The Coalition of the Swilling

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September 30, 2008

I Swear to God

It's like a scene out of one of those 60's apocalypse movies.

But it's freakin' for real.

Thanks bunches, 'Tini Boy. I'm so depressed I could knock a couple back easy.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:40 PM | Comments (8)

Dog Food Recall

And it wasn't China's fault. One US facility so far and they have a drop-down to check for your area.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:25 AM

I'm Too Saddened By This To Comment

Other than to say I Love You Guys.

And have a pint or six in your honor.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:26 AM | Comments (4)

Who Cares?

Is the title of the song quoted below, and while it may sound trite I think it's a good attitude to have: Economic tides ebb and flow; family and friends are the things that matter in life.

Obviously economic discussions dominated the family chats this weekend, so we did what we normally do: we opened up a large bottle of cheap wine. And my Bride put some Fred Astaire on the Hi-Fi. She said that if they could find the joy in life in the midst of that, then we certainly have nothing to really complain about.

Wise words, my friends.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:06 AM | Comments (5)

Let It Rain And Thunder

Let a million firms go under!
I am not concerned with
Stocks and bonds that I've been burned with.

I love you and you love me,
And that's how it will always be.
And nothing else can ever mean a thing.
Who cares what the public chatters?
Love's the only thing that matters!

Happy Birthday, Dear Daughter

("Who Cares" by George and Ira Gershwin)

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:19 AM | Comments (1)

September 29, 2008

Rick Santori (argh! sp: Santelli ) on CNBC Was Just Making

...this very same point.

Commentary: Bankruptcy, not bailout, is the right answer

Congress has balked at the Bush administration's proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. Under this plan, the Treasury would have bought the "troubled assets" of financial institutions in an attempt to avoid economic meltdown.

This bailout was a terrible idea. Here's why.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:51 PM | Comments (4)

Ouch.

This is gonna leave a mark

"Having a former chairman of Goldman Sachs preside over disbursing hundreds of billions of dollars to Wall Street is a terrible concept and inevitably will lead to crony capitalism and the appearance of - if not the actual existence of - corruption," says Gingrich in his statement. "The Bush Administration has now provided three case studies in arrogance, isolation, and destructiveness: Michael Brown during Hurricane Katrina, Ambassador Jerry Bremer in Baghdad, and Secretary Paulson at Treasury."

"It is a tragic and very expensive legacy," he continued. "No conservative and no Republican should doubt how much it has hurt our cause and our party."

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:39 PM | Comments (3)

Bailout Vote: Fails

I haven't found the vote total yet

update: what the TV is showing is the Dem votes 141 for and 94 against
The Repubs 66 for and 132 against

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:50 PM | Comments (9)

Dow's Down Over 600

Voting in the House looks shaky.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:48 PM

Citi Acquires The Banking Operations Of Wachovia

Hopefully this will keep them going.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:36 AM

No One Expects The Spanish Acqusition!

As Tim discovered, I've been nationalized by the British Government and a Spanish bank

The government on Monday confirmed it was nationalising Bradford & Bingley after hammering out a deal with the Spanish bank Santander, which will buy the embattled UK mortgage lender’s £21bn deposit book and branch network for about £600m.

I wonder if this means they'll play Tapas at my funeral?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:13 AM | Comments (3)

September 27, 2008

My Favorite Paul Newman Movie?

Yeah.

That one.

Rest in peace, Mr. Newman. You were a fine, fine figure of a man human being.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:27 PM | Comments (9)

Your Saturday Morning Electronica

...composed entirely of Mac alert sounds

Once again, the amount of time some people have on their hands never ceases to amaze.

(h/t Insta)

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:13 AM | Comments (4)

September 26, 2008

I Will Support The Bailout Plan If...

...every member of Congress who votes for it also resigns and promises not to run for office again.

It only seems fair that they make some sacrifice and take some responsibility for this mess which is largely of their creation.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:08 PM | Comments (8)

I'm Sorry to Put It In Common Terms, But the More He Opens His Mouth

...the more all I can think is...

"Senator McCain has no need to be fearful about a debate," Obama told reporters.

..."What a weaselly little prick!"

Sorry.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:31 AM | Comments (4)

What They Didn't Tell You Was In The Bailout

Well, lookee here

Here’s the relevant part of the Dodd proposal:

TRANSFER OF A PERCENTAGE OF PROFITS.

1. DEPOSITS.Not less than 20 percent of any profit realized on the sale of each troubled asset purchased under this Act shall be deposited as provided in paragraph (2).
2. USE OF DEPOSITS.Of the amount referred to in paragraph (1)
1. 65 percent shall be deposited into the Housing Trust Fund established under section 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Regulatory Reform Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568); and
2. 35 percent shall be deposited into the Capital Magnet Fund established under section 1339 of that Act (12 U.S.C. 4569).

Get that? "Countrywide" Dodd wants to use at least 20% of any profits generated to issue more sub-prime mortgages...and fund groups like La Raza and ACORN.

In other words, use your money to fund groups that support their agenda. As opposed to, say, paying down the US debt.

Or something radical like giving it back to the Taxpayers and letting US decide where to spend OUR money.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:13 AM | Comments (11)

The Bailout Stumbles

So it seems that this plan may be dead for the moment.

(CNN) -- What began as high-stakes negotiations over the proposed $700 billion bailout of the nation's financial system dissolved into bickering, begging and a roiling battle between parties Thursday night.

One day after President Bush said the nation's economy is at grave risk, lawmakers argued over competing counterproposals and wound up without any apparent financial bailout deal on the table.

I'm frankly glad that this rush to spend at least 700 billion dollars has been slowed. That's an insane amount of OUR money that the very people, Congress, who created the conditions that allowed this situation to develop want to hand over to the geniuses who went out and actually lost it all. It's insane.

I agree the economy is at grave risk. It's at grave risk from damn near anything this Congress does.

But the bright spot out of this is that the true nature of our parties is being revealed, it seems to me: all they care about is the next election and their hold on power. Every issue is a partisan squabble. The Democrats and the Republicans both now place party interests above that of national interests. Power has corrupted both, absolutely. Sure, there are decent, honorable people in both parties, but they are swamped by those who see every issue, every discussion only through political lenses and in terms of how it can be turned to their side's advantage.

It's sad but inevitable; these two parties have had a long run but they have fallen into corrupt machines solely interested in their own self-preservation, and they use the tools of government; laws, coercion and your money; to ensure it.

They need to go.

Oh sure, we'll replace them with at best other parties that will eventually founder as well, as all human institutions surely do, but at least we'll hopefully get a few good years out of them.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:26 AM | Comments (2)

Words Can Not Describe...

How totally a$$ sucky the weather is in Manhattan today.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:03 AM | Comments (2)

September 25, 2008

Gosh, This Will Sure Help

Hmm, maybe it's me, but it seems something's missing from this exciting and bold legislation

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The New Jersey Assembly on Thursday is expected to vote on a package of bills to help the state's economy as national leaders grapple with the Wall Street financial meltdown.

The seven-bill package, spearheaded by Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan, D-Middlesex, would loosen New Jersey's corporate law requirements to make it easier to operate a business in the state.

...Specific measures include:

_ Allowing corporate notices to directors and shareholders to be sent electronically.

_ Eliminating a rule requiring at least 10 days' notice to shareholders about items that could be voted on.

_ Simplifying rules involving the resignation of corporate directors.

_ Providing speedier options for businesses filing with the state Division of Commercial Recordings.

_ Giving corporations more flexibility to adopt alternative voting methods to select directors.

_ Expanding the types of foreign business entities allowed to merge with corporations in the state.

_ Give corporations more flexibility to award stock grants instead of stock options to executives.

Sure, it's nice having fewer rules for Board of Directors...I guess. Although given how brilliantly various Boards of Directors have performed of late, I'm not sure making life easier for them is such a winner of a plan.

But what about something crazy and wild like, oh, I don't know...say lower taxes and other measures to lower the cost of doing anything in NJ?

Silly me.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:28 PM | Comments (4)

Jim DeMint is En FUEGO!

We've just been alerted that despite House Democrats relenting on extending bans on offshore drilling and oil shale in the continuing resolution (CR) appropriations bill, Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid has decided to sneak an extension of the oil shale ban through as Congress fights over the financial bailout. Oil shale in America's West is estimated to hold be between 800 billion and 2 trillion barrels of oil -- that is more than three times the proven oil reserves in Saudi Arabia alone.

LOVESES him!. Go get 'em, tiger!

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:29 PM | Comments (1)

Only 'Bout Half as Crazy as Anything Else We've Heard

UPDATE: A note to the quibblers: More zeros as we speak.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a $25bn package of low-cost loans to help hard-pressed carmakers and their suppliers finance plant modernisation at a time of restricted access to public capital ­markets.

The automotive loans are separate from the proposed $700bn bail-out for the banking sector, which is still being debated in Congress. The House approved the measure 370-58, setting the stage for Senate approval within days.

From an email today:

Any argument with this?

Now here's a bail out plan that works!

I'm against the $85,000,000,000 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in "We Deserve It Dividend".

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000
bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 ± counting every man, woman
and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a
"We Deserve It Dividend".

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.

So let's assume a tax rate of 30%...

...Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.

That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.

A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads

Put away money for college - it'll be there

Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car - create jobs

Invest in the market - capital drives growth

Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks
who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company
that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it.

Sell off its parts.

Let American General go back to being American General.

Sell off the real estate.

Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion
"We Deserve It Dividend" more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in
Washington DC .

And remember, this plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because
$25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

You don't want to even hear what I think about the stupid mortgage companies that loaned out billions of dollars to people who they knew had no way of paying back the loans, with both sides of the equation interested in one thing...fast money. But it didn't work, and now we're supposed to bail out those idiots too???

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:30 AM | Comments (15)

The End of the World As We Know It: When "I Fart in Your General Direction"

...turns felonious.

...During fingerprinting, Cruz then allegedly moved closer to one of the officers and passed gas, the station reported. In the complaint, the investigating officer wrote that police noticed a "very strong" odor.

The alleged stunt led Cruz to be charged with another offense — battery on an officer — in addition to DUI and obstruction, WSAZ reported.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:16 AM | Comments (4)

Part Of How We Got Here

via Ace, here's a useful reminder of where a good part of the blame in this mess lies

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending

By STEVEN A. HOLMES
Published: September 30, 1999

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.''

...In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.

''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''

Fannie Mae, pushed by the Clinton Administration into making loans to people who they knew would have trouble repaying them. And all the while Congress, both sides of the aisle, whistled and said "tra-la-la." In 2005, after Raines was forced to retire because of the burgeoning mess, some Republicans to their credit wanted to increase oversight and the Democrats on the Banking Committee quashed the bill on a straight party line vote so it never reached the Senate floor. And so the Republicans let it go.

And they want us to give a blank check to the same people who caused this mess.

Like hell.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:19 AM | Comments (1)

I Blame Bradford

For sullying my good name

Mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (B&B) is cutting 370 jobs because of the continuing downturn in the market for mortgages.

...They will lose their jobs in the first three months of next year when their work is transferred to a larger office at Bingley in West Yorkshire.

Notice there are no towns named "Tree Hugging Sister" to be found.

Anywhere.

Curious, no?

Aside: I was founded in 1964 as well...

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:10 AM | Comments (1)

September 24, 2008

This Bailout Must Be Stopped

As I talked about below I'm very much against this bailout, as it seems many of you are too. And as I feared it now seems that those bastards sorry I meant really smart and terrific folks in the Treasury Department and Congress decided to really open up our purse (link via HotAir)

In the dark of night over the weekend when most people were snoozing, the Treasury dramatically expanded its bailout plan to include buying student loans, car loans, credit card debt and any other "troubled" assets held by banks.

The changes, which were included in draft language that also opened the bailout program to foreign banks with extensive loan operations in the United States, potentially added tens of billions of dollars to the cost of the program.

Although it was a major addition to what was already the nation's largest-ever bailout, it did not become part of the debate between Democrats and the Treasury over details of the program. A Monday counterproposal by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd included such consumer loans as well as mortgages, just as the Treasury's draft did Saturday night.

This is simply gobstoppingly outrageous and unwarranted. I remember when I was in college in the early 80s; I was besieged everyday even back then with "pre-approved" credit card applications. I had no job; well, I drove buses at Virginia to make my beer money, that's true, but I was at least in theory a full time student, no real income, but I could have gotten all the plastic my heart desired and lived large. And my heart did desire, it's true. But I had this weird archaic notion that if I spent some money I would need to pay it off relatively soon; like the next month. So I never took any of those folks up on their offers. Fast forward a few years to after I take my degree and get a full time job working for an exceedingly large grain company in Manhattan. Sure, I was only making about $14,000, but as a single guy sharing a house with 2-3 other people in Bloomfield in 1986 you could survive. And so now that I was gainfully employed with absolutely no debts you think I could get a credit card? Nope, nary a one. I couldn't even get a charge card from a freakin' department store, let alone a "major" credit card. So I had to work and scrimp and save and live humbly until my situation and salary slowly improved and I was able nibble at that opium-laced pie that is Credit.

Did I say "live humbly"?

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. stressed that the additions were needed to ensure that student loans and credit cards - which have become indispensable to the spending habits and career plans of many Americans - do not become victims of the widening credit crunch.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but it seems to me that perhaps, just perhaps these "spending habits" are in fact a major part of the problem and should not be encouraged or subsidized. And they sure as hell should not be subsidized by my taxes. And 'foreign banks' should not be allowed in either; I'm sputtering on that charming little addition to this ball of crud.

On a related issue, it's very tempting to go after the obvious targets, the CEOs of these companies that have screwed so many pooches. It is indeed obscene how some of them are pulling in millions of dollars in compensation as their companies go belly up and lose billions; I agree it's a subject that needs to be looked at.

But the real problem here, as Paco alludes to, the real problem that needs to be addressed is Congress. Oh the Barney Franks and Chris Dodds and Joe Bidens and the Larry Craigs and the Pete Domenicis and the Barack Obamas and the John McCains will all tell us to pay no mind to the folks behind the velour curtain, will point their fingers at those greedy executives and cry "for shame!" But it has been Congress that has allowed these things to go on; it is Congress that has taken millions of dollars in bribes from these various industries; it is Congress that has abandoned any semblance of fiduciary responsibility or moral leadership and has instead used the taxpayer's sacred trust as merely a fund to buy re-election; it is Congress that has allowed extra-Constitutional "regulatory agencies" to run rampant and legislate with no review or say by the People. This is the primary issue that needs to be addressed; Congress needs to be held accountable. Every incumbent needs to go.

Will we throw out some babies with the bathwater? Sure.

Bummer.

When the bathwater is so fetid even the rare good one is fouled by the contact.

Update: Further reading:
Jim

Ace

Volokh

Another update: Read Eric too.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:29 AM | Comments (10)

September 23, 2008

Brother Can You Spare A Trillion?

I am really disgusted by this whole bail-out by the Federal Government. I strongly believe in capitalism, but I also believe that people are fallen and greedy and need to be restrained; that's why in spite of Marx's Utopian dreaming the State has not withered away. We need laws to restrain us, and we must have punishments meted out to us when we violate them; it's the only way we learn to rein in our baser impulses. No company should be allowed to grow to the point where it is "too big to fail" and no appointed official, hell, no elected official either, should be given unquestioned, unreviewable authority to spend a trillion dollars (and you know damn well that once those...creatures...in Congress start handing out your money it will be well above that amount).

I've never missed a mortgage payment. Before we bought our house my Bride and I did our homework and budgeted very carefully on how much debt we wanted to assume and felt "comfortable" carrying. When we applied for our mortgage the company then offered us 2.5 times as much money, saying we could "afford" it. Say what? Look, I felt the Siren's call as much as anyone would; the money was awfully tempting. I mean, hey, the Bank says we can afford it, so we must be able to, right? So I do have some sympathy for the folks who said "ok." Some. I think there's lots of blame on both sides. People who didn't budget properly, people who ignored their budgets, people who lied on their applications and/or wildly over-estimated their earning potential got themselves into trouble. When you pair them up with mortgage brokers who didn't do due diligence but who were in fact only looking to make the commission on writing the initial mortgage, because they were immediately going to sell the mortgage to someone else to deal with, well, who's the chicken or the egg in this situation? This in turn encouraged them to inflate the amount they were willing to lend because they weren't lending it but only getting a fee based on the size of the mortgage. I think a good place to start would be requiring every company that wanted to buy or sell mortgages to have to re-verify them; reduce their liquidity (the of the mortgage in terms of being bought and sold) and require companies that write the mortgages to service/hang on to them for at least, say five years to further encourage realistic valuations and mortgage sizes.

None of which is any reason why the US Taxpayer should bail out people who made bad loans and people who took out bad loans; neither the people who refinanced their houses 3 times and bought fancy cars and trips based on ever-rising property values nor the ones who made millions writing flaky loans deserve or are owed one penny of assistance from the Government on these deals.

As my Bride succinctly put it the other night, this bail out privatizes the profits and socializes the losses, and that's just wrong. Oh, it's great business for the banks and just what one would expect from a corrupt Congress and corrupt political structure, but wrong none the less.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:41 AM | Comments (7)

September 22, 2008

Offensive Tribal

..."Female genital mutilation is not necessarily a one-time event," Mukasey said. He noted that the board in a previous case had granted asylum in to one woman whose "vaginal opening was sewn shut approximately five times after being opened to allow for sexual intercourse and child birth."

...acts. Good for Attorney General Mukasey. Shame her liberated American sisters aren't generally as concerned.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:31 PM | Comments (2)

September 19, 2008

Well...::insincere"TCHTCH"::...

...that's a shame.

...But the reality for Mr. Biden is that while running mates are second-fiddlers by definition, the phenomenon of Ms. Palin has rendered him something of a fourth or fifth fiddle. It is not like last month, when reporters swarmed Mr. Biden’s Delaware home and delegates swooned at the Democratic convention. He is now trailed by just a few national reporters, and struggling to break through in a race marked by historic firsts, political celebrities and charismatic newcomers — none named Joe Biden.

::winkwinknudgenudgesaynomoresaynomore::

::snicker::
Stop that now!!

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:47 PM | Comments (1)

Don't Let the Door

...hit you in the caboose.

Muslim leader says 150 workers fired at Neb. plant

About 150 Muslims were fired from a Grand Island, Neb., meatpacking plant that has been embroiled in a prayer dispute, a Somali-American leader said Friday.

Mohamed Rage, who leads the Omaha Somali-American Community Organization, said 80 workers were thrown out after an altercation late Thursday. He says when they tried to return for their shift Friday, they were fired, along with 70 others.

Police said were called to the plant late Thursday amid reports of a riot or serious fight. But when officers arrived, the situation had calmed, said police Chief Steve Lamken.

Muslim workers have been asking for accommodations with break times to allow prayer at sunset. The issue led to walkouts this week—not only from Muslims but from non-Muslims who protested such accommodations as preferential treatment.

... Hundreds of Muslim employees walked off the job Monday and Tuesday, saying they weren't being allowed to take a break to pray during Ramadan. Break times were then altered on the second shift so the Muslim employees, mostly Somali, could make their fourth of five daily prayers at sunset.

Then hundreds of non-Muslim workers walked off the job in counterprotests Wednesday and Thursday morning. Later Thursday, plant managers did an about-face, saying the new break times weren't working.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:14 PM | Comments (4)

In Texas, There May Actually Be Consequences

...for risky behaviour.

Hundreds of people whose beachfront homes were wrecked by Hurricane Ike may be barred from rebuilding under a little-noticed Texas law. And even those whose houses were spared could end up seeing them condemned by the state.

My sympathy meter's pegged, as regular Swillers know. Apparently, so is the guy's who wrote the law.

"We're talking about damn fools that have built houses on the edge of the sea for as long as man could remember and against every advice anyone has given," A.R. "Babe" Schwartz said.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:41 AM | Comments (2)

The Advantage Of Walking Down Wall Street At 5:45 am

Is that it's mostly empty and quiet. The disadvantage is that there's no place to hide from a reporter and camera crew that want an early morning soundbite...

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:32 AM | Comments (5)

September 18, 2008

A Lesson to Get You Through the Weekend

"Counting to Four"

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:04 PM | Comments (4)

September 17, 2008

An Update From Julie in Houston

As an Ike survivor -- one who lives WAAAY inland, where it was relatively safe to "hunker down" -- I agree that the Galvestonites who stayed are a burger short of a Happy Meal. And worse is the PRESS who keeps lauding their "heroic" stories of what they went through (i.e. one family who had to WALK across the causeway two days after Ike. Hello -- if you'd left 3 days earlier, there were BUSSES!) The breaking point for me was two consecutive stories on a newscast Monday: the first showing the mayor's press conference that no one was allowed to come to or stay on Galveston; the next was the announcement that FEMA opened a distribution center on Galveston. Why would you need a distribution center on an island that no one can live on?? Eleven distribution centers for millions of people and they waste one on a spit of land that was a mandatory evacuation zone. And, by the way, where are our credit cards and gas cards like the Katrina survivors got? What are we, chopped liver? Sigh.

Anyway, I posted an update in a comment on Ken's Ike post, if you want to take a peek. Thank you sooo much for the prayers and good wishes. It is getting me through a very trying time.

Julie

We're with ya, babe.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:13 PM | Comments (4)

Oh Great

I guess there's no place "safe" these days

Extraordinary events are piling up on Wall Street so fast, it's hard to know where to focus. Forgetting the prospective bailout of AIG for a moment, since every media outlet is on that one, the most shocking development of the day for me is news that a $60 billion money market fund "broke the buck" on Monday due to losses in Lehman Brothers paper that it held. So much for the safety of "cash".

The Reserve Primary Money Fund (RPFXX) has become the first money-market fund in more than a decade to lose money because its board was forced to write down $785 million worth of LEH debt to zero. The fund has reportedly seen assets plunge by 60% to $23 billion in the past two days after holders got wind of the fact that it would have to cut its net asset value to less than its usual $1 per share.

Read the author's related article here; and note that it dates from last December.

For the next few months your mattress may give you the best rate of return.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:56 AM | Comments (1)

Magnanimous Meglomaniac

The one thing that I want to insist on is that, as I travel around the country, the American people are a decent people. Now they get confused sometimes. You know, they listen to the wrong talk radio shows or watch the wrong TV networks, um, but they’re, they’re basically decent, they’re basically sound.

...mouths more mucilaginous mush. We're confused, bitter clingers, who mean well, but continually get sh*t wrong because we just can't keep our little pinheads from listening to the wrong stuff. (Of course, he wouldn't dare say that this year, but he's come close...) To quote Mr. Levin:

"Gee, thanks."

Via Ace.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:26 AM | Comments (2)

So, Tell Me How You Really

...feel about that new "drill" bill?

...Calling the process "rigged," House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) protested the less-than-24-hour period between the legislation's unveiling and yesterday's vote, during which Republicans could not offer amendments.

"The bill that's coming to the floor is nothing more than a hoax on the American people, and they will not buy it," Boehner said.

But, since Pelosi and her Democratic Congress bear NO responsibility for much of ANYthing at all, his opinion won't make no never-mind.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:16 AM

Let Them Fail

I guess the lesson that we've learned from this is that if I lose a few thousand dollars I have to declare bankruptcy.

If I really screw up and cause my company to lose a few million then I go to jail and my loved ones are sold for medical experiments.

But if I show my brilliance by managing to lose billions; well, then magically I become "to important to fail" and I get bailed out by the US Taxpayer.

What a steaming crock of shit. Let these companies fail. If they've violated laws put them in jail. Publish accounts of every payoff they've given to Congressmen, every junket paid for. Let "We the People" really see what we're paying for.

Update: I see Ed is happy about this too.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:42 AM | Comments (14)

The Grapes Of Wrath

So I know y'all have been anxiously awaiting word on how Bingley Vineyards were doing. When we got back from Alaska things were looking pretty good

The grapes were growing nicely and starting to deep purple-ize. I'm not sure why about 1/4 of them seemed to abort, though. Any idea, Suzette?

Anyhow, early in September I was hoping to gather enough grapes to make some cabernet franc preserves once they ripened sufficiently, but alas the remnants of various tropical storms blew through and I sort of forgot about my grapes...much to the Yellow Jackets' delight

You see that little bugger in the center who's actually inside the grape? Bastard! The grapes were so sweet and tasty that the bees left me...well, nothing

Ah well. Next year I guess I need to invest in some bee traps and some type of netting.

And if anyone knows how to properly prune vines I will gladly take some advice; I want these babies to produce next year.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:53 AM | Comments (3)

September 16, 2008

Oh, Yeah ~ That's Worth

...a buttload.

...The Fed said in return for the loan, the government will receive a 79.9 percent equity stake in AIG.

Nothing like rock solid collateral.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:53 PM | Comments (1)

Yes, the Swill Campaign Gear You ALWAYS Wanted

...is now available for the discriminating pink patriot OR the patriot confident enough in his masculinity to wear pink. Like, for instance, major dad!

No less an expert than the Vodka Pundit, his OWN self told Bingley to quit being a p-word and let sister sell it to purchase toilet paper the volunteers* desperately need.

Bingley crumbled like a four day old Melba Toast.

Somedays you gotta call in the big dogs to get something done.

UPDATE: *A healthy portion of the SARAHcuda Collection
profits will benefit the Veterans for John McCain ~ Pensacola, FL office, and their ongoing scrabble for monies to purchase toilet paper, bottled water and fatty snacks for the hard working volunteers.

Like tree hugging sister.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:15 PM | Comments (2)

Oil Getting Pounded Again This Morning

Look for even more bankruptcies

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Oil prices plummeted Tuesday in Asia, falling briefly below $92 a barrel as investors feared the U.S. credit crisis that brought down brokerage giant Lehman Brothers will drag on global economic growth and restrain demand for crude.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery tumbled $3.59 to $92.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange midafternoon in Singapore. It briefly fell as low as $91.54. Overnight, the contract dropped $5.47 to settle at $95.71, the first time oil closed below $100 since March 4.

A lot of hedge funds are getting slaughtered by the fall in oil, and I've got a bad feeling that so are far too many pension funds, whose managers got sucked in to the commodities markets that were such powerhouses this Spring.

It would not surprise me to hear that some state pension funds are seriously underfunded now.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:04 AM | Comments (7)

September 15, 2008

Fasten Your Seat Belts. It's Gonna Be a Bumpy

...ride, judging by the futures.

09:18 ET Dow , Nasdaq , S&P : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -43.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -52.80. Futures are on the defensive, with a worse-than-expected economic reading not helping matters. Just hitting the wires, August industrial production fell 1.1% in August (consensus -0.3%) and capacity fell by one percentage point to 78.7% (consensus 79.6%). In deal news, Long Drugs Stores (LDG) confirmed earlier today that Walgreen (WAG) expressed unsolicited interest of $75.00 per share in cash for all outstanding shares of LDG. CVS Caremark (CVS) and Longs entered a merger agreement at $71.50 per share in August. Nasdaq at... NYSE Adv/Dec 0/0... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 0/0.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:32 AM | Comments (2)

September 14, 2008

For Every Season, Turn, Turn, Turn

So, there we were, leisurely perusing the Sunday NYT when a name in the wedding announcement section caught my eye.

Serena Torrey, Theodore Roosevelt V

Having seen it before I, major dad confirmed that it was, indeed, that Roosevelt. I thought "Cool!" and continued reading. Being me, the first thing I noticed was:

The bridegroom, also 32, is a vice president for high-yield bond sales at Lehman Brothers in Manhattan.

Thinking "Jeez, I'd get that honeymoon over as fast as I could, and maybe not spend so much on drinks and pupus", I read on. Considering what's front page news on Drudge this very instant:

Wall Street Prepares for Potential Lehman Bankruptcy

...as well as EVERY other news site...

"Wall Street on alert: Lehman endgame"*"In Frantic Day, Wall Street Banks Teeter"*"Lehman looks headed toward bankruptcy"

...the staid paragraph ending the wedding announcement tickled a delicious sense of irony:

...He is the son of Constance Rogers Roosevelt and Mr. Roosevelt IV of Brooklyn....His father is a managing director and investment banker at Lehman Brothers in Manhattan; he is also the chairman of the firm’s council on climate change.

To paraphrase Johnny Cash,

"I hear the change a comin'"

...and it's REAL.

"And a time to every purpose under Heaven."

Really weird how that works.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:41 PM | Comments (2)

I Am Hugely Relieved at the Good News

...coming out of Houston. It's been awful, but could have been so much worse and for that ~ and the safety of our dear friends ~ we are eternally grateful.

Now. A few words for the reported tens of thousands of MORONS who stayed on (barrier island!!!) Galveston:

Shut the F*CK up. They TOLD you to leave, your own natural human instincts should have TOLD you to leave, not to mention that Galveston's TRAGIC hurricane history should have given you a clue YOU SHOULD LEAVE, if your intelligence failed you on its own. I am truly sorry for your material losses. I know it's devastating and I grieve for you. But that's what happens on a barrier island and is to be EXPECTED.

If this had been IVAN ~ and you should be thanking whatever higher power you talk to that it was NOT ~ you would all be dead. Right. Now.

Instead, you're standing in line for supplies after endangering rescuers who had to haul you out of a soggy pile of lumber and complaining. As the woman did on NBC's weekend news just now to an exhausted Sheriff's deputy:

"There's ants in my shoes!"

Ants don't get an evac order. And be glad you're still in those shoes.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:18 PM | Comments (6)

The New and "Improved" Sitemeter

...SUCKS SO BAD IT BLOWS.

That is all.

UPDATE: Well, bless their little pointy heads. The howls of outrage and gnashing of teeth actually got to someone, and my precious little green stat sheet is up and running and oh, so blessedly familiar.

Does this make me a bitter clinger?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:35 PM | Comments (4)

September 13, 2008

Once Again, MSNBC Shows Absolutely

...no bias and NObama. It's all McCain/Palin on the home page tonight, scattered amongst the hurricanes and trainwrecks. Considering what they chose to report, maybe they felt it was time for a "theme night".





If I was a betting girl, I might wager the line circled in green has something to do with it.

Considering who they're working so hard for, I guess that WOULD qualify as a "disaster".

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:51 PM | Comments (2)

Sarah Palin

(with apologies to Tom Lehrer)

The loveliest girl in Wasilla
The best shot with balls or a gun
Of moose and incumbents a killa'
She's gutted both during her run

Granny-glassed Gibson derided
As he queried 'bout Anwar Sadat
She gleefully said "It's decided"
"We're drilling in ANWR; that's that!"

Sarah Palin
Oh the Netroots are a'wailin'
Is it your frosted lipgloss
That infuriates Wonkette and Kos?

Andrew Sullivan's having a hissy fit
(He's risen to Top Bottom Feeder)
He wants to see the birth certificate
For one must take care with a Breeder

The Media chooses well said words
As they polish their "impartial" sheen
They ignored the tale of John Edwards
To focus on tort'ring a teen

Sarah Palin
Your intimate life they're detailing
Seeking the Great Mother Lode
As their tilted heads jointly explode

Your speech wowed folks at the Convention
But the Minions of One started chidin'
"All the words were not her own invention"
Like the speeches of their glorious Biden

Her selection now threatened Obama
Who's candidacy seemed heaven sent
He said "I'm the one true re-forma;
I've courageously voted 'Present!'"

Sarah, Sarah
Is this the dawn of a new era?
Are women now free to be...free?
The "Progressives" are bitchin'
"Get back in the kitchen!"
"No Amazon for our VP!"

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 04:39 PM | Comments (4)

September 12, 2008

September 12th, 2008, 5:39 am, Broadway And Pine

Gotham

(special thanks to Tim for posting this for me this morning until I could get home)

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:27 PM | Comments (1)

Crap

Hurricane Ike is hours away from landfall on the upper Texas coast, and is already generating huge storm surges in Texas and Lousiana. Although still of Category 2 strength, Ike remains larger and more powerful than Category 5 Katrina or Category 5 Rita. As I discussed in yesterday's blog entry, a good measure of the storm surge potential is Integrated Kinetic Energy (IKE). Ike's Integrated Kinetic Energy has fallen from 149 Terajoules this morning to 124 at 3:30 pm EDT this afternoon. However, this is still larger than the total energy Katrina had at landfall, and Ike's storm surge potential rates a 5.1 on a scale of 1 to 6.

...According to the NOAA tide gauges, storm tides are running 6-8 feet above normal along the central Louisiana coast this afternoon. The nola.com web site is reporting that a 9 foot storm surge affected the Industial Canal in New Orleans. Extensive flooding of low lying towns outside the New Orleans levee system is occurring. Surge overtopped a St. Mary Parish levee near the town of Gordy, and a six-foot-wide breach was reported in a non-federal parish levee near the towns of Caernarvon, Scarsdale, White Ditch and Braithwaite.

The fact that Ike's storm surge has reached such high levels 200-300 miles north of the storm is a very bad omen for the upper Texas and western Louisiana coasts. The latest forecast surge values from NOAA:

Shoreline of Galveston Bay... 15 to 22 feet
Bolivar Peninsula... 17 to 20 feet
Galveston Island... ... 14 to 17 feet
Gulf-facing coastline from Sargent to San Luis Pass... 8 to 14 feet

I've given the mistaken impression that the Galveston sea wall will save the city from inundation. That is not the case. The wall merely protects the city from a frontal assault by the storm surge and the 20 foot waves likely to be on top of the surge. Ike will flood the city of Galveston.

Our hearts are with Texas.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:15 PM | Comments (4)

Why The Hellllllllll...

...might they use my tax money to bail out these bastards

The investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. spent Thursday energetically shopping itself to potential buyers -- among them Bank of America Corp. -- just a day after insisting it had found a way to patch up its massive real-estate-related losses.

Given the firm's deep financial troubles, a deal of any sort is far from certain, according to people familiar with the situation. In addition, prospective buyers, which also could include Barclays PLC, would likely want the U.S. government to help shield them from future losses from any such transaction, these people said, as happened in March, when Bear Stearns Cos. was forced into a deal to be acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. In that deal, the federal government agreed to absorb as much as $29 billion in potential losses.

The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department have been working with Lehman to help resolve the bank's troubles, including talking to potential buyers, according to people familiar with the matter. Federal officials currently aren't expected to structure a bailout along the lines of the Bear transaction or this past weekend's rescue of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

It ticks me off to no end that the Government (i.e. you and me) are bailing these guys out. Somehow I think that if my company made a boatload of risky business decisions Uncle Sam wouldn't be standing there with a check for us.

But then again we don't contribute millions to corrupt folks in Washington.

Silly us.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:30 AM | Comments (4)

A Request To Politicians Of All Stripes

Due to the various street closings related to the service at the WTC yesterday the pick-up point for my bus home got moved to the West Side Highway...right next to the WTC. Brilliant planning, I know. Anyhow, so we're crowded down there waiting for our bus to show up when suddenly there's a big hub-bub and an influx of black Suburbans (strictly hybrids, I'm sure) and I see Obama go by not 15 feet from me, followed by another Suburban or two then a large mini-bus loaded with disciplesmedia personnel. Of course all other traffic is at first stopped, then forced to move and run red lights by screaming cops. Not 5 minutes later here comes a far smaller number of Suburbans, fewer than half the number Obama had, and I see McCain go by the same few feet away, and then the group tottered off into the WTC site as you've all seen by now.

Now, I don't have any problem with politicians making these appearances that they're politically obligated to do, but for god's sake I wish for once they wouldn't do it around rush hour and completely screw up peoples' commutes. I'd love to find the advisor who said "you know, 4 pm in Manhattan is a great time to shut down streets!"

I mean, I really hate to cut short Obama's lunch with Clinton, but why couldn't they have gone to the WTC at 1 pm?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:08 AM | Comments (4)

There's More to Piratin'

...than havin' a ship.

Gas jumps as oil falls to settle near $100

U.S. pump prices may break through the record high of $4.114

...The wholesale price of gasoline ranged from $4 to nearly $5 a gallon in the U.S. Gulf Coast throughout the day on Thursday, said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst of the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J.

That was up significantly from about $3 to $3.30 a gallon on Wednesday, Kloza said, and the surge drove up wholesale prices in other U.S. regions, too.

“We’re looking at the highest wholesale prices ever for a huge swath of the country,” he said. “People understand that regardless of what happens with Ike, it’s going to shut down the biggest refining cluster for a period of five, six, seven days.”

Arrgghhhhhh!



Ye need to be topping off yer bilges NOW, mateys and waitin' out the scurvy dogs. Go only where you must or it'll cost ye dear.

UPDATE: The good professor links to a story about scaaaarrrrrcities already occurring in TN. Argh!

Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:10 AM | Comments (5)

I'm Not The Most Sophisticated Media Fella

I freely admit it. But does it make sense to attack your opponent on these grounds

NEW YORK (AP) - John McCain is mocked as an out-of-touch, out-of-date computer illiterate in a television commercial out Friday from Barack Obama as the Democrat begins his sharpest barrage yet on McCain's long Washington career.

..."1982, John McCain goes to Washington," an announcer says over chirpy elevator music. "Things have changed in the last 26 years, but McCain hasn't."

...Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said the campaign was not making an issue of the 72-year-old McCain's age, but the time he's spent in Washington.

when the man you picked as your running mate has been a Senator since 1972?

"1972" as in "in 1972 Joe Biden was a US Senator in Washington while John McCain was a prisoner in Hanoi" 1972.

That 1972.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:52 AM | Comments (2)

September 11, 2008

Oh, the Horror! Watching My Rutgers vs UNC

...all I can do is channel the groundskeepers from "Major League".

"Dey shitty."

Dey are.

Whaddupwidat?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:56 PM | Comments (3)

Friends in Danger and, For Once, It's Not Me or Rob

To our dearest friends Sharon and Julie,

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and yours. Treat Ike like you were Tina in divorce court ~ let him have it!

And keep yourselves safe.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:22 AM | Comments (8)

2996: We Remember John Resta And Sylvia San Pio Resta

(originally published 9/11/06)

We all know the story of how they and so many others died on that day, but we must never forget how these wonderful people lived, either. John and Sylvia adored life, and they adored each other. They were so deeply in love and so happy together. Newsday tells the story of their engagement

Halloween, with its orange candy, spooky costumes and family fun, is not generally considered a romantic holiday. But since John Resta and Sylvia San Pio Resta met five years ago today at an office costume party, Halloween had always been about romance for them.

Two Halloweens ago, on the third anniversary of their meeting, John, 40, stayed home from work and rented a tuxedo. He bought flowers, lit candles and set the table with a stone crab dinner specially flown in from Sylvia's favorite restaurant in Miami. When Sylvia, 27, got back to the couple's Bayside apartment, he got down on his knees and proposed.

In August of 2000 they were married in Hazlet at the Catholic school that John had graduated from. Their reception was held at the Molly Pitcher Inn in Red Bank, which is far and away the nicest place for a wedding reception in the area. And boy did John and Sylvia have a great party: the weather was perfect, and from cocktails out on the deck overlooking the river to dinner and dancing inside every guest spent the evening laughing and basking in the glow of the newlyweds. We sat at a table with a mix of their family friends and business associates and just had a great time passing stories about the couple, which seems to be required at weddings. Sylvia had this habit of reading cookbooks on the train from cover to cover, as if they were mysteries, and we would kid her about it.

They both loved children, and

John's 10 nieces and nephews in New Jersey adored the couple right back, said Mazzeo, of Hazlet, N.J. The Restas spent almost every other weekend in New Jersey, taking the kids out on outings, to movies and for pizza. Sylvia even played Pokémon cards with the smallest ones.

Sylvia also loved to play videos games, and to have an Aunt who'll come over and play them with you surely ranks high atop any young boy's list of dreams!

We had dinner with them in February of 2001 while they were out on one of these visits, and they brought a lovely colorforms-type art present for our daughter. It wasn't a special occasion, but they knew just the right gift to bring that would keep an 8 year old occupied at the table in the nice italian restaurant that we ate in; that's just a small example of how thoughtful they were. John and I spent the whole meal talking about families, and how much he loved having such a large extended family so near by, and how excited he was about his future with Sylvia. I noticed during the meal that Blondie ('Blondie' was my nickname for Sylvia. The first time I met her her hair was dyed blonde, so I always called her that, which in turn would confuse the bejeebus out of people when they finally met her as her natural brunette, which in turn led to a lot of laughter on our parts) wasn't touching her wine, nor had she run out to have a cigarette. I asked her about this odd behavior the next day and she told me the wonderful news that she and John were expecting.

This news set off a crazy period in their lives, as it does in all of our lives. They were living in an apartment in Queens, and their first thought was that they needed to buy a house. With all of John's family out in Monmouth County, NJ, that was where they concentrated their efforts. We all know how stressful home buying can be, let alone when expecting your first child, and I would talk to Sylvia every Monday and hear how the previous weekend's searching had gone, and I would pass along any houses that I saw in our neighborhood onto them as well, because they were the kind of couple you would adore having near you.

As the frustration grew they reached a decision together which to my mind I'm so glad they did: they said the heck with it. They realized that a lot of kids spent their first few years in cramped apartments and turned out ok; family is what matters. As Sylvia's family lived mostly in Spain the summer of 2001 would be their last chance to visit for quite awhile, so they flew to Spain to spend a few weeks visiting them. They had a wonderful trip.

John and Sylvia worked at Carr Futures; he was a project manager and she was a commodities broker, which is how I knew her. As our market closes around noon, she was able to schedule appointments at very convenient times. On September 11th she and John were going to visit her doctor that very afternoon, and she was one week away from going out on maternity leave.

They were so thrilled at having a boy, and they were going to name him Dylan. I would always kid her that she was condemning him to a life of whiskey drinking, and she would laugh and say that at least they'd get some good poetry out of him.

Carr Futures was on the 92nd floor of the North Tower.

Flight 11 hit the 94th floor.

From the New York Daily News, March 19th, 2002:

John's older brother, Tom, says he finds what little solace he can in the very real possibility that John and Sylvia were together when they died.

"I think my feeling is they wouldn't have wanted to die any other way," Tom said. "They were always together. They were inseparable. Like my sister says, they were like a left and right shoe. I just can't imagine what life would be like if one of them had lived."

Tom doesn't know for sure what happened next. As far as he knows, his brother and sister-in-law didn't make any cell phone calls or write any E-mails after the plane hit. He has heard news reports that the impact of the crash filled the stairwells of the 91st and 92nd floors with rubble, but he also has heard secondhand stories that they were seen several floors lower, working their way down the stairs.

"I can imagine him trying to help her down the stairs, with smoke all around," Tom said.

He thought for about a day and a half that Sylvia might have made it out after a reporter told him she had heard that a pregnant "Spanish" woman had been found alive.

"We had hope," Tom said.

But that hope soon vanished. Philosopher's wisdom In the grief- filled weeks and months since, Tom has thought a lot about something Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th century philosopher and scientist, once wrote: "Those who are truly married on Earth are in heaven one angel."

On Feb. 14, a police officer and a representative of the Monmouth County, N.J., coroner's office came to the family's house to relay news that John's remains had been identified.

"From dental records," Tom said.

"I think if John could have picked a day to be identified, it would have been Valentine's Day," he said. "He was a very romantic person. He believed in love and friendship."

Sylvia is among the more than 2,000 people whose remains have not been identified. A few days ago, her mother was asked to provide more DNA samples.

So the family has decided to wait until she's found. "We don't want to bury him without her," Tom said. "They did everything else together."

Together forever, as they were meant to be.

We love you and miss you, and we will always remember you.

A special thanks to DCRoe for all the work done in honoring all of the victims.

*Here's a mirror, as the main 2996 site is down.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:07 AM | Comments (6)

September 10, 2008

So, Say I Designed a Pro-"Rhymes With BarraMuda" HOTPINK Bumper Sticker

...that ROCKS so hard, it had people stopping me on the street today to ask whence I got it. (It's a fundraiser for the volunteers at a certain group o' veterans working for a certain veteran running for office who get no funds since they're way down the party food chain) And I need people to BUY them, but NOT land Bingley in jail because of campaign laws passed by that very same veteran running for office.

So there's our hypotheticals. Our sea and bona fide lawyers in the group wanna take a stab on HOW I can show them off?

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:48 PM | Comments (4)

I Find It Oddly Appropriate...

...That this guy lives in "Nutley"

NEW YORK (CBS) ― A former Verizon technician racked up $220,000 in phone-sex calls by tapping into the land lines of nearly 950 customers, authorities charged on Tuesday.

Joseph Vaccarelli, 45, of Nutley, made approximately 5,000 calls, resulting in 45,000 minutes of call time, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said in a news release.

and that he also made his living on a pole.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:29 AM | Comments (1)

Just When Things Were Getting Somewhere Just North of Reasonable

...the "who's your buddy, who's your pal" cartel helps out the Republicans. I think.

OPEC oil ministers agreed Wednesday to trim overall output by more than 500,000 barrels a day in a compromise meant to avoid new turmoil in crude markets while seeking to bolster falling prices.

The news sent oil prices rising. Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 97 cents to $104.23 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Drill here, drill now, people. SHeiky kisses aside, they're not in it for US, duh.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:10 AM | Comments (2)

I've Been Anxiously Awaiting Camille Paglia's Take On Palin

And she doesn't disappoint

...Conservative though she may be, I felt that Palin represented an explosion of a brand new style of muscular American feminism. At her startling debut on that day, she was combining male and female qualities in ways that I have never seen before. And she was somehow able to seem simultaneously reassuringly traditional and gung-ho futurist. In terms of redefining the persona for female authority and leadership, Palin has made the biggest step forward in feminism since Madonna channeled the dominatrix persona of high-glam Marlene Dietrich and rammed pro-sex, pro-beauty feminism down the throats of the prissy, victim-mongering, philistine feminist establishment.

Read the whole thing. To my mind Paglia is the most astute cultural observer we have right now; while I certainly do not agree with many of her positions her insight and candor are second to none.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:27 AM | Comments (4)

September 09, 2008

CNN Bites on "Palin Hates Retarded Kids" Meme

The headline's benign enough:

Palin's budget choices praised, criticized

Blah, blah, blah ~ nice stuff, evenly handed...

...some Alaskans see Gov. Sarah Palin as a modern-day Robin Hood who has slashed government spending and given money to the people.

"She has helped to balance our budget. She has done a very good job," Alaskan Kim Brink said of the GOP vice presidential nominee. "She gave, she fought to get us a little bit of extra money in these hard economic times."

...right up to this zinger buried at the end.

... As governor, Palin has used her line-item veto to cut funds for special interest programs called earmarks.

But Democrats criticize her for slashing programs, even for people with disabilities -- a group she's vowed to defend.

Sort of intimating...

"Even for SPECIAL NEEDS!!!! WHAT kind of MONSTER....? Doesn't she have a retarded baby of her own?!?!?!?!"

...wouldn't you say?

They don't bother to explain that all sited "slashing" was in the 2006 budget of her predecessor, Frank Murkowski. Palin signed into law a "dramatic reform of the state's educational financing" that somehow STILL resulted in a 175% increase in the very same "special needs" area that's she's accused of cutting.

...A second part of the measure raises spending for students with special needs to $73,840 in fiscal 2011, from the current $26,900 per student in fiscal 2008, according to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.

"Raises spending". Dang. Just no way to spin THAT and still disparage her. Think, think, think...and a light went off at KosQuarters. As the Weekly Standard points out:

So the Netroots and CNN allege that Palin cut special needs funding by 62 percent, by crediting her with the budget proposed by a political opponent.

Well, shoot! If you can get it repeated sans context on CNN, why not just throw it out there?
UPDATE: In yesterday's article called "Sliming Palin", Factcheck.org lays this baby to rest pretty succinctly:

Palin did not cut funding for special needs education in Alaska by 62 percent. She didn't cut it at all. In fact, she tripled per-pupil funding over just three years.

CNN taking up MSNBC's slack or what? Unforgivable, when it only takes about 16 seconds to check it out and either leave the quote off, or add the truth for context. What a concept.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:50 PM | Comments (14)

I'm Not Sure I Would Have Counted on Them

...quite so much, considering everything.

...But the campaign is struggling to meet ambitious fund-raising goals it set for the campaign and the party. It collected in June and July far less from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's donors than originally projected. Moreover, McCain, unlike Obama, will have the luxury of concentrating almost entirely on campaigning instead of raising money, as Obama must do.

Sounds like they were some pretty pie-in-the-sky-high projections for a campaign with 'women' problems. WHAT have the Hillary supporters EVER done to give the impression they'd been mollified enough to open their Prada purses?

He and his acolytes are pretty tone deaf, aren't they?

UPDATE: When it's not only Hillary types dissin' you, but your (and Oprah's, mind you) Chicago HOME BOYS?

...Even Obama's fund-raisers in Illinois were admonished in an e-mail message last Thursday to step up their efforts to "show the other regions that his home state still has it." The donors, who were also reminded they had each promised to collect $300,000 for the campaign, were asked to raise $25,000 each for an event on Sept. 22 at a Chicago museum.

The new state-by-state goals unveiled by campaign officials in Denver stunned at least some in the room and included sizable increases for at least some states, according to interviews with several Obama fund-raisers.

Contrast THAT with the word out this morning about McHappy and Sarahcuda's one night haul in...Illinois!

Republican John McCain raised about $5 million in Chicago Monday night, or about $1 million for each hour he spent in Democrat Barack Obama's home town.

Ouch, man. That's gotta leave a mark.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:38 AM | Comments (4)

I Love To BBQ As Much As The Next Guy

But I don't really want to BBQ the Next Guy; even I draw the line at dry-rubbing someone and hitting them with, er, a sausage

Fresno County authorities have arrested a man they say broke into the home of two farmworkers, rubbed one with spices and whacked the other with a sausage before fleeing.

...The victims told deputies they awoke Saturday morning to the stranger applying spices to one of them and striking the other with an 8-inch sausage.

On what I'm sure is a completely unrelated note, someone who just also happens to live in California has disappeared.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:31 AM | Comments (6)

September 08, 2008

Recycling the Baker's Dozen

Dog has 13 golf balls removed during op
'He hunts them down like truffles,' says owner

Guess WHAT kind of dog! What a surprise, right? You know, Labradorks are known as easy feeders. Now I guess we can add "green" to the breed description.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:04 PM | Comments (5)

Over at Red State, a Sad New Game

It's called "Find the American Flag".

There are no winners, apparently.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:14 AM | Comments (5)

McCain Ahead?

Amazing, really

WASHINGTON — The Republican National Convention has given John McCain and his party a significant boost, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken over the weekend shows, as running mate Sarah Palin helps close an "enthusiasm gap" that has dogged the GOP all year.

McCain leads Democrat Barack Obama by 50%-46% among registered voters, the Republican's biggest advantage since January and a turnaround from the USA TODAY poll taken just before the convention opened in St. Paul. Then, he lagged by 7 percentage points.

There's still a long long way to go in this election, but who would have possibly thought 6 months ago that things would be this close?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:43 AM | Comments (1)

September 07, 2008

You Can Get Cretins Aplenty Online

Why on earth would you tune in to someone who gets paid to be obnoxious?

MSNBC tried a bold experiment this year by putting two politically incendiary hosts, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, in the anchor chair to lead the cable news channel’s coverage of the election.

That experiment appears to be over.

After months of accusations of political bias and simmering animosity between MSNBC and its parent network NBC, the channel decided over the weekend that the NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host David Gregory would anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night. Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews will remain as analysts during the coverage.

The change — which comes in the home stretch of the long election cycle — is a direct result of tensions associated with the channel’s perceived shift to the political left.

"Perceived"! Oh, dear God, I LOVE it!

...NBC Universal executives are also known to be concerned about the perception that MSNBC’s partisan tilt in prime time is bleeding into the rest of the programming day. On a recent Friday afternoon, a graphic labeled “Breaking News” asked: “How many houses does Palin add to the Republican ticket?” Mr. Griffin called the graphic “an embarrassment.”

If it were the only one.

And Olbermann's sitting on NBC's NFL coverage, running his yap over Bob Costas and spreading his schmarm all over the panel. Which includes Dan Patrick, formerly of ESPN!!!

Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann are reuniting on television on NBC’s Sunday night NFL coverage. The network announced Monday that it had hired Patrick, hoping the recapture the chemistry that hooked viewers to ESPN’s...

Oh, my GOD!!! Has Patrick been living in a protective BUBBLE? What kind of MOHron IS he? And we're supposed to listen like he knows something now? I wonder how they call him to the set...

"Paging Butt Boy! Butt Boy, Stage 3!!"

Why am I thinking that Chris Collinsworth may well just kick Olbermann's ass during some Sunday in the not-so-distant-future? It would only take one POP! to cancel The WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD.

(Please, Chris. PLEEZPLEEEZPLEEEEZZZ...)

And Dan, it's called "Buyer's Remorse". Whatever it takes to suck-up to ESPN, ABC and Disney, do it. Get the f*ck out of Dodge before it's too late. Ask Chris Matthews how that worked out for him...

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:19 PM | Comments (5)

And, Uh...Wait a Minute...Uh...Not So Fast

Obama: Recession could delay rescinding tax cuts

Democrat Barack Obama says he would delay rescinding President Bush's tax cuts on wealthy Americans if he becomes the next president and the economy is in a recession, suggesting such an increase would further hurt the economy.

Why? WHHHYYYYYYwwwhhhaaaaaaaa????

Goofy moi! I thought the wealthy and greedy and just plain mean were responsible for ALL this pain we feelin'!

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:11 PM

You Know? It's a Flippin' Shame

...we have to do it this way, but major dad's waited too long for that car to have it keyed by an outraged, unhinged local university professor or some unemployed 25 year old nutroot.

Same goes for my Sadie, who happens to be 16+ years old.
So we tack the corners to the glass while we're out, but as soon as it's parked?

That sucker gets snatched out the winda.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:26 PM | Comments (3)

Congrats, Camilo!

He's a real nice guy; I'm glad he's gotten the first of hopefully many victories.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:10 PM | Comments (2)

September 06, 2008

Ah Poop

She's going right over top of us in a few hours

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:52 PM | Comments (4)

September 05, 2008

I Don't Agree With

..this thought from the Corner.

...He is standing in the way of the first black president. That is a ticklish, ticklish position to be in. He should find a way of acknowledging it, mitigating it, etc.

First, McCain PAID for a very handsome congratulatory ad after Obama's nomination ~ I don't believe the Messiah has returned the favor, even remotely.

But, more importantly, Obama is standing in the way of the first FEMALE Vice-President. And has spent his reaction quotient belittling her experience, vice handsomely acknowledging that EQUALLY history making event. After his ham-handed campaign took a cheap Wasilly swipe and equated running for president with running a state 9000 bubbas backwoods burg, they at LEAST gave her credit for being able to read a speech written by George Bush without stuttering or saying "okey dokey". Or just collapsing completely, as I'm sure multifarious, pin studded, bespectacled, Sarah voodoo dolls were being frantically bedeviled in hope of.

Things haven't improved, and honestly? I hope he and his comb-over [fair shot: they're already on Palin's '20 yrs-out-of-date' do], motormouth friend keep on trucking along in their tone-deaf Obamapalooza, with the KosKids chorus singing harmony and his media stage managers. That'll bring it home to America like no advertising dollars can. It already has.

Whatever happened to, "Gentleman, shake hands. Now, back to your corners and come out fighting"?

John McCain doesn't have to do jack. He's already reached that hand out and the Nobama campaign has turned a classless, arrogant shoulder to him, refusing to display even the tiniest semblance of good manners before the main event. We all have people like that in our everyday lives, be they black, white, brown, green, purple or pink. His color is secondary to the worth of his person. And right now those scales are a tad light on his side.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:05 AM | Comments (13)

Really, It's Only Friday

Why would I mind if you totally screw up my commute home

MIDDLETOWN -- Barack Obama's dinnertime visit to Bon Jovi's house Friday is not expected to create hours-long road closures for motorists, Police Chief Robert Oches said.

Police anticipate they will only prevent motorists on crosstreets from entering the path of the Democratic Party presidential nominee's motorcade in the moments before it passes, Oches said.

Obama is expected to attend private fundraisers at the Middletown homes of Bon Jovi and Philip Murphy, the Democratic National Committee's finance chairman, several Democratic Party and township officials said Thursday.

Obama and other party bigwigs will shuttle between the homes, which are located about 2 miles from each other, along Navesink River Road.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:12 AM | Comments (6)

Take Care Babalu!

Batten down, guys!

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:31 AM | Comments (8)

Yes, Yes Yukon

I find it deliciously ironic that the man who chose Joe Biden as his running mate would complain that parts of Sarah Palin's speech were written by someone else.

Maybe it's because she paid her speechwriters.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 05:57 AM | Comments (1)

September 04, 2008

I'm Loving the Contradictions I've Been Reading All Night

Sarah Palin is pretty universally tut tutted by Democrats for:

...Palin's on the ticket because she's a woman and she isn't afraid to engage in the Republicans' mean-spirited personal attacks.

Is it me or did Sarah Palin come off as a mean spirited bitch during her speech?

Just a few hours ago, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin delivered a mean-spirited speech ...

Oh, my GOD, she was mean, MEAN, MEAN!
On and on and on. One woman's softly chiding voice results in a sea of hurt feelings, leaving one to ask where were these gentle souls over the weekend while she was being viciously savaged by...well...none other than these very same gentle souls?

How DO they wrap their little pinheads around all those mutually exclusive outrages?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:30 AM | Comments (5)

And Speaking Of Biden

Here's a story that I hope gets more play

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said yesterday that he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration if they are elected in November.

This is their Party-Centric, frankly Stalinistic tendencies coming to the fore: If you differ from their line, you're a criminal.

Show trials! Purges!

That's their Hope! and Change! for you.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:49 AM | Comments (6)

The Speeches

Well, my Bride and I stayed up last night to watch the speeches. I thought Romney was awful, just awful.

Huckabee was quite good.

Rudy was hot-and-cold, and went on a tad too long.

Palin was fantastic.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:41 AM

The Unhappiest Guy In The Union This Morning

Has got to be Joe Biden.

She will eat him alive and set off his pompous temper.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:18 AM

So...I Think She Did Real Well

Not bad for a rube from bumf*ck Wasilly, Alaska, huh?

I LOVE the smell of fear in the morning...

Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:14 AM | Comments (5)

September 03, 2008

East Bound and Down

Loaded up for bear and truckin', I hope.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:32 PM | Comments (2)

"I'm Not? You Mean I'm Gonna STAY This Color?"

"Navin, I'd love you if you were the color of a baboon's ass."

MUST See TeeVee.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:39 PM | Comments (3)

Much As I Despise Boeing

...I'm not sure (were I a machinist) what part of this I would have turned down...

...In a high-stakes struggle between the Chicago-based aerospace giant and the Machinists union, Boeing's three-year "best and final" offer included $5,000 in signing bonuses, raises averaging 11 percent, pension increases and a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment — $34,000 in average pay and benefit gains per employee, according to the company

.
...considering the current climate.

Gary Oden has known for weeks that the plant where he has spent the last 19 years helping build Vise-Grips, one of Nebraska's most famous products, would be shutting down.

But he still wasn't completely prepared for the meeting at 5:30 Wednesday morning.

He and other employees were officially told the bad news, the kind that has stung workers in upper Midwestern states for years but is relatively uncommon in Nebraska:

The DeWitt plant is shutting down so operations can be moved to China.

The only reason Boeing has 8 years worth of backlogged orders is because Airbus couldn't deliver planes anywhere near on time and Boeing promised to take up the slack. And IF the machinists vote to strike and Boeing holds the bidding process hostage to boot, that helps the Air Force get a new tanker how?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:00 PM

I've Always Wondered About the Poor Pizza Guy

And why he was killed in such a horrific manner. This doesn't really answer anything.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:16 PM | Comments (2)

From the Google Cache

My girl knows how to work the aisle.

Although she has been in office less than a year, Palin, too, earns high marks from lawmakers on the other side of the aisle. During a debate earlier this year over a natural-gas bill, State Senate Minority Leader Beth Kerttula was astounded when she and another Democrat went to see the new governor to lay out their objections. "Not only did we get right in to see her," says Kerttula, "but she asked us back twice—we saw her three times in 10 hours, until we came up with a solution." Next week in Juneau, Alaska lawmakers will meet to overhaul the state's system for taxing oil companies—a task Palin says was tainted last year by an oil-industry lobbyist who pleaded guilty to bribing lawmakers. Kerttula doesn't expect to agree with the freshman governor on every step of the complex undertaking. But the minority leader looks forward to exploiting one backroom advantage she's long waited for. "I finally get to go to the restroom and talk business with the governor," she says. "The guys have been doing this for centuries." And who says that's not progress?

Newsweek has to be gnashing their teeth. Not to worry. Chummy as Beth Kerttula was then, she's all Democrat now!

State leaders question Palin's qualifications

Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has less than two years of experience as governor, leading Rep. Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, to questions whether that's enough to qualify Palin to be the second highest official in the nation.

"I've worked real well with the governor, but she's not ready for this step," Kerttula said.

"She's not ready to be a heartbeat away from the presidency," said Kerttula, who serves as Democratic leader in the House of Representatives.

Awkward, isn't it?

How delicious.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:04 PM | Comments (1)

Palin Sure Is Catching Flak

...for doing things she had the right to do. Even when it's ANCIENT history.

...After taking over as Mayor of the small town of Wasilla, Palin fired the longtime local police chief. The former police chief, Irl Stambaugh says he was fired because he stepped on the toes of Palin's campaign contributors, including bar owners and the National Rifle Association.

Stambaugh's lawyer, William Jermain, says the chief tried to move up the closing hours of local bars from 5 a.m. to two a.m. after a spurt of drunk driving accidents and arrests.

"His crackdown on that practice by the bars was not appreciated by her and that was one reason she terminated Irl," said Jermain.

SHUT down the bars early?!?! In the middle of freakin' nowhere?

I'd jettison his ass, too.

So, anyway, he sues her for dumping him...in 1997. And wuh happened then...?

A federal judge later ruled the mayor, under city law, had the right to fire the police chief for any reason she wanted.

Just like the current brouhaha about the psychopathic trooper.

Keep workin' it, boys.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:27 PM | Comments (6)

Sarah Palin's New Ad

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:40 PM | Comments (1)

Oh, To Be Young Again!

And have someone else paying the bills for the roadtrip, yo.

Young Republican Road Trip

..."People don't realize the Republican Party is very appealing to young people," says Donnelly. "The Republican Party is not just one demographic, it's not old white men."

When I was their age, the GOP WAS old white men who truly could give a rat's ass about the 'young' party members, and they sure weren't gonna fund an outreach trip for me. (Which, after decades of reflection, was probably a good thing. It would have been more of a Hunter Thompson than Liddy Dole trip.) But had they opened their campaign funds and broken out a shiny, new BancAmericard for my petrol and motor-inn bed, I am QUITE sure that I wouldn't have found the opposition in the cities of my sojourn to be so...nasty. People had manners and seem to be sorely lacking them now.

...Privileged White Suburbanites?

The trio stopped briefly in Denver to try to woo swing voters. Most Denver Democrats were friendly, they said, though they did field a few insults for supporting McCain. Predictably, there were harsher words from commenters to the Web site, including some who couldn't understand why young people would vote Republican. At the Democratic convention, one attendee accused the group of being privileged white suburban kids who were too racist to vote for a minority.

Harrell, who is Hispanic, felt personally offended.

Perhaps they just feel they're entitled to say so, in as sneering and demeaning a tone as possible. Here's more on that confrontation via the road tripper's website:

...There was a group of about 30 McCain volunteers (including myself) walking throughout the city to show that there was a conservative presence here in Denver. We stopped at a corner to rest for a few minutes when two men approached us. They said that they didn’t want any trouble; they just wanted to ask us why we supported John McCain? A few of us expressed our views and ultimately the two men accused us of not supporting Senator Obama because he was black (despite explaining multiple of his policies we vastly disagreed with). We asserted that race was certainly not the reason we supported John McCain, and subsequently were mobbed by about 10 people around us screaming how we didn’t know any minorities, were racist etc…

Generally, I would let these kind of comments go, but I have really had it up with being accused of being racist, so I responded “Hi, my name is Jeremy, I am Hispanic, my mother and grandparents immigrated to the United States from Argentina. “ One of the CRNC field reps, Brandon, also stepped forward and told the group that he too was Hispanic, Puerto Rican. We were then pushed and yelled at, told that Hispanic is not a real minority, and that we were sellouts who made over $100,000.

What IS it with these Lefties and them agressively putting their hands on people? (I subscribe to the Francis* theory of space violation.) And funny how they can shove at everyone! The rich [supposedly these kids], the rubes [Gov. Palin] and judge the not-quite-authentic claims of minority entitlement...

...For a moment, the Ethiopian-born activist seemed to melt into the crowd, blending into the sea of black professors, health experts and community leaders considering how to educate blacks about the dangers of prostate cancer. But when he piped up to suggest focusing some attention on African immigrants, the dividing lines were promptly and pointedly drawn.

The focus of the campaign, the activist, Abdulaziz Kamus, was told, would be strictly on African-Americans.

''I said, 'But I am African and I am an American citizen; am I not African-American?''' said Mr. Kamus, who is an advocate for African immigrants here, recalling his sense of bewilderment.

''They said 'No, no, no, not you.''

'

...up to, and including...

"Black, in our political and social vocabulary, means those descended from West African slaves,"

...questions about their own Chosen One!

Is Obama Black Enough?

Now THAT'S the party of inclusiveness.

* Francis from "Stripes": "And I don't like nobody touching me. Any of you homos touch me, and I'll kill you."

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:09 PM | Comments (6)

Schmaybe There's a Reason?

Obama's Years at Columbia Are a Mystery
He Graduated Without Honors

Senator Obama's life story, from his humble roots, to his rise to Harvard Law School, to his passion as a community organizer in Chicago, has been at the center of his presidential campaign. But one chapter of the tale remains a blank — his education at Columbia College, a place he rarely speaks about and where few people seem to remember him.

I read this yesterday and thought, "How weird". Like Davids Brooks' sardonic comment about the MSM being so far up the Palin's orifices, they know and could report recycling violations, WHY doesn't anyone know what NObama did at university? I mean, his "rising star" aura relies on luminous accomplishments at every level, right? That his college record should be a cypher seems strange...uncharacteristic... as if he were a wraith floating the halls vice a mesmerizing, anointed presence lighting them up.

Odd.

Last night, Fred Thompson's folksy "bucket" analogy( in reference to NObama's tax intentions) deftly illuminated the "Chosen One's" general penchant for a socialist track. A big-government-in-your-bedroom ideology, where what you own is yours only until the greater good ~ as determined by him ~ demands that you give it up, or they skip that part and just take it. I wonder where he learned that...?

Columbia University
Has No Right to My Land

Columbia University, a private institution, officially announced its desire for a new campus five years ago. The university zeroed in on the Manhattanville area of Harlem -- between 125th and 134th Streets, and between Broadway and the Hudson River. Since that time, while wielding the sledgehammer of the possible use of eminent domain, Columbia has purchased roughly 80% of Manhattanville.

...Earlier this summer the state released its study, which concluded that Manhattanville is indeed "blighted." This gives the state the legal green light to condemn my four buildings and hand them over to the university.

The study's conclusion was unsurprising. Since the commencement of acquisitions in Manhattanville by Columbia, the school has made a solid effort to create the appearance of "blight." Once active buildings became vacant as Columbia either refused to renew leases, pressured small businesses to vacate, or made unreasonable demands that resulted in the businesses moving elsewhere. Columbia also let their holdings decay and left code violations unaddressed.

Only a few years ago, this area was undergoing a resurgence. Virtually all property was occupied, many by long-standing family operations such as my own. Now most of those businesses are gone -- forced out by the university.

...There is also a conflict of interest in the condemnation process. The firm the state hired to perform the "impartial" blight study -- the planning, engineering and environmental consultant Allee King Rosen & Fleming, Inc. (AKRF) -- had been retained by Columbia two years earlier to advocate for governmental approval of the university's expansion, including the possible use of eminent domain.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:38 AM | Comments (1)

OMG!!! Quote of the Day

From a commenter on Megan McArdle's site:

This is news because no one was allowed to print speculation on the contraception John Edwards used or failed to use.

BHUWAHwahahaha! Someone should work THAT talking point when the press comes a' callin'.

Brilliant.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:19 AM

::sniff::

It can't have been much of a party if we weren't invited.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:03 AM | Comments (1)

September 02, 2008

Great Line From David Brooks Just Now

"Her unmarried daughter is pregnant, her husband has a 22 year old DUI and they once put a tin can in the plastic recycling..."

Hahahaha.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:56 PM | Comments (11)

Gwen Ifill Gets Schooled

...in the gold double-standard.

...GWEN IFILL: And there's also a big difference between running a state or running as long as she has run a state and running for one of the biggest jobs in the country. What advice do you give her on how to balance this? She's got five kids. She's got one...

REP. HEATHER WILSON: You know something? Let me say something about that. That bothers me. No one ever asked John Kennedy whether he could be president and be a dad. Nobody asks Senator Obama whether he could be president and be a dad.

But because Governor Palin is a woman, they're asking whether she can be vice president and a mom.

GWEN IFILL: But she describes herself...

REP. HEATHER WILSON: It's time to end the double standard.

GWEN IFILL: I understand what you're saying. She described herself as a hockey mom. That was her self-description.

REP. HEATHER WILSON: And one of the greatest things about Senator Obama is that he talks about the importance of being a father and a parent, but nobody asks whether he can do both at the same time. We need to end the double standard.

Rep.'s Wilson and Fallin did our sisterhood proud.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:22 PM | Comments (3)

Damn

Singer-actor Jerry Reed dies at age 71
Country star gained widespread fame for ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ role

I always thought he was great. In honor of Jerry, Gustav and Cajuns in general, one of my favorite songs concerning what happened about forty-five minutes south of Thibodeaux, Lousiana (aka: "Tippee Toe, Looosiana")...The "City of New Orleans".

Changed my mind. "Tippee Toe" in the extended section.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:38 PM | Comments (6)

How Vile

It's really been amazing these past few days watching how deep in to the gutter some of the left blogs have gone; it shows just how deeply they fear Palin's candidacy, it seems to me. Or that they are just really hateful, bitter people. Maybe both.

I mean, look how viciously they have attacked her 17 year old daughter, for god's sake. Disgusting. Althouse has a good word for it: "Palinsanity." Tim shows Sullivan is afflicted as are many others.

I can't see how they expect this sort of spittle-laced misogyny will actually help Obama.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:26 AM | Comments (3)

Howdy Hanna

We haven't had a coast scooter in a while.

I haven't minded.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:05 AM

September 01, 2008

We're In One Piece, Thank You All

..for your good wishes! HUGELY appreciated, always.

Yippee!! Only a couple power burps in the latter part of the morning. And kudos to Gulf Power for that because along around 3 this morning, we starting rockin' and rollin, with sustained winds up over 50 mph and 70+mph gusts. Bucketloads of water, but it was the emergency radio warbling about tornadoes all night that did us in. We. Are. Zombies.

Sir Rob of Crab Lane, Appleton survived in fine shape, thank goodness, and is already photo blogging. I'll never forgive him for the cardinals. I'm sure we had our birdseed out before him and all we managed was a half-drowned field rat.

That's just wrong

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:37 PM | Comments (8)

This One Line Should Terify EVERY American

...At least 12.5 percent of total U.S. refining capacity was shut down and other plants cut rates, while over 96 percent of U.S. Gulf oil production and 82 percent of natural gas production was offline.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the only U.S. port capable of offloading the biggest oil tankers, halted all operations.

ONLY U.S. port?

How do you spell "vuLnerable"?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:32 PM | Comments (2)