks Defang Key Rule—WSJ A1

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

6-2-09

6-2-09—[Treasury Secretary] Geithner’s trip [to China] seems geared more towards winning the confidence of Chinese leaders. He is emphasizing mutual respect and trying to ensure that Beijing does not sour on the dollar or stop buying Treasury notes. NYT A6


--...in some traditional Swiss restaurants, well-known bankers have been booed out of the house; one brasserie even turned away an illustrious banker client. NYT A9

Monday, June 1, 2009

6-1-09

6-1-09—As the financial crisis entered one of its darkest phases in October, a handful of the nation’s largest banks began holding daily telephone sessions. ... Atop the agenda ... how to counter an expect attempt to rein in credit-default swaps and other derivatives...NYT A1
--Hospitals plan to begin a lobbying campaign this week to prevent Congress from including charity care requirements in legislation to overhaul the health system. NYT A11
--A hedge fund firm that reaped huge rewards betting against the market last year is about to open a fund premised on another wager: that the massive stimulus efforts of global governments will lead to hyperinflation. WSJ C1
--A bipartisan group of legislators is pressing the Treasury Dept. to close a loophole that has allowed banks to seize Social Security and disability benefits from customers’ accounts despite federal rules intended to protect these benefits from creditors. WSJ C1
5-29-09—The Vatican newspaper made a rare foray into sports, praising Barcelona’s triumph over Manchester United in the European Champions League final as a victory of creativity over athleticism. “Football, Finally,” was the headline in Thursday’s editions of L’Osservatore Romano. “Technique and creativity have had the better of athletic vigor,” the newspaper said.” NYT B15