Yay Mommy!! No HIPPA here!

She had cataract surgery today but is now fine and dandy and resting comfortably.  Isn’t it interesting that when one is nervous about her mother the mother in question turns into Mommy?  Mom:  you must speak pirate-like as long as you have the patch over your eye.  AYYYYYYYYYYYEEEE matey!  What’s the legal connection? No HIPPA here!

how dumb do they think we are?

John Mccain needs to postpone the first debate so he can rush back to Washington to put “country first.” Give me a freaking break. The country needs to move forward on this election and since the date of the election is constitutionally required, the vote is not going to be postponed. But I bet McCain would like it if he did not have to debate Obama. Sheesh.

Yes, they have jobs as Senators and just this morning I wondered if Obama would go back for the vote on the bailout. OK, so maybe move the debate to DC, but I am sorry, we don’t change the election.

There was a great proposal on Scatterplot to change the first devbate to allow them each 15 minutes to outline what they think the plan for the economy should be and then ask each other questions. Americans need to know more, not less abotu the candidates given this crisis. Sheesh.

PS blogreaders — some day I am going to have a swear word in the title of a post — it will make my mom very sad so I try to resist but this time it was difficult.

This one’s for you, LB

And you know why.

New Horizons in Cynicism

I was directed to this entry from the ACLU’s website from Andrew Sullivan’s blog at the Atlanic.  Some things have to speak for themselves, so I am copying the whole thing here.

Court Orders Release of Detainee Abuse Photos

Yesterday, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the government to release 21 photographs depicting the abuse of detainees by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The decision comes as part of the ACLU’s long-running battle to expose government misconduct at detention facilities, and is a clear victory for the public’s right to know. It also joins a continually growing catalogue of judicial criticism of the Bush administration’s handling of the so-called “war on terror.” And there is no doubt that the 2nd Circuit’s recent decision will not be the last judicial opinion on the matter. What is unique about the case, however, is that it puts in historical context this administration’s ever-strained relationship with the Geneva Conventions.

Palin not a game-changer; Obama ahead in 4 key states

Polling data analyzed in today’s Post indicates that Palin–and Biden for that matter–has had little effect on the race.  Obama is the change candidate; McCain is viewed as having more foreign policy cred.  And it is Obama who leads in CO, MI, WI, and MN.  Only in Wisconsin is his lead outside the margin of error of the poll.

One odd observation:  I haven’t seen as many Obama ads on Indiana television lately.  Not sure if that means they are conceding the state . . .

The not-so-funny version

So I have been waiting to post on the $700B bail out package until I had some time to read more and get my thoughts together.  Today it became clear that there can be no more waiting.  Here are some great resources for understanding this mess.  The first is Terry Gross’ Fresh Air on NPR today.  The second is from my friends over at Scatterplot which you can read here. 

I just don’t think this is all mystical (as the Scatterplot post points out).  The banks were not being closely regulated; a whole industry of crap loans emerged that should have been regulated; investors bought those in bundles; they bundled and rebundled them so that no one knows what, if any value the things actually have; now no one wants to buy them so the US government might.  OK — we could have been regulating better and everything, but my big problem is that the Paulson proposed legislation provides that his expenditures of this $700B is NOT REVIEWABLE BY ANY COURT OF LAW OR ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY.  

SAY WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?   Remember checks and balances?  This is ANOTHER HUGE power grab by the executive branch.   That makes one dude, who is in the executive branch, to spend an amount of money that just boggles the mind. 

Last week I was sure that we needed to do something, but with (1) no oversight, (2) no guarantee that the taxpayers actually own somethign that we can later sell and get money from, (3) regulation that bans this derivitive trading on valueless things and (4) some evidence that we actually have to do this NOW, I am not so sure it is a great idea.  Is it?

The funny version

This came my way and I could not resist:

Dear American, My Dear Friend:

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America.

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, a lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a citizen, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check.

We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction.

After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Do not discuss this message with anyone! Time is of the essence!

Yours Faithfully.
Minister of Treasury Hank Paulson

McCain Economic Comments Not Helping Him—tee hee

Take a look at Jack Cafferty’s blog today.  He rips McCain on his recent economic comments. 

His opening lines are:

“When you graduate 894th out of a class of 899, eventually it will show up.

And John McCain’s mediocre performance at the Naval Academy is showing up big time this week in his total lack of understanding of the nation’s financial crisis.”

Here’s a link to an opinion in the Wall Street Journal:   

I’m telling you guys he knows he can’t win.

Koolaid Reaches Destination

I have arrived at my final destination.  Sleep has been an uncommon luxury for a number of days now.  The situation requires that we hit the ground running, so to speak.  I have a number of comments and observations, but I will need another day or two to ensure I can express them in a logical manner that does not violate OPSEC.  I am safe and I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Editor’s note: I have his mailing address. If you are interested in sending letters, cookies, etc., let me know.

McCain — Sometimes Wrong, Never in Doubt

Here’s more on McCain and Spain (stays mainly in the plain). In April, he spoke up for improving relations with our NATO ally. But it now appears that instead of admitting that he didn’t understand the question, his campaign is saying that he really did mean to say that he won’t commit to a White House meeting with the leader of a major European democracy, with which we have mutual defense obligations. Sheesh.