Be careful what you wish for...

Liberals are beating up on Sarah Palin at every opportunity. Some of it is quite funny (thank you Tina Fey). However, it is starting to take on the aura of bullying -- which could create blowback.

Right now Palin is a drag on John McCain, but if liberals push him into cutting her loose, McCain's new VP could give him a much needed  boost in the polls -- especially if his new VP is someone with serious expertise in economics, something that Obama doesn't have either.

Poor Sarah

I'm almost starting to feel sorry for Sarah Palin. She is clearly is way out of her depth. The Couric interview was excruciating; like watching a plane wreck in slow motion where you see every victim die individually. 

It's tragic actually, because given another 10 years of experience she might have actually been a viable national politician. As it is now, her political career is in tatters. She probably isn't even re-electable as mayor of Wasilla, let alone as governor of Alaska.

More Cartoons!

Both fun and easier than Monetary Theory and the Trade Cycle.

Who is this Hayek guy? 2.0

For the more serious student of finance and economics, the von Mises Institute has just made Friedrich Hayek's classic, Monetary Theory and the Trade Cycle, available for free (read, complimentary) on their website. If you are wondering why we are in this financial mess, this is the place to start. Be forewarned, this isn't casual reading.

"I'll stop the torture."

I still can't abide by John McCain, but he gained a wee bit of respect tonight by his having the guts to stand up on that stage and twice call George "we don't torture anybody" Bush a liar.

Who is this Hayek guy?

A teaser in graphics. (Hmmmm, do you think maybe Naomi Wolf read this?)

When did we admit this 51st state?

Asked about what threat Iran represents to the United States, both McCain and Obama made the defense of Israel the core justification for their willingness to attack a nation that couldn't bomb us even if they had nukes. What part of Israel is NOT a part of the United States and NOT a friendly nation can they not understand? Can they not recall the U.S.S. Liberty, and the list of Israeli spies caught undertaking espionage on the United States, including: Richard Perle, Richard Smyth, Stephen Bryen, Jonathan Pollard, David A. Tenenbaum, Irv Rubin, and Larry Franklin (and those are just the ones we've managed to catch).

Thank you, Republicans

Conversion by crisis

[regarding the "bailout"] ...everyone’s going to have to give serious consideration to becoming a pretty hard-core libertarian. -- Matthew Yglesias

When the chickens come home to roost

Fox News, the organization that worked so tirelessly to undermine the Ron Paul campaign (even going to far as to exclude him from a debate), appears to be having a change of heart -- perhaps due to the egg on their face.

Over the last few days, Fox has conducted several interviews with Dr. Paul, as an expert, on the state of the economy. Now today, a Fox News poll shows that Ron Paul is gauged the person most likely to come out of this economic mess looking to have been the smartest.

Why, during the onset of the Second Great Depreseion, do we have Tweedledee and Tweedledummer on the ballot, while an experienced politician, who also happens to be a monetary expert, is sitting on the sideline?

Apologies for the mixed metaphors, but its no more messed up than Fox News or this election.

Why we love Dave

The Bailout Con -- What to do?

Register your opinion! It is easy to do:

You can easily contact Congress to register your oppositions to these bailouts -- bailouts of the rich at the expense of the poor. Visit your congressional delegations' home pages on the Internet or dial the U.S. Capitol switchboard.

To locate and e-mail your Representative, simply enter your ZIP code in the "Find Your Representative" form at the top of the House of Representative's website at http://www.house.gov or dial them at (202) 224-3121.

To contact your Senators, simply select your state from the "Find Your Senators" menu at the top of the Senate's website at http://www.senate.gov or dial them at (202) 224-3121.

Letters do not need to be long, or even well written. A simple statement of objection is sufficient. Please make your opposition well known.

Hail Barney!

This was too good not to steal, and I'll never admit from where...

"It's the longest Hail Mary pass in the history of either football or Marys." --Congressman Barney Frank opining upon McCain's announcement that he was suspending his campaign {sort of but, not really} and running back to DC {for the first fucking time since April 9th and after having missed EVERY FUCKING VOTE SINCE THEN} in order to save us all from from ourselves {actually, to avoid having to debate Obama and to deflect attention from his cratering poll numbers}.

A plainer hypocrisy not to be found

The Politico's Ben Smith has a great catch from the 2008 (!) Republican Party platform:

We do not support government bailouts of private institutions. Government interference in the markets exacerbates problems in the marketplace and causes the free market to take longer to correct itself.

As slavery resurrects itself in America, who will be John Brown's heir?

"Did John Brown fail? John Brown began the war that ended American slavery and made this a free Republic. His zeal in the cause of freedom was infinitely superior to mine. Mine was as the taper light; his was as the burning sun. I could live for the slave; John Brown could die for him." -- Frederick Douglas

Lord, I hate always being right...

CNN: "John McCain suspends campaigning to work on economy, requests postponing Friday debate; asks Obama do the same."

What next? Suspending the election? (see "Be Prepared" below.)

Why is this man not an option for President?

And in response, horse shit:

"I do not expect additional inflationary consequences from this." -- Ben Bernanke

Be prepared

So why are we even bothering with this election, if indeed it was ever expected to occur in the first place? Perhaps that is why neither party bothered to provide us with serious candidates? And then there is the curious matter of Mr. Bush not acting like he intends to be going anywhere at all. Aren't lame ducks suppose to quack like any other?

It may soon be time to take the "Love" out of Dr. Paul's revolution. Best make like Boy Scouts -- and be prepared.

You betcha you are being scammed!

Ask yourself this, do you really believe that these packaged "solutions," for a catastrophe of this supposed scale, could truly have been hammered out by a hastily-assembled select group of "experts" over a weekend? Of course not, these "solutions" have been waiting in the wings for a very long time, while the crisis was manufactured.

The next shoe to drop is for some brave soul to point out the most prevalent common denominator amongst the heads and boards of the bankrupt companies and of those who are presuming to bail them out. One doesn't have to understand finance to observe that those with first allegiances to a country, NOT America, are up to their necks in this charade.

Oops, did I just imply something totally politically incorrect? Why, whatever was I thinking?

So, to head off any hysterical cries of anti-Semitism, this is not about some ridiculous Protocols conspiracy. This is about garden-variety Zionism, coming from the Left and the Right, from Jewish Likudites and from Christian Fundamentalists, all of whom are being skillfully manipulated by a small group of wealthy families and financial wizards, and their minions in Washington, with the goal of overthrowing the country.

Not all coups are achieved with guns and bombs and the seizure of government buildings -- indeed, sometimes nothing much changes at all, except for who collects the graft.

Things are rarely what they appear to be at first blush. Unfortunately we don't appear to have time for review. The death of America looks to be a done deal, with Congress merely waiting for the most politically opportune moment to sign off on it.

If there is to be any hope at all, write or call your Senators and Congressman now!

Separated at Birth?

{Clay Aiken}

{k.d. Lang}

And the Pulitzer Prize for Bravery goes to: Matt Volz

Palin lawyer meets with investigator in probe
By MATT VOLZ

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Less than a week after balking at the Alaska Legislature's investigation into her alleged abuse of power, Gov. Sarah Palin on Monday indicated she will cooperate with a separate probe run by people she can fire.

Does anyone know where this guy lives, so the Snarkmeister can send him flowers and chocolates?

The real McCain

"Doesn't fall far from the tree" Category:

Two more banks have failed, in Nevada and Arizona. It turns out that Andrew McCain sat on the board and audit committee of the Silver State Bank. Apparently, papa John McCain isn't the only one in the family whose strongpoint isn't economics.