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October 07, 2008
Tuesday Thoughts...
Well, the Angels are no longer in the playoffs after looking about as fundamentally sound as the Bad News Bears did before Buttermaker whipped them into shape. I'm starting to wonder if the Angels ever practiced. At least O.J. is still in jail.
Governor Palin definitely did better in the Vice Presidential debate than she did in her interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric, but, as Vincent Bugliosi would remark, “That isn’t saying a whole lot!”
On Sunday, George Will brought up an interesting point on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos (a.k.a. that “little Greek Bastard”) (which happens to be my favorite Sunday morning political program, especially now that Tim Russert is no longer with us). At one point, Katrina Vanden Heuvel (editor of The Nation) mentioned that the current economic crisis is conclusive proof that unregulated, free market capitalism does not work. Will took issue with that statement, responding by saying something like, “Actually, the government stepped into the free market and more or less set up the playing field to ensure that people who had no business receiving loans for houses they could not afford would in fact receive loans for such houses. In a completely free market system,” he opined, “no bank would have made those loans.” In essence, he was driving at the fact that, nine years ago, in an attempt to get poor people to realize the American dream of home ownership, the Clinton administration put increasing pressure on government-subsidized Fannie Mae to assure banks that it would buy loans that banks doled out to non-credit-worthy individuals. Having that assurance, banks would then feel free to extend loans to people who had as much business receiving them as I do of getting voted the 2008 Playboy Playmate of the Year. (For the record, I have a penis, which I believe single-handedly eliminates me from being considered as Playmate of the Year. Of course, it's a beautiful penis, but apparently that doesn't matter. (This, at least, is what they tell me everytime I ask them to reconsider their decision.)) Without Fannie Mae’s assurance that it would buy those loans, banks probably would not have started doling out tons of cash to non-credit-worthy folks, which means we probably wouldn’t be in the mess we’re currently in. In other words, as my high school economics teacher always used to say, “There really are no free lunches.” (The teacher also used to say stuff like, "Tuck your shirt in, asshole!" when he would pass a less-than-well-dressed student in the hallway.) In any event, when George Will pointed this out to Vanden Heuvel, she made some weird noise that sounded like a combination of a woman having an orgasm and a chimpanzee stubbing its toe. I couldn’t tell if she thought Will’s assertion was preposterous (which it certainly is not, at least not on this specific point) or if she was caught completely off guard and had never considered how the government really screwed all of this up a decade ago. Here’s a good New York Times article from 1999 that provides a little background (on the Clinton administration and Fannie Mae, not on women orgasming and chimpanzees stubbing their toes).
If you’ve ever seen And the Band Played On, a fascinating movie about the origin of HIV and AIDS in America, you will find this article quite interesting. In short, Dr. Robert Gallo (played brilliantly by Alan Alda) really is a prick!
I saw former Supreme Court Justice nominee Robert Bork the other day. He does not look like he’s been eating his Wheaties. If you had the chance to break bread with a Supreme Court Justice, which one would you choose? I would go with Scalia first, then Breyer (those two seem far more personable than the rest of the crew), then Roberts, then Stevens, then Thomas (I would definitely see how many “cock” jokes I could get out of Clarence), then Kennedy, then Alito, then Souter, and finally Ginsburg (only because she’s supposed to be as personable as a pile of bricks at a construction site). I imagine if Governor Palin had to answer this question, she would smile and say something like, "Well I certainly wouldn't select the one who wrote Roe versus Wade!" "Well, the author of that opinion is actually dead, Governor." "Well golly, then that would make it even easier!" Note to self: she cannot ever be in charge of our country.
Comments
I know they are NPR elitists, but check out last weeks This American Life and the one from a few months ago about the current economic fun. It was very clear and the least annoying liberal propaganda I have heard in a while.
I can relate to your pain on the election. Vote for a democrat or have the 50% possibility that mccain will pass away and we will have her, I think it is a tough choice for every rational person.
Posted by: pretty at October 7, 2008 02:43 AM
Palin = *headdesk*
Still voting for McCain -- I gotta figure if they kept Cheney alive for 8 years with cyborg parts, they can do the same for McCain for 4.
Posted by: little fish in law school at October 7, 2008 06:37 AM
I miss Tim Russert so much! Especially with all this election hoohaw happening...
Posted by: LisaBinDaCity at October 7, 2008 08:37 AM
I also recommend the "This American Life" episode "The Giant Pool of Money." They had one last week that was very scary as well. I think there is a enough blame to go around. The damage of deliquent mortgages would not have bene nearly as epic if Phil Gramm hadn't of pushed through the repeal of banking regulation in 1999 that allowed for an unregulated derivatives market.
I think the securitizaiton of mortgages played a far larger role in this fiasco than Fannie Mae backing quesitonable loans (Fannie Mae did have lending standard requirements). When you can turn around and sell a mortgage to a derivative pool it removes the incentive to insure that the loans can be re-paid.
Of course I think we as Americans just have far, far too much debt on a personal and a societal level, and it pisses me off to no end that the fiscally responsible folks will have to pay for idiots who defaulted on loans to buy big houses and big screen TVs.
Sill, looking at the two parties I would rather have tax and spend than cut tax and spend. Definitely going for Obama.
Posted by: over_educated at October 7, 2008 10:19 AM
Fool,
If I were one of those unfortunate sick kids with the Make A Wish Foundation, my two dying wishes would be
- to have John McCain tear off his fake skin and reveal his true lizard face a la "V the Miniseries" and
- to have Barney Frank, in front of both houses of Congress and the media of the country, say five times "Shelley sells sea shells by the sea shore".
Posted by: wiseazzz at October 7, 2008 11:41 AM
Here's a good counter to Will's argument:
http://www.slate.com/id/2201641/
Posted by: CBK at October 7, 2008 04:29 PM
I love my readers. Thanks for the laughs and the informative information (depending on which applies).
Posted by: Fool at October 7, 2008 08:15 PM
Fool, thanks for the great link to the NYT article from 1999.... still, as an old fart, I wish you didn't mix your pithy observations with bodily function trash. What happened to the delightful fellow I knew that long ago summer of 2005...?
Posted by: Lo at October 13, 2008 01:53 PM
