Janeane Garofalo Makes Keith Olbermann Seem Moderate
It’s a bit unclear, but I suspect that Olbermann and Garofalo did not contribute to the Republican National Committee last year.
The two confident analysts have a decent point about the crowd booing the unemployed guy (featured in the beginning of the clip), but give me a break: He wasn’t trying to say, “Whoa guys, let’s not be tricked by the Republicans again; they aren’t the conservatives they claim to be.”
No, this guy was clearly a pro-Obama infiltrator who went up there knowing full well he would be booed. He raised his hands in pride afterward.
So are there leftist rallies where such a person would be greeted with delight? If I snuck into an anti-globalization rally and got the mic, and said, “Now how many of you have cell phones? OK, that’s capitalism baby, woo hoo!” what would happen to me? I doubt I would get a string of “Amen!”s.
In fact, if you listen really carefully–you may have to rewind it a couple times–I think when the guy says, “Let’s place the blame squarely where it belongs, in the hands of the Republican party!” the woman to his left yells, “Both parties!” as she shakes her head no.
Anyway, check it out. I bet David Henderson would be surprised to learn that he is mad a black man is in the White House, but Garofalo knows what’s up.
More Obama Administration Backing Away From Climate Luddism
I have seen a few signs that perhaps the Obama Administration is trying to distance itself from the more radical proponents of economic restrictions to fight global warming. Granted, I don’t have my hands on a secret memo from Rahm Emanuel, but nonetheless I was surprised by the following recent events:
* The NYT ran a very favorable story on Freeman Dyson, who has been very critical of the “consensus” on these issues.
* Obama’s science adviser says biogeoengineering is on the table. I think many climate scientists view that as throwing in the towel, because the unwashed masses will never support high carbon taxes if they think there is a magic bullet from pumping aerosols into space.
* NASA just reported a new study (HT2LRC) that contains the following amazing paragraphs. And note, I’m not shocked that a NASA scientist would publish such results, I’m instead shocked that this is the way they choose to summarize it in the official announcement:
Sulfates, which come primarily from the burning of coal and oil, scatter incoming solar radiation and have a net cooling effect on climate. Over the past three decades, the United States and European countries have passed a series of laws that have reduced sulfate emissions by 50 percent. While improving air quality and aiding public health, the result has been less atmospheric cooling from sulfates.
At the same time, black carbon emissions have steadily risen, largely because of increasing emissions from Asia. Black carbon — small, soot-like particles produced by industrial processes and the combustion of diesel and biofuels — absorb incoming solar radiation and have a strong warming influence on the atmosphere.
So what’s my overall theory? I think Obama et al. pretended to be really super duper concerned about carbon emissions in order to win the election, and now that they’re in power they realize it’s no fun to be in charge of 300 million people who can’t drive to work or turn on their lights.
Great Timing! Google Drops Free Advice From Its Index
So a few days ago I got an email purporting to be from Google explaining that my site had been dropped from their index because it didn’t live up to the Google quality guidelines. I thought the email might be spam, but then I noticed yesterday (when trying to find old Free Advice posts) that Google wasn’t bringing up any Free Advice hits.
I am no expert with the ways of the Intertubes, but apparently there had been “open permissions” or something on my site before, and so third parties were putting in stuff unbeknownst to me. I called my hosting service and they undid it in like 15 seconds (for real). I was tempted to say, “Umm, why is the default such that my website was vulnerable like this?” but I didn’t bother since the guy may have retaliated by changing my blog into Spanish or something.
So, long story short, my book launches Monday, I’ve already got about 30 radio interviews lined up, and Google now informs me that it could be several weeks before “free advice robert murphy” brings people to my blog.
Suh-weet.
(BTW, of course Google doesn’t owe me anything, and I understand why they have these procedures. It is just annoying that this had to happen 5 days before my book launch. I know, life is rough.)
Nudging Spontaneity
Just a reminder, if any of you already have copies of my new book, it would help if you were moved on your own to write a glowing review for it on Amazon. The book launch is Monday, and apparently some people actually read Amazon reviews when deciding whether to buy (go figure).
I would say “thanks” but that would imply I am hoping for a particular outcome.
Goldman Sachs Discovers the Joys of Off-Budget Accounting
I am not versed enough in corporate accounting to talk responsibly about this. All I can say is, when Goldman Sachs conveniently decides to shift its fiscal year to exclude a December that had more than $1 billion in (pre-tax) losses…something is really fishy.
Now if we had private financial markets, I wouldn’t care about this. “So what? Like investors are that dumb.” But we don’t have private financial markets, and I think Robert Wenzel called it long ago. Do we need more flesh-eating bacteria to avert a Treasury default?
(HT2 Paul Krugman, who apparently thinks the Bush Administration invented funny government accounting tricks.)
Ben Stein Suspicious of Those Untrained In the Ways of High Finance
This is too rich. Bob Roddis–a carbon-based Google Alerts–sent me this ridiculous Ben Stein article. It contains such gems as the following:
They allowed simply criminal self-dealing in the form of executive compensation—and just plain stealing—from Wall Street to Main Street. They did not stop the pools of manipulators and looters on Wall Street and in Greenwich from running wild. Essentially, they took the community swimming pool that had been the playground of people planning retirement—the stock market—and allowed sharks to swim in it.
The pitiful destruction of Americans’ hopes for retirement is the result. The demolition of American hopes for a brighter tomorrow is the result. It did not happen by accident. It happened because criminals and fast talkers were running the system that “served” American savers and robbing it blind.
Now I’m being so harsh on Stein because he is supposed to understand how market economies work. (If Oliver Stone said the above, I wouldn’t have bothered blogging it.)
But the absolute best is this:
But now we have Mr. Obama as president. He promised “change you can believe in.” He said he had a plan. He said he knew what to do. Now, somehow, some of us were dubious. Here was a guy with zero serious training in economics, with no academic accomplishments in this field that anyone knows about. But supposedly he was surrounded by geniuses and they would show him the way to prosperity.
I can’t believe this guy. Let’s go to the tape.
And just to add insult to injury, Stein tells us that the Depression was the fault of the Fed not printing enough dollars:
What I do know is that Professor Milton Friedman and top-grade economist Anna Jacobson Schwartz showed in A Monetary History of the United States that the Depression was created by allowing banks to fail (see Lehman Brothers), among other things, and was prolonged by (among other things) repeatedly taking “half measures” when full measures were needed.
What about Smoot-Hawley (or Hawley-Smoot)? Anyone?
Remaking Classic Movies: Homage or Sacrilege?
It’s a tough issue. If nothing else, it is undeniable that when someone does a remake of a classic, it generates more interest in the original. For example, I’m pretty sure that I rented the original The Producers only when the Lane/Broderick version was generating so much buzz. (I didn’t even watch the remake, mind you.)
However, I think Aristos is right on the issue of John Travolta and Tom Cruise redoing Paul Newman and Robert Redford’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid:
My thoughts?
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
NO! NO! NO! NO F—ING WAY! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
…What’s next? Remake The Terminator with Richard Simmons?
Remake 9 1/2 Weeks with Rosie O’Donnell?
Remake Braveheart with Fat Bastard from Austin Powers?
Remake The Matrix with Keanu Reeves?
And then to get you motivated to rent the classic, Aristos gives us this great clip:
Awesome. I’m updating my Netflix queue right now.
(And this movie has a special place in my heart because instead of saying, “I think you overdid it there, Bob” when growing up, my dad would always say, “Sure you got enough dynamite there, Butch?” [Not an exact quote.])
Orwell Lives! People Making Over $200k Don’t Work
Forget the fact that we are all going to be taxed to the mizax* because of Obama’s Bush Squared spending. This really annoyed me:
President Obama seized the opportunity on tax-filing day to assert that his administration is easing the tax burden of working people.
At the same time, protesters are expected to mark April 15 with demonstrations in hundreds of U.S. cities, including so-called “tea parties” to criticize Obama’s tax policies.
“We have delivered real and tangible progress for the American people. I am proud to announce that my administration has lessened the tax burden on working families while also restoring some balance to the tax code,” Obama said in remarks prepared for delivery Wednesday at a White House event.
Sure, there are some super rich people who don’t work. But to refer to those making under $200k as “working families”–implying that, say, a hedge fund husband and corporate attorney wife living in NYC and pulling in a household income of $350k aren’t a “working family”?!?! Are you kidding me?
In a different context, liberals would be criticizing this same couple for their materialism and dumping their kids off in child care so that they could “chase the Joneses” and work 70-hour weeks to get that yacht.
* Don’t you dare tell me I misspelled “mizax.”
Recent Comments