GO OBAMA! DON'T FUCK IT UP!

Can't WaMu's failure be blamed upon the dozens that pulled out 16.5 BILLION dollars, making them unable to meet demands from depositors?

I'm beginning to think McCain doesn't know what an "earmark" is.

It's a talking point!

Paul Begala told CNN's audience that lawmakers from both parties consider the president "a high-functioning moron

God, I wish Dems would stop making these bizarre concessions about Republicans!

Isn't that John Ashcroft?
peace,
st john

...though I'm not entirely sure what that's going to include.

It better include ice cold PBR for everyone!

Let's get this blue ribbon commission online!

Psst, Steve: It's John Ashcroft, not Josh.

Anyway, I wonder if McCain got any debate practice in while he rode in to save the world -- or is he going to wing it?

Danp,

Rarely do I actually laugh out loud when I use the intertubes cliche, lol, but truly, I guffawed at that.

lol.

Can't WaMu's failure be blamed upon the dozens that pulled out 16.5 BILLION dollars, making them unable to meet demands from depositors? Posted by: Crissa

This isn't a serious question, right? WaMu was probably the worst offender with regards to ninja and liar loans. They fired an in-house appraiser in California last spring because she refused to continue inflating house values for WaMu loans.

I have a friend who supports the commercial RE side of the bank. It's in fine shape because they continued to make only conforming loans.

The phrase "pale in comparison" got me thinking. We should start putting an apostrophe after Sarah Palin's name. She's Sarah Palin'. Because that's what she's doing.

Despite what you may have heard, WaMu's collapse cannot be blamed on black people.

Of course not. Only Sir Preensalot is allowed to mention black people, and then only in the context of accusing every woman who still refuses to vote for him of being racist. That stinks. Well, Senator Smoove B, I may not be voting for you or Cynthia McKinney, but I am a liberal and I am no racist. How many times are you going to flip me off tonight under the guise of scratching your head?

In other news, McCain now plans to give his election-night victory speech on October 1st.

Of course not. Only Sir Preensalot is allowed to mention black people, and then only in the context of accusing every woman who still refuses to vote for him of being racist.
Posted by: Insane Fake Professor, in a festive debate mood

Not necessarily racist, although they usually are. Some are just old, and given the state of their uteri, are selfishly ignoring reproductive rights for younger women.

The problem with earmarks for McCain is you have to
read a bill to find them.

He is hell bent on earmarks even though they are 60 billion tops /year. Half of them really are not "pork" but essential funds folded into this or that bill. So he rants about 30 billion a year.

I just can't get excited when I see my country spend that much in a month in Iraq!

If Bush is a high functioning moron, what is Sarah?

Moronica for morons. Heil gallstone!

Is this country in competent hands?

Certainly they're all incompetent! nyuk nyuk nyuk

As a hispanic let me say that some do, some do. Personally I find blaming other minorities a move that only leads to oppressive racist structures staying strong.

the Republican governor (Barbour) in Mississippi just said in his southern drawl:
" Ya know, Barack Obama is all charm--he can charm the skin off a snake...whereas John McCain is all straight talk."

And Pat Buchanan (why Maddow is so affectionate with him and calls him Uncle is beside me) is singing McCain's praises too--it seems like a big game to him--he's all pumped up and keeps saying how McCain will steal the show, etc.

I don't see what's so exciting about all this--folks are losing their shirts, and these guys are all pumped up...it really makes me sick.
--------------------------------------
I hope Obama can make the connection emotionally with the common man--this seems quite what's needed--clearly he feels tremendous compassion, but it doesn't always translate with his calm, almost spock like demeanor and speech pattern..

And there you have it.

"If I were to rank the most ridiculous members of the U.S. House, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) would have to be in the top five. Easy."

You're probably right, but 'easy'? I don't know, there's some pretty stiff competition in the Republican House Caucus for "most ridiculous" honors. It got a little easier with the resignation of Tom DeLay, but Jim Bunning is still there, and he's a real contender. And how about Jeanne Schmidt? Total loony. Or how about Marilyn Musgrave? If I lived in the South, I'd probably be able to come up with ten more crazies. The Republicans have a really strong field in this competition.

Not necessarily racist, although they usually are. Some are just old, and given the state of their uteri, are selfishly ignoring reproductive rights for younger women.

It's not surprising that a worshipper of Senator Stillindiapers would engage in ageist attacks. He and his minions have alienated every voter over 25 with your sly innuendo about John McCain forgetting a couple of things now and then. Good luck winning with only college freshmen and people from 112 percent black urban districts voting for your guy. And after Prince Patronizing called my uterus "sweetie," it's not about to pull the lever for him.

Dave Ramsey, personal finance author and radio talk show host, has been asking his listeners to write to their Washington representatives to ask them to kill an accounting rule that is commonly referred to as "mark to market".

To explain, imagine you're putting together a personal balance sheet to determine how much you own, how much you owe and what your net worth is (net worth = how much you own [assets] minus how much you owe [i.e. liabilities]). If you're a homeowner, then one of your assets is your house. So, to get an accurate determination of your net worth today, you'd have to accurately determine what you're likely to be able to sell your house for today (i.e. today's market value)--not what you could sell it for five years from today. Otherwise, your personal balance sheet is a lie.

Similarly, the "mark to market" accounting rule says that financial institutions are required to disclose, to investors, today's "market value" of their mortgage backed securities (hence the name, "mark to market")--not some estimated value for the future. Such common sense transparency rules allow investors to determine whether, for example, the bank they're considering investing in is more akin to a Bank of America or a Washington Mutual (incidentally, basic economics teaches that transparency is a fundamental requirement for free markets to work since nobody would be able to attract investors if investors couldn't trust business' financial statements) .

Get this. The Republican alternative proposal to the Paulsen/Bernanke bailout plan offers to eliminate transparency (under the guise of less regulation), i.e. eliminate the "mark to market" requirement (thank you Dave Ramsey). The Republicans believe that if investors don't know how pathetic a company's investments (assets) are, then such investors are either less likely to want to unload their stock in a bad company or more likely to want to buy such stock and/or over-valued investments. See? Problem solved (well, except for the fact that nobody will invest in a company whose financials can't be trusted).

FYI--the Republicans backing this alternative proposal are all in safe districts.

God help us. Seriously.

* On the air yesterday, Paul Begala told CNN's audience that lawmakers from both parties consider the president "a high-functioning moron."

Now let's watch and see if anyone else will step up and say: "Now that you mention it, the emperor is jaybird nekkid."

Good luck winning with only college freshmen and people from 112 percent black urban districts voting for your guy. And after Prince Patronizing called my uterus "sweetie," it's not about to pull the lever for him. Posted by: Insane Fake Professor

What a lame troll. You've got about as much grip on what's happening in this campaign as McCain.

If Obama appeals only to the under 25 bracket (who never vote regardless of whose running) and negros, how do you explain him approaching a double digit advantage in lily-white mostly rural Iowa?

On the air yesterday, Paul Begala told CNN's audience that lawmakers from both parties consider the president "a high-functioning moron."

Reading between the lines:
What does that make Sarah?

This bailout now has me smelling corruption. Apparently Guilliani is starting up a law firm just to get a piece of the pie for banks that become his clients. Now I am reading that McCains economic adviser (the skinny blonde one with the funny name) has a husband who is a lobbyist for the bailout. The sharks are circling.

"ratcheting up tensions as the United States increases its attacks against Qaeda and Taliban militants sheltering in Pakistan’s restive tribal areas."

Hmm. Not too desperate to catch Osama right before the election, are they?

Jeff II,

Insane Fake Professor is a spoof carried over from The Carpetbagger Report.

I imagine they find it hilarious to be mistaken as a real troll and horrifying at the same time that their over-the-top parody has become so close to authentic troll spew.

Damn.

Sen. Kennedy taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/kennedy_hospital;_ylt=AunjjIy_pL4TT7JHdVd9IvWs0NUE

Parody it may be (and I enjoy it as such) but it's trolling nonetheless. Which is just a way of saying that trolling isn't necessarily a bad thing; I think the quality of trolls here has been improving and that contributes to my enjoyment of the comments here.

Trolls are necessary in the food chain.

Jeff II, Insane Fake Professor is a spoof carried over from The Carpetbagger Report. I imagine they find it hilarious to be mistaken as a real troll and horrifying at the same time that their over-the-top parody has become so close to authentic troll spew. Posted by: doubtful

It does. I was at a site the other day, can't remember the name, and this was exactly the kind of thing being posted there in the comments. Frightening that people can be so clueless and yet, apparently, keep from walking out into traffic. High functioning morons the lot of them.

Well, I've been had, . . . and I certainly hope it's not the last time! (Chuckles to self at his oh-so-clever double entendre.)

The world awaits with baited breath for...

Wealthcare.

To hear folks talk about, you'd think "god wants this to pass."

I think it's too late. Once wealthcare passes, there will still be millions of people wondering when their home forecloses, and millions more who have lost any shred of equity in homes that aren't in foreclosure.

Just how is wealthcare going to address this reality?

Oh...? You say magically home values will climb back up again and all will be right with the world.

I refuse to hear the greed racked fleecers tell me what should be done.

The world is altering the way it does business with US interests, bailout or no bailout.

The dollar will fall.

We've got to take the billions out of Iraq now, it's bleeding us into insolvency on top of the collapse on Wall Street.

* Despite what you may have heard, WaMu's collapse cannot be blamed on black people. -- Steve Benen

No. Only on Hispanics.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* This seems like a pretty important development: "Pakistani and American ground troops exchanged fire along the border with Afghanistan on Thursday after the Pakistanis shot at two American helicopters, ratcheting up tensions [...] -- Steve Benen

In situations like this, I like to remind myself that, thanks to our efforts, Pakistan has nuclear capability. It's so good to feel safe...

Wonder if The Candidates will be asked about this. Well, I'll find out, I guess; decided to break my own rules and watch the debate :)

The screenshot "McCain wins Debate!" is a sidesplitter for certain. It must have been quite a feat to capture a photo (presumably recent) that makes him look much younger and more vigorous, when in most of his recent appearances he looks like the fifth California Raisin (cue "Heard it Through the Grapevine").

Still, the most interesting point I got out of it was one of the comments - also visible - in which Mike in Sac reminds us that these ads take time to produce and punch out to the media. It therefore suggests that McCain intended to participate in the debate all along, and that all the twaddle about suspending his campaign and rushing to Washington to give the economy chest compressions was just more of his cynical bullshit. I hope it's as obvious to everyone.

It's Friday, so I must be complaining about how ugly this blog is. I'm probably also complaining about how this blog won't help me pimp my own blog. I guess some people don't like alittle competition.

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