Author: swanksalot

Always good to have a second user look at things

Bookmarks for October 12th

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Some additional reading October 12th from 08:59 to 10:39:

  • Spite Politics by digby Kit Seelye has a… – "Rove is not a genius, or even very clever: He's totally and completely immoral. It doesn't take genius to claim, as Rove ludicrously did last fall, that it was the Democrats in Congress and not George W. Bush who pushed the Iraq War resolution in 2002. It doesn't take brains to compare a triple-amputee war veteran to Osama bin Laden; you just have to be a mean, rotten cocksucker. The reason Rove continues to survive is …because this generation of Americans has become so steeped in greed and social Darwinism that it can no longer distinguish between cheating and achieving, between enterprise and crime, and can't bring itself to criticize winners any more than it knows how to be nice to losers. He survives because an increasing number of Americans secretly agree with Rove's vision … as quaint, faintly embarrassing rituals that only a sucker would let hold him back."
  • Firedoglake » The Moonies and McCain’s Main Man – "I guess we all know now that the media get all worked up about some presidential candidates who have dealings with religious figures deemed "anti-American" and "hateful" — but not all of them. If it's a black pastor at a church attended by a Democrat, well, they're on that like stink on shit. If, on the other hand, it's a Republican candidate who embraces apocalyptic nutcases and gay-bashing extremists, well, the very scent seems to make them faint."
  • The Associated Press: McCain linked to group in Iran-Contra affair – "Republican Sen. John McCain served on the advisory board to the U.S. chapter of an international group linked to ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America in the 1980s.
    The U.S. Council for World Freedom also aided rebels trying to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua. That landed the group in the middle of the Iran-Contra affair and in legal trouble with the Internal Revenue Service, which revoked the charitable organization's tax exemption."
  • To Attack, or Not to Attack? – "Three weeks out from the 2008 election and John McCain's campaign has no discernible central theme, no succinct answer to the most basic question voters ask as they consider their choice: Why should I choose you over the other guy?"
    …
    "The Obama campaign, by contrast, seems to have settled on one message, which it is driving nearly every day: John McCain is too erratic to be president."
  • "Abuse of power" | Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/11/2008 – "John McCain's Faustian pact with the Republican attack machine has seriously damaged his so-called "maverick" brand, perhaps beyond repair. And now, thanks to the news last night, we have solid proof that the so-called "maverick" vice presidential nominee is really just another garden-variety politician who violates the public trust for personal gain."
  • Alter: McCain Let the GOP Get Away | Newsweek Voices – Jonathan Alter | Newsweek.com – "And mavericks by definition aren't leaders; they're headstrong politicians (or, originally, cattle) who derive their self-worth from wandering away from the herd. They're about as reliable as a crappy '70s car of that name."

Incompetents in Charge

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Gee, ya think?

Reserved Light

Two weeks after persuading Congress to let it spend $700 billion to buy distressed securities tied to mortgages, the Bush administration has put that idea aside in favor of a new approach that would have the government inject capital directly into the nation’s banks — in effect, partially nationalizing the industry.

As recently as Sept. 23, senior officials had publicly derided proposals by Democrats to have the government take ownership stakes in banks.

The Treasury Department’s surprising turnaround on the issue of buying stock in banks, which has now become its primary focus, has raised questions about whether the administration squandered valuable time in trying to sell Congress on a plan that officials had failed to think through in advance.

It has also raised questions about whether the administration’s deep philosophical aversion to government ownership in private companies hindered its ability to look at all options for stabilizing the markets.

Some experts also contend that Treasury’s decision last month to not use taxpayer money to save Lehman Brothers worsened the panic that quickly metastasized into an international crisis.

[From White House Overhauling Rescue Plan – NYTimes.com]

2009 can’t come fast enough. Everyone who lost value in their pension and their 401(k) should sign up to tar-and-feather Bush and his lightweight cronies who mismanaged every crisis they every met, including this one.

Bookmarks for October 9th

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Some additional reading October 9th from 22:28 to 23:40:

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Basketball Debates: Is Small-Ball Dead? – This post made me giggle uncontrollably.
    "Welcome to the 2008 NBA debates. Tonight’s issue is whether or not small-ball is the future of the NBA or merely a fad whose time has passed.

    I’d like to welcome our guests. From the half-court party we have Gregg Popovich, coach of the 4-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, a combat veteran who served his nation in the United States Air Force. Representing the small-ball party is Mike D’Antoni, who coached the high-scoring and successful Phoenix Suns to 50 wins in four straight seasons and has just been appointed the coach of the New York Knicks. Appearing as an independent is Don Nelson, current coach of the Golden State Warriors and one of only two NBA coaches to win 1,200 games."

  • Matthew Yglesias » Media Whine – CBS News’ Dean Reynolds slam Barack Obama for not kissing enough ass, pounds the table in old-man solidarity with McCain:
    …[click link to read it]

    It’s remarkable how much press affection for McCain seems to be just grounded in this. He feeds me tasty barbecue, so I should hold him to a different standard than other politicians! Sure he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but his campaign plane is clean!

If The World Could Vote

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If The World Could Vote, originally uploaded by swanksalot.

From the Economist. Not all ballots are in, but the trend lines are pretty damn clear.

www.economist.com/vote2008/index.cfm

I voted, and currently Obama has about 80% support in the US. I guess the Economist is too leftist for most of McCain’s supporters (those that understand computers, that is)

Bookmarks for October 8th

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Some additional reading October 8th from 10:42 to 15:11:

  • ESPN Page 2 – Simmons: The forgotten pioneer – Elgin Baylor – Beautiful article by Bill Simmons on race relations and American athletes. "When Elgin was serving our country in 1962 and potentially sacrificing his livelihood, there were dozens of towns and cities strewn across America that wouldn't serve him a meal. Black stars felt like two people at once, revered in one circle and discriminated against in another. Just because America changed over the last four decades doesn't mean those guys forgot the way it used to be. Throw in today's nine-figure contracts and the babying and deifying of today's basketball stars and you can see why they would be a little bitter."…
    "We might elect our first black president in four weeks; this wouldn't have a chance of happening without the strength of people like Elgin once upon a time."
  • Health Care Fines for Small Businesses? | The FactCheck Wire – "McCain said that Obama’s health care plan would mandate that “small businesses” provide coverage for their employees and would fine them if they failed to do so. Actually, Obama’s health care plan, posted on his Web site, says: “Small businesses will be exempt from this requirement.”

    McCain is a liar, in other words.