Archive for August, 2008
Braggadocio
Sarabeth is still traveling in the land the internet forgot, so you’re all stuck with me for another week or so. I’m not planning to watch much of either convention, but I do have some thoughts about Obama/Biden together and individually. Until then, I need to brag a little. I try to respect the political [...]
Meanwhile, in News I Actually Care About
Police arrest ‘Wire’ actress – Baltimore Sun (8/22/08): Felicia “Snoop” Pearson, the actress who played a cold-blooded killer of the same name on the HBO series The Wire, was arrested on minor drug charges yesterday after police picked her up for refusing to cooperate as a witness in a murder trial, records show. Members of [...]
Depends on the Definition of Change
Sources: Obama picks Joe Biden as VP candidate – CNN (8/22/08): Sen. Barack Obama has picked Delaware Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate, multiple Democratic sources tell CNN. The longtime Democratic senator was long considered a likely choice for vice president, but the buzz surrounding him intensified after he returned earlier this week [...]
And Obama Is The Elitist?
Politico: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own. “I think – I’ll have my staff get to you,” McCain told us in Las Cruces, N.M. “It’s condominiums where – I’ll have them get to you.” One of these days, a [...]
VP & Election Predictions
So my two-year-old prediction about Jim Webb being chosen as the Vice Presidential nominee is apparently not happening, and with the official announcement due any day now, I figured I’d better make another pick. The only futures market bet I made on the Democratic side was to go massively short on Chuck Hagel, as I [...]
Business as Usual
Obama Camp Puts Forward More Modest Tax Changes – New York Times (8/16/08): Senator Barack Obama appears to be altering his proposals for extending Social Security payroll taxes and raising the capital gains tax, by delaying the increases or scaling them back. Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has not abandoned either his [...]
‘Wall Street Croupiers’
AP economics writer Jeannine Aversa had a great piece yesterday headlined Washington offers no relief for savers: Two giant mortgage companies get into hot water over risky investments. The government steps in to throw them a lifeline should they need it. Hundreds of thousands of Americans buy homes more expensive than they can afford. Congress [...]
How Not to Run a Publishing House
This is a couple of weeks old, but since Sarabeth is otherwise occupied and I never have time to write anymore, I thought I’d share this insane story: Rap performers “Foxy Brown” and “Lil’ Kim” were sued by Simon & Schuster Inc. over claims they accepted tens of thousands of dollars in advances while failing [...]
Welcome Aboard, Chiefs
Allies Ask Obama to Make ‘Hope’ More Specific – New York Times (8/17/08): As Senator Barack Obama prepares to accept the Democratic presidential nomination next week, party leaders in battleground states say the fight ahead against Senator John McCain looks tougher than they imagined, with Mr. Obama vulnerable on multiple fronts despite weeks of cross-country [...]
Vacations, Presidential And Other
George Bush, as you may have heard, had himself a grand old time in Beijing, attending the Olympics, and thrilling himself to bits being the fan-in-chief. After his no doubt well-deserved four day jaunt at the Olympics, Bush flew home on Tuesday. Before slipping off to spend two weeks at his Crawford, TX ranch, Bush [...]