Solar Scandal

Speaking of Solyandra, Megan McArdle's piece on why this is a problem is a must-read. A key excerpt...

The problem with Solyndra is not George Kaiser. It's the whole concept behind a program that is supposed to enable politically favored technologies, using loan guarantees that look cheap when they're issued, and end up costing us half a billion dollars because we rushed the due diligence to make sure top officials got a good photo op. As I wrote the other day, "When banks engage in this sort of behavior, we call it a bubble, and try to figure out how to fix things so they won't do it again. When government agencies do this, we call it a weekday."

Your tax dollars at work!

I'll Take The Latest Obama Scandal for $500, Alex

It used to be that people claimed that despite the incompetence, at least we didn't have any major scandals plaguing this Administration. Of course, that was... well, a couple weeks ago. The Solyandra scandal is officially getting bad when it becomes a punchline for Jon Stewart...

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Stewart's already done Gunwalker.  Wonder when he gets around to this one?

Do They Sell Panic Buttons at Staples?

James Carville thinks it's time for the White House to press the panic button...

People often ask me what advice I would give the White House about various things. Today I was mulling over election results from New York and Nevada while thinking about that very question. What should the White House do now? One word came to mind: Panic.


We are far past sending out talking points. Do not attempt to dumb it down. We cannot stand any more explanations. Have you talked to any Democratic senators lately? I have. It's pretty damn clear they are not happy campers.


This is what I would say to President Barack Obama: The time has come to demand a plan of action that requires a complete change from the direction you are headed.

Carville proceeds to suggest that Obama fire a lot of folks, including his political team (maybe they'd hire Carville then... hmmm), indict a lot of people (which seems awfully close to politicizing the Justice Department, as Ed Morrissey notes), and lead the fight against Republican talking points and not leave the explanations to bureacrats.

I will humbly suggest that the White House should probably accept Carville's diagnosis that their chances look bad, but not neccessarily accept the cures he's suggesting.  By all means, firing people is not a bad idea, and it's not like the West Wing is lacking in candidates who should be fired.  But the real issue is who replaces them, and whether they bring any new ideas to the table, rather than rehashing the same crap.  The American Jobs Act is a warmed-over mini-version of the Porkulus of 2009, and no one outside the DNC's orbit thinks that worked. 

As to the indictments, I agree with Morrissey that indictments of Wall Street figures would be shameful and totally politicize the Justice Department... not that Eric Holder hasn't already done that anyway.  Suddenly deciding to indict people in an election year smacks of political positioning, and it will look worse if people who get indicted are folks who aren't maxing out contributions to Team Obama.  One would think this adminsitration is smarter than that, but they're not giving me a lot of reason to believe in their brains.

Finally, I'm not sure it's a good idea to have Obama continue to try to sell his policies.  Repeated speeches by the President have not made the sale so far, and it looks like it's starting to eat into the President's likability, which may be the one thing he has left.  If anything, President Obama has been an incredibly poor sales person for his policies.  Maybe Carville can get Bill Clinton to handle the sales pitch instead.

The most aggravating thing about Carville's column?  The best Simpsons quote to fit Carville's advice is not available on video via Hulu. The quote, with Kent Brockman reporting on a crime wave...

Kent: When cat burglaries start, can mass murders be far behind? This reporter isn't saying that the burglar is an inhuman monster like the Wolfman, but he very well could be. So, professor: would you say it's time for everyone to panic?
Professor: Yes I would, Kent.

Damn Hulu.  In lieu of that, I offer this video, for no reason other than its inherent greatness...

All Those Costs, And It Gets Destroyed By Some Kid Who Used To Bullseye Womp Rats In a T-16

I can't really disagree with a word of this.  Particularly since it took the time to embed the best scene from Clerks that discusses the moral issues involved in blowing up the second Death Star.

That's What She Said

I know the pic is dated because Hot Air uses it all the time, but it's still funny.  Even worse, it's far more interesting than just about anything Debbie Wasserman Schultz ever says.

I'm just mature enough -- barely -- to avoid drafting an inappropriate caption.  But all four of this blog's readers may do so whenever they wish.

Calling Alanis Morrissette

Once again, irony can be such a bitch sometimes.

The American Jobs Act, Part II

Rep. Louie Gohmert becomes my comic hero of the day by swiping the name of the American Jobs Act for his own bill...

Texas GOP Rep. Louis Gohmert officially introduced the American Jobs Act of 2011 on Wednesday afternoon.

"My bill is not the president's bill, it's a real job creator," Gohmert told The Hill, shortly after filing his two-page alternative to the president's plan, under the same title.

Gohmert said that he read the president's 155-page jobs plan, when it was emailed to lawmakers on Monday afternoon.

Calling the president's plan a "disaster," Gohmert said that he checked to see "who filed the 'American Jobs Act' for the president, here in the House, since we had to do it 'now, right away," but discovered that the plan had not been officially introduced in the House.

So, at 1:20pm Gohmert filed his own version of a jobs bill, under the title included on the president's legislation distributed to members of Congress two-days prior.

Unfortunately, it appears that you can use the name on multiple bills, so this isn't quite as awesome as it could have been.  But still, a few thoughts...

1.  Yes, it's a cheap political stunt.  Guess what?  So is Obama's bill.

2.  Gohmert's bill has at least as good a chance of passing as Obama's.  Both have been blasted by Democrats, but Gohmert's has not drawn any derision from the GOP.

3.  No Dem has introduced this in the House?  I thought we needed to pass this now!!!

4.  Seriously, is it a further sign of incompetence that they haven't even introduced the bill that Obama wants passed yesterday?  Or are Dems running away as fast as they can?

5.  Yes, Gohmert will be reported to Attack Watch.  I'm sure they'll get around to rebutting him... and if it's based on how well they do everything else, that should be in 2013.

6.  Jon Stewart is right -- the American Jobs Act is a ridiculously dumb name.  But perhaps someone else (like Ron Paul) can introduce a bill with that title that advocates the drowning of kittens or something equally ludicrous, so people can run ads saying, "Representative Pelosi voted FOR the infamous American Jobs Act.  The American Jobs Act mandated the drowning of kittens!"

Never Let It Be Said That I Ignore A Story

Since at least 50% of this blog is devoted to sports and/or politics (with the rest devoted to annoying songs, discovering references to the Simpsons where they don't exist, and fine art... the last is a lie, but I want this blog to show up as the 7 trillionth reference to fine art in a google search), I feel obligated to link to this story.   Now, with that being said...

1.  I think this is newsworthy from the perspective of the National Enquirer.  If this is the worst thing in the book about Palin, I'm starting to think McGuinness wasted his time.

2.  I will be interested to see if the press treats Palin like they did John Edwards and stays away from the story.  Right now, I think it's utterly irrelevant to anyone outside the entertainment and gossip world.  Even if Palin enters the presidential race (my money is that she will not), this is still irrelevant.  But if someone in the mainstream "respectable" press reports it after ignoring the absolutely relevant tale of John Edwards... to be fair, let's see what happens.  Although Andrew Sullivan has linked to the Deadspin story already...

3.  I'm required by blogger law to make the requisite joke about Glen Rice being regarded as a great scorer.

4.  As a political matter, Palin's enemies and the press would do well to avoid this story for one reason -- it would only further the reasonable interpretion that she's the victim of an overzealous partisan press if they played this up.  No one cares about who Nancy Pelosi slept with in college or in her early 20's (I threw up in my mouth after reading that line).  And it appears the press may have figured that out this time.

5.  So the mainstream media spent countless hours and money in 2008 trying to find every bit of salacious dirt possible on Palin, and this never turned up?  Not only are they partisan, they're serially incompetent.  Again, it's not relevant... but if the sharks we saw in 2008 had found this, it would have appearred somewhere on the Internet.

UPDATE:  Here's why you should read the entire story with a huge grain of ri--, umm, salt.

The Interweb Is Not What You Thought It Was

So apparently the Internet is not 50% porn.  Three thoughts:

1.  This is contrary to the wishes of teenage boys everywhere.

2.  Damn, the economy really does suck.

3.  I blame Al Gore for this.  Either there's four percent too much, or way too little, and it's clearly his fault.

What Annoying Song Is Stuck In My Head Today?

If I need to suffer with a song stuck in my head, why shouldn't you have to do the same? Sometimes they're good, most times they're bad... but no matter what, they make you suffer. So I like to share the suffering whenever it happens.

I'm not sure if this song qualifies as annoying or not.  I always think of it as being so bad, it's good, if that makes sense.  And if it doesn't make sense... well, I'm not sure I care.  Amazingly, the band is still together. Actually, maybe Swedish hard rock/glam metal bands are renowned for their longevity.  I suggest some liberal arts major do his or her thesis on this topic -- it's not like you're going to get hired in this economy anyway.



You're welcome.

Aren't Some People So Stupid That We Should Be Required To Ignore Them?

Levi Johnson has a book coming out, where he states that part of the reason he got Bristol Palin pregnant was because he was too dumb to use protection.

How do we know he's smart enough to write a book?

The Tipping Point?

The tipping point may have been reached for President Obama.  Two House special elections took place last night -- one in Nevada, one in New York.  While the election in Nevada was never really in doubt (Dems hoped to make it competitive because it was a swing district, but had conceded well in advance), the election in New York had serious significance.  The seat belonged to Anthony Weiner, and used to belong to Chuck Schumer and Geraldine Ferraro.  And now... it belongs to the GOP...

Republicans have scored an upset victory in a New York City House race that became a referendum on President Barack Obama's economic policies.

Retired media executive and political novice Bob Turner defeated Democratic state Assemblyman David Weprin (WEHP'-rihn) in a special election Tuesday to succeed Rep. Anthony Weiner (WEE'-nur), a seven-term Democrat who resigned in June after a sexting scandal.

The heavily Democratic district spanning parts of Queens and Brooklyn had never sent a Republican to the House. But frustration with the continued weak national economy gave Republicans the edge.

...Democrats, panicked at the prospect of an embarrassing loss, poured cash into the race and sent in their stars to try to save Weprin, a state lawmaker who was forced to defend Obama's economic policies even as he tried to stress his own independence and close ties to the community.

Republicans worked to frame the race as a referendum on Obama, even though turnout is usually low in a special congressional election.

...Hoping to shift the momentum in the final days, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee invested more than $500,000 in ads in New York's pricey television market. An independent Democratic group, the House Majority PAC, ran ads, too. And Obama for America, part of the Democratic National Committee that support the president's re-election, urged volunteers to rally behind Weprin.

The party also enlisted two of its biggest guns, former President Bill Clinton and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to record phone calls for Weprin. And Democrats relied on organized labor and other affiliated groups to bring voters to the polls.

Take note of who didn't record a robo-call: the President.  One presumes that he would have done so, if the DNC or the DCCC or the Weprin campaign thought it would have been a positive. 

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is desperately trying to claim that the district was a tough one for Democrats, but considering that the last time a Republican represented some of this district was during the time of Warren Harding, that's a tough sell. 

It should be noted that this is a one of the more conservative (that's a relative term here) districts in NYC, in part because of an Orthodox Jewish population that may well have found Weprin's views on gay marriage (he voted for it as a state legislator) offensive.  And the same populace may well be upset with the Obama Administration's treatment of Isreal.  And Weprin will now be thrown under the bus (violation of the new tone of civility acknowledged), Martha Coakley-style, as a crappy candidate.  And he was, since he didn't even live in the District and apparently underestimated the national debt by about $10 trillion during a media interview last month (one might think this explains a lot about the Democratic Party in general).  and to be fair, the GOP weathered a series of special election losses in 2009 and 2010 prior to grabbing 63 House seats last fall (although a good number of those losses occurred in a heavy Dem district or featured the presence of third party candidates).

And yet... there's something in this result that may trigger some panic in the Democratic Party.  Or, should I say, more panic.  Mickey Kaus and Dave Wiegel both have good takes, with a conclusion that poses a serious problem for Democrats: the old saw of screaming that the GOP will kill Medicare and Social Security didn't save them, precisely because the Democrats themselves have now admitted (as vaguely as possible) the need for changes to entitlements.

Many people thought the GOP walked into a trap with the Ryan plan.  The Dems would be able to attack the GOP mercilessly on entitlements, a tried-and-true strategy, right?

Except that the Dems have a serious problem because they know, as does the populace, that entitlements need to be addressed as part of any solution to the monstrous debt run up by the country and insanely accelerated by President Obama.  The failure of Obama to embrace the report of his own debt commission last winter is looking more and more like a losing strategy, precisely because there is no real backup strategy, and voters recognize that.  Obama's failed to address economic problems -- why should anyone believe he's willing to take the steps neccessary to address entitlements?   The Ryan plan may not be ideal, and Rick Perry's rhetoric on Social Security (even if it is truthful) may go beyond what people find comfort with... but they take less comfort in a party that acknowledges there is a problem, but proposes no real solution to it.  The trap is now one for the Democrats.

Maybe they'll still find a way around it.  But the signs aren't reassuring.

Even Richard Nixon Would Consider This Stupid

It's not the concept so much as the execution -- everyone needs a rapid response function in politics, but the equivalent of a email box to snitch on others is opening yourself up to abuse.  This is so dumb, it's almost not worth the excellent jokes being produced on Twitter about it.

We Haven't Grown Accustomed To This Face

Loyal reader ST sends along this link to the most disturbing picture of the 2008 election cycle, at least until some time next year when Joe Biden tries to show off his abs.  I'm in no position to critize anyone for their hair.  But if an GOP bloggers starts combining Hillary and Obama for pictures, I guaranteed they'll be called racist, and then sexist... in that order.

Stimulus II: Revenge of the Rotten Economy

Megan McArdle hammers Obama's obvious cyncisim in sending a jobs bill to Congress that has absolutely no chance of passing either the House or Senate...

If the president were serious about providing stimulus, he would pay attention to the work of his old CEA chair, and pay for the jobs bill by decreasing the growth rate of something-or-other in the future by 0.2%. This is also what he would do if he were serious about getting any part of it through Congress. Instead he is apparently sending them a less-stimulative bill designed to be maximally embarrassing to the GOP--which by definition means minimally politically viable.


You can say that Obama has no choice, because the GOP is just so damn obstructive that they won't pass anything anyway. As it happens, I disagree--I don't think that he could have gotten the whole thing through, but the GOP would probably have given him a few pieces to avoid looking like total jerks, and while that might not have done too much for Obama's re-election chances, it probably would have meant a lot to the schmoes trying to make their mortgage payments in a tough economy.


But say it's true. If it is, I really wish that Obama hadn't wasted my Thursday evening, and that of 31 million other Americans, listening to a jobs plan that was only designed to produce one job--a second term for Barack Obama. I mean, I don't blame him, exactly. But I get a little pang when I realize that I could just as well have spent that time bleaching the grout in the master bath.

Ouch. And keep in mind that McArdle's prone to be sympathetic to Obama.  Keep in mind, the tax hikes proposed here couldn't pass a fully Democratic Congress in 2009 when originally proposed as a financing mechanism for Obamacare.  At this point, you have to start to wonder if the Obama Administration believes the magic bullet solution for every economic problem is a tax increase on some group they define as rich.

Actually, they probably know it doesn't solve anything.  They just think it sounds good politically (I am making the dangerous assumption that this adminstration is thinking, and actually making some intelligent choices when doing so).  Jon Stewart had a point when he mocked the name of the American Jobs Act -- it's so transparently set up as a campaign vehicle that one would expect more in the name... until you remember these are the same geniuses who thought Obamacare would be bill that created jobs.

Calling Alanis Morrisette

Irony can be such a cold-hearted bitch at times...

If you want a good measure of how deeply the collective bargaining bill in Wisconsin has disrupted public sector unions, there is no better example than the Wisconsins Education Association Council (WEAC).

Last month WEAC announced that it was laying off 40% of its staff.  With little over which to collectively bargain, and with dues no longer withheld from paychecks, the need for and sustainability of a union bureaucracy could not be justified.

Now WEAC is being boycotted by National Staff Organization (NSO), a union representing educational union employees.

Isn’t that great, education union employees have their own union?  Is there a union for employees of education union employee unions?

This is beyond awesome.  Could they picket the picket lines of the WEAC if they went on strike?  If you crossed their picket line to picket, would you be considered a scab?  Or can the NSO picket the silly protests WEAC members are conducting across Wisconsin, and thereby prevent the protests?

What Annoying Song Is Stuck In My Head Today?

If I need to suffer with a song stuck in my head, why shouldn't you have to do the same? Sometimes they're good, most times they're bad... but no matter what, they make you suffer. So I like to share the suffering whenever it happens.

As if this song needs an introduction.  It spawned this gawdawful video and the horrific A Night at the Roxbury, which should be erased from existence, although you could make the case that it sucks so much that's it not worth the effort.  You would be wrong, but it's a free country.



You're welcome.

Mr. Horton Still Scares Me

This really should have been a Top Ten list, and I can think of at least one more episode of Different Strokes (Kimberly and Arnold get kidnapped by a guy who tries to rape Kimberly) that should have made it.  But the even more glaring mistake is that the Arnold-Dudley with Mr. Horton the bicycle shop owner episode is not listed as #1.  That's easily the most disturbing episode I've ever seen of a television show, and I've watched multiple episodes of CSI: Miami.

Remember

I have a four year old daughter.  To her, 9/11 will always be something she reads about in history books, sees on film, and hears about it from others.  She won't experience that feeling, that day, the days afterward.

Thank God. 

But there's a part of me that wonders if that shared sense of pain and loss and anger is something we've lost, and if that's a good thing or a bad thing.  I don't know whether it saddens me, or just makes me feel old... but within five years, there's going to be entire generation of people in college and of voting age who only know of the World Trade Center from pictures and stories.
They won't know the feelings of shock and terror that we felt, and that's a good thing.  But they won't also feel the same emotional response we had at all the moments that gave us heart.

What 9/11 proved, beyond all doubt, is that there is evil in this world -- terrible, horrible, searing hatred that cannot be defined or explained by words.  The response to 9/11 that day  -- from our first responders, from the brave patriots on Flight 93, from all the people who lost loved ones but soldiered on, from everyone -- proved that there is good in this world... and that the good in the world redeems and saves us, even in the faced of such hatred.

I remember a friend in the days after 9/11 lamenting how this could have happened, and what we did to deserve this.  I remember answering that latter question in anger that we did nothing to deserve this, that evil simply attacks good because good exists.  But I never answered the unspoken question -- how do we deal with a world where such evil exists?  We deal with it by fighting it, and by taking heart in the fact that evil is over matched by the good in the world.  For proof of this latter point, I look to my family, to my friends, to the many blessings that we have. We will remember this day every year hence.  We may experience other days of grief and loss.  But we can and will take heart in knowing that good exists, that it will defeat evil, and that the world is a place worth saving because of it.  Thank God for that as well.