…I am kind of hoping that Ohio goes Republican, and Obama wins the election without it. Because I really hate that whole “they’ve always voted for the winner!” thing. Wouldn’t mind a little less importance being lavished on Ohio for once.
If you’re from Ohio and I just hurt your feelings, sorry. I’m just a little tired of you. Go listen to “Cuyahoga,” it’s a good song and will make you feel better.
Because I really need more things telling me to buy stuff right now. It’s a pretty interesting list, though.
And yes I am totes broke to the max, obvs
While taking a cab from Brooklyn to Manhattan, I notice that the Wonder Wheel and Parachute Jump have been moved to the Brooklyn Bridge Promenade, and are now accompanied by a truly immense Planet Hollywood sign modeled after the globe in Flushing Meadows Park. Erik, who happened to be walking by at that moment, informed me that he’d just been to the movies, but my cab pulled away before I could find out what he saw.
It’s not like I would ever read such an article and use it to cheat or anything. I mean, heaven forbid! This is just for YOUR reference. Yeah, that’s right. It’s a public service. That’s the ticket.
Today’s Song of the Day.
I have no words, and clearly she doesn’t either.
An Idolator Investigation: MySpace Music Will Not Let You Buy Whatever Popular Single You Like
And of course, it does not surprise me at all that this level of competency is the marketplace the majors were all convinced would save their asses. Yeesh.
This sounds familiar all of a sudden.
As we talked about earlier, McCain said yesterday he’s looking for a variety of things in the bailout package before he makes up his mind, including “greater accountability,” a “path for taxpayers to recover the money,” “complete transparency,” and a mechanism to prevent Wall Street executives from profiting from taxpayer money. Obama had expressed his own ideas on measures that the bailout package should include, 48 hours earlier, and the lists were nearly identical.
So, this morning, Obama called McCain with a straightforward idea: if both candidates supported similar provisions, the two sides could endorse a joint set of principles. McCain, this afternoon, agreed. Obama did this quietly, away from the media spotlight, and without leaking anything to the media. Just one candidate looking for a bipartisan solution with a rival candidate. Everyone was happy.
And almost immediately after an agreement was reached, McCain, in the middle of debate prep, decides it’s time for a stunt.
” —I am so angry at this asshole right now I don’t even have the words. What a crass and cowardly stunt. You can’t talk about this shit like men and both take the honorable path? You have to get out front and wave your dick around, huh, big man? Literally every action John McCain takes in this campaign shows me why I wouldn’t trust him with a cigarette lighter, let alone a nuclear arsenal. He’s an opportunistic, cynical piece of shit with no principles he won’t throw overboard to win — not even his much-vaunted respect for the process of clean government.
He’ll get away with this, too. If he’s not hailed for his “bold and decisive leadership stance” by the pundits, I’ll be very surprised. Pleased, but surprised. I’m not putting any money on it though.
Really folks, do you think Congress is sitting around, not sure what to do about this plan, thinking “Oh, if only the man who said ‘The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should’ was here to tell us what to do?” Suspending your campaign doesn’t help the conversation along; it helps you to score points and look like you’re doing something useful when you’re just. not. at all.
There was a dude in front of my subway stop this morning handing out Sovereign Bank flyers from a Segway. Really, guys? Really? In these chaotic economic times, buying a promotional Segway really seemed like the wisest use of your money?
Reform One: If it Quacks Like a Bank, Regulate it Like a Bank. Barack Obama said it well in his historic speech on the financial emergency last March 27 in New York. “We need to regulate financial institutions for what they do, not what they are.” Increasingly, different kinds of financial firms do the same kinds of things, and they are all capable of infusing toxic products into the nation’s financial bloodstream….
Reform Two: Limit Leverage. At the very heart of the financial meltdown was extreme speculation with esoteric financial securities, using astronomical rates of leverage. Commercial banks are limited to something like 10 to one, or less, depending on their conditions. These leverage limits need to be extended to all financial players, as part of the same 2009 banking reform.
Reform Three: Police Conflicts of Interest. The conflicts of interest at the core of bond-raising agencies are only one of the conflicts that have been permitted to pervade financial markets. Bond-rating agencies should probably become public institutions. Other conflicts of interest should be made explicitly illegal.
” —Kevin Drum - Mother Jones Blog: Financial Reforms
Actual text by Bob Kuttner, quoted from within that post, but I wanted to link to Drum’s summation as well.
Chris Molanphy provides an all-time top-selling albums list that corrects the RIAA’s ludicrous policy of counting double-disc albums twice for each sale. Useful!
