Not long after saying that health care was more important than lobbying for the Olympics, Barack Obama decided to make the trip to Copenhagen to lobby to put the 2016 Olympics in Chicago. On this one, here’s hoping he loses.
Archive for September, 2009
Olympics of Stupid
Posted in Basketball, China, Corruption, Football, Foreigners, Germany, Housing Policy, Labor Policy, Olympics, Soccer on September 30, 2009 | 10 Comments »
Rock and a Hard Place
Posted in China, Foreigners, Middle East, Military, Russia, War on Terror, Weapons of Mass Destruction on September 29, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Even as we wobble towards a coherent Afghanistan policy, Iran continues to be a massive thorn in our side. What do we do when all of our options are terrible?
Good Job Switzerland
Posted in Foreigners, France, Miscellaneous on September 28, 2009 | 12 Comments »
Roman Polanski, after thirty years of thumbing his nose at justice, was arrested by the Swiss police while on his way to collect a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
The World Upside Down
Posted in Corruption, Meltdown, Obama, Tim Geithner on September 24, 2009 | 4 Comments »
The Kansas Supreme Court has given, if not the green light, at least a very long yellow to people who want to try to drag out foreclosure processes with versions of the “show the note” strategy: [I]n the event that a mortgage loan somehow separates interests of the note and the deed of trust, with [...]
Turf War Run Wild
Posted in Corruption, Meltdown, Tim Geithner on September 23, 2009 | 11 Comments »
The FDIC is nearly out of cash, the victim of almost a hundred bank failures this year and a few particularly large ones last year. Now, that shouldn’t be too big of a problem (it may be a symptom of a problem) in and of itself; after all, the FDIC is a government agency, and [...]
Vulture in the Eye of the Beholder
Posted in Africa, Corruption, Finance, Foreigners on September 22, 2009 | 9 Comments »
Felix Salmon relays Johann Hari’s article in the Independent criticizing “vulture” funds: Would you ever march up to a destitute African who is shivering with Aids and demand he “pay back” tens of thousands of pounds he didn’t borrow – with interest? I only ask because this is in effect happening, here, in British and [...]
Private Label Cars
Posted in Industrial Policy, Labor Policy on September 21, 2009 | 5 Comments »
The auto industry is maddeningly difficult. Overcapacity, long product design cycles, extensive unionization, national champions, frustrating distribution rules, warranty and product liability obligations…it’s amazing anyone wants to do it. Yet – like the airline business – there is no shortage of people who want to take a crack at it. Roger Penske’s plan to take [...]
Creativity
Posted in Inspirational, Meltdown on September 19, 2009 | 5 Comments »
It seems Barclays had a problem with $12.3bn of junk assets (thank you James Kwak). The damn things were liable to keep falling in value, and every fall tears a further hole in the bank’s balance sheet. What to do, what to do? Undoubtedly, someone called a meeting. And that meeting led to another meeting, [...]
The Fine Print
Posted in Health Care, Obama on September 18, 2009 | 12 Comments »
Ward on Words links to a GQ article from a former Dubya speechwriter describing the TARP launch: [Dubya] especially wanted Americans to know that his plan would likely see a return on the taxpayers’ investment. Under his proposal, he said, the federal government would buy troubled mortgages on the cheap and then resell them at [...]
Second and Crazy
Posted in Foreigners, Gun Control, Military on September 17, 2009 | 9 Comments »
When it comes to firearms, crazy is never crazy enough: The Senate voted on Wednesday to allow Amtrak passengers to carry unloaded and locked handguns in checked baggage, even though Amtrak officials had raised concerns that the proposal could present “numerous challenges.” The measure was sponsored by Roger Wicker (R-MS): “Only the federally subsidized Amtrak [...]
