* Rush Limbaugh thinks the rise in piracy off the Somali coast is liberals' fault.
Called it!

A new plan for updating "the media records of servicemen and women"? That would be a great idea! They could call it Mcaffrey's Law.

Pirate meet drone

How tough could it be to retrofit an existing navy ship as a sort of drone-aircraft carrier?

Anchor the "mother drone ship" in the area, run the drones up high, wide, and far. Get the visuals going, and let's do some serious policing...

I second koreyel's idea. . .

Oh, wow. There's not only no homeless veterans; there's also no PTSD.

Maybe there was no war either.

More and more often, when I watch conservatives' reactions to the Obama administration (or any idea that comes from the "left"), I become more convinced that they either exist in a parallel universe or that people on the right (or at least the far-right) have simple stopped evolving some years ago, and perhaps begun devolving.

Re Organic Garden:

So the chemical companies have finally become one with Grace Slick.

"I don't care if there's chemicals in it
"As long as my lettuce is crisp!
"Preservatives might just be preserving you,
"I think that's something you missed."

As Hendrix said, "Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful."

The Grace Slick quote was from "Eat Starch Mom" off the "Long John Silver" album.

According to Limbought, Democrats are limp-wristed, nutless, and friends of pirates?

Come now, Rushbo, at least pretend to have a little respect for your listeners' intelligence. Or have you mushified their brains to a point it doesn't matter anymore?

@ martin

You called it for defense budget cuts, but close enough, I'll give it you you.

Congrats

I think bullet number six should read: medical records.

Gotta watch that spell czech.

Anchor the "mother drone ship" in the area, run the drones up high, wide, and far. Get the visuals going, and let's do some serious policing...
Right on! Because we should go all out to protect those vessels whose owners registered them in Panama and Liberia to avoid paying U.S. fees and taxes. The Maersk Alabama was one of the rare U.S.-flagged ships. Most of the pirated vessels are flying the flag of Liberia or Panama. Perhaps you should forward your advice to those two worthy countries.

Howard Kurtz found "irony" in President Obama's visit with troops in Baghdad in light of Obama's opposition to the invasion of Iraq.

It's only a matter of time before the right-wing starts criticizing Obama for claiming he inherited the war instead of taking responsibility for creating it.

Steve: Just an FYI, Matt doesn't know what he's talking about regarding Wells Fargo's results. Not even a little bit.

Link posted elsewhere...Purpose-Driven Pastor, Rick Warren, is a liar.

How tough could it be to retrofit an existing navy ship as a sort of drone-aircraft carrier?

Anchor the "mother drone ship" in the area, run the drones up high, wide, and far. Get the visuals going, and let's do some serious policing...

Posted by: koreyel on April 9, 2009

Great minds think alike. I was thinking the same thing earlier today. Of course, if we're going to use a lot of drones in some parts of the world, then this idea might be widely applicable.

The one major thing to look for as far as if you want to support something or somebody is ...If Beck is against it...then it must be good.

Same with Rush since neither has ever...ever...suggested anything that was ever good for the people or for the economy.

Beck's ego may thing Americans appreciate him or his rhetoric or propaganda performances but polls show that most Americans not only disagree but find him to be a complete buffoon. Ignorance in a suit. The FOX circus continues but ticket sales are way down.

Why in hell don't the ship owners hire - say 4 - mercenaries per ship, outfit the ships with - say cannons - and have the mercenaries on duty. If a pirate ship gets near a ship, doesn't leave after a warning, the cannon is fired and the pirate ship is blown out of the water.

Do that several times and - poof - problem solved.

Or, am I missing something?

Matt doesn't know what he's talking about regarding Wells Fargo's results. - KJ

Don't you find Wells Fargo claims surprising only two weeks after their ratings were downgraded? Could it be the change from mark to market to mark to model?

"Virginia Republicans" - I've lived here for over 40 years and still don't get their schtick. Fortunately Democrats got back the State Senate. We are running exciting new Democrats against crusty Republican careerists, such as Robin Abbott against Phil Hamilton in the 93rd House.

Steve: Just an FYI, Matt doesn't know what he's talking about regarding Wells Fargo's results. Not even a little bit.
Posted by: KJ

Not sure what YOUR talking about KJ. My understanding is that Wells, with the help of recent FASB relaxed standards , is writing down Wachovia's balance sheet making them appear much more solvent than would otherwise be.

Maybe the losses Wells has taken already are close to where they need to be. Maybe not.

But this 'market rally' is just smoke and mirrors.

Point

Dennis-SGMM:
Because we should go all out to protect those vessels whose owners registered them in Panama and Liberia to avoid paying U.S. fees and taxes. The Maersk Alabama was one of the rare U.S.-flagged ships. Most of the pirated vessels are flying the flag of Liberia or Panama. Perhaps you should forward your advice to those two worthy countries.

Counterpoint

NYT:
The 508-foot-long Alabama was en route to the Kenyan port of Mombasa and was carrying food and other agricultural materials for the World Food Program, a United Nations agency, and other clients, including the United States Agency for International Development.

First Lady Michelle Obama has an organic garden. Some chemical companies are concerned.

The companies are remembering how the fedora fetish of the Fifties ended because of JFK's hatless inauguration.

Except that, contrary to legend, JFK wore a hat to his inauguration.

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/jfkhat.asp

First Lady Michelle Obama has an organic garden. Some chemical companies are concerned.

What I most noticed was that when I clicked the link, the page was dominated by an above-the-banner ad for Novartis — and then, right there in the middle of the story, an ad for Monsanto. Imagine that. I also note the cynical, chemical-speak formulation known as "conventional agriculture". So yeah, it appears the chemical companies are concerned. That can only mean one thing...

Good times a-comin.

Wells Fargo had a strong first quarter, which pleased Wall Street.

Indeed, they reported RECORD profits of $3 billion after we gave them $32 billion!

Here's from the excellent Bill Moyers interview with Bill Black:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner “is covering up,� Black said. “Just like Paulson did before him. Geithner is publicly saying that it's going to take $2 trillion — a trillion is a thousand billion — $2 trillion taxpayer dollars to deal with this problem. But they're allowing all the banks to report that they're not only solvent, but fully capitalized. Both statements can't be true. It can't be that they need $2 trillion, because they have massive losses, and that they're fine…

Pretty obvious when you put it that way. Both cannot be true. Here's a link to the article:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/04/bill_moyers_michael_winship_ch.html#more

And just speaking from PERSONNAL experience, the last time the US taxpayers gave me $32 billion, I reported RECORD profits TOO!

* Yet another Washington Post staffer thinks George Will made false claims in his column(s) about global warming.

Winter ice in the Arctic just set a record low in February 2009.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=37992&src=eorss-iotd

Maybe Will can somehow explain why that's not important in his next article.

Winter ice in the Arctic just set a record low in February 2009.[...] Maybe Will can somehow explain why that's not important in his next article. --
palinoscopy, @23:26

Um... That record low was caused by the heat generated by the flashes from the cameras, which interfered with the natural hot-cold cycles? Get them journos outa there and everything will be just dandy.

I notice that, in his most recent photos, Will no longer wears his signature bow tie. Too bad, since it's always been the smartest thing about him.

"media" -> medical, I'm assuming?

Did you guys see this HYSTERICAL video about the Teabagging Movement? FYI, it's NSFW.

Danp: Mark to Market affects BALANCE SHEETS, not income statements. The losses would only be captured if there was an actual sale of the securities.

Palinscopy: Two things: (1) at the time Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia (12/31/08) they took a charge with respect to Wachovia's pay-option loan portfolio and (2) if what you said was true, Wells Fargo would be reporting a LOSS in the 1Q just like it did in 4Q08 when it took the charges I noted above.

So like I said, Matt doesn't know what he's talking about. Any more questions?

KJ - I'm not a bookkeeper, so I'll defer to you on the balance sheet/income statement sentence. But you are being disingenuous here. To me, you write that "the losses wold only be captured if there was an actual sale." To Palinoscopy, you write, "they took a charge" meaning WF wrote down values of mortgages. Revaluation of assets DO make earnings reports, regardless of which form they flow from.

As for your second point to Palinoscopy, who are you kidding? You know writing down Wachovia's balance sheet making them appear much more solvent was poorly worded, that the "write downs" took place in the 4th Q '08, and that revaluing them again would be upward and therefore improve earnings in the first Q '09.

And then, what about the ratings downgrading two weeks ago? Why would Moodys do that when things are going so well?

When I look at the antics of the right and idiots like Limbaugh, I think OMG 'these people could have been running the country'

(1) at the time Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia (12/31/08) they took a charge with respect to Wachovia's pay-option loan portfolio and if what you said was true, Wells Fargo would be reporting a LOSS in the 1Q just like it did in 4Q08 when it took the charges I noted above.

So like I said, Matt doesn't know what he's talking about. Any more questions?
Posted by: KJ on April 10, 2009 at 2:40 AM

Yes, KJ I do.

If what you say is true, then why did Wells Fargo release this press statement on March 6th:

"By immediately writing down loans
and securities at Wachovia through purchase accounting adjustments at close, we have already significantly reduced the risk of loss to tangible common equity. Since these losses have already been recognized, our future earnings will be higher and therefore tangible common equity can now grow faster."

Seems like an accounting trick to me.

Also released on March 6th:

"Wells Fargo & Company WFC announced today that its Board of Directors will reduce the quarterly common stock dividend from $.34 to $.05 per share. The next dividend is expected to be declared in April 2009. This reduction will enable the Company to retain an additional $5 billion in common equity each year."

Seems to me if you significantly reduce your dividend payout, of course your earnings will terrific!

That should be [look] terrific!

GREAT! Finally, after all this time, someone agrees with Bill O'Reilly that homeless veterans don't exist.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200801160009

It was lonely there for poor ol' Bill O'.

Thanks, Rush.