Humor, Political Commentary

It Was Inevitable

1 Comment

President Obama’s teleprompter has started blogging:

Well, last night didn’t go well. What can I say? I was tired. By the time Barack and the Irish PM stood up, the President and I had already done two major policy speeches, three nomination announcements, and light dinner banter for a table of twelve. And by the way, that “ad lib” last night about Guinness? Mine.

So why am I going public now, when for the past two years I’ve let others do the talking? Well, this is a thankless job, and I sure don’t want to take the fall for communications missteps. But more important, I expect you’ll be seeing a lot more of me over the next few months and years. Barack and I don’t go anywhere without each other; we even complete each other’s sentences … well, more mine than his, but let’s not split hairs.

I sense new text being loaded now, so I’ll have to be going.

Hail to the TOTUS! Next stop, TMZ!

[Early afternoon update]

I wonder who the teleprompter’s picks are for the final four?

Obama spent part of Tuesday making his tournament picks for ESPN, which posted his completed bracket online Wednesday and showed the First Fan filling it out with Andy Katz on the noon edition of “Sportscenter.”

Of course, the president’s choice drew a reaction from the Tar Heels’ most intense rival.

“Somebody said that we’re not in President Obama’s Final Four, and as much as I respect what he’s doing, really, the economy is something that he should focus on, probably more than the brackets,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said from the Blue Devils’ first-round site in Greensboro, N.C.

Actually, given how disastrous the president’s plans for the economy are, I’m glad that he’s distracted from them by something.

Popular Culture, Social Commentary, Weird

A Bridge Too Far

15 Comments

You know, William Shatner had a three-word phrase for these people a few years back (the third was “life”):

Mr. Veazie, a manager at Underwriters Laboratories, built the chair himself last year, and has been gratified to find, since installing it in the living room in May, that “when someone comes in, it’s the first thing they comment on.”

You don’t say.

But I thought they didn’t like the word “Trekkie.” Isn’t it supposed to be “Trekker”?

Political Commentary

Thuggery

6 Comments

Congressman Gerry Ackerman:

…the point of finding out who has taken this money – – listen, we own 80 percent of that company right now. From my — as far as I am concerned, they are almost public employees. Public employees, we have — we can have certain requirements on them.

If they return the money, then I don’t think anybody has to know who they are or what their names are.

So, as Jonah says, if you just give us the money, we won’t tell the people who want to garrotte you who you are and where you live. We just want to make you an offer you can’t refuse.

And of course, there’s all the bluster from slimeballs like Chuck Schumer about ex-post-facto bills of attainder, as though it’s not dually unconstitutional.

I cannot recall a time in my life that I have been more sickened by the political class in Washington.

[Update a few minutes later]

And then there’s this, on the president comparing bankers to suicide bombers:

“Same thing with AIG,” Obama said. “It was the right thing to do to step in. Like they’ve got a bomb strapped to them and they’ve got their hand on the trigger, you don’t want them to blow up, but you’ve got to ease them off the trigger.”

And the president held out his arm and pantomimed a hand on a trigger, and we were rapt, waiting for what would happen next.

Remember, the president is a great communicator.

Like many, I have my share of anger over the bonuses, at the employees, at the AIG leadership, Geithner, the Fed, President Obama, Senator Dodd, etc. … But if some nut tries to kill some AIG employees… who fanned the flames?

Hey, it’s the Chicago way.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

What Did Geithner Not Know?

3 Comments

…and when did he not know it? And a bonus — “heckuva job, Timmy!”

I think I hear the bus starting to warm up its engine in preparation for its next victim.

By way of the AllahPundit we learn that TIME has been told that the Fed flagged the AIG bonuses to Treasury on Feb 28, ten days before word percolated to Geithner. What an operation – Geithner was at the NY Fed working with Hank Paulson on these bailouts, was brought to Treasury to provide continuity, and now has forgotten everything prior to Jan 20, 2009. Geithner needs to bring on some senior staffers so he can fire someone. Inshallah.

…FREUD IS EVERYWHERE: I know they are a bit down on Obama just now but this reflexive Bush-bashing from the Chi Trib blog is ridiculous:

This appears to be a case where the government’s right hand didn’t know what the left was doing. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner learned only last week about the bonuses, according to the Bush Administration.

Yes, we all miss Ari and Dana and what’s his name. But since this is the Obama Administration let me offer an editing suggestion: “This appears to be a case where the government’s left hand didn’t know what the far left hand was doing.” Just trying to help.

Maguire is a one-man wrecking crew on this story.

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

The Problem Is Bigger Than Them

10 Comments

Jim Manzi has some useful thoughts:

Commentators on both the Left and Right seem to think that if only we could get the right person to take over these companies and clean up the financial mess, everything would be OK. All it takes is somebody competent and honest, because the answers are so obvious. A rotating series of scapegoats has been created. Paulson? Fool. Geithner? Moron. Liddy? Stooge. It’s funny how their idiocy didn’t seem to surface so much in their prior careers.

Maybe the issue isn’t with the men we’ve selected, but with the problem we’ve asked them to address. Some problems don’t have solutions. The American electorate seems to be intent on re-learning the lesson that how to effectively manage socialized means of production is one of them. The tuition for this course tends to be pretty steep.

I’m sure that Liddy is deeply regetting that he took the job, particularly given the (lack of) financial compensation. The notion that a government, or any one person, is smart enough to run an economy is what Hayek called the fatal conceit.

[Update early evening]

James Pethokoukis:

It’s cliché to say there’s a lot of blame but going around — but there is a lot of blame to go around.

Everywhere you turn in this mess, you can find government right there. To say this is a private-sector failure is ridiculous. It’s like Forrest Gump, where he keeps showing up at historic moments. Everywhere you look in this mess, again and again, you see government.

The most infuriating thing about these clowns, both in Washington and the press, is how a non-existent free market and “deregulation” keeps getting falsely blamed for this as an excuse for bigger government and more regulation.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!