The Information Super-Frog

Economy, David Paul in HuffPost: With Wall Street Shorting the Dollar, It is Time for Congress to Pursue Fundamental Change

Yeah, I'm sure they'll get right on it.

Related, Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone: Obama's Big Sellout -- The president has packed his economic team with Wall Street insiders intent on turning the bailout into an all-out giveaway

It might be helpful if we had an actual "loyal opposition" in the USA. But the most visible and active Republicans are busy chasing after strawmen, like the Obama the Muslin Commie Terrorist Kenyan, and "Obamacare", a Sinister Plot to Murder Your Grandmother. I guess that's easier than putting a partisan spin to the actual worst things the Obama administration has been doing, which are mostly continuing the worst things the Bush administration did.

On a lighter note, satire from "The Onion": Members of the earth's earliest known civilization, the Sumerians, looked on in shock and confusion some 6,000 years ago as God, the Lord Almighty, created Heaven and Earth.

Must have been even more confusing than watching the end of the world in 2000 was.

Observation on what currently passes for political discourse in the U.S.A.

I've been hearing some folks slamming Ted Kennedy for having been part of a family of "aristocracy" and "privilege".

And they call Barack Obama "elitist".

And I notice that these are the same people who had just spent years defending Sieur Dubya of the House of Bush.

So my question is:

Do these people deserve any more nuanced response than to point at them and laugh?

Whatever your political views, I'm sure you can appreciate these noble sentiments.

For those who haven't heard it yet, Barack Obama's greatest speech ever

Sorry, Ralph! Sorry, Bob! Infrogmation's endorsement for the 2008 US Presidential election goes to Barack Obama.


For a thoughtful non-soundbite analysis, I think The New Yorker's Endorsement of Obama is pretty good.

A couple more points from my personal perspective:

* The Supreme Court. 7 of the 9 justices now on the US Supreme Court are Republican appointees. Dubya Bush has pushed the court so far to the NeoCon Right that some of the appointees of earlier Republican administrations are now being called "moderates". McCain has promised more of the same. We need a Democratic president now just to hold on to such balance as we have.

* BushCo = Miserable Failure. Those who advocate more of the same have no standing to be listened to seriously. The Dubya Bush administration has been string of disasters for America. For those who voted for Bush, especially for those who voted for him twice, I reccomend taking a hard and critical look at who or what persuaded you to do so. What commentators/websites/writers/tv stations told you that electing Bush was a good idea? I think in retrospect it is clear that those who advocated Bush and his cronies to lead the nation in 2000 did not have very good judgement. The judgement of those who reccomended his reelection in 2004 I cannot assess more politely than lousy. Now in 2008? Those who have admitted they made a mistake and wish to discuss what they learned from their past error may have some interesting things to say. But anyone who stuck with BushCo for the duration, and now advocates keeping the same party in the same office, has no remaining credibility on the subject of presidential politics. Reasonable Americans don't need to waste their time reading or listening to anyone with such an abysmal track record.

Okay a year ago, who would have believed that the Republicans would socialize the banks, and the Republican candidate would accuse the Democrat of being like Herbert Hoover. What?

Also, if John McCain wins, he will appoint Joe the Plumber to the Supreme Court and give him a gold plated Cadillac.


[edit]

"The real winner last night was Joe the Plumber!” -- John McCain

So, then: McCain managed to come in third in a 2 person debate.

Handful of links


YouTube: Rep. Marcy Kaptur on the "Wall Street Bailout" Reccomended

Reuters: Chinese regulators have told domestic banks to stop interbank lending to U.S. financial institutions Uh oh.

LA Times: Fact checking the presidential debate

Tom the Dancing Bug: The Maverick

Tongodeon's pro-Obama advice

Leap Day will mark the start of "The Year of the Frog"

I choose to take this as a good sign.

Meanwhile in politics:



Photographic proof! Calvin Coolidge actually a sleeper agent for the Red Menace!

One of the things I'm amused at is the Republicans attacking Obama as someone who glosses over complicated issues with optimistic generalities-- while at the same time the Republicans kowtow to the idol of Saint Reagan.