October 29, 2008
[fabulous] This is where I was last night, living it up in balls-shrinking weather at the beer garden beside JR's (no, we didn't see any of the race) before moseying off to Halo and then back to JR's to wrap up the night.
...Neiman Marcus Sarah, with handwritten price tags dangling from the expensive-looking jade ensemble. Purse: $990; Suit: $2,390.
"Women's size 20, and I tailored it myself," says Neiman Marcus Sarah, a.k.a. Blaise Williams, who arrived with friends dressed as Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama. "The wig was actually originally a Farrah Fawcett, but I'm a hairdresser so that was no problem."
And the shoes -- those darling peep-toe pumps -- can Williams run in those shoes?
He looks down at his gigantic feet, flexes a muscular calf. "Oh yeah."
HAWT, go Blaise!!!
The high-heel race tradition began on Halloween night in 1986 when a couple of guys, kinda drunk and really fabulous, decided to race from JR.'s to Annie's Paramount Steak House a few blocks away, have a shot, race back. In perilously, astoundingly, wobbulous high heels.
And thanks to WaPo, now we know the high-heel race's "wobbulous" (LOL!) beginnings.
Twenty two years later, last night was, in a word, fabulous. @ 15:57
October 27, 2008
[one week] Barack Obama in Canton, Ohio today, delivering these closing arguments to be our nation's 44th President:
One week.
After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush, and twenty-one months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are one week away from change in America.
In one week, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street.
In one week, you can choose policies that invest in our middle-class, create new jobs, and grow this economy from the bottom-up so that everyone has a chance to succeed; from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor; from the factory owner to the men and women who work on its floor.
In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope.
In one week, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need.
And we can't wait. The best paragraph of his speech:
I don't believe that government can or should try to solve all our problems. I know you don't either. But I do believe that government should do that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide a decent education for our children; invest in new roads and new science and technology. It should reward drive and innovation and growth in the free market, but it should also make sure businesses live up to their responsibility to create American jobs, and look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road. It should ensure a shot at success not only for those with money and power and influence, but for every single American who's willing to work. That's how we create not just more millionaires, but more middle-class families. That's how we make sure businesses have customers that can afford their products and services. That's how we've always grown the American economy - from the bottom-up. John McCain calls this socialism. I call it opportunity, and there is nothing more American than that.
Redefining government to be FOR the people, and smacking John McCain around for his stupid "socialism" tirades at the same time. Ruv it!
And then it got even better.
Yes, we can argue and debate our positions passionately, but at this defining moment, all of us must summon the strength and grace to bridge our differences and unite in common effort - black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; Democrat and Republican, young and old, rich and poor, gay and straight, disabled or not.
In this election, we cannot afford the same political games and tactics that are being used to pit us against one another and make us afraid of one another. The stakes are too high to divide us by class and region and background; by who we are or what we believe.
Because despite what our opponents may claim, there are no real or fake parts of this country. There is no city or town that is more pro-America than anywhere else - we are one nation, all of us proud, all of us patriots. There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq and patriots who opposed it; patriots who believe in Democratic policies and those who believe in Republican policies. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.
Yes, he mentioned "gay". In Canton, OH. *jaw drops*
He closes, with a flourish, by delivering the message of "Hope".
Hope! That's what kept some of our parents and grandparents going when times were tough. What led them to say, "Maybe I can't go to college, but if I save a little bit each week my child can; maybe I can't have my own business but if I work really hard my child can open one of her own." It's what led immigrants from distant lands to come to these shores against great odds and carve a new life for their families in America; what led those who couldn't vote to march and organize and stand for freedom; that led them to cry out, "It may look dark tonight, but if I hold on to hope, tomorrow will be brighter."
That's what this election is about. That is the choice we face right now.
Don't believe for a second this election is over. Don't think for a minute that power concedes. We have to work like our future depends on it in this last week, because it does.
In one week, we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom-up.
In one week, we can choose to invest in health care for our families, and education for our kids, and renewable energy for our future.
In one week, we can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo.
In one week, we can come together as one nation, and one people, and once more choose our better history.
That's what's at stake. That's what we're fighting for. And if in this last week, you will knock on some doors for me, and make some calls for me, and talk to your neighbors, and convince your friends; if you will stand with me, and fight with me, and give me your vote, then I promise you this - we will not just win Ohio, we will not just win this election, but together, we will change this country and we will change the world. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America.
A new dawn for America is coming in one week's time.
I. Absolutely. Cannot. Wait. @ 17:42
October 24, 2008
[obama for president] The NYT, of course, endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States today:
The United States is battered and drifting after eight years of President Bush's failed leadership. He is saddling his successor with two wars, a scarred global image and a government systematically stripped of its ability to protect and help its citizens -- whether they are fleeing a hurricane's floodwaters, searching for affordable health care or struggling to hold on to their homes, jobs, savings and pensions in the midst of a financial crisis that was foretold and preventable.
As tough as the times are, the selection of a new president is easy. After nearly two years of a grueling and ugly campaign, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has proved that he is the right choice to be the 44th president of the United States.
Mr. Obama has met challenge after challenge, growing as a leader and putting real flesh on his early promises of hope and change. He has shown a cool head and sound judgment. We believe he has the will and the ability to forge the broad political consensus that is essential to finding solutions to this nation's problems.
In his convention speech in Denver, Mr. Obama said, "Government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology."
It will be an enormous challenge just to get the nation back to where it was before Mr. Bush, to begin to mend its image in the world and to restore its self-confidence and its self-respect. Doing all of that, and leading America forward, will require strength of will, character and intellect, sober judgment and a cool, steady hand.
Mr. Obama has those qualities in abundance. Watching him being tested in the campaign has long since erased the reservations that led us to endorse Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primaries. He has drawn in legions of new voters with powerful messages of hope and possibility and calls for shared sacrifice and social responsibility.
Mr. Obama has withstood some of the toughest campaign attacks ever mounted against a candidate. He's been called un-American and accused of hiding a secret Islamic faith. The Republicans have linked him to domestic terrorists and questioned his wife's love of her country. Ms. Palin has also questioned millions of Americans' patriotism, calling Republican-leaning states "pro-America."
This politics of fear, division and character assassination helped Mr. Bush drive Mr. McCain from the 2000 Republican primaries and defeat Senator John Kerry in 2004. It has been the dominant theme of his failed presidency.
The nation's problems are simply too grave to be reduced to slashing "robo-calls" and negative ads. This country needs sensible leadership, compassionate leadership, honest leadership and strong leadership. Barack Obama has shown that he has all of those qualities.
11 more days till a new beginning. @ 16:26
[larry the plumber] I about spit out my (very expensive, vendor-paid) Kinkead's lunch at James Carville today:
"The reason the Republicans found Joe the Plumber was to find someone hanging around a toilet other than [Sen.] Larry Craig"
ROTFLMAO! @ 15:24
October 23, 2008
[the case for obama] TIME's "Why Barack Obama Is Winning" is as much a must-read as it is a resounding endorsement of Senator Barack Obama as America's 44th President.
If he wins, however, there will be a different challenge. He will have to return, full force, to the inspiration business. The public will have to be mobilized to face the fearsome new economic realities. He will also have to deliver bad news, to transform crises into "teachable moments." He will have to effect a major change in our political life: to get the public and the media to think about long-term solutions rather than short-term balms. Obama has given some strong indications that he will be able to do this, having remained levelheaded through a season of political insanity. His has been a remarkable campaign, as smoothly run as any I've seen in nine presidential cycles. Even more remarkable, Obama has made race -- that perennial, gaping American wound -- an afterthought. He has done this by introducing a quality to American politics that we haven't seen in quite some time: maturity. He is undoubtedly as ego-driven as everyone else seeking the highest office -- perhaps more so, given his race, his name and his lack of experience. But he has not been childishly egomaniacal, in contrast to our recent baby-boomer Presidents -- or petulant, in contrast to his opponent. He does not seem needy. He seems a grown-up, in a nation that badly needs some adult supervision.
I no longer feel a "fierce urgency of now" when thinking about America's problems. Obama's candidacy and campaign (and eventual victory) has brought hope back to the darkest corners of this vast nation, shining a searing light on the politics of fear, hate and division that the Republican Party are all about.
America's stunning rebirth from the ashes of the Bush Administration is nigh. 12 more days to a brand new era of Hope! @ 17:59
October 20, 2008
[i rest my case] I don't want to have anything to do with the far-right-wing Christian fundamentalist nutjobs but I am holding my nose and quoting an interview that Gov. Sarah Palin did with the Christian Broadcasting Network 8-/ where she supported the hateful Federal Marriage Amendment (that died multiple deserved deaths in 2004, 2005 and 2006).
But before I get there, I will totes do a happy chinky dance on the ashes of Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO-4) -- the bitch who introduced the FMA in the House -- and Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO... WTF is up with Coloradans and the FMA??) -- her counterpart in the Senate -- any day of the week and twice on Sundays. And y'know what? It looks like it's gonna be a happy chinky dance day on November 4th -- Allard is not running for re-election (good riddance asshole), Musgrave is in a tough race with Betsy Markey and I'm praying for an Obama tsunami to wash her skanky bigoted ass out of Congress, and Colorado is on track to turning blue!
Anyho, here's the interview:
Brody:: On Constitutional marriage amendment, are, are you for something like that?
Palin:: I am, in my own, state, I have voted along with the vast majority of Alaskans who had the opportunity to vote to amend our Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. I wish on a federal level that that's where we would go because I don't support gay marriage.
And there ya have it. Bigotry, hate and ignorance all rolled into one package of stupid.
In short, if any one of you stupid ass gay Republicunt mofos come back to me about how "no no, FMA-support is not part of the Republican Party platform" when your moronic Vice Presidential candidate basically threw her entire moose-laden weight behind it...
All's I have to say is you WILL be shot at first sight. With Palin's weapon of choice. And you'll be buried somewhere remote like the Aleutian Islands where you can literally see Russia from six feet under!
*snap*
November 4th cannot come soon enough. Someone please slap a "RETURN TO SENDER" sticker on Palin's forehead and ship her back to Bumfuck Alaska -- 150 million times!!! Gobama! @ 16:41
October 17, 2008
[la times] America's 4th, 7th, 8th and 12th most popular newspapers by circulation endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President in the past two days after Wednesday night's final and most temperamental Presidential debate in NY.
Much to my shock, the LA Times endorsement was the best of the lot (WaPo is 7th, Chicago Tribune is 8th and SF Chronicle is 12th). Why shock? The LA Times is owned by Rupert Murdoch (*cough* Fox News *cough*) but, more importantly, the LAT editorial board has not endorsed a President since 1972 and Obama becomes the first Democrat ever to receive the LAT's support..
It is inherent in the American character to aspire to greatness, so it can be disorienting when the nation stumbles or loses confidence in bedrock principles or institutions. That's where the United States is as it prepares to select a new president: We have seen the government take a stake in venerable private financial houses; we have witnessed eight years of executive branch power grabs and erosion of civil liberties; we are still recovering from a murderous attack by terrorists on our own soil and still struggling with how best to prevent a recurrence.
We need a leader who demonstrates thoughtful calm and grace under pressure, one not prone to volatile gesture or capricious pronouncement. We need a leader well-grounded in the intellectual and legal foundations of American freedom. Yet we ask that the same person also possess the spark and passion to inspire the best within us: creativity, generosity and a fierce defense of justice and liberty.
The Times without hesitation endorses Barack Obama for president.
Our nation has never before had a candidate like Obama, a man born in the 1960s, of black African and white heritage, raised and educated abroad as well as in the United States, and bringing with him a personal narrative that encompasses much of the American story but that, until now, has been reflected in little of its elected leadership. The excitement of Obama's early campaign was amplified by that newness. But as the presidential race draws to its conclusion, it is Obama's character and temperament that come to the fore. It is his steadiness. His maturity.
These are qualities American leadership has sorely lacked for close to a decade. The U.S. Constitution, more than two centuries old, now offers the world one of its more mature and certainly most stable governments, but our political culture is still struggling to shake off a brash and unseemly adolescence. In George W. Bush, the executive branch turned its back on an adult role in the nation and the world and retreated into self-absorbed unilateralism.
We may one day look back on this presidential campaign in wonder. We may marvel that Obama's critics called him an elitist, as if an Ivy League education were a source of embarrassment, and belittled his eloquence, as if a gift with words were suddenly a defect. In fact, Obama is educated and eloquent, sober and exciting, steady and mature. He represents the nation as it is, and as it aspires to be.
No less amazing is the Chicago Tribune's endorsement of Barack Obama -- the first endorsement of a Democratic Party's nominee for President in their 161-year history.
Obama is deeply grounded in the best aspirations of this country, and we need to return to those aspirations. He has had the character and the will to achieve great things despite the obstacles that he faced as an unprivileged black man in the U.S.
He has risen with his honor, grace and civility intact. He has the intelligence to understand the grave economic and national security risks that face us, to listen to good advice and make careful decisions.
When Obama said at the 2004 Democratic Convention that we weren't a nation of red states and blue states, he spoke of union the way Abraham Lincoln did.
It may have seemed audacious for Obama to start his campaign in Springfield, invoking Lincoln. We think, given the opportunity to hold this nation's most powerful office, he will prove it wasn't so audacious after all. We are proud to add Barack Obama's name to Lincoln's in the list of people the Tribune has endorsed for president of the United States.
Obama for President! @ 17:53
[warner 2016] I love reading WaPo's "The Fix" by Chris Cillizza especially the Friday Senate Line that lists the top 10 most vulnerable Senate seats for the upcoming election. He provides analysis/commentary for each one such as "the race remains tight", "classic political error", "desperate moves", "avenge her 2002 loss", etc. It's all informational, fun and good.
It's more fun reading it these days coz, well, all 10 of them -- VA, NM, CO, NH, OR, NC, MN, AK, KY, MS -- are Republican seats in danger of falling to the Democrats (yay!). Yes, ladies, that will make it a 61-39 Senate! *puddle*
Today's was hilarious. As we all know, Mark Warner *WILL* be the next US Senator from Virginia. His lead is virtually unassailable; October polls put him 27 to 32 (!) points ahead. It's as close to a sure thing as any election can be (that, and UT going R and DC going D).
The Fix:
1. Virginia (R): Former Gov. Mark Warner (D) will be 61 years old in November 2016. Just saying. (Previous ranking: 1)
LOL! Ruv it.
Super-majority in the Senate? Check. Another Democrat in the White House in '16? Check! @ 10:14
October 13, 2008
[gyrations] After the Dow finished its worst week ever last week, shedding 1874 points or 18% during the week which, on both a point and percentage basis, is more than in any week in the average's 112-year history. The next largest weekly decline occurred in JUly 1933 when the Dow fell 17%. In just one week, the Dow crashed through two thousand-point barriers, plummeting from 10,325 to 8.451 in five trading days.
Unbelievable.
Those shocking numbers mask the fact that on Friday, the Dow experienced its first 1000 point swing from low to high in its history, plunging 697 points early and soared by 322 points later but closing down 128 points at a new five-year low of 8,451.19 -- a massive $2.4 trillion of paper losses for the week -- and the seventh day in a row of triple-digit losses.
Just the day before, the Dow lost a massive 7.3% or 679 points -- the third-highest one-day point-loss ever (the worst was two weeks ago) -- on the one-year anniversary of its record high, closing at its lowest point since May 21, 2003 as fear and panic that the financial crisis was deepening caused a runaway sell-off as investors defied all efforts to stem the crisis. It closed at 8,568.67 is a staggering 40% loss -- or $8.4 trillion of wealth -- from the record high of 14,165.02 one year ago last Thursday.
There have been 20 trading days since Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15th. Twelve of those trading sessions have registered triple-digit losses. Net loss? 2,971 points (11,422 on 9/14 to 8,451 on 10/10). Staggering.
And then we come to today, October 13th. From a paralyzing bear market to a raging bull, the Dow rocketed 936.42 points or 11.1% to post the largest one-day point-gain ever and the fourth-best day ever on a percentage basis (the best since 1933), snapping an 8-day losing streak that seared 2,400 points (22%) off the blue-chip indicator. The point gain almost doubled the previous largest single-day point gain of 499 points on March 16, 2000.
Breathtaking losses and gains. And it ain't over yet. It's gonna be a wild ride! @ 16:49
October 12, 2008
[100 days] Only 100 days left to the worst Presidency in the history of the United States.
The countdown to the end of a nightmare and the beginning of a bright new future begins! @ 16:44
October 10, 2008
[ma, ca... ct!] I don't have time today what with the relentless number of security/network crises at work (to match the financial ones sweeping the globe this past month), but this is a major cause for celebration.
Yay! Just in time for National Coming Out Day. @ 15:35
October 9, 2008
[kreppa] Iceland's sobering but dramatic financial crisis (kreppa) way up near the Arctic Circle:
Iceland's status as a banking destination is a recent phenomenon. More famous for its geothermal energy, woolen sweaters and fishing fleet, the North Atlantic nation became something of a banking powerhouse when its banks, which were privatized in the mid-1990s, began looking for investment opportunities abroad. By 2003, Icelandic banks had overgrown the limited domestic lending market - the country's population is a paltry 320,000 (half of DC!) on a territory the size of Kentucky -- and launched headfirst into the business of foreign banking.
Iceland's banks then began looking for money to expand beyond their meager domestic capital supply and into new lucrative opportunities. The fundamental problem of Iceland's capital supply led the banks to use the "carry trade" to supplement their capital pool, which initially only relied on the country's sizable, but ultimately limited, pension fund.
The carry trade involves investors taking out yen-denominated (or sometimes Swiss franc-denominated) loans at the very low interest rates set by the Japanese and Swiss central banks, and then investing the money where interest rates are high and profit margins are considerable. Iceland's bankers therefore acted as middlemen for the booming real estate market in Europe (mainly in the United Kingdom), relying on cheap yen and francs to cover the speculative bubble abroad.
While the carry trade has its advantages, in times of global crisis investors look to cash in the loans and turn to repaying the original yen/franc loans while they are still cheap. This negates the advantage of cheap yen/francs, because as hordes of investors began to turn in their yen/franc loans, those currencies begin to rise -- and thus, Icelandic banks that just a short while ago were profiting as middlemen from interest rate differentials now hold huge loans they do not have the assets to cover.
Iceland does not have the option of just cutting its losses and letting its banks collapse. The sudden retreat of the carry trade is decimating available capital in Iceland's domestic market, as well as causing a run on its currency, the krona. Cheap credit brought by the carry trade flooded the tiny market with money gobbled up by real estate and consumer spending. As Icelandic consumer activity slows down, the construction industry and retail have fallen off dramatically. Furthermore, as the carry trade reverses, investors have begun to dump krona to buy yen to repay the original yen-denominated loans, causing a dramatic fall in the krona that was exacerbated by speculative attacks. This is sparking a huge increase in inflation, causing import-dependent Iceland to suffer from higher costs on everything from food to oil.
But why?
Banks on this remote North Atlantic island were well-capitalized and had not bought any of the toxic (US-based morgage securities) debt that has brought down banks elsewhere. But Iceland is unique. The recent privatization (read: deregulation) of its financial sector coupled with enormous borrowing and lending during boom times -- enabling its people to live well beyond their means AND this tiny country to build an international financial empire -- exposed the Icelandic banks to a crushing weight of debt. By the end of 2006, the total assets (and debts) of the three main banks were $180 billion -- 8 times the country's GDP -- much of it overseas.
What the article failed to mention also is the other aspect of the unraveling of the carry trade which has compounded the krona's freefall. Iceland -- with its central banks setting interest rates based on inflation which, in a galloping economy fueled by huge borrowing, was pretty high (14%!) -- offered much higher interest rates (15%!) which resulted in huge speculative inflows of foreign (hot) money parking themselves in Iceland because of the potential for higher gains. Much of that hot money was borrowed from low-interest paying countries like Japan and Switzerland -- the differential in interest rates meant big gains for Icelandic deposits. All that is now history and that same hot money is abandoning Iceland -- selling ISK and buying JPY/SFR -- causing the krona to plummet.
Falling currency = a massive increase in foreign debt (when you borrowed at $1=ISK80 and the ISK is now at 120, the dollar debt becomes 50% bigger overnight) uh-oh. + Frozen credit markets = inability to refinance existing loans = national bankruptcy. Worse yet, worthless currency = huge inflation (prices of all imported goods go up) OR no trade at all (nobody wants your currency).
The freefall caused downgrades of the state and banks by credit-rating agencies causing an avalanche of selling of all Icelandic assets regardless of balance sheets which then precipitated the dramatic demise and emergency takeover of the country's entire banking system. When the credit crisis hit, those banks started to collapse under a massive mountain of foreign debt; debt that even the Icelandic government cannot repay. As a result, Iceland has taken over (i.e. nationalized) all three of its huge banks -- Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir -- in just one week, wiping out all shareholder value. The once-gleaming economy virtually imploded in a matter of days, an early and spectacular victim of the financial tsunami that continues to roar around the world. The speed and ferocity of the collapse has been shocking.
Iceland has halted trading of the Reykjavik stock exchange until Oct 13. The krona is no longer being traded on the currency markets i.e. it is worthless for now -- Icelanders who need to travel abroad cannot exchange their currency for dollars or euros and their ATM cards won't work either. The government has been placed in the role of international beggar, asking Nordic neighbors, the Russians and perhaps the IMF for emergency loans. Iceland is, indeed, teetering on the brink of national bankruptcy. It stands to become the biggest casualty of the global financial crisis.
From the Economist:
Iceland's rapid rise and even faster fall has been viewed from afar as a parable of greed and hubris, in which a nation of farmers and fishermen borrowed too much and are paying the price. But that is to draw false comfort. Although Iceland represents an extreme case of a huge financial system towering over a small economy, other states suffer from similar imbalances. They differ only in scale, but not substance. Kreppa may be an Icelandic term, but it translates.
For the estimated 1/3rd of the population who owned shares in the nation's three major banks, savings have been wiped out in a single, tumultuous week. Payments on loans will skyrocket and inflation may reach 75% in the coming months. The Icelandic economy may contract more than 10% between now and the end of the crisis.
We don't have it as bad but the dire scenarios are not a myth. @ 14:50
[on the brink] TIME's "Behind the Global Markets' Meltdown":
The mess caused by fast-and-loose mortgage lending in the U.S. has now blown into a perilous global crisis of confidence that has revealed both the scale and the limitations of globalization. Finance is built on trust, and suddenly that trust has been replaced by fear: fear among depositors from Madrid to Macao over the safety of their money; fear among banks worldwide about lending to one another; and now fear among politicians, central bankers and regulators that they don't have adequate tools to fix the problem.
At the root of the troubles are the "toxic assets" the highly leveraged securities mainly linked to U.S. mortgages that banks around the world still have on their books. In its latest estimate this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) calculated that losses on these now virtually worthless securities could amount to $1.4 trillion. So far, banks have written off less than half that. Concern about who is still holding dud paper has gummed up credit markets, with banks refusing to lend to one another for fear that the borrowers may default or may have themselves lent to other banks that could default. That in turn is causing solvency problems for some financial institutions that rely on short-term borrowing to fund their operations.
The pain will soon come to Main Street -- in Beijing and Brussels as much as in Boise. Economists are already outlining the downward spiral that they predict will follow. Banks will cut back on their lending to households and businesses. Mortgages and car loans will become harder to get. That in turn will stifle consumer spending and crimp investment in companies, leading to production cuts and job losses.
How now? @ 13:49
[apPalin part deux] OMB, this article by Thomas Friedman -- "Palin's Kind of Patriotism" -- is P-R-I-C-E-L-E-S-S! And would be better if it did not get your blood to boil...
..when she turned to Biden and declared: "You said recently that higher taxes or asking for higher taxes or paying higher taxes is patriotic. In the middle class of America, which is where Todd and I have been all of our lives, that's not patriotic."
What an awful statement. Palin defended the government's $700 billion rescue plan. She defended the surge in Iraq, where her own son is now serving. She defended sending more troops to Afghanistan. And yet, at the same time, she declared that Americans who pay their fair share of taxes to support all those government-led endeavors should not be considered patriotic.
I only wish she had been asked: "Governor Palin, if paying taxes is not considered patriotic in your neighborhood, who is going to pay for the body armor that will protect your son in Iraq? Who is going to pay for the bailout you endorsed? If it isn't from tax revenues, there are only two ways to pay for those big projects -- printing more money or borrowing more money. Do you think borrowing money from China is more patriotic than raising it in taxes from Americans?" That is not putting America first. That is selling America first.
I can understand someone saying that the government has no business bailing out the financial system, but I can't understand someone arguing that we should do that but not pay for it with taxes. I can understand someone saying we have no business in Iraq, but I can't understand someone who advocates staying in Iraq until "victory" declaring that paying taxes to fund that is not patriotic.
How in the world can conservative commentators write with a straight face that this woman should be vice president of the United States?
Zing!
And it gets better:
She is an energy expert exactly the same way the king of Saudi Arabia is an energy expert -- by accident of residence. Palin happens to be governor of the Saudi Arabia of America -- Alaska -- and the only energy expertise she has is the same as the king of Saudi Arabia's. It's about how the windfall profits from the oil in their respective kingdoms should be divided between the oil companies and the people.
At least the king of Saudi Arabia, in advocating "drill baby drill," is serving his country's interests -- by prolonging America's dependence on oil. My problem with Palin is that she is also serving his countrys interests -- by prolonging Americas dependence on oil. That's not patriotic. Patriotic is offering a plan to build our economy -- not by tax cuts or punching more holes in the ground, but by empowering more Americans to work in productive and innovative jobs. If Palin has that kind of a plan, I haven't heard it.
*giggle*! Have I mentioned how much I love the NYT? @ 11:52
[$10 trillion] Our national shame:
Here are some facts:
- Since 1961, the US national debt has never gone down.
- The last President before Clinton to submit a balanced budget was LBJ, another Democrat. Debt increased an average of 3% for the 6 years he was in office.
- Since 1946, Democratic Presidents increased the debt by 3.2%/year on average. Republicunts, 9.2%/year. Republicunts out-borrowed and out-spent Democratic Presidents by a 3-1 ratio.
- Since 1981, the only Democratic President (Clinton) raised the debt 4.3%/year. The Republicunts (Reagan, Bush I and Dubya), 10.8%/year!
- The debt went from <$1 trillion to over $2.9 trillion (+210% inflation-adjusted) while Reagan was in office -- an average increase of 13.8%/year!! Reagans enormous increase in the national debt was not to pay for any noble cause at all; his primary unapologetic goal was to pad the pockets of the rich.
- The debt increased 11.8%/year on average during Bush Sr's term. Total debt increased from $2.9 billion to $4.4 billion (+33%) during his 4 years in office.
- The debt grew only 0.32% in Clinton's last year in office. One more year and the debt would have been reduced for the first time since 1961. Total debt increased from $4.4 trillion to $5.8 trillion (+13%) during his 8 years in office.
- Dubya's 1st term: $5.8 trillion to $7.9 trillion (+23%). When he leaves office, the debt would've climbed to well north of $10 trillion, matching Reagan's record of doubling the national debt in 8 years.
Conclusion:: Republicunts are all talk. The big spenders in Washington are Republicans and their party's Presidents. Republican Presidents and Congress cannot or will not control government spending. They are a bunch of lying out-of-control spenders and they should be eviscerated from Congress and the White House, not to mention this planet.
Republicunts: Destroying our Constitution, Destroying our Cities, Destroying our Economy. @ 11:15
October 8, 2008
[bye bye badawi] Wow, it's official.
Malaysia's 5th Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, will step down in March 2009 by declaring that he will not run for re-election as President of the largest party (UMNO) in the multi-racial ruling coalition (BN). Yes, ladies, Malaysia (like Britain) has a parliamentary system whereby PMs are chosen by the governing party, not directly by the people.
The ruling coalition hopes that Badawi's resignation will wipe clean the barrage of bad news that has hit the governing coalition since their worst election showing in history during the March elections -- they lost their 2/3rds majority in Parliament for only the second time in history. The UMNO-led coalition has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957, and is perilously close to losing its grip after five decades in power. Having lost large chunks of industrial and affluent West Malaysia -- including the capital -- BN is in power only because of strong support from a tenuous coalition of parties in undeveloped East Malaysia (Borneo).
Badawi's anointed successor, Deputy PM Najib Razak and son of Malaysia's 2nd PM, will have a tough time winning the top post in UMNO and become PM. For one, he favors the affirmative action for the majority race (the ruling Muslim Malays) which was put in place by his father in the 70s -- something the minority Indian and Chinese communities (myself included) detest with a passion. The other is the suspicion surrounding Najib's role in the 2006 murder of a Mongolian woman -- allegedly his lover -- whose body was disposed of with military-grade explosives outside of the capital. His long-time assistant and two of his bodyguards are currently on trial for her death.
Only two of the five PMs have served longer than 6 years -- the founder of the country (13 years) and the infamous Mahathir (almost 22 years).
It's been a very exciting year for Malaysian politics! I'm so annoyed coz the minimum voting age in Malaysia is 21 i.e. I haven't been home to vote since I left in 1995 (Malaysia does not have absentee balloting). And I haven't been able to vote here in the States coz I'm not a citizen and I just missed the deadline to register for next month's elections.
Sigh. @ 15:20
[that one 2008] I was totes disgusted when McCain pointed at Obama and said "that one" at last night's 2nd Presidential Debate in Nashville, TN.
McCain:: "...was an energy bill on the floor of the Senate loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one. You know who voted against it? Me."
When I first heard it, I was like, "Ohhh NO he DIIN'T!".
Childish. Disrespectful. Insulting. Outrageous. Uncivilized.
If I could vote, I would totes vote for "That One"!
You know who is totes going to be Pres? "That One!"!
Screw you, angry old man. And your cunty VP too.
p.s. Thanks, Chris/Brian, for hosting the debates again! I ♥ winos. @ 14:47
October 7, 2008
[cougar] So we hosted birthday tranny, Claire, and her lovely parents from Lyon plus Blake and L'David on Saturday night for drippingly good French wines on our deck, followed by Claire's birthday dinner at Regent Thai (under the stars!), before trannying it up at Nellie's...
Random dude:: May I bum a smoke?
David:: Uh... you have to ask her.
Claire:: Non, I am sorr-ee. Go buy some.
Random dude:: You know what? I will. Thanks. [trannies away]
Claire:: I did not like his face.
*chuckles* I love that all my friends are as vicious as me.
Anyho, the evening climaxed at Town (till 3:30am!), der. The other birthday tranny, Joenn, joined us at Town (at 2am!) and we proceeded to celebrate the morning-after-their-29th-birthdays on the dancefloor. It was ferosh. Trannanigans ensued, of course, with Blake practically humping both Claire and Joenn. Incriminating photos on Facebook? check.
Joenn:: my guy friends on Facebook will have A LOT to say
Me:: they'll be jealous
make sure to tell them that he's 21
Joenn:: he is???
Me:: lol yes
Joenn:: i molested an underaged boy?? lol
Me:: um, yes
you're a cougar!!!
hi Demi
*giggle* @ 13:25
October 6, 2008
[three plus one] And now there are four.
The 2009 Michelin guide to NYC restaurants was released today and there is a new restaurant on the exalted list of three-star restaurants, as Masa (Masayoshi Takayama) joins Jean Georges (by, der, JG), Le Benardin (Eric Ripert) and Per Se (Thomas Keller) -- all French, formal and flippin' expensive -- at the top of the heap.
I know, a Japanese restaurant gate-crasher to the three-star list?? I call it the Tokyo effect; when last Nov, Michelin showered Tokyo with 191 Michelin stars -- 8 of them with three-stars! NYC's total for 2009? 57.
Adour Alain Ducasse, Gilt and Momofuku Ko (12 seats!) were added to the two-star list, joining Daniel, Del Posto, Gordon Ramsay at the London and Picholine. Chris and I went to Adour in DC a few weeks ago and it was TDF!
Shockingly, Babbo -- NYC's best Italian restaurant -- no longer has its star :-o
I'm bummed that Masa has made it to the three-star pantheon... coz I have been to all 5 three-star restaurants in the US (1 in SF, 1 in LV and 3 in NYC), and now I have to go check out Masa! At $400-$600/pp!! Without alcohol, tax OR tip!!!
Oy. @ 17:28
[black monday part deux] Wow. It used to be Black Mondays come along once in a decade or so.
It's now becoming a weekly occurrence.
A massive global sell-off that followed the sun from Asia to Europe culminated with the Dow plummeting for the second Monday in a row, slicing through the psychological 10,000 barrier and briefly flirted with the 9,500 mark (a 5-year low) before closing just below the 10,000 level for the first time in four years.
It could've been worse. At one point, the Dow was off more than 800 points (!). In the end, the Dow closed at 9,955.50; a 370-point or 3.6% fall. It has been just under a year when the Dow closed at a record high of 14,164.53 on October 9th, 2007. The Dow has now plunged 30% in a year.
The carnage began in Asia -- Sydney's ASX 200 -3.3%, HK's Hang Seng -5%, Tokyo's Nikkei and Seoul's Kospi -4.3%, Indonesia -10% -- and spread like wildfire throughout Europe where the DAX in Frankfurt lost 7.1%, London's FTSE 100 registered its biggest ever one-day points fall and the third biggest percentage decline (7.9%), and the CAC-40 in Paris suffered its worst percentage point drop ever (9.04%). Emerging markets were pounded -- trading was temporarily suspended in Russia (RTS -19%), Brazil (Ibovespa -15%) and Peru (IGRA -7.6%) because of the free-fall. Mexico's IPC was down 9.6%, Argentina's Merval sank 9.4%, Chile's IPSA dropped 6.8% and Colombia's IGBC fell 5.3%.
European countries one after another -- Iceland, Denmark, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Ireland, France, Greece, Sweden -- announced deposit guarantees to relieve financial stress on banks and on their markets, but that only spooked investors and contributed to the massive wipeout on trading floors all over the globe today.
The banking crisis' grip on the global economy is turning into a chokehold. @ 16:40
[obama = hope] The New Yorker, in "The Choice", endorses Senator Barack Obama to be America's 44th President:
Part I -- Excoriating the current Administration:
"The incumbent Administration has distinguished itself for the ages. The Presidency of George W. Bush is the worst since Reconstruction..."
"During the Bush Administration, the national debt, now approaching $10 trillion, has nearly doubled. Next year's federal budget is projected to run a $500 billion deficit, a precipitous fall from the $700 billion SURPLUS that was projected when Bill Clinton left office. Private-sector job creation has been 1/6th of what it was under President Clinton. 5 million people have fallen into poverty. The number of Americans without health insurance has grown by 7 million, while average premiums have nearly doubled. Meanwhile, the principal domestic achievement of the Bush Administration has been to shift the relative burden of taxation from the rich to the rest. For the top 1% of us, the Bush tax cuts are worth, on average, about $1,000/week; for the bottom fifth, about $1.50. The unfairness will only increase if the painful, yet necessary, effort to rescue the credit markets ends up preventing the rescue of our health-care system, our environment, and our physical, educational, and industrial infrastructure."
"At the same time, 150,000 American troops are in Iraq and 33,000 are in Afghanistan. There is still disagreement about the wisdom of overthrowing Saddam Hussein and his horrific regime, but there is no longer the slightest doubt that the Bush Administration manipulated, bullied, and lied the American public into this war and then mismanaged its prosecution in nearly every aspect. The direct costs, besides an expenditure of more than six hundred billion dollars, have included the loss of more than 4,000 Americans, the wounding of 30,000, the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis, and the displacement of 4.5 million men, women, and children. Only now, after American forces have been fighting for a year longer than they did in WWII, is there a glimmer of hope that the conflict in Iraq has entered a stage of fragile stability."
"The indirect costs, both of the war in particular and of the Administration's unilateralist approach to foreign policy in general, have also been immense. The torture of prisoners, authorized at the highest level, has been an ethical and a public-diplomacy catastrophe. At a moment when the global environment, the global economy, and global stability all demand a transition to new sources of energy, the United States has been a global retrograde, wasteful in its consumption and heedless in its policy. Strategically and morally, the Bush Administration has squandered the American capacity to counter the example and the swagger of its rivals. China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other illiberal states have concluded, each in its own way, that democratic principles and human rights need not be components of a stable, prosperous future. At recent meetings of the United Nations, emboldened despots like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran came to town sneering at our predicament and hailing the 'end of the American era.'"
Part II -- Skewer Senator John McSame's campaign:
"Since the 2004 election, however, McCain has moved remorselessly rightward in his quest for the Republican nomination. He paid obeisance to Jerry Falwell and preachers of his ilk. He abandoned immigration reform, eventually coming out against his own bill. Most shocking, McCain, who had repeatedly denounced torture under all circumstances, voted in February against a ban on the very techniques of "enhanced interrogation" that he himself once endured in Vietnam -- as long as the torturers were civilians employed by the C.I.A."
"McCain has abandoned his opposition to the Bush-era tax cuts and has taken up the demagogic call -- in the midst of recession and Wall Street calamity, with looming crises in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid -- for MORE tax cuts. Bushs expire in 2011. If McCain, as he has proposed, cuts taxes for corporations and estates, the benefits once more would go disproportionately to the wealthy."
"The longer the campaign goes on, the more the issues of personality and character have reflected badly on McCain. Unless appearances are very deceiving, he is impulsive, impatient, self-dramatizing, erratic, and a compulsive risk-taker. These qualities may have contributed to his usefulness as a "maverick" senator. But in a President they would be a menace."
"Echoing Obama, McCain has made "change" one of his campaign mantras. But the change he has actually provided has been in himself, and it is not just a matter of altering his positions. A willingness to pander and even lie has come to define his Presidential campaign and its televised advertisements. A contemptuous duplicity, a meanness, has entered his talk on the stump -- so much so that it seems obvious that, in the drive for victory, he is willing to replicate some of the same underhanded methods that defeated him eight years ago in South Carolina."
"Perhaps nothing revealed McCain's cynicism more than his choice of Sarah Palin, the former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, who had been governor of that state for 21 months, as the Republican nominee for Vice-President. In the interviews she has given since her nomination, she has had difficulty uttering coherent unscripted responses about the most basic issues of the day. We are watching a candidate for Vice-President cram for her ongoing exam in elementary domestic and foreign policy. This is funny as a Tina Fey routine on SNL, but as a vision of the political future it's deeply unsettling. Palin has no business being the backup to a President of any age, much less to one who is 72 and in imperfect health. In choosing her, McCain committed an act of breathtaking heedlessness and irresponsibility."
Finally, Obama = Hope:
"We cannot expect one man to heal every wound, to solve every major crisis of policy. So much of the Presidency, as they say, is a matter of waking up in the morning and trying to drink from a fire hydrant. In the quiet of the Oval Office, the noise of immediate demands can be deafening. And yet Obama has precisely the temperament to shut out the noise when necessary and concentrate on the essential. The election of Obama -- a man of mixed ethnicity, at once comfortable in the world and utterly representative of 21st-century America -- would, at a stroke, reverse our countrys image abroad and refresh its spirit at home. His ascendance to the Presidency would be a symbolic culmination of the civil- and voting-rights acts of the 1960s and the century-long struggles for equality that preceded them. It could not help but say something encouraging, even exhilarating, about the country, about its dedication to tolerance and inclusiveness, about its fidelity, after all, to the values it proclaims in its textbooks. At a moment of economic calamity, international perplexity, political failure, and battered morale, America needs both uplift and realism, both change and steadiness. It needs a leader temperamentally, intellectually, and emotionally attuned to the complexities of our troubled globe. That leader's name is Barack Obama."
Obama for President!
p.s. Today is the last day for voter registration in DC and, sadly, I did not get sworn-in before this deadilne i.e. I can't vote on Nov 4th *pout* @ 14:15
[house of dreams] Bruce Springsteen on Saturday at a Obama concert rally in Philadelphia:
"I've continued to find, wherever I go, America remains a repository of people's hopes, possibilities, and desires, and that despite the terrible erosion to our standing around the world, accomplished by our recent administration, we remain, for many, a house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down."
"They will, however, be leaving office, dropping the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis in our laps. Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back."
Amen. @ 13:47
[magaysian conflagration] L'David sent me this link this a.m. in an e-mail titled "Magaysian Trannies Set Fire to Penang".
*giggle*
"Pussy set fire to Penang! And I don't care."
Happy Monday morning, zzzzz...
p.s. DIK bar / JR's / Lizard Lounge on a Sunday night = EVIL! :-D @ 11:23
October 4, 2008
[birthday trannies] OMB, I feel like I just ate half my body weight in yummy Malaysian food! Talk about missing home (or last supper before fat camp).
In honor of Joenn's -- one of my fierce tranny co-workers -- arrival into matronly-aged status (I'm just kidding, bitch doesn't look a day over 21), a bunch of us hiked up to Bethesda for Malaysianlicious (Mal-icious?) food. We pigged out until we were practically on the floor, belly up and oinking. Classy.
For happytizers, we had two Roti Canais, Oh Jian (oyster omelette) and Char Kway Teow (fried flat noodles). Heaven.
For entrees, we had NINE (lol!) for the eight of us -- King Ribs (pai kuat wong), Steam Fish in Hot Bean Sauce, Belacan Kangkung, Penang Tofu, Wat Tan Hor (aka Canto-fried flat noodles), Hokkien Mee (aka Tai Look Meen), Lamb Rendang, Salted Fish Fried Rice, and Hainanese Chicken.
Oink, burp.
And for dessert, we ordered SEVEN -- 4 bowls of cendol (if you've never had it, you haven't lived), ice kacang (shaved ice dessert), peanut pancakes and fried bananas.
I ate so much it made me wish I was bulimic, lol.
Anyho, another tranny -- the impossibly rare French-bred-Korean, Claire! -- is celebrating her birthday tonight with YET another meal (Thai). Can't wait. I so need to eat again 8-/
Her parents are visiting from Lyons and we absolutely cannot wait to meet them (and answer the question that is as old as Earth herself -- who made Claire this way??).
Anyho...
L'David:: I'm going to wear a scarf and a beret tonight and arrive on a bicycle with a baguette and a bottle of bordeaux in the basket. K?
Kiat:: I'm blogging that, betch
Trannanigans guaranteed post-dinner. And this is after last night's margarita roof-top party at Rick's followed by closing down JR's.
XOXO, Fierce Trannies :-) @ 16:54
October 3, 2008
[you betcha!] OMB, if you watched the VP debate last night, this is *THE* funniest shit, EVER.
Some ppl have WAY too much time on their hands... and I ruv it! @ 11:38
[zing!] The VP debate last night -- surely one of THE most watched television events in history -- was awesome and electric, and only in America. Massively overhyped as a highly-anticipated train wreck-cum-entertainment extravaganza, it was anything but. Nonetheless, we must be scraping the bottom of the lowest common denominator barrel when newspapers actually think Sarah Palin's debate performance was acceptable because she (a) didn't fall on her face, and (b) looked adorable.
Is that what the Presidency has boiled down to? Mediocrity? Whatever happened to electing smart people to run the richest and most powerful country on the planet and who would actually ANSWER the questions at a debate instead of acting all plastic with the avalanche of winks and smiles and the stupid folksy "you betchas", "doggone its", "hockey mom/joe six-pack" braindead gibberish?
The debate *did* include one of the best zingers, ever. I about fell off my knees and pee'd maself laughing when Biden described McCain's healthcare plan as the "ultimate bridge to nowhere".
Then again, that wasn't so hard to imagine considering that I was pretty shit-faced during the debate, LOL! What can I say... NGP throws great parties! (thanks, Messy!)
And to Miss Bible Barbie herself (life in plastic, it's fantastic!) who managed to go through the entire debate without asking for a lifeline -- You go gurl!
Like, back to Alaska.
And fucking stay there.@ 10:27
[apPalin] Biden looked Presidential, Palin looked Mayoral. And the NYT Editorial says it all:
In the end, the debate did not change the essential truth of Ms. Palin's candidacy: Mr. McCain made a wildly irresponsible choice that shattered the image he created for himself as the honest, seasoned, experienced man of principle and judgment. It was either an act of incredible cynicism or appallingly bad judgment.
Vicious. LOVE it!
Sarah apPalin -- Dubya... with a vajayjay. @ 07:34
29 :: fabulous
27 :: one week
24 :: obama for president
24 :: larry the plumber
23 :: the case for obama
20 :: i rest my case
17 :: la times
17 :: warner 2016
13 :: gyrations
12 :: 100 days
10 :: ma, ca... ct!
09 :: kreppa
09 :: on the brink
09 :: apPalin part deux
09 :: $10 trillion
08 :: bye bye badawi
08 :: that one 2008
07 :: cougar
06 :: three plus one
06 :: black monday part deux
06 :: obama = hope
06 :: house of dreams
06 :: magaysian conflagration
04 :: birthday trannies
03 :: you betcha!
03 :: zing!
03 :: apPalin