Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Fellow Webloggin contributor Bookworm reiterates a point she made previously.
If nobody, from sea to shining sea and all across the fruited plane, learns one single other damn thing over the next month — let this be the one thing they do learn.
As you may recall from Thursday’s debate, Biden kept saying that our current financial woes arose because of deregulation and that even John McCain now wants more regulation. In other words, bad Republicans let Wall Street go wild, and now they’re cowed and are following the Democratic line.
Palin, who generally did fantastically well, failed a bit when dealing with Biden’s direct and indirect accusations, because [she] didn’t correct the terminology. Let me state, therefore, what should be obvious, and what should be an embarrassment for the Democrats and a source of pride for the Republicans. That the opposite is true is only because the Democrats are controlling the message and the Republicans are hiding:
The problem did not start because of deregulation. It started because of hyper-regulation: Because Democrats did not think it was “fair” that only people who have saved a lot of money and have reliable income sources should get loans, the Democrats forced through policies mandating that banks must give loans to those who normally would be poor risks (those famous subprime loans). What kept banks from squawking about being forced by the government to engage in practices that no sound business would ever engage in was the fact that Fannie and Freddie (staffed at the upper level by Democrats) promised to buy those loans, insure them, and sell them. Well, with an offer like that, the Banks couldn’t refuse, and they went hog wild. It was a no loss for them, and a huge incentive (because of these government regulations, not deregulations) to give out as many bad loans as possible.
Over at the American Thinker Blog, she continues this line of thought and makes another point that perhaps she thinks is expendable, whereas I think it’s vital, in this day and age in which we huff and puff so much talking about the character and integrity of our presidential candidates:
I know that Biden and Obama understand what’s going on, but are hiding the distinction, and I know that McCain and Palin…well, I assume that McCain and Palin see the distinction so clearly that they don’t recognize that the public is confused.
Whatever. I don’t think I give ’em that much credit. My intuition tells me that politicians, especially senators, weigh everything in terms of cost-benefit more than truth-versus-untruth. This is a McCain decision; this is why so many of us have blog banners and bumper stickers and tee shirts that say McCain/PALIN!, or Palin/McCain, and hope-against-hope that the ticket wins and then McCain resigns before Groundhog Day.
This “Maverick” stuff. You don’t often hear the point from people like me, who lack the skill and talent necessary to “go with the flow” during those times when it might be well-advised. But what goes so often unmentioned is — being a maverick is only beneficial if the group happens to be, or will later on turn out to be, wrong. Or at least inferior.
We’re looking at exactly where McCain’s political methodology is a consistent disappointment. When the time comes to challenge the liberal orthodoxy…McCain bowls somewhere around a 37. Too much of the time, he makes the decision that the facts may very well be on his side, but it just isn’t worth the hassle. And so he pops up with that “Maverick” stuff and speaks Truth To Power against those punch-drunk Republicans…in situations in which they’re the real mavericks. Maverick McCain, then, goes and stands with the real corrupt entrenched power-base. Again and again.
This is the kind of “maverick” Judas Iscariot would’ve been. If, that is, he started following Caiaphus around hoping for an invitation to the next party — and calling himself a maverick. And riding around in a bus called the “Straight Talk Express.” It’s sickening.
A Palin/McCain ticket, I think, would not be making this error. Maybe they’d persuade few, but they’d at least get the point out there, to their credit. And I’d put money on that.
I hope they pull their heads outta their butts on this one. Soon.
Update: The NRCC is onboard — they have their heads outta their butts. Halfway, anyhow…the ad discusses the problems, how the Republicans were sounding the alarm, and the democrats were demanding everybody lie low and pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. It’d be nice to see the point made that regulators didn’t neglect the problem, they made the problem.
But it’s a very nice start. Pretty late in the game, as The Anchoress points out. Hope it works.
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