Here We Go Again

I think he’s taking the Bubba Zen approach that killed Newty Toot’s political aspirations. So far, the Repubs are ahead in the douchesack count. However, I don’t know how it looks to the hicks from the sticks.

Considering that the MSM is going with the Repug script (fake CBO study shows stimulus fail) and that supposedly most people (2/3s) don’t trust the MSM, I’m cautiously optimistic that it will work for Barry.

One thing Barry should worry about is being too fucking cute as many intelligent people are want to do. To use analogy from sport (sorry Benedick!), Barry shouldn’t rely too much on the curveball and use more often the fastball inside on the fists to back the fuckers off the plate.

I think HOPE he does. I’m reminded of the time in the primaries when Hillz was out baying at the moon and Hopey went quiet. And stayed quiet. And got stronger and stronger. He’s up against a bunch of bullies and I think HOPE he knows it. He is, in my estimation, a much stronger person than Billz with much more substance to him. And he did say he would try to find middle ground with them which he is doing. And in so doing allowing them to show their opposition for what it is.

Since I’ve become an expert on economic matters I find that the great crash of 1914 is eerily like the present mess. (I had no idea. That was never taught me at school. Learning a little about the whole connection between debt, credit and war is pretty amazing to one like me who can just about read a credit card statement.) And what did governments do? Pumped billions into the banks to restore credit. Seems like Boehnert et al know nothing about what’s going on. Perhaps I might give his office a call later to offer my advice. I’m sure he’d appreciate it. Can’t be much fun to have to go on tv to make a fool of yourself on a daily basis. Although perhaps being a member of the senate inures one to that.

@Benedick: I still pronounce Boehner’s name “Boner,” regardless of the correct way.

Srsly, this is Barry’s moment to pull a 1995 when the GOP huffed and puffed about the federal budget.

PS: I think we should consider making our own scrip currency. Can we call them HOPEBuxx?

@rptrcub: I thought it WAS pronounced “Boner.” That’s what I get for reading and not watching TV over here.

@rptrcub: @RomeGirl: I think the “Bayner” version is fabricated so he doesn’t get called “Boner”. I’m reminded of Hyacinth Bucket Bouquet.

Unable to work today thanks to the snow and sleet and freezing rain and now heavy snow causing downed power lines all over the Louisville area. Looks like a good day to Stinque as long as our electricity holds out. Thankfully the power lines are buried in this subdivision, which was a big plus when we were looking at houses.

Is Rep. Boehner the tannest man in Washington DC? The only person I can think of who holds a candle to him is world renowned tanning professional and sometime actor George Hamilton. How does the Minority Leader from Ohio do it? Where does he find the time to keep that incredible base tan 365 days a year? Or does it all come out of a bottle? Could it possibly be a symptom of Narcissistic Personality Disorder which is defined as “a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.” Naaah!

@Dave H: He probably has a tanning bed in his office like Talibunny had put in the Alaska governor’s office. Boehner also is a notorious chain smoker, so maybe it’s just the nicotine sticking to his flesh.

@SanFranLefty:
Ewwww!

I suspect tanning “creams” that make Hollywood types look like fabtrabulous Oompa Loompas.

@rptrcub: Need I remind you of what happened next?

@Dave H: Whereabouts in the Metro do you live?

Heavy snow here. Just dug out the cars (no garage). Have got to drive to Albany this afternoon. About an hour away. Wish me luck.

And we’ll be hearing a chorus of “Global Warming is a myth” from the right in 3… 2… 1…

@mellbell: Unicorn is much smarter; besides, Michelle is one tough lady. She has the ability, and will, do something Hillbot was not willing to — castrate her husband. And I actually think that they’re hot for each other, whereas the Clinton fires died years prior to 1996.

@Benedick: It truly needs to be called “global climate change,” and people need to be reminded that as a whole, temps are rising. We have something called “seasons” and “variations” and “outliers.” Then again, people are stupid.

Snowday GOP Buttsecks scandal (I’m looking at you L…. G….) exposed?

Git your rumors here: http://www.fitsnews.com/2009/01/25/alleged-gop-blackmail-plot-exposed/

Hooray!!!!11!

@rptrcub: Agree on all counts. It’s just fun to look at the timeline there: November 14 — government shutdown begins; November 15 — Lewinsky affair begins.

@ManchuCandidate:
The sport analogy is apt. It is all about scoring political points for the respective bases on a bill that, after all the sturm and drang, will certainly pass in essentially the same form that it was originally proposed. MSM will cover it as “Who won or lost?” based on less that 5% window dressing minor adjustments to the bill.

In the meantime, the bigger question of whether it makes any sense at all to add a trillion dollars of new spending that we don’t have and will have to borrow from the Chinese or devalue the currency to pay for is almost ignored. The fact that a “stimulus bill” was rammed through last year with the exact same justification (We have to do something ANYTHING now!!!) was just money pissed down a rat hole to no effect in not even discussed. This is just More piss. Bigger rat hole.

And this is still the minor league game. The “bigs” is the giant global game of “prisoner’s dilemma” or maybe “Russian roulette” with the currency. As long as all major economies decide to hold hands, jump off the cliff and devalue together, well we are all going to be just fine… right? But if anyone – lets say China – decides they may actually want a strong currency… we are truly and irrevocably fucked.

BTW – I’ve made my decision. I’m taking AZ straight up with the odds and forgoing the points. I may even take AZ and lay 3 points to get 3 to 1 odds. At those odds I can empty the IRA, pay the penalty, take out a second, put it all on AZ, get whole and be ready to invest in the Ark.

@mellbell: Jeffersonville, on the Sunny (Indiana) Side of Louisville.

@Dave H: Ah, ok. I’ve got some peeps in New Albany (though I maintain that the only valid excuse for crossing the river is to get a better vantage point for Thunder). Most of the family lives in the East End.

@Hose Manikin: Is China willing to throw away all those manufacturing and white collar jobs to keep the currency strong? The backlash could make what’s going on in the US right now look like a tempest in a teapot.

I think betting against the Steelers in the Super Bowl is pretty much like writing a check to Bernie Madoff today to invest for you.

@Hose Manikin: My bet is that I will be toasted quickly in the evening. That, and I’m sure the half-time show will receive serious critiquing (after all, this is what happens when you watch the Super Bowl with teh Gheys).

@rptrcub: What about the Puppy Bowl and Kitty Halftime Show on Animal Planet? Does anyone watch that besides me?

@SanFranLefty: I would be if it were not for the bear cabal.

@mellbell: I lived in J-town for about 15 years, where my ex-wife and my three kids and their families all still live. Since I work at the Census Bureau in Jeffersonville I don’t have to endure the nightmare of crossing the bridges every day, especially on days like yesterday and today. I’m hoping the stimulus package includes construction of the mythical east end bridge to allow all the trucks driving on I-65 and I-64 and I-71 to avoid being forced to drive directly through downtown Louisville and to navigate the aptly named Spaghetti Junction.

@SanFranLefty: No Lingerie Bowl this year, says Olbermann.

@redmanlaw: James Harrison is hoping to help Kurtsie take some of his jersey off.

More from the Crime Capital of the Southwest:

“The victim in the case saw Pintor and Miller carrying a laptop computer, a digital camera and a mariachi costume taken from her car into a residence nearby.”

- Santa Fe New Mexican

@Dave H: Perhaps. Isn’t part of what’s keeping 8664 from getting off the ground that no one can muster the money for the initial environmental impact studies, let alone the actual construction?

STINQUE DISTANT EARLY WARNING

A-Team, The Movie. Summer 2010.

They’re like the creatures from Alien. You know they have one instinctual motivation, plunge their snouts into your bowels and feast. A complete waste of time to deal with, beyond finding charges that will stick and having them indicted.

@chicago bureau: I pity the foo who messes up the A-Team.

@Dave H: Yeah. That’s the bet. That our markets are so big and enticing, that we can do whatever we want and they’ll all follow us down so they can sell their shit to us. I think that was true once, but just arrogant hubris now. The chinese consumer class is massive and growing. There are more two pack a day smokers in China than men women and children in the US. At still a small penetration percentage, more cell phone users than our population. If they decide that their own consumers are more important… that they can serve their economy better by exploiting our cheap labor and cheap goods and resources with a strong currency…. I dunno. I think we are bluffing with a busted flush.

BTW – If there are typos, I am posting this from my Treo while killing time in a waiting room. Never done this before. I have just crossed a dangerous threshold in Stinque commenting.

@chicago bureau: I love it when a plan comes together.

@Hose Manikin: Came through pretty clean. I resort to StinqueThumb on my ipod in the evenings, during Sport, and (infrequently) from the *ahem* reading room.

Hey, speaking of TMI, what’s up with Baked? Has she set sail?

@Hose Manikin: “I think we are bluffing with a busted flush.”

Couldn’t agree more. The people who decided that jacking up the price of the shares – and coincidentally the stock options they were receiving as tax-deferred compensation – at the expense of paying workers enough to allow them the luxury of consuming are the ones who busted it. If the Chinese economy has indeed reached a critical mass that allows it to function without exporting to the US then we are through. Nothing President Obama can do will change that. The national roles of 50 years ago will simply be reversed for a while. Children in China will be told to clean their plates because there are starving American children. It may do us all some good to learn that nobody stays at the top of the heap forever.

Mobile Stinqueing? That is a large step down a particularly slippery slope.

@Dave H:
Problem is China hasn’t reached that critical mass.

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12987564

@ManchuCandidate:
Interesting that the article describes 5-6% annual growth in the Chinese economy as a “downturn” – In the US, that’s runaway growth and an economic bubble. The article also points to the first indicator of a sea change in the choice of target for the Chinese stimulus package – The Chinese consumer class:

“Since the November package, the government has introduced other measures to support the economy. On January 21st it announced extra spending of 850 billion yuan over three years to improve health care. From February rural residents will get a 13% rebate on purchases of goods such as refrigerators, TVs and washing machines. Consumer spending will be dented by job losses and smaller wage rises but has so far remained strong, with retail sales up by 18% in real terms in the year to December.“

Which is consistent with this description of their stimulus package from an article last fall.

The 4 trillion yuan will be spent over the next two years to finance programs in 10 major areas, such as low-income housing, rural infrastructure and transportation… In Brazil’s Sao Paulo, European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet was quoted as saying that China “is certainly going in the right direction.” China’s current account surplus was signaling “room for maneuvering” precisely to foster domestic demand, he said.

@Hose Manikin:
Problem is that I’m not a big fan of Chinese stats. South Korea is one of China’s biggest trading partners and they’re being flattened by the Chinese slowdown even Chinese says it still grows so something is wrong there.

However, two Trillion US dollars in their account surplus is nothing to sneeze at.

It will be interesting to see if Chinese growth stats are real or a continuation of what happened during the Cultural Revolution and the various Great Leaps Forward.

@SanFranLefty:
I haven’t watched a superbowl since the last time the 49ers were in one. Honestly.
I have, however, watched the Puppy Bowl every year since it began.