Thursday, May 21, 2009
Stunning number
Ok, this one is really just too much.
$11 trillion GONE in one year. Just in the US! Total GDP for the entire world last year was roughly $60 trillion. 1/6 of total world output lost in one year, in one country.
My head hurts.
Household wealth in the United States fell by $11 trillion in 2008.I just checked, and in October 2008, the entire capitalization of the NY stock exchange was $10.1 trillion. Obviously the wealth number listed above includes all kinds of other assets like houses primarily.
$11 trillion GONE in one year. Just in the US! Total GDP for the entire world last year was roughly $60 trillion. 1/6 of total world output lost in one year, in one country.
My head hurts.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Posner jumps ship
A stunning admission from a conservative thinker
Posner is an amazingly accomplished guy, and you would think his critique would cause some pause in Republican circles. But, since most Republicans have no idea who he is, I doubt that you'll see much about this on Faux News.
UPDATE#1: As I should have predicted, Republicans are already saying that Posner was never really a conservative anyway. This is like Dick Cheney saying "Gee, is Colin Powell still a Republican?" It's an easy way to marginalize their argument without addressing it on the merits. Both sides in politics do this so much it makes me nauseous. Don't call something "right wing propaganda" and expect that to make your case. Use facts to prove something wrong. Don't dismiss something that comes from "lefty bloggers", especially when those bloggers turn out to be right, and may even be among the few real patriots left.
"...the intellectual decline of conservatism, and it is notable that the policies of the new conservatism are powered largely by emotion and religion and have for the most part weak intellectual groundings. That the policies are weak in conception, have largely failed in execution, and are political flops is therefore unsurprising. The major blows to conservatism, culminating in the election and programs of Obama, have been fourfold: the failure of military force to achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives; the inanity of trying to substitute will for intellect, as in the denial of global warming, the use of religious criteria in the selection of public officials, the neglect of management and expertise in government; a continued preoccupation with abortion; and fiscal incontinence in the form of massive budget deficits, the Medicare drug plan, excessive foreign borrowing, and asset-price inflation.
Posner is an amazingly accomplished guy, and you would think his critique would cause some pause in Republican circles. But, since most Republicans have no idea who he is, I doubt that you'll see much about this on Faux News.
UPDATE#1: As I should have predicted, Republicans are already saying that Posner was never really a conservative anyway. This is like Dick Cheney saying "Gee, is Colin Powell still a Republican?" It's an easy way to marginalize their argument without addressing it on the merits. Both sides in politics do this so much it makes me nauseous. Don't call something "right wing propaganda" and expect that to make your case. Use facts to prove something wrong. Don't dismiss something that comes from "lefty bloggers", especially when those bloggers turn out to be right, and may even be among the few real patriots left.
Guantanamo closing
I think I've solved the Guantanamo/funding issue. They just have to put all these guys in Illinois.
There's already a maximum security facility at Marion (down south near where I grew up), and it would be hard for politicians in the state to go against Obama on much of anything. In addition, it looks like Dick Durbin is ready to get on board.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/05/quote-for-the-day-12.html
Doesn't this make perfect sense? We're only talking about a small number of guys. If people in this country think that a bunch of scrawny muslims are more dangerous that some of the guys at Marion, then they are seriously deranged.
There's already a maximum security facility at Marion (down south near where I grew up), and it would be hard for politicians in the state to go against Obama on much of anything. In addition, it looks like Dick Durbin is ready to get on board.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/05/quote-for-the-day-12.html
Doesn't this make perfect sense? We're only talking about a small number of guys. If people in this country think that a bunch of scrawny muslims are more dangerous that some of the guys at Marion, then they are seriously deranged.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Fun with the Patriot Act!
"It wasn't intended to drag your barely 16-year-old, 120-pound son out in the middle of the night on a charge that we can't even defend."
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5049867
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5049867
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Fun with Republicans
Best summary I've seen of this pary:
Their big issue now is that they are worried that the government has too much power. This is almost as laughable as their concern about federal debt levels. The word chutzpah doesn't even begin to cover this.
You reap what you sow.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/14/surveillance/
"When they have a club in their hands, no one is more sadistic. When the club is removed, no one is more whiney."
Their big issue now is that they are worried that the government has too much power. This is almost as laughable as their concern about federal debt levels. The word chutzpah doesn't even begin to cover this.
You reap what you sow.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/14/surveillance/
Monday, April 13, 2009
Fuck Goldman Sachs
Those bastards have absolutely gotten out of control.
First, they have absolutely raped the national treasury, and we're paying them BILLIONS in order to see them "not fail", but miraculously, somehow, they had a $12 billion quarter?
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/04/taxpayer-funded-gs-profits/
Second, they are suing bloggers who put up stuff about them they don't like
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/04/goldman-sachs-no-criticism-by-bloggers-allowed/
Fuck them. Here I am Goldman, come and chat with me.
First, they have absolutely raped the national treasury, and we're paying them BILLIONS in order to see them "not fail", but miraculously, somehow, they had a $12 billion quarter?
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/04/taxpayer-funded-gs-profits/
Second, they are suing bloggers who put up stuff about them they don't like
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/04/goldman-sachs-no-criticism-by-bloggers-allowed/
Fuck them. Here I am Goldman, come and chat with me.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Gaming the system
Sachs has a very interesting article about how banks will be able to "game" Treasury's asset purchase plan, and thus greatly milk taxpayers for even more money, while not wiping out the shareholders.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/the-geithner-summers-plan_b_183499.html
Pull out the torches and pitchforks, damnit!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/the-geithner-summers-plan_b_183499.html
Pull out the torches and pitchforks, damnit!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
NeoCons redeem themselves
April Fool's! That headline is a big joke. NeoCons are still a bunch of snake oil salesmen.
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/03/neo_neocons_are_still_incredibly_dishonest.php
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/03/neo_neocons_are_still_incredibly_dishonest.php
The Surge worked?
Just to be clear, I supported the Surge in Iraq. I thought we had a moral obligation to them, and I still do think that. But, that doesn't mean I think the Surge has worked.
http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/03/30/iraq_the_unraveling
Ricks' excellent book Fiasco is sitting on my shelf, and his second just came from Amazon. This guy is plugged in and understands Iraq in a way that no other American journalist has proven. Following his blog is a great way to keep up on what's really going on there.
My guess is this: This will be a bloody summer for America, both in Iraq and in Afghanistan. I have a cousin deploying to Afghanistan with the Marines in May, and I'm worried.
http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/03/30/iraq_the_unraveling
Ricks' excellent book Fiasco is sitting on my shelf, and his second just came from Amazon. This guy is plugged in and understands Iraq in a way that no other American journalist has proven. Following his blog is a great way to keep up on what's really going on there.
My guess is this: This will be a bloody summer for America, both in Iraq and in Afghanistan. I have a cousin deploying to Afghanistan with the Marines in May, and I'm worried.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Relevance of the IMF
Great new article that captures the heart of how America in the Bush years came to look more and more like a Banana Republic. This time around, let's talk finance. The crisis in America now is an old story, replayed every couple years in capitals around the world. But usually they are third world capitals.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Leaving Iraq
I didn't like the invasion Iraq, but oddly enough, I thought the surge was a good idea.
Why? Mainly because I believed what Powell said to Bush. If you break it, you own it. We owe it to Iraqi's not to leave them with a miserable country split by civil conflict that could kill thousands. We have a moral obligation to stay. Mother Jones takes on the debate.
http://www.motherjones.com/special-reports/2007/11/us-out-how
Why? Mainly because I believed what Powell said to Bush. If you break it, you own it. We owe it to Iraqi's not to leave them with a miserable country split by civil conflict that could kill thousands. We have a moral obligation to stay. Mother Jones takes on the debate.
http://www.motherjones.com/special-reports/2007/11/us-out-how
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