Moonwalk Open Thread
By Barry Ritholtz - June 25th, 2009, 9:02PM
What a bizarre, day — the delayed reaction to the FOMC, Bernanke’s testimony, the Japanese Deflation story. The market continues to stay above 900 (6.25.09 close = 920.26).
The Summer is finally here — and the sun actually came out.
Then Farrah and Michael Jackson.
Weird.
Even GM seems to have a hit with their new Camaro.
~~~~
Rather than detail any of these, lets open the floor to your ideas, links, and questions.
What say ye ?
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June 25th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
1) People are so concerned about the gov’t warping creditor’s rights, while the CDS market has done more to warp the outcomes of bankruptcies than the legal 363 filings. The CDS market will change the nature of bankruptcy in ways we do not understand.
2) People are so concerned about “carried interest” yet hedge funds in offshore locations and their US managers pay no tax (well it’s recommended they defer for only ten years…)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124588728596150643.html
Here’s a book on it.
http://www.amazon.com/Create-Manage-Hedge-Fund-Professionals/dp/047122488X
3) Reps. Issa, Burton and that housewives-of-New-Jersey looking woman’s attempt to ruin a good man’s reputation was thwarted today. I applaud the Bernanke supporters. The people who voted for those people should seriously look at the people they are blindly pulling the lever for.
Bernanke stood his ground like a man. So he’s “just an academic, eh?” …Don’t fight the Fed.
June 25th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
…ok, but, everybudies are off on another thread…
ideas – Contador wins the Tour de France, no derivitive bet that i am aware of
links – http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Podcast/Podcast.html
questions – you worried about gettin’ your ass cracked for naming names in Bailout Nation?
June 25th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
we are entering a new world- and try as they may- the powers that be- will not be able to make it as before- fat, lazy stupid Americans will wake up one day- and see- that the jobs are gone and their way of life is over- and will start selling all the useless shit they own to make ends meet-
nothing like a depression to put people’s priorities straight-
fuck the Fed and their attempts to delay what is necessary- trying to reflate- attempting to keep the balls in the air when the game is up-
fucking idiots
June 25th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
the fed is evil
June 25th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Check this out:
http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/06/gazprom-and-state-of-nigeria-create-jv.html#disqus_thread
Be sure to read the comments.
June 25th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
@ahab: Why don’t you say what’s on your mind.
Hey, the Ivy League Banksters are in control. Congressional hearings are simply re-election sound bite fodder. At the end of the day nothing happens. Even on exciting days, things get slowly smothered and swept under the rug.
IMHO, the frog has already been boiled. The 80% of Americans with jobs think things are kind of cool. More buying power – cheap labor. Just like the GD. The only ones being pinched are the ones making wage and benefit concessions. And they know they may as well move around a little to so they enjoy it.
Smart traders are going to keep their powder dry, and act very cautiously – PPT. Everyone else is just flat going to stay out. Well I suppose some aren’t smart enough or aware enough to flip their 401K mufus out. But what are their choices? .5% interest is a losing proposition.
June 25th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
OMG-
LEFTBACK- too god-damned funny- LMAO
June 25th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
the porch comment is a fucking riot
June 25th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
“Does Vodka come in a 40 0z. bottle?” killed me.
June 25th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Speaking of Moonwalks any of you read the commentary by Buzz Aldrin on CNN a couple days ago?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/06/23/aldrin.mars/index.html
I’ve always argued our problems down here are only going to get worse. Raise your eyes if you hope to overcome them. The comments are interesting ( at least some ) Myopia vs Long view.
June 25th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Ahab – Spot on
June 25th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
bman-
powerful quote to follow from your link-
“More than just exploring a hostile new world, Apollo 11 was about bold vision and great risk, about the obstacles a great nation could overcome with dedication, courage and teamwork. It was about choosing a goal that exceeded our grasp — and then reaching across history to make it happen.”
man- those were the days
June 25th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
ahab and thor,
did you guys cross threads
or am i a fucking idiot?
wtf is goin’ on?
June 25th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Wes – I crossed threads, sorry. It’s confusing to me sometimes as well how and when we all collectively decide to transfer the main conversation. Barry – I like your open thread nights by the way, you’ve seen that a number of us have a habit of going off topic and these allow us to do so guilt free.
June 25th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Wes-
thor I think is commenting on my 9:28 post
June 25th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Thor-
thanks
i thought i was loosing it there for a minute
hope i did not overstate my feelings – i’m cool
June 25th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
@ahab -
i understand and sympathize with your 9:28 post
June 25th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Wes – no, not at all. And I know you’re cool ;-)
June 25th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
hard to be cool in H-Town – 104 deg F today
sorry cv, but the A/C was neccessary today
no A/C – no Houston, ex. 4-5 mm sheeps
June 25th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Ahab – re: your 9:28 post. Do you think it’s harder for a population to recover their, I’m not sure what the right words are, less insane direction? moral compass? than it is to recover from a massive social, economic, or environmental catastrophe? As examples, do you think it’s going to be harder for us to recover from the greed and gluttony we’ve been engaged in the last 25 years than it was for say, Germany or Japan to recover from the devastation of WWII? One could say they had a much farther climb out of the abyss than we face now, but I wonder if our greed is going to be harder to come out of than what they went through?
June 25th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Houston eh? I have a brother and two sisters there (much older, none of which I’m at all close to). Actually, one of my sisters lives in Vidor, how scary is that?
June 25th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
thor-
my impression is that it is the anguish and the triumphs that make a nation- as I responded to bman above on the Aldrin article- we use to be something- now-
I don’t know
June 25th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Thor – Vidor, shit dude – that ain’t cool, still – luv ya man
June 25th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
@ahab –
comon’ you are going emotional on us here…..
what’s up with that?
emo or indie – where is that CNBCS guy when you need him?
June 25th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
What I learned today:
1) Bernanke told Lewis that if he walked away from the Merrill deal and later needed help, the BoA board would be replaced……..but he never threatened or pressured Lewis.
2) Bernanke doesn’t understand the words “threatened” or “pressured” any better than he understands the phrases “price stability” or “maximum employment”.
What I didn’t learn today:
At what point did Bernanke stop being an arsonist, and become a fire fighter. And that’s something I wanted to hear about, ya know, did he have an “Oh my God, I’m such a fucking shithead moment”?
No, global financial meltdowns just happen. It’s nobody’s fault (certainly not the Fed’s). I’m glad we’ve got an “independent” Fed. It’s a lot like have an independent teenager, who wrecks your car and wants you to come bail him out.
I like being able to post at TBP, so I will not articulate my thoughts of people who call this guy a “hero”.
June 25th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Wes – yes, I know. In my defense, my sisters and that brother were from my fathers first marriage. He was quite a bit older than my mother so the sisters are both in their late 50′s (I’m 38) and I’ve met them once. One sister lives in a falling down shack out in the bayou and when I was there her horse literally walked through the front door to get to the back of the house. My other sister has a daughter who had 4 kids all before she was 19. Strangest of all, is that both sisters were hippies in Haight/Ashburry during the 60′s. I find it fascinating how moving from one part of the country to another can change a person so drastically. I was horrified that I was even related to them.
Ahab – Again, I’d have to agree with you. I tend to be an optimist though (shocker right?) so I hope for the best. What we’re going through now is a tough one though and there’s a part of me that worries we won’t have what it takes this time around. One of the things we can count on though is that most people aren’t really going to have a choice when it comes to changing their ways – their attitudes, that’s a different story.
June 25th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
can’t see a bubble coming huh
if you are the blower of the bubble, maybe
many saw it coming, however
June 25th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
though though though – I need to re-read my posts before I hit “submit”
June 25th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Thor @10:54 –
no “in your defense” required
tough and sad story
60′s hippies – i can almost relate to that….
June 25th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
I predicted years ago MJ would not make it much past 50…just could not see him handling being an older person.
Toxicology reports ought to be interesting.
The one thing that bugs me are people being interviewed on how kind he was, yet there is a real possibility he was a child molester.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
a kind child molester?
June 25th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
There is this theory, embodied by the book: The Fourth Turning, that it’s a generational thing and it will turn.
I don’t think so.
The only thing that dug us out of the GD and in-bred greed was a reason to get over ourselves and understand that we lived together or died together. And that thing was WWII. Japan and Germany were kicking our ass and making it pretty likely they’d be landing on our shores soon. Well, Japan did. In fact they were invited in.
Since then, every war effort, regardless of how it started, has ended up more divisive. With those in power gaining more, giving up nothing. The Gulf War was not a real war, it was a brief military action that was almost over before the cameras showed up.
Today, those with power live in gated communities, with immeasurable security, and ship their wealth off-shore. They see those beneath them as taxpayers funding their interests and consumers, but social liabilities nonetheless.
The underlings are powerless against today’s technology and they know it. Sneeze and two helicopter gunships and thirteen squad cars show up.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
On a previous thread someone pointed out McMahon, Fawcett and Michael Jackson all going the same week. What are the odds of that? Three people that were at their celebrity pinnacles in the late 70′s/early 80s….all gone within a few days of each other? Weird, indeed!
June 25th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Mark – “did he have an “Oh my God, I’m such a fucking shithead moment”?” I think we discussed this topic a couple of weeks ago. Honestly, I don’t think he did. I think there’s something about the psychology of people who seek that kind of power that prevents them from admitting their own mistakes. Some of them do – yes, Greenspan very briefly touched on that when he admitted that his previous hypothesis on economic theory “might” have been flawed. More often than not though, these people screw up and either don’t think they did, or don’t care that they did. Look at Cheney, I think this man actually believes that he did the country a favor by invading Iraq.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Wes-
the housing bonanza was being trumpeted all over CNBC- almost immediately after the .com craze imploded- a segue indeed- now it has come to light that PIMPCO itself had argued in 2003 that a housing bubble would be a perfect option for the fed to pursue- to get things “back to normal”- and it worked- for a while-
it was all a shell game- but I think out options are much more limited- sometimes things contract and depreciate- and – you can’t continue to beat the mule pulling the plow- because in the end you just might kill it
June 25th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
See some comments on H-town wx lately….
Let me add….It has been blisteringly hot and really miserable. I don’t think it has rained in two months…not kidding. Unbelievably bad weather….those GOM waters will get very hot if this continues…decent conditions for super powerful Hurricanes.
We need some damn rain and some cooler weather soon, but alas the forecast is for 99-100 next 10 days and NO RAIN.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Anyone watching ES U9 tonight. I’m curious to see if they try to pull it off again. You don’t move S&P futures by $8 in five minutes with no news.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
AT-11:04
Maybe next week it can be Kim Jong-il, Osama Bin Laden, and Larry Kudlow.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Andy T – same here in southern california, three years of drought. This summer and fall are going to be bad for the fires.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Andy-
wow- in Virginia we have had more rain than I can remember- and that has been 20 years here- 3 months of almost non-stop rain- bizarre- also
don’t celebrity deaths always come in threes?
June 25th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
“On a previous thread someone pointed out McMahon, Fawcett and Michael Jackson all going the same week. What are the odds of that? ”
1:1
Listening to old MJ’s songs. Several amazing songs and videos. Best music video ever. Yes, weird. But what will be remembered are the creations that we enjoyed. Will is last “forever”. I don’t know, does anything last beyond the generation that experienced “it”. Most people forgot about the 30′s bank crisis. Few people are alive that experienced/survived WWI, WWII, and the holocaust. Personally I never experienced Elvis when he was alive. And I don’t know it will still be popular in 2050. Maybe some remix, but maybe MJs music is timeless. His thriller video would still be amazing if it were released today.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
It’s gotta be the Bradley Turn. Ed, Farah, and Michael = 3 icons of a generation have joined the angels. Not quite like losing Jim (Morrison), Jimmy (Hendrix), or Janis (Joplin) but it still feels like an era has passed by.
Kiss your loved ones.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
OK denizens of TBP, give me a “D”, “E”, “F”, “L”, “A”, “T”, “I”, “O”, “N”. What does that spell? But the U.S. is different, right? Special, right?
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aDflT6kiR9gs
June 25th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Got a break on the heat today….only 91….felt good after the past few days.
Had 3 no shows today for PET scans….they have been creeping up lately but never that bad.
State announced 200 layoffs…I guess we’re better off than some states….no IOU talk yet here in MO.
MJ and Farrah on the same day…..I wish Bill Hicks were still around….
June 25th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
supertrooper-
Sinatra, Elvis, Lennon, Cobain, Marley, Joplin, Hendrix-
timeless stuff- and they will be remembered- as was-
Bach, Beethoven and Mozart in a previous time-
as far as MJ- was never a fan- so can’t say- although he did much to sully his reputation
June 25th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
91 – woohoo! I’m glad I’m not going to be in Palm Springs this weekend. Here’s the forecast for Saturday. 109 ° F / 81 ° F – Sunny. I always tell my friends “but it’s a DRY heat”
June 25th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Point taken, Thor.
I think you’re describing people that are more or less sociopaths.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
@Andy T: There’s an old saying that (famous) people die in groups, or threes. Not sure which. Might just be one of those statistical anomalies, but I don’t think so.
Anybody remember that saying? It’s as old as the hills as they say.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Abe Vigoda…………still alive.
http://www.abevigoda.com/
June 25th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Christopher- 11:33
County I live in has a “budget crisis” and the gov is laying off. There’s a 12-story building full of vitally important admin types. So who’s getting cut? Deputy sheriffs, of course.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
there is a huge difference in dry heat and humid heat-
I was golfing @ Laquinta Country Club years ago in Palm Springs- and it was hot- but- it was dry- and it felt pretty good-
once you get used to heat with humidity- then that dry desert heat is a piece of cake
June 25th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
@call me ahab
Agree, didn’t think about Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. Different time, different audience. They wrote for the elite. Who else could afford ordering a piece of music but the king. Current stars write for the masses, for good and bad. Some made the argument that if Mozart lived today he’ld write music for commercials.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Canary in the emerging coal mine?
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3fAfQLPyka8
June 25th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Just wait one minute here you guys – are you implying that Brittney Spears is not going to be remembered like Beethoven? I’m so disappointed! :P
June 25th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Beethoven is remembered for the Ninth.
Brittany will be remembered for shooting a beaver for the paparazzi.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
@Thor, I’ll remember her for her barely legal school outfit in “Hit me baby one more time” and sadly I won’t be able to erase that shaved head from my head. As for Beethoven, he doesn’t get me randy. I just can’t feel the sex in his 5th. If only Schiller would have added some sexy spice or orgyporgy to Ode an die Freunde.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
They wrote for the elite.
Oh really? Try some Henry Purcell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN3wpR-l1pk
June 25th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
supertrooper-
good point- guess he would have to make a living- I could almost see him making a jingle or two
stillaway-
shaved no less
June 26th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Remember the good old days, when being famous meant you were supposed to at least put on the illusion of having class? Or having wealth at all – you were expected to behave in a certain way, especially in public. I can’t even sit through 5 minutes of any of those “Housewives” shows. And don’t get me going on Paris Hilton, daughter of a wealthy dynasty. Can you imagine if an Astor, or a Vanderbilt from the 1900′s could see what has become of some of their social peers?
June 26th, 2009 at 12:02 am
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day….the Fourth of July, 1826.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:14 am
AT-
Preoccupied with death tonight? You’re not short the Q’s are you?
June 26th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Well and open thread, huh?…OK, this was one of my favorites from today…TRUE STORY
Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there LONG B4 they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on theback. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall.
When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit.
The complaint:
‘Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base:
Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special?
Any response would be appreciated.
—
The response:
Regarding ‘A wake-up call from Luke’s jets’ On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.
At 9 a.m.. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer’s recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I’m sure you didn’t hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son’s flag on behalf of the President of theUnited States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured..
A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense offreedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.
The letter writer asks, ‘Whom do we thank for the morning airshow? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.
Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you….Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr.
USAF
June 26th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Well let’s not forget Ravel who will be remembered much more famously thanks to a certain actress that has continued to conduct herself with enormous class.
And there’s that particular tune that will continue to be remembered far more erotically than anything Spears will ever do.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:51 am
Cvienne – that’s a great post! Below is her response to this letter.
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/l/lukeafb.htm
June 26th, 2009 at 12:58 am
Also, I ran across this today…I need someone smart like Franklin to figure this one out for me…
While I’ve little interest in getting in the middle of the Obama birth issue, Paul Hollrah over at FSM did so yesterday and believes the issue can be resolved by Obama answering one simple question:
What passport did he use when he was shuttling between New York, Jakarta, and Karachi in 1981?
So how did a young man who arrived in New York in early June 1981, without the price of a hotel room in his pocket, suddenly come up with the price of a round-the-world trip just a month later?
And once he was on a plane, shuttling between New York, Jakarta, and Karachi, what passport was he offering when he passed through Customs and Immigration? The American people not only deserve to have answers to these questions, they must have answers.
It makes the debate over Obama’s citizenship a rather short and simple one.
Q: Did he travel to Pakistan in 1981, at age 20?
A: Yes, by his own admission.
Q: What passport did he travel under?
A: There are only three possibilities.
1. He traveled with a U.S. Passport
2. He traveled with a British passport
3. He traveled with an Indonesia passport.
Q: Is it possible that Obama traveled with a U.S. Passport in 1981?
A: No. It is not possible. Pakistan was on the U.S. State Department’s “no
travel” list in 1981.
Conclusion: When Obama went to Pakistan in 1981 he was traveling either with a British passport or an Indonesian passport.
If he was traveling with a British passport, that would provide proof that he was born in Kenya on August 4, 1961, not in Hawaii as he claims.
If he was traveling with an Indonesian passport that would tend to prove that he relinquished whatever previous citizenship he held, British or American prior to being adopted by his Indonesian step-father in 1967.
Whatever the truth of the matter, the American people need to know how he managed to become a “natural born” American citizen between 1981 and 2008.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:08 am
@cvienne:
If he was traveling with a British passport, that would provide proof that he was born in Kenya on August 4, 1961, not in Hawaii as he claims.
That’s a Fail. Kenya became independent in 1963. His father was a British subject in 1961. Traditionally, natural citizenship occurs by operation of blood relation (jus sanguinis) or by virtue of location of birth (jus soli).
What is this — Internet rumor night at TBP?
June 26th, 2009 at 1:12 am
This one is a toast to Franklin as well…(while he’s trying to figure out the other post)…
ANNE WORTHAM
Anne Wortham is Associate Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University and continuing Visiting Scholar at Stanford University ‘s Hoover Institution. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and the American Philosophical Association.
She has been a John M. Olin Foundation Faculty Fellow, and honored as a Distinguished Alumni of the Year by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.
In fall 1988 she was one of a select group of intellectuals who were featured in Bill Moyer’s television series, “A World of Ideas.” The transcript of her conversation with Moyers has been published in his book, A World of Ideas.
Dr. Wortham is author of “The Other Side of Racism: A Philosophical Study of Black Race Consciousness” which analyzes how race consciousness is transformed into political strategies and policy issues.
She has published numerous articles on the implications of individual rights for civil rights policy, and is currently writing a book on theories of social and cultural marginality.
Recently, she has published articles on the significance of multiculturalism and Afrocentricism in education, the politics of victimization and the social and political impact of political correctness. Shortly after an interview in 2004, she was awarded tenure.
This article by her is well worth reading.
—
Fellow Americans,
Please know: I am Black; I grew up in the segregated South. I did not vote for Barack Obama; I wrote in Ron Paul’s name as my choice for president. Most importantly, I am not race conscious. I do not require a Black president to know that I am a person of worth, and that life is worth living. I do not require a Black president to love the ideal of America
I cannot join you in your celebration. I feel no elation. There is no smile on my face. I am not jumping with joy. There are no tears of triumph in my eyes. For such emotions and behavior to come from me, I would have to deny all that I know about the requirements of human flourishing and survival – all that I know about the history of the United States of America , all that I know about American race relations, and all that I know about Barack Obama as a politician. I would have to deny the nature of the “change” that Obama asserts has come to America ..
Most importantly, I would have to abnegate my certain understanding that you have chosen to sprint down the road to serfdom that we have been on for over a century. I would have to pretend that individual liberty has no value for the success of a human life. I would have to evade your rejection of the slender reed of capitalism on which your success and mine depend. I would have to think it somehow rational that 94 percent of the 12 million Blacks in this country voted for a man because he looks like them (that Blacks are permitted to play the race card), and that they were joined by self-declared “progressive” whites who voted for him because he doesn’t look like them.
I would have to wipe my mind clean of all that I know about the kind of people who have advised and taught Barack Obama and will fill posts in his administration – political intellectuals like my former colleagues at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
I would have to believe that “fairness” is equivalent of justice. I would have to believe that man who asks me to “go forward in a new spirit of service, in a new service of sacrifice” is speaking in my interest.. I would have to accept the premise of a man that economic prosperity comes from the “bottom up,” and who arrogantly believes that he can will it into existence by the use of government force. I would have to admire a man who thinks the standard of living of the masses can be improved by destroying the most productive and the generators of wealth.
Finally, Americans, I would have to erase from my consciousness the scene of 125,000 screaming, crying, cheering people in Grant Park, Chicago irrationally chanting “Yes We Can!” Finally, I would have to wipe all memory of all the times I have heard politicians, pundits, journalists, editorialists, bloggers and intellectuals declare that capitalism is dead – and no one, including especially Alan Greenspan, objected to their assumption that the particular version of the anti-capitalistic mentality that they want to replace with their own version of anti-capitalism is anything remotely equivalent to capitalism.
So you have made history, Americans. You and your children have elected a Black man to the office of the president of the United States , the wounded giant of the world. The battle between John Wayne and Jane Fonda is over – and that Fonda won. Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern must be very happy men. Jimmie Carter, too. And the Kennedys have at last gotten their
Kennedy look-a-like. The self-righteous welfare statists in the suburbs can feel warm moments of satisfaction for having elected a Black person.
So, toast yourselves: 60s countercultural radicals, 80s yuppies and 90s bourgeois bohemians. Toast yourselves, Black America . Shout your glee Harvard, Princeton , Yale, Duke, Stanford, and Berkeley. You have elected not an individual who is qualified to be president, but a Black man who, like the pragmatist Franklin Roosevelt, promises to – Do Something! You now have someone who has picked up the baton of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society.
But you have also foolishly traded your freedom and mine – what little there is left – for the chance to feel good.
There is nothing in me that can share your happy obliviousness.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:15 am
@Transor Z
“What is this — Internet rumor night at TBP?”
Yes, quite frankly, it is…
The thread is entitled “Moonwalk Open Thread”…Does that mean I have to talk about Michael Jackson & Britney Spears?
June 26th, 2009 at 1:17 am
Nah, go for it. I’m off to bed.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:18 am
That’s a years old story cvienne. A good one, but not new. I remember hearing about that story back then when I was still on duty. I remember thinking about how I would have responded to it.
It’s funny that the version you got has a different name for the squadron commander and adds the bit about Jesus Christ. Methinks somebody highjacked it a bit and added their own little religious twist to it.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:20 am
@OT
It was new to me…I guess I’ve been off Moonwalking with Britney Spears…
June 26th, 2009 at 1:24 am
No sweat! Didn’t mean that to come across as a sharp stick. I just remembered it from several years back when I saw it posted here. Cheers.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:40 am
@OT
Come to think of it…It MUST have been from a few years ago…
After all…Nobody has any money to go shopping at malls these days & aren’t most of the homes in Phoenix boarded up by now? :-)
June 26th, 2009 at 2:21 am
While I don’t always agree with his point of view, I have to say that Franklin bashing is getting pretty old.
June 26th, 2009 at 3:10 am
Seems like this is the “post whatever chain emails I got in the past few days” thread.
If you want to feel old, think about the fact that very few people under 35 will have any idea who two of the three recent decedents are. They might recognize Ed McMahon as the pitchman with the giant checks to get you to buy magazine subscriptions.
My wife keeps encountering this at work in her hospital lab. The younger employees treat her like she is strange because she doesn’t watch Heroes and doesn’t know who any of the current young celebrities are. Today they were in the break room and some tv show had a question about what actress was one of the first to wear pants. She said Katherine Hepburn. While, I can see not knowing that little fact, no one else but a 50+ guy knew who Katherine Hepburn was.
None of these young people have any sense of history and no idea what’s gonna hit them.
June 26th, 2009 at 5:28 am
@ Mike in Nola Yep we young folks have no idea of history at all. No idea at all who Ed McMahon was pre some repo’ed mansion. Sorry. I guess living within my means is too much of stretch.
And yes, my po’edness stretches to anyone who facillitated the current economic mess we are in. Sorry, Mike, but your ignorant statements regarding the newer generation annoy me so much I had to post. I’m 26, and have pretty decent savings for my age and status as a non-college grad… honestly, according to figures, I make more then the average noob college grad. And 4 of those years were spent serving my country… go figure. I’ve read this blog for about 6 months and have loved most of it. I absolutely agree with CTB though… Franklin has nothing to do with this thread.. so leave him for that, as idiotic as his statements may be. And as random as that statement is.
@BR.. please.. I don’t know what exactly you have, but please just ban me from the forums instead of banning me from everything… I enjoy reading your posts.
Although, I’m too much of a failure to benefit much from the tape talk that usually progresses from the random discussions, I do enjoy them.
June 26th, 2009 at 5:57 am
well.. that is al for me… but if you wish, i will repeat rarndom radiohead lyrics, for no other reason then they saw it wat is was, and called it what is was
June 26th, 2009 at 7:05 am
I did discover something new overnight. The long lost grandniece of Rip Van Winkle is alive and working for the Washington Post!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062504299.html
CBO Paints Dire Portrait of Long-Term Revenue, Spending
By Lori Montgomery
This young lady has slept through the last 24 months, and apparently was never connected to the internet or any blog sites. Amazing…she has discovered that revenues and spending by our national government may well, indeed, lead to a crisis! Never in all my days!
“The nation’s long-term budget outlook has darkened considerably over the past six months, and President Obama’s plan to extend an array of tax cuts and other policies adopted during the Bush administration has the potential to “create an explosive fiscal situation,” congressional budget analysts reported yesterday.”
Barry, could you see if anyone has noticed the potential for this unfolding disaster? Thanks in advance…
June 26th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Bruce: You are better at sarcasm than I as Pyre shows.
Pyre:
of course all generalizations are wrong to some extent. But look around at your age-peers. If it ain’t on an iPod, in a movie, or a hit TV show, they no know nothing of it. I have two 20 something yids. We read the paper every day, read news on the internet as TV news has become so corrupt and read real books. Neither kid has, though one has a law degree. My daughter has been reading news on the net lately, since she has a huge loan and no steady job.
June 26th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Mike:
I have just had an experience similar with my oldest son. Experience is the best teacher, although if you are ill-prepared, the experience of getting experience can be devastating..
June 26th, 2009 at 8:02 am
And where is our very own Turd in a Punchbowl this morning?
You up, F411?
June 26th, 2009 at 8:38 am
oh that was interesting. Santelli says, to that idiot Jack with the GOP badge, “did you read the article in rolling stone” crazy Karl jumps in to say “the one about John Mayer?” (right up there with “is it fun being a billionaire”) and then they change the subject quickly.
fun.
Barry,
Would love to see a post on Cap and Trade. Any opinion?
There is a guy on Squawk this morning saying we are going to create lots of jobs by developing solar and wind energy (lol) I think he just wants a chance to trade off of it to make money. Isn’t that the game here?
June 26th, 2009 at 8:39 am
re: houston
I wish we could pass you some rain. it’s rained almost every day in my area for about the last 20 days, miserable.
best thing about houston right now are the pics they keep showing of AS in the orange jumpsuit cuffed up.
June 26th, 2009 at 8:39 am
damn, I take that back, he just got off the bus with a suit on.
what a dick
June 26th, 2009 at 8:43 am
thanks ben – hotter n’ hell and crooks – H-town
June 26th, 2009 at 8:59 am
I recently paid off my mortgage. Except for current expenses, which are under control, I’m debt free. I don’t live in Crazytown so my real estate is still worth more than I paid for it, although it finally took some hits. Once Obama figures out reasonable health case, I can start moving off the grid. I feel good.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:15 am
hobo -
good for you
i still have a few years to go, but could accelerate the home loan if need be
goin’ off the grid, eh – no chance in the H-town 104 deg F yesterday – i guess i could live in the pool all day, maybe it is possible…hmmm
June 26th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Wes Schott Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 9:15 am
goin’ off the grid, eh – no chance in the H-town 104 deg F yesterday – i guess i could live in the pool all day, maybe it is possible…hmmm
reply:
————–
104 deg … thanks but no thanks. I’ll be here for a while. I’ve been kicking around the idea of selling and replacing the house in a lower real estate cost area that also has minimal state taxes, and a decent climate. Find a nice place in the country, but not too far out, with a big lot and maybe a backup generator. This won’t be for a few years, though.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Clever video found through Calculated Risk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cejBW0EL26M
BTW, PCE income increase was being spun by CNBC (well, duh). Bloomberg Calendar page take:
“The advance in personal income was led by one-time payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. However, the wages and salaries component slipped 0.1 percent after an increase of 0.1 percent in April.”
June 26th, 2009 at 9:45 am
San Miguel has a pleastant year-round spring-like climate. The average day is brisk in the morning, warm and sunny afternoons, and cool nights. At 6400 feet, both the humidity and the temperature is kept down and the air is clean and refreshing. Many tourist from North America come to San Miguel in the winter, where they can enjoy nice days in the 70s instead of the snow and the cold. But the winter nights still afford time in front of the fireplaces in the many bars, cafes, and bistros in town, and most find a sweater still neccessary when the sun goes down.
The rains arrive after the hot dry month of May, and San Miguel goes through a transformation into an oasis paradise. The rains continue, usually a brief shower in the late afternoon, until the month of September. Besides this, every day seems like a little slice of heaven on earth.
Monthly Averages
Month Temperature H/L
degrees F Rainfall
inches
January 70/46 .5
February 73/48 .1
March 77/51 .2
April 81/54 .8
May 82/57 1.3
June 79/58 5.0
July 77/57 4.7
August 77/57 4.6
September 75/57 4.7
October 75/54 4.7
November 73/49 .6
December 70/47
June 26th, 2009 at 11:34 am
and thus is born the Jackson 4
June 26th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
cvienne: June 26th, 2009 at 12:58 am
“Whatever the truth of the matter, the American people need to know how he managed to become a ‘natural born’ American citizen between 1981 and 2008.”
No, you need to stop posting this kind of stuff here and find a place where the median IQ of the other participants is lower and the need for ritalin and/or lithium is higher. There are plenty out there.
cvienne: June 26th, 2009 at 1:12 am
“This article by her is well worth reading.”
Why? Because she’s black and doesn’t like Obama?
Krauthammer et al write this kind of stuff all the time. Except for the “Fellow Americans, Please know: I am Black” part.
“Race consciousness?” Do you see the irony? She doesn’t.
Your hard on for your anti-Obama stance is as obvious as Secretariat’s and your “arguments” supporting your stance compare to a load he lifted his tail to drop.
This a good place with smart people. Try to control yourself.
June 26th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
A post on cap and trade is overdue. Winding it’s way thru Congress we may as well burn and pillage and frustrate ourselves yet again before it’s too late.
June 26th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
@ Mike
I was over the top. Was a bit tipsy. Agree that mainstream media is terrible with it’s soundbites and spending too much time covering some “huge” story instead of substance. But most of the people around my age (that I know) realize this.
Just frustrating to me that my generation is being left with this huge pile of debt and a service based economy. I am not very knowledgeable about economics, but a service based economy just seems unsustainable. I don’t have a good reason for feeling that way, just instinct. If anyone has a book or something that explains why my thoughts are flawed, I would like to read it.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
@EAR (1:19)
It was an OPEN THREAD with MJ & Britney Spears as headliners…
I only posted that crap to draw in suckers who usually stand on the sidelines, but I was SURE would be attracted to such a thread about pop celebrities…
June 27th, 2009 at 12:07 am
cvienne…
Scroll up. Type “EAR” in the search field. I’ve been here before.