Month: August 2011

This is a Whole New Level of Lame

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After proposing the elimination of Medicare, and getting savaged at town hall meetings, Paul Ryan has found a solution, charging admission to his town hall meetings:

It will cost $15 to ask Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) a question in person during the August congressional recess.

The House Budget Committee chairman isn’t holding any face-to-face open-to-the-public town hall meetings during the recess, but like several of his colleagues he will speak only for residents willing to open their wallets.

Ryan, who took substantial criticism from his southeast Wisconsin constituents in April after he introduced the Republicans’ budget proposal, isn’t the only member of congress whose August recess town hall-style meetings are strictly pay-per-view.

Words can not express the lamitude of this.

Oh, It’s Worldcon Tomorrow, and I Am Not There

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This fact makes me smile.

It only took me 20 years, but I realized that I don’t like Science Fiction conventions.

This fact probably explains the massive benders that I used to have at said conventions.

I enjoyed running them, but was never into the convention scene.

As to running them, never again.  It was way too destructive to my life.

There were some good bits, hearing Harry “Hal Clement” Stubbs talk about being a thousand meters away from a nuclear blast was a hoot.

I miss Harry, he knew his sh%$, and he didn’t back down on it, but he was remarkably gentle when he told you that you did not know what you were talking about.

I Love My Wife

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But helping her work with her phone and computer makes me f%$#ing crazy.

I am so not a teacher, but I married one, go figure.

I’m showing her how to sync her android phone directly to her Outlook.

(Hint: it uses a PIM called MyPhone Explorer which is actually pretty slick)

I have to have her press all the buttons, because otherwise, she would not get it, and she would be asking me how to do this over, and over, and over, and over again.

Still, getting her over the hump on this drives me buggy.

Vengeance Is Mine, Sayeth the Dad

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So, we want to a Bar Mitzvah today, and we told Charlie that since he was only 12, he needed to wear a suit jacket and a tie.

He was OK on the tie, but refused to wear a suit jacket.

We are talking yelling, and screaming, and passive aggressive resistance.

Eventually, we got him into the car, and put the jacket in the back, and when when we got there, it was held at the old Washington Post building, we got him to take the jacket in, but not to wear it.

Toward the end of the evening, I asked Charlie if he could put on the jacket for 15 seconds, so that I could snap a picture of it.

He put on the jacket, and I reminded him that he was turning 12 next month, and that  his Bar Mitzvah would be a year from that.

I then informed him that a suit jacket with tie was non-negotiable for his Bar Mitzvah, and as it sunk in, I snapped this picture.

Not a happy young man, huh?

Obama has lost Ed Shultz??

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Not what I expect from Ed

Ed Schultz uses the standard cop out that Obama is “Getting bad advice”, but he’s asking “Where’s Barry?”

He notes, accurately IMNSHO, that if Obama had been involved at any level, then at least three Senators would have been unseated, not just two.

John Nichols comes on toward the end, and notes that not only was Obama AWOL on Wisconsin, but he was a regular visitor until the entire conflict developed, and then he avoided the state.

Ed Schultz is an Obama fanboi, and it’s a huge part of his brand as a broadcaster, and even he feels compelled to say, “If only the Czar knew.”

Eddie, here’s a hint:  the Czar knows, and this is what he wants.

Obama’s self image, and reelection strategy, is all about his PPUS (Post Partisan Unity Schtick), because he (probably wrongly) believes that the voters will perceive his cowardice as strength, and because he is fundamentally unwilling to take any risks, or take any hits, even to the smallest degree, to support his allies.

This, by the way, is why the Democrats will lose the Senate, and not take back the House, inn 2012.  Barack Obama’s intention is to strip mine the base and the party apparatus, and to hell with the party.

Not a Big Fan of Apple Products…

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But I have to give props to some of the people who makes cases for the iPhone.
Here we have:

Among others.

It’s amusing, but the iPhone is still an over-priced, over-restricted product of a control freak who wants to tell its user community just how they are supposed to use their own phones.

Because of the uniformity of the product, Android phones come in all shapes and sizes, it’s something that you will find the variety of accessories of this type in a phone ecosystem that is freer.

I Made a 911 Funny Today

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Things are in flux at work. The US Army has cancelled itsMulti-Function Utility/Logistics and Equipment Vehicle (MULE), and the MULE is supposed to be the lead platform for the Autonomous Navigation System (ANS) that I am working on.

So, the future path for our program is not clear, and rumors are running rampant.

With the end of the fiscal year coming up, we got an update on the current state of the rumor mill from our boss at our department’s weekly meeting, which is a rather humane, and intelligent way of handling things.

He noted that there was still plenty to do in either case, so we shouldn’t slack off:

Boss: We need statuses on progress, so we don’t go into airplane mode.

Me: Airplane mode?

Boss: (Makes throwing motion) Throwing paper airplanes as you get to the end. (instead of working)

Me: Oh, I thought that you meant 911.

You know, I think that this is the first actually funny joke about 911* that I’ve heard, and I was the one who made it.

And BTW, as the meeting was breaking up, the boss’s de facto number 2 threw a paper airplane.

It’s a nice group of people there.

Needless to say, posting is likely to be light for a while, I have work to wrap up, and a resume to update.

*Yes, I know all the jokes about “Hijackers surprised to find themselves in hell” stuff, but that is not a 911 joke, it’s a hijacker joke.

Wisconsin Recall Update

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As it stands right now, 2 Republicans were recalled, and 3 survived the vote, and one race, the race between Alberta Darling (R) and Sandy Pasch (D), is too close to call.

I’m not going to be up late enough to call this, but considering the fact that part of the district is in Waukesha County, where Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus mysteriously found a few thousand votes for Supreme Court Justice David Prosser in April, I’m going to say that a surprisingly robust turnout from Waukesha County county will likely have ‘Phant winning.

Nicklaus is either incompetent or corrupt, but each time something comes up, the irregularities cut in favor or Republicans, so I’ll go with corrupt.

This means that the Republicans will maintain control of the Senate, which is a bummer.

Yes, recalls are hard, and the performance was historically good, these were Republican leaning districts, and the elections were close, but this is going to be spun as a Republican victory by the media and the conventional wisdom.

I will bet heavy odds that in the next few weeks, a senior administration official will be anonymously quoted excoriating the grass roots over wasting all that money and effort, just like they did over the Blanche Lincoln primary challenge.

In any case, I am turning off the teevee and going to bed.

(Morning update via mobile)
Confirmed. Only two pickups. Damn.

Baucus?!?!?!?! Max F%$#ing Baucus?!?!?!?

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So Harry Reid has appointed his 3 Democrats to the “Super Committee”, and they are John Kerry, Patty Murray, and Max Baucus.

Here is my rundown:

  • Max Baucus is the least Democratic Democrat in the US Senate.  He is more responsible for killing the public option than anyone in the senate.
  • John Kerry is angling for the Secretary of State appointment after Hillary Clinton resigns, probably after the election, and so is in Obama’s, and Secretary of Defense Panetta’s pocket.
  • Patty Murray is the Senator from Boeing.

So Reid has appointed 3 people who will blink at the possibility of the automatic cuts to defense, and Republicans desperate to get Democrats to join in their “Kill Medicare” suicide pact.

The rule is that a majority vote passes along a non-debatable, non-filibusterable, and non amendable motion to both houses, so if just one Dem flips *cough* Baucus *cough*, we see something that cuts Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, both gutting the safety the safety net, and saving the Republicans from the Paul Ryan budget.

I honestly believe that this is intentional.

It will condemn the Democrats to minority party status for a generation, because it means that we stand for nothing.

Economics Update

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It’s been a busy economic news day, with the Federal Reserve declaring that  it will keep its benchmark interest rates low for the next two year:

The stock market staged a dramatic rebound Tuesday, recording the biggest gains after the Federal Reserve announced it would keep its ultra-low interest rate policies in place for two more years.

The surge ended a wild day of trading in which the Dow Jones industrial average dipped in and out of negative territory four times, giving back hundreds of points in early gains before finishing the session up 429 points. That represented a nearly 4 percent rise, the largest increase in two years.

Investors seemed uncertain about what to make of the announcement by the Fed’s main policymaking board, which for the first time set a firm date for maintaining its near-zero target for short-term interest rates. This move could provide businesses and consumers with greater certainty about the availability of low-cost borrowing as they consider making investments or major purchases, such as homes or autos.

At the same time, the Fed declined to make any significant new efforts to bolster the nation’s flagging recovery. A rare dissent by three of the policy committee members to the interest rate decision signaled that it could prove hard for the central bank to take more dramatic steps in the coming months to lift the economy and prop up the financial system.

When one considers the fact that the interest is effectively 0%, this is not a ringing endorsement of where the economy is going, and the markets were hoping for more.  (Full Fed Statement below the fold)

Why are the markets expecting more, perhaps because productivity fell for the 2nd straight quarter, and small business optimism for the 5th straight month.

Between Democrats who believe in the austerity fairy, and Republicans who are deliberately tanking the economy for political advantage, the Fed is all we have to fix things.

Release Date: August 9, 2011
For immediate release
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in June indicates that economic growth so far this year has been considerably slower than the Committee had expected. Indicators suggest a deterioration in overall labor market conditions in recent months, and the unemployment rate has moved up. Household spending has flattened out, investment in nonresidential structures is still weak, and the housing sector remains depressed. However, business investment in equipment and software continues to expand. Temporary factors, including the damping effect of higher food and energy prices on consumer purchasing power and spending as well as supply chain disruptions associated with the tragic events in Japan, appear to account for only some of the recent weakness in economic activity. Inflation picked up earlier in the year, mainly reflecting higher prices for some commodities and imported goods, as well as the supply chain disruptions. More recently, inflation has moderated as prices of energy and some commodities have declined from their earlier peaks. Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.
Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The Committee now expects a somewhat slower pace of recovery over coming quarters than it did at the time of the previous meeting and anticipates that the unemployment rate will decline only gradually toward levels that the Committee judges to be consistent with its dual mandate. Moreover, downside risks to the economic outlook have increased. The Committee also anticipates that inflation will settle, over coming quarters, at levels at or below those consistent with the Committee’s dual mandate as the effects of past energy and other commodity price increases dissipate further. However, the Committee will continue to pay close attention to the evolution of inflation and inflation expectations.
To promote the ongoing economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate, the Committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent. The Committee currently anticipates that economic conditions–including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run–are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through mid-2013. The Committee also will maintain its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its securities holdings. The Committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings and is prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate.
The Committee discussed the range of policy tools available to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability. It will continue to assess the economic outlook in light of incoming information and is prepared to employ these tools as appropriate.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; Elizabeth A. Duke; Charles L. Evans; Sarah Bloom Raskin; Daniel K. Tarullo; and Janet L. Yellen.
Voting against the action were: Richard W. Fisher, Narayana Kocherlakota, and Charles I. Plosser, who would have preferred to continue to describe economic conditions as likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate for an extended period.

A ‘Phant Disavows Norquist

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If he is the only ‘Phant to repudiate his “no taxes of any kind” pledge to Grover Norquist, he’s toast, but if he is the first of a few, i.e. double digits, he becomes a a leader of some sort of wing of the Congressional Republicans

Still, it’s a gutsy move:

In answer to one question, the 1st District Republican congressman revealed he informed Grover Norquist and his anti-tax organization he no longer is committed to that organization’s pledge to oppose any form of tax increases.

“I did sign that pledge when I was first running” for the House in 2004, Fortenberry said. “I no longer sign any pledges.”

A pledge “restrains your ability to think creatively,” he said, noting Norquist attempts to interpret and define what is considered a tax increase.

“I informed the organization I don’t consider (the earlier pledge) binding,” Fortenberry said. “I don’t care to be associated with it. It’s too constraining.”

Fortenberry said he remains committed to reducing federal spending, but suggested an openness to tax reform.

“We have a broken tax code that is skewed to the wealthy and corporations (who) know how to move capital around,” he said.

Tax reform could close loopholes and perhaps lower tax rates, Fortenberry said, and the result might be more revenue.

Not only is he saying that taxes are on the table, but he’s talking about how fat cats game the system.

Note that this from a Republican, from Nebraska.

I don’t expect sanity to break out in the Republican party, but if this is the first step toward Grover Norquist becoming irrelevant, it’s a good step, assuming that he is not replaced by someone even more evil and crazy.*

H/t Think Progress.

*Considering the history of the Republican Party, which makes me yearn for the intellect, liberalism, and moral rectitude of Richard Nixon, I would say that the chance of him being replaced by someone more evil are pretty good

It’s Official, RICO Time for Rupert

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There are credible reports that the FBI and the DoJ are considering a RICO investigation of Newscorp.

This is significant because the standards of RICO are very lax. You are not showing criminal activity, you are showing a pattern of corrupt behavior within the organization*:

Well-sourced information coming out of the Department of Justice and the FBI suggests a debate is going on that could result in the recently launched investigations of News Corp. falling under the RICO statutes.

RICO, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, establishes a way to prosecute the leaders of organizations—and strike at the organizations themselves—for crimes company leaders may not have directly committed, but which were otherwise countenanced by the organization. Any two of a series of crimes that can be proven to have occurred within a 10-year period by members of the organization can establish a pattern of racketeering and result in draconian remedies. In 1990, following the indictment of Michael Milken for insider trading, Drexel Burnham Lambert, the firm that employed him, collapsed in the face of a RICO investigation.

Among the areas that the FBI is said to be looking at in its investigation of News Corp. are charges that one of its subsidiaries, News America Marketing, illegally hacked the computer system of a competitor, Floorgraphics, and then, using the information it had gleaned, tried to extort it into selling out to News Corp.; allegations that relationships the New York Post has maintained with New York City police officers may have involved exchanges of favors and possibly money for information; and accusations that Fox chief Roger Ailes sought to have an executive in the company, the book publisher Judith Regan, lie to investigators about details of her relationship with New York police commissioner Bernie Kerik in order to protect the political interests of Rudy Giuliani, then a presidential prospect.

Pass the popcorn.

*One of the reasons that I’ve never been a fan of the statute, particularly as embraced and extended by Giuliani when he was US Attorney.

Advice to the Yids* Out There

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Yes, the market tanked today, so there is likely a bounce tomorrow, but if you are Jewish, don’t invest on Tisha B’av, which starts this sun down.

I’m not particularly superstitious, but when you consicer that this date gave us:

  • The reports of the spies, which led the Jews to spend 40 years in the desert.
  • The destruction of the 1st temple.
  • The destruction of the 2nd temple.
  • The crushing of the Bar Kokhba rebellion.
  • The first crusade, which set of an orgy of pogroms and murder.
  • The expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
  • The expulsion of the Jews from England.
  • The start of WWI.

So, seriously, not a good day for Jews to invest.  I’m just saying. 

*I’m a Yid myself, so I can use the term.

Busy Day at the Casino

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All the major stock indices fell over 5%.

The term here is “Bloodbath”.

The standard meme is that Standard & Poor’s downgrade of US debt had investors fleeing the stock market and buying US debt.

So, standard wisdom is that because people are worried about the credit worthiness of the USA, they are buying debt from the the USA.

Me, I just think that they are realizing that we are heading to a double dip recession.

Pelosi Got Played

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It appears that John Boehner convinced Nancy Pelosi that he could supply the required majority for the debt ceiling deal:

I also think, though, that passing something and getting it over with and moving on was necessary and compared to default it is preferable because default would really lose a lot of jobs. That is my way of saying, I don’t think this is the best path we could have taken. And especially I’m unhappy about the fact that this was developed with a premise that the Republicans would have the 218. Since they didn’t we should’ve had more influence.

I was in all the meetings, I’m not saying that isn’t the case. But if we had days, instead of backed up to hours, we could have said ‘you don’t have the votes, let’s go back in and how do we move this way in order to cut some of those cuts and have a better bill and get the votes.’ So I think we could’ve done better. I think they were successful at just prolonging it to the last minute so that we didn’t have that option and it was default or no default.

While I do think that Pelosi is the best of the Democratic leaders in Washington, it’s clear that she got played.

It was clear from early in this debate that there would have to be a significant number of Democratic votes for this to pass. The Teabaggers were saying that they would vote against this under any circumstances, and Eric Cantor doing his level best to sabotage Boehner, because he wants to displace him as speaker. (Not gonna happen. Republicans will never vote to put a Jew 3rd in line to the presidency)

Not one of her finer moments.