Oh shut up...

Bernie Madoff is "deeply sorry and ashamed."

Of course he is, now that he's been caught. Six months ago, he was "filthy rich and incredibly successful" and felt neither sorrow nor shame for having swindled and spent $50 billion dollars.

People that express sorrow, but only do so after being caught (and not turning themselves in) deserve the deepest burny places of Hell.


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My liberal, soft, gooey center

I heard on TV a couple weeks back that the most recent $780 billion stimulus package included enough tax reductions that the average American will see $13 back in their wallet every week, starting immediately.

This afternoon I heard on the radio that today is Global Food Crisis Day, and that a starving child could have food for an entire month for the magic sum of $13. So if I donated $52 a month I could keep four starving children alive, and my net monthly income would not change, I could go on living the happy American life I am living?

We are we all not signing up for this immediately? Honestly, its money you didn't budget for, you might as well do some good with it.

I am not coming down on you if you don't do as I do, and throw this money at a losing cause like starving children in third world countries, but seriously, is your $13 a week worth more to you than a human life?

p.s. that picture won the Pulitzer Prize in 1994, and has haunted me since. The photographer later committed suicide.

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Upbeat Posting

I couldn't help but notice, as I scanned through the last dozen or so blog posts, that I am being a negative person about the world. This is, though mostly through necessity, a potentially unhealthy behavior mostly for myself but also for my regular readers.

So here's some good news.

A man, climbing a 35 foot power pole slipped and began to fall to his death. Fortunately, his pants caught on a protrusion from the pole, and his fall stopped. He dangled for a short while until rescuers were able to lower him to safety.

Iran does not yet have the technology or refined uranium necessary to create nuclear weapons.

And the sun is shining.


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What was it Jesus said about casting stones?

I find it incredibly difficult to defend Rush Limbaugh, because he reminds me of what I would have become if I didn't have my darling wife to keep me reined in, but occasionally I notice something that requires mention.

Last week the world caught on fire because Rush claimed he "wants Obama to fail." or at least that was what was reported by James Carville, speaking on CNN. "He's the Daddy of the Republican Congress."

Of course, what wasn't reported was that James Carville, on Sept 11, 2001, mere minutes before the first plane hit the WTC in NYC, said he wanted Bush to fail. "I certainly don't want him to succeed," he stated.

Which proves really nothing to me, except that political analysts are scum, often more so than the politicians they are paid to analyze.


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Obama changes tune on earmarks.

Obama, October 2008: I will publish all earmarks online, and stop pork barrel projects.

Obama, March 2009: Sometimes earmarks are used for good, and I will try to stop pork barrel projects in the future, but for now, we need to get this bill signed.

I'm beginning to feel more than a little jaded.


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The Absolutely Perfect Stimulus Plan

I spent a whole day thinking about this, and that's more than I can say for many stimulus plans I have read.
I was thinking, the perfect stimulus needs to be something that makes it important to get wealthy people, who have a ton of money, to spend it on goods and services produced by the middle and lower classes. They need to do so immediately, and they need to do so in large numbers. Further, it shouldn't cost the government a lot of money to get the rich people to spend their money. If the government just gives rich people a check for a thousand dollars, economists argue that only like 75 cents of that will actually be spent boosting the economy. Plus, liberals would argue that the rich people already have way more money than they need.

So here's the TAE Omnibus Economic Stimulus Package (TAEOESP):
Whenever you see a Mercedes, Lexus, Corvette, Porsche, Ferrari, Lotus, or any other vehicle you are fairly sure cost more than $50,000 you should pick up a brick and smash that vehicles windshield in.

Obviously, these people in their fancy car can afford to buy a new windshield! And they'll have to, no one can reasonably drive a car that has a brick stuck through the windshield, or no windshield at all. Most windshield installers are in the lower two income brackets, so all that windshield replacing will save jobs (or create more). The factories that produce windshields will be maxed out, and will need to hire more factory workers! The car dealerships will be maxed out trying to get all the windshields installed! The rich people will have contributed to the economy! The income stream to U.S. automakers might save that industry!

I see absolutely no reason why this wouldn't get the economy going, it is, in my humble opinion, foolproof.

Oh, and if all these wealthy people will try to get their insurance company to pay for the windshield replacement, then obviously we will need to preemptively nationalize auto insurance companies (to be reprivatized later, of course).


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Team of Rivals?

Remember when Obama got elected and all we heard about was that book, Team of Rivals and how Obama was going to gather this team of geniuses from both sides of the aisle and clean up the world?

List of Obama picks who have withdrawn:
Sanjay Gupta
Tom Daschle
Bill Richardson
Nancy Killefer
Susan Tierney
Jane Garvey
Judd Gregg
Chas Freeman
Annette Nazareth
Caroline Atkinson


List of Obama picks with tax issues:
Tim Geithner
Tom Daschle
Nancy Killefer
Ron Kirk

List of Obama picks that have made huge international politics blunders:
Hillary Clinton

Honestly, when I started this post I didn't think the list would be that long. I think what we're seeing here is Obama's bold decisiveness even in the face of huge mistakes. At the same point in Bush 43's first term, he had only nominated half as many people, and Clinton had only nominated slightly more than half as many people at this point in his Presidency. Obama maybe should start vetting before he nominates, it might save a little more political face?


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