"Hoping you said no, but you hurt my pride."

Mommie got Jazz

In the beginning I wasn't a big fan, but she's gotten way better as a performer and she's even getting better looking (if that was possible).

I love this guy

Fast forward to about 2:35 when he asks the ersatz intellectual conservative about her cap and trade position. After talking down cap and trade she can't even answer a basic question about her own position on cap and trade.

One of the funniest bumper sticker I've ever seen.

The Frogcess and the Frog

Surprise...while attending a screening of Precious, I caught my first preview of the much hyped Princess and the Frog. Not to my surprise I quickly deduced that Tiana, the much hyped Princess spends most of her time in the much hyped film as a frog. Yep, a frog.

I guess anthropomorphism is the only way to make the idea of a Tiana as a princess palatable to the world. I love risk modeling, quants and focus groups. They always make the right decision.

"King gon' stay the King"

New Foo You!

Just heard the new Foo. I like it. It's kinda slow and the stop/start at the intro is pretty sweet (I'm an erstwhile drummer so I notice these things). Overall, I give it a solid B. The lyrics could've given me a little more. But the down homesy guitar and Petty-esque rhythm aren't bad!

Pretty touching

I'm not one for ubiquitous chain mails, as they usually find there way quickly to my junk box. But I must admit this ones pretty moving.


She jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She said: 'How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?'

The surgeon said, 'I'm sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn't make it.'
Sally said, 'Why do little children get cancer? Doesn't God care any more? Where were you, God, when my son needed you?'

The surgeon asked, 'Would you like some time alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he's transported to the university.'

Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good bye to son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair. 'Would you like a lock of his hair ?' the nurse asked. Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sally.

The mother said, 'It was Jimmy's idea to donate his body to the University for Study. He said it might help somebody else. 'I said no at first, but Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom.' She went on, 'My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could.'

Sally walked out of Children's Mercy Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car. The drive home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house. She carried Jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son's room. She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them. She laid down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep. It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Laying beside her on the bed was a folded letter. The letter said:

'Dear Mom, I know you're going to miss me; but don't think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just 'cause I'm not around to say 'I Love You'. I will always love you, Mom, even more with each day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be so lonely, that's okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know. Don't be sad thinking about me. This really is a neat place. Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything. The angels are so cool. I love to watch them fly.

Lebron James

I saw the redux of the Heat/Cavs on NBA TV this am. And the prospect of Weezy and Bron together is enticing for a former D1 player and avid hoops fan like myself.

On another note, how come everytime Lebron gets fouled the other guys seems worse for wear? I'm just saying Jermaine O'Neal you may want to eat your Wheaties dude.

Glenn Beck...err...Stewie

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The 11/3 Project
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Jermain Taylor vs Some Dude No One Knows

I didn't know my man JT had fallen so far so fast. I thought he was on his way to big things with the 2nd round knock down of Pavlick (I like this dude too). But it seems to have been all down hill since then. I don't even know who this dude that knocked him out is. It took me about 30 seconds of watching him to tell he has no skill. But alas, he put my boy down. JT's got some more fights in him, no doubt, but I don't think there'll ever be a return to the top.

Interestingly enough, I'm going to start my training in earnest for my own trip to the squared circle. You heard it here first.

Juan Boehner doesn't know what a job saved is!

Apparently Juan Boehner doesn't know what a "job saved" is. Even though he was a business consultant and claims Xavier B-school in his bona fides let me see if I can help him out

State Comptroller: Mr. Governor we have a huge deficit and will need to layoff 500 state workers for the coming fiscal year.

Governor: Man, that sucks big time.

President Obama: We're in the middle of the worst recession ever, we'll give you guys some money to help cover you deficit.

Governor: Thanks dude.

Comptroller: Awesome now we don't have to fire the 500 people we were going to.

Mayor: Mr. Obama we're in a similar situation

County Controller: Mr. President, so are we.

President Obama: Don't worry, I love the US, I got you guys. It's much easier to save a job than try to create one out of thin air.

Mayor: Mr. Obama David "I love Republican's" Gregory, John Boehner and some cranky economist know one has ever heard of, said the concept of saved jobs don't exist.

President Obama: I don't know, why don't you ask the people you were getting ready to layoff whether that concept is abstract or not. Ask their kids, their spouses, their extended families. Ask their banks, their grocers and those who are dependent on their income as well.

John Boeherner, Cranky Economist, I Love Repubs: Oh good point Mr. President. We were just following some weak talking points, in hopes that people were too stupid to understand this concept. We were wrong.

President Obama: You're always wrong guys! But you're good at it.

Joe Lieberman

This guy says American's are against the public option and that they don't want an inefficient tax payer funded health reform with one breath. And then says American's are happy with Medicare...really.

I know this tape is a couple weeks dated, but how do pols get away with stuff like this?

Homeless...ness

Christina Davidson over at The Atlantic has a couple good pieces up on homelessness. You should check them out here and here.

While I was sympathetic to homelessness she hits on a point that increase the sympathy tenfold. Most of us believe homelessness was the fault of the homeless. That is "they" could have done something. Much like we look at a fat person as a glutton. But the fact is that in categorizing homelessness as a victimless epidemic we are deluding (read trying to convince) ourselves that it could never happen to us...when in fact nothing could be further from the truth.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

I said it back in January that worrying about the deficit was trivial and that unless govt or business (the consumer is sitting this one out guys) spent money the whole will only get deeper because of how vicious cycles work.

Froomkin over at HuffPo hits on something major. I'm with him. The D's are way to timid and scared for me. They let the Rs pressure them into worrying about deficits when they have no such scruples at all.

Again Mr. President, Ms. Speaker the longer we linger in the double digit unemployment range the worst...I said the worst...it will get. Vicious cycles do NOT fix themselves. It's amazing that the Ds have the ultimate chance to be heroes and are too scared to step up to the plate.

Check Froomkin here

He!! of a Life

T.I. did it again, my bro is still riding with Weezy F, but this joint is off the chain.

The Real Economy

Taibbi hits on something, the real economy and markets couldn't be more disparate. Story here.

This is for you....

I guess republicans?

This "I hate everything Obama" meme is getting tired. How can winning the Nobel Peace prize at anytime ever be a bad thing? Seriously? Why not just congratulate the man and move on?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

"Typical Vikings fakery."

This was the rejoinder from a buddy of mine when Favre smacked the football world in the face with his greatness once again. Fakery. Meh. I guess. Sounds a little like player hation to me but I digress.

Brett we love you a lot. You mean so much to us. We're a community of people who were born in Minnesota and call Minnesota home. We don't pick teams based on our vicinity or team colors or locations. We don't have "2" teams (how is that possible?). We're Vikings today, tomorrow, forever. You're awesome thanks so much man.

If you're from Minnesota you understand!

Sincerely
rc

Hilarious. Absolutely Hilarious

A couple of you have asked about the decrease in political and business blogs. I'll try and get back to that...soon, in the meantiem let the hilarity ensue.

Tim the Bear

By far the best part of the new The Cleveland Show. The lone reason I'll watch tonight. His Palinian ramblings are hilarious and HuffPo's voice overs aren't bad either.

Lost: If Found Call 800-MINNESOTA

Can anyone tell me why our esteemed mulletioed Governor is out running for President some 24 months in advance and not back attending to the state of great lake affairs? Seriously. He's still the governor right?

Slice You Gotta Step It Up Baby

Slice you got looped by dude twice. Come on baby. You're game is on your feet with your hands. YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO IMPOSE YOUR WILL. Plus to be straight up and down your fist should be tighter than they are. You're doing to much training on all the other stuff and not enough training on your boxing. I counted less than 30 non jabs thrown in the first round. Fight. Do you. My feeling is that you could have won this fight if you fought. Do you man. Most heavyweights are fat and out of shape. You look good, like you've been up running at 5AM. Stop trying to be a well rounded fighter and just fight. My ethos has always led me to lose my way, not someone elses.

Law and Order: SVU

I'm an original Law and Order guy, but SVU has gained some traction with me during it's seemingly incessant re-runs on all things cable. That said, I think I just witnessed the second best episode of the L&O franshise ever. Seriously, i won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but it's was pretty darn bloody and clever. I figured it out...kinda sorta...then went back on my original thesis only to be surprised at the end that my initial incling was right.

Anyways it still runs a distant second to the passing episode from about 10 years back, where the executive killed someone for exposing him as a passer. For those of you who don't know "passing" is a term assigned to lighter skinned minorities who pretend to be white to enjoy the advantages.

SNL Absolutely Inapprorpriate But Absolutely Hilarious.

Minnesota Teen Beaten

Very sad. Minnesota teen has his faced bashed in with brass knuckles and ax handles while racists bashers spout anti-Obama rhetoric.

Read full story here

Bloomberg

Not the guy, the network. Although it's eponymous.

I recently upgraded cable packages to include Bloomberg televisions. Most serious investors and traders watch Bloomie I was told. The research, analysis and commentary is ALL business focused no bloviating or grandstanding or 6's pretending to be 10's you get with other networks or so I was told.

Well it's true. Bloomie is head and shoulders above the other business and investment networks. For a serious market man it really isn't even close. I just finished watching a full hour debate on free trade it was orderly, informative and cordial. No talking heads cutting you off or cursing the name Obama under their breath. One side for, one side against. Cogent, articulate and rational analysis on both sides. How awesome! There morning shows are just as orderly. I learn more in 15 minutes about the overnights on Bloomie than I do watching ersatz market makers on the other channel.

Oh yeah, and as free trade goes, can anyone tell me how you could possibly be for free trade and against labor unions?

You're Kobe Now Dude?

My little bro thinks he's the Kobe of Europe...seriously. He signed that ladies autograph "Kobe Bryant."

Money May-$

My sis had a wedding yesterday (good times, congrats again bride and groom), so I didn't have a chance to see Mayweather/Marquez. It looks like Marquez went the distance and warriored-up but that wasn't unexpected. What was unexpected is the clinic that most analysts say Money May put on. I've seen a couple highlights here and there (btw when is boxing going to go primetime?) and he looked like his usually brilliant self. Rolling the shoulder, sticking the jab. My concerns about Pacman have been muted for now. I just found out Floyd will get the winner of Pacman-Cotto. And seeing how Cotto stood toe-to-toe with the cheating steel wrapped hand Margeurito, I wouldn't bank on Pacman dominating.

Check out the PBF compilation below.

"Fascism, Socialism, Communism...

...these things are apparently interchangeable if you don't know what they mean." Ha! This is hilarious. Thanks to SG for the find.

C-Level Promotions

Good short read on internal v external C-Level promotion. My thoughts run mostly parallel to those of the author in that firms need to spend more time developing internal talent (think MLB) than trying to poach "famed" hires from the outside. The risk of losing talented other C-Level execs and spending hundreds of millions of dollars on failed projects the new guy wanted to brand himself are too high.

Read it here

Tone, Tone, Tone

I heard this joint at the boxing gym tonight and it brought it back. If you've got 5 listen to the whole thing. If you've got an ounce of rhythm it won't be 30 seconds b/f you're up moving. Incidentally, I've got less than 48 hours to learn the electric slide for my sis' wedding. Don't. I already know. Keep it to yourself.

Also, I know the real name of the group, that's my derivative spelling!!!

Come on Ma'

My sleuth skills are slacking, but I finally found out who was on stage with J and Alicia Keys Sunday night. Lil Mama. Enough said.

I hope the VMAs were the end to this tireless stage crashing meme. Keys is a pro. Jay is a pro. I don't know anyone who's ever made their career by stage crashing.

On another note, T-Pain seems to incidentally have caught some more heat from J...lol!

Again Mr. President

You're the President not some teenage girl or college kid...act like it. Seriously dude. You shouldn't be calling out any of our citizens. Not the cop, not Kanye, not anyone.

You're weak for that comment dude, seriously.

A little DIY Squatting eh Cheronda?

Whiteout

Don't go see this movie. I repeat do not go see this movie. It's terrible. Not even Kat Beckinsale's hotness is enough to make heads or tails of it. It is really that terrible. Not Solaris terrible but terrible nonetheless.

We Remember

Work hard, stay in school, believe in success...

Just finished watching the President on tv. Definitely don't want my kids watching this stuff. No way. No how.

Classic White Goodman...

What mean the world to Roxanne?

Figures. It's not the money, it's the person.

via yahoo

How to Lose $3 Million in Six Years
by Mike Krumboltz

Stop us if this sounds familiar: A very lucky person wins the lottery and expects life to change for the better, but instead, things go horribly wrong. It's a story as old as the hills, but each time it happens, it causes a huge commotion in Search. The latest "victim" of sudden wealth is a young woman from the U.K. who won millions of bucks several years ago, only to lose the vast majority of it shortly thereafter.

Callie Rogers was just 16 when she won a whopping $3 million in the lottery. Six years later, she reports that she blew untold sums on drugs, partying, exotic cars, and breast implants. A staggering $730,000 went to designer clothes alone, Ms. Rogers explains in an article from AOL. Says Rogers: "I honestly wish I'd never won the lottery money — and knowing what I know now I should have just given it all back to them." She's currently left with around $32,000.

In these trying economic times, Ms. Rogers will likely find little sympathy. Still, it's worth noting that she's hardly the first big winner who wished she'd never bought a ticket. There is such a thing as the lottery curse: As mentioned in a previous Buzz Log, there are numerous cases of lotto winners getting divorced due to stress and losing everything from poor investments. A few have even died at the hands of greedy relatives. A 2007 article from ABC will fill you in on a few more examples.

Knowing she's not the first jackpot winner to suffer hardship won't make her life any easier. But perhaps Ms. Rogers can take some comfort from the fact that there are others out there with eerily similar stories: They won big then lost big, and often wish they'd never even played.

I might be changing my name

The following points are kinda what I've known since I've come into adulthood as a progressive. It took seeing Bill Moyer's this morning online to confirm what I've known intuitively for sometime.

1. Progessives win presidencies by default. Meaning the populous wants republicans out not necessarily democrats in.

2. Progressives are scared to use power and most likely just plain scared. See Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama (Bill and Hillary Clinton don't fit this mold. These two wield power with the best of the conservatives.) But Barack Obama does in fact fit this mold. If you didn't hear me the first time I think he's scared.

3. Conservatives know who they serve and do so proudly. If some crumbs fall off the table for those who don't subscribe to their agenda...then fine. Progressives mistakenly think they serve conservatives...oops!

See Moyers below

Healthcare Co-ops

Pretty informative piece on healthcare co-ops from CNN. I live in MN and didn't even know that HealthPartners was a co-op. I like the not for profit focus and I actually think more of these in various industries including banking would serve to balance out the all or nothing FOR PROFIT, FREE MARKETS IN EVERYTHING ethos that is becoming increasingly problematic.

The reason I like this idea of co-ops is because the power truly does reside with the people. As I understand it, if you are a member of HealthPartners you get a vote...on almost everything. And so as there CEO Mary Brainerd put it, there is NO incentive for them to jack up administrative fees to say pay C-level exces an extra million dollars each. And I would imagine that economies of scale kick in just the same with a co-op.

Check out the video for an interesting view.

Lights, Camera, Stimulus in Action!

I guess it does work...who knew??? I wonder how some who desperately want our economy to tank just to take Obama along with it will view this. Me? I view it as good news. Recently laid off Ford workers and those who've had hours cut are back on the line. Back getting a paycheck. Back feeling good about themselves. And back spending money however nominal. Full Story Below


By Kimberly S. Johnson, AP Auto Writer

DETROIT (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. said Thursday that it would add a third shift to production plants in Michigan and Missouri to meet increased demand for its F-150 trucks and Escape crossover vehicles.

The moves offer specifics about Ford's plan to increase production of cars and trucks in the fourth quarter by 33 percent over 2008 levels to a total of 570,000 vehicles.

Ford is gaining market share in the U.S. and two of its vehicles -- the Focus and Escape -- were among the top-sellers under the government's Cash for Clunkers program in July and August.

The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker said earlier this month that it would increase production to replenish inventories depleted during the clunkers program, although it expects September sales to fall below July and August levels.

Ford said it would not hire new hourly workers to handle the shifts, but would move workers from the truck production line at its Kansas City Assembly Plant to the line that makes Ford Escapes and Mercury Mariners, 5-passenger crossover utility vehicles.

The change takes place at the Claycomo, Mo., plant in October. Ford employs a total of 3,956 hourly workers there, who previously agreed to work two days during a planned shutdown week this month to meet third-quarter production demands.

The company said its third quarter production levels would be 18 percent higher than they were a year ago.

Ford's Dearborn Truck Plant will resume maximum operation of three shifts in late September. While there are currently three separate crews at the plant, they work on a rotating basis. Each crew works for four weeks and is then on "layoff" for two weeks, said Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans.

The move will enable all 2,800 employees at Dearborn Truck to work on a full-time basis, removing 900 people from Michigan's weekly unemployment rolls. Ford supplements those unemployment payments so workers receive their full wage.

"This is a way for us to run our plants much more efficiently to get the increased production out," Evans said.

The moves will result in the additional production of 10,000 F-150 pickup trucks this year and 2,400 Escapes and Mariners by the end of October, Ford said.

The company had a 21-day supply of Escapes in early August. At the end of July, Ford had nearly 300,000 vehicles in stock, a 48-day supply, the industry average, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. Ford typically maintained a 70-day supply of vehicles earlier this year.

Ford is expected to report a year-over-year increase in August U.S. sales next week. The company said it is on track to "post its highest monthly F-Series and Escape sales of 2009" in August.

Shares of Ford rose 6 cents to $7.67 in afternoon trading Thursday.

Until I saw what happened to them Dixie Chicks (lol)

Really down south? I guess.

Seriously, click threw the link for a first hand account of the Clampits led by Jimbo versus Jethro and his clan.

Downsouth Families in all out riot...

Netfli(redbo)x

I've been a Netflix guy for a little over 2 years now, but backed into a redbox viewing of The International this weekend. Even though I know there's absolutely no affiliation b/t the two companies, it's interesting how similar redbox's logo is to Netflix.

You see the phonetical similarities in both "red" and "net" as well as the little used "x" as well as the visual arching similarity (for Netflix it's the word, for redbox it's the eyebrow). I can almost guarantee this logo was designed by redbox to piggyback on the success of Netflix. I can't blame them for that, and one can only wonder how much of their success is due to consumers inability to realize redbox is not really Netflix?

BO Doesn't Know

Barack doesn't know what he wants. I just figured that out after reading Krugie's op ed in the Times. The reason his pole numbers are dropping and this whole healthcare push has been a debacle is b/c Obama doesn't know what he wants, he just knows he wants something.

Obama had (and probably still has) an army of people ready to go to bat for him on this healthcare initiative except they don't know what they're going to bat for, and he hasn't made it clear. Is it the public option or the maximum out of pocket costs reform or the right to life provisions? No one really knows where he stands. They know what the generic democrat wants but unfortunately the generic democrat isn't president and doesn't have BO's appeal.

If I were him I would go back to promotional marketing 101. Pick 3 THINGS you are FOR and have your office, your surrogates and yes even your professorial I must answer every question equivocally with a spliced hedged answer brain stick to those 3 things.

The roof of my mouth has been in pain since Thursday...

...and it's all because of this mustachioed gentlemen. Thanks Cap'n for selling a deliciously sweet corn based cereal that also helps reshingle the roof of my mouth...thanks.

Really Patti Heaton?

It took my little niece all of 30 seconds to do the math...in her head.

Thanks the man up stairs I don't cheer for loser teams like the Ravens or the Panthers....GO VIKES!!!

Dear Mr. President

Sorry dude, but if you can't show me some gumption on healthcare than I might have to give you a break. Mind you, I'll still be voting for you in 2012, but no donations or door knocking or phone calling or favorable blogging from me.

You are getting bullied. You are getting punked. And you are too scared to fight back. I have liked your temperament and your ability to sit back and strategize, but where I'm from you've gotta throw punches sometimes. I'm just sayin' dude. I'm hoping this is part of your grander strategy and you've got something up your sleeve, but methinks you and your superteam have been outfoxed by the republicans. At least for now. I could be wrong.

This is why they call her Cyborg

I'm a HUGE fan of Carano, mainly because she's tall, wears sexy high heels, is a hottie and can also fight. But it took about 10 minutes of watching clips of Cyborg this week to realize Gina didn't really have much of a chance.

Once matched up nobody can argue that Cyborg isn't the stronger, more naturally aggressive fighter and it took me all of 60 seconds of watching this fight to realize that and predict Carano would be manhandled and lose. Don't get me wrong, my girl stood her ground and gave some nice shots, but whenever a fighter is being walked down like that consistently and so easily tossed to the ground it's a sign of dominance.

Cyborg will only be defeated when another woman like her rises to the elite level or Gina learns how to really box. Yes, learns how to box. Gina can't beat her on the ground, so she's got to beat her on her feet. She's an average boxer, but I would like to see a lot more head movement and skill in DUCKING and countering Cyborg's big punches. You can't just retreat to the ropes and cover up. I counted at least 9big shots Cyborg threw that Gina just covered up instead of DUCKING and countering Cyborg with some clean HOOKS.

She trains in Vegas, maybe she should spend sometime with Roger Mayweather...seriously.

Canards are dangerous when left unchecked

Most of us are familiar with the canards circulating in the media and in the blogosphere concerning healthcare, they are as such:

1. Death Panels - That is when you're an old person you will be subject to a panel of faceless bureaucrats making decisions about whether you can live...this is also known as end of life care (according to one Sarah Palin).

2. Anger and Outrage - Megan McCardle, among many other fake libertarians, has been guilty of pretending that the angry people on the teevee machine are representative of all of America. They're not.

3. Healthcare Status Quo is Good - According to the 400 Managing Directors of GS.

In a homophonous ode to The Wire, take a look at the little man Kenard as he becomes a mop for a sidewalk floor on the westside of Baltimore.

Fat People

It's too bad that doctors like this who are trying to get fat and unhealthy people to understand that eating donuts, hamburgers and fried chicken and drinking sweet tea ad nauseam are bad for your health. Only down south would they fire you for something like this, I bet they'll be screaming for Obamacare when they're coveted "healthcare" provider tells them their heart valve replacement is "experimental" and otherwise uncovered.

Story Here

Medicars is, I repeat is, the very essence of socialized medicine

To all the birthers, tea baggers and others pretending to be upset about President Obama's "policies" please refrain from attackin socialized medicine if you are on Medicare. Seriously you sound incredibly stupid...in fact some would say you are stupid.

Also please make some effort to understand what Nazism, fascism, communism and socialism are and how they differ (hint there terms are not, I repeat are not synonymous.) It is not cool to willingly be stupid.

Think About

How many wives have you passed up in the grocery store? How many promotions have you bailed on? How many Fortune 500 seeds have you spit into the street? How many times have you unloved loved ones? How many next times have you settled for?

"Chances lost are hopes torn up pages"

Thanks Brett Favre (and by thanks I mean you're a total flake)

Thanks Brett Favre for getting us in a tizzy, and then flaking. That was super awesome, you didn't throw in the tears this time though, those are usually a nice touch. If there ever was a ready made Superbowl situation this was it and we also offered you a chance to crush the Pack and the organization that treated you with such disdain, to no Favreian avail. I guess Mississippi and throwing passes to high school players was too strong a pull...I guess.

What Obama can learn from Bush. What Pelosi can learn from Hammer

Taibi sums up my feelings on the healthcare bill and the D's succinctly, here.

While he remains much maligned among a portion of the electorate, I have a healthy respect for President Bush. The guy barely won and came into office and did whatever he wanted. He didn't ask questions, he didn't placate congress he acted like he owned the place, and the rest of us were to shook to notice differently. Contrast that with Obama and the D's. The one thing I can say about DeLay and Bush they didn't play for friends.

Wenya Ommaaaa

Youtube is awesome because it allows you to relive that which has since faded in your memory. When Lion King came out, I was well into my teens, and was thus forced to enjoy it in the secrecy of my parents basement after my elementary aged siblings and parents had been thoroughly entertained. I too was thoroughly entertained, the graphics and soundtrack were second to none and it was hard to not find a parallel to my own life. Other than Simba being a complete punk, the movie still stands as one of the better stories of nucleality in families.

Naaaaa, sinwaitszaaaaaaa....aaaaaaaah...babaaabaakabki....(if you do nothing else, listen to the first 20 seconds, the best 20 seconds!)

Really President Bush?

You were considering using military forces to affect an arrest on US soil? Really? The FBI or the Marshalls weren't up to the task? Methinks the FBI and/or Marshall Services were more than up to the task but that you, in some misguided effort to again feign toughness thought this would be a plus in the cap of your base and moderates. Boy were you wrong. Good to know you finally decided against it.

Full story here, this would be comical if it weren't true.

To My Guys

Carlos Wilcox

I'm Minnesota through and through and all though I never met any of them I want to send a heartfelt thank you to Carlos Wilcox, Dan Drevnick and James Wertish, fellow Minnesotans who died this week in Iraq. Thanks, posthumously, guys for your lives, for your sacrifice, for your heart. Regardless of political affiliation Minnesota and the nation is forever in your debt. Thanks again.

SBUX to sell dro?

Just kidding. However, they are getting ready to begin selling liquor. I guess to get all those coffee heads through the 2PM hour. Any of my colleagues or friends with working ears have heard me opine ad nauseam on the impending tectonic cultural, business and social shift we as a nation and western society are getting ready to undergo. I surmise the number one retail coffee shop EVER choosing to become a bar is just a start.

My other prediction is that this period will see the largest transfer of wealth in the history of the world. I'm hoping to be the tranferee!!! Here's to dreams, a hunch and a sense of timing and action!!!

Zuck on the Stimulus

Mort Zuckerman sums up my feeling of Obama and his stimulus well. You can read the whole article here.

Second, the stimulus package may have been well intentioned, but it was too small and too badly constructed to get money into the economy fast enough to replace lost consumer and business spending and to slow unemployment. Workers' pessimism is justified: About 40 percent believe the recession will continue for another full year. As paychecks shrink and disappear, consumers are more hesitant to spend and won't lead the economy out of the doldrums quickly enough.

It may have made him unpopular in parts of the Obama administration, but Vice President Joe Biden told it as it is when he said the administration misread how bad the economy was. The administration inherited the problem, but then it failed to understand how ineffective its solution would be. The program was supposed to be about jobs, jobs, and jobs. It wasn't. The recovery act may have been a single piece of legislation, but it included thousands of funding schemes for tens of thousands of projects, and those programs are stuck in the bureaucracy as the government releases the funds with typical inefficiency.

Letter to the Prez

Dear Mr. President-

Back in January I blogged ad nauseam about the stimulus and how it needed to be spent as quickly as possible (on needless projects even) to ensure people stayed employed and spending didn't drop off a cliff. Instead of listening to me you played weaksauce with the Rs in some ersatz notion to garner bi-partisan support from a group of pols who are sworn to oppose you and see your demise. As a result we've got 10% unemployment about 5 months ahead of schedule and countries like France are kicking our tails when it comes to real stimulus WPA STYLE!!! Whats more your failure to listen to me has forced you to run a second stimulus up the flagpole through your advisor (backdoor style eh?). Not very leaderly dude, get it together. Seriously, you should have listened to me and asked for 1.5T of spending, the goal wasn't to play nice, it was to keep people employed. Now the mud hole is even larger and the public, in their ignorance, is all hyped on anti-deficit juice and will never swallow another stimulus.

I must admit I respect your Presidential bona fides, but this was a Bushian sized blunder. Please don't let this happen again.

Sincerely
Ryan Culver

Letter to Venus Williams?

Dear Venus-

You're tall and kinda hot. Are you ever gonna beat your sister when it counts...little sister to be more specific?

That's all.

Sincerely,
Ryan C.

Palin Please

If Bill Kristol really is advising Sarah Palin he should be jettisoned from her camp immediately. The bumbling, incoherence that was Palin circa September 2008 could have easily been written off as a novice in the spotlight simply not being herself. It was explainable because the McCain campaign did in fact handle her like all VP nominees, elects and VP's get handled. But the bumbling, incoherence that was her resignation press conference is all on her.

Btw - I hooped D1 and her analogy bewilders me. Pass the ball. Keep an eye on the ball. Dribble the ball. Hold the ball. Win. Head up. Head down. National Security. Freedom. Huh?

BtwII - Palin's got to, I repeat got to stop making herself the victim all the time. That gets old. Every time she talks it's "the national media this" or "national media that."

Jonn Juan Flynn

Casual fans are excited about the Spaniard, ball players are excited about the kid. He's tough, gets to the rack, can stroke it (may need a little improvement out to 23'), can handle, has leadership bona fides and most importantly isn't worried about locale. I'm rolling with Flynn on this one.

1958-2009 - RIP

I've never been in shock before and I guess it's different for everybody. But this evening when my brother called and told me Michael Jackson was dead, I literally had no emotion. Literally. For about a half hour I remained stunned and silent. Not angry, not solemn, not tearful, not hurt, just totally emotionaless. It was a state of disbelief. I'm not the only one who didn't see this coming. Anyways, I remain in a subdued state of disbelife whenever I think about it.

Michael had a lot of problems in the 90's, but I guess it's safe to say the 80's were his decade. It so happens that my Top 5 come from that error:

1. Thriller
2. Beat It
3. PYT
4. Bad
5. Smooth Criminal

BIG PICTURE

Hyperbole, Bad Acting and Exaggeration make for 100% Awesome Sauce

I loved wrestling as a kid, and then once again in my early years of college. One of my coaches was a huge fan and we used to have us over to watch the mania's and such. I've long moved on, but happened upon this youtube clip this morning and had a good laugh. Steph Mac is still a hottie.

Another Drunk Driving DEATH. Pretty awesome (and by pretty awesome I mean really douchey).

If I've said it once on this blog I've said it literally 10 times. STOP DRINKING AND DRIVING. Someone's dead because you decided not to get a cab or ask a girlfriend for a ride home. Tragic

Strib story here.

The following statement is wholly absurd on its face...wholly.

"The Rev. Edwin Findley, acting as spokesman for the family that owns the dogs, says both families have been hurt."

Seriously, I don't want to say anymore. Just click through the link for context.

Utterly and ridiculously absurd comment in context here.

This is not a good thing.

I was all set to write about the Iranian election and the importance of winning versus symbolic showing (think US Presidential Election circa 2008 or 2000 or 1960), then I read Taibblog's entry on CCB denominating loans in yuan instead of dollars. This is a problem. If countries begin denominating intl loans in the yuan, yen or euro in any material uptick the dollar could be in serious trouble. The demand for countries to purchase our dollars to hold in reserve or to pay back intl loans in whatever currency is what keeps the greenback strong. Should that interest wane the dollar becomes less demanded and more weak, again not good.

I guess the only thing that has kept this from happening en masse is the political stability and economic power (current environ kinda excluded) of the US still trumps other industrialized states. If I'm Brazil and I need a $100M line of credit to necessitate oil development do I want to be responsible for paying that back in yuan, when the Chinese govt, on a whim (or a coup), can materially affect the real/yuan exchange rate?

The Kobester

Was it just me or did Kobe torch the 2nd guards from the Magic. I hope the same thing happens tonight. It seems that like most politicians Kobe says one thing to the public and one thing in private. I've never seen this guy come out the way he did! It is pretty clear to me that he DEFINITELY wants to win this championship without Shaq and he's loathe to let anything stop him, let alone a francophone guard or a hilltopped rookie (although both are outstanding talents in their own rights.)

What's up, shut up!

My roommate/teammate from Em-eya-aay turned me on to Trick at the turn of the millennium. I remember hearing this beat and thinking at the time "it was the hardest beat I'd ever heard" a chance youtube encounter with the erstwhile hit maker leads me to believe that moniker still stands.

Let the instrumental ride....

Back on the Train

I'm back, at work that is. I started with a client on a short term contract last week. Trading, having been very good to me, is not something a person like me can sustain for a long time, and short of having the need there isn't much redeeming value in trying to make a career out of it, especially if you're doing it in the confines of your own presence.

I've amassed decent savings and plan on returning when volatility picks back up in the fall. For now, I need the challenge of problem solving and client interaction to ensure my primary skills aren't atrophying. It's a pretty good deal in this environ, presents sufficient opportunity for leadership and is challenging. What else can a consultant want?

As it is I will still maintain this blog, but frequency will probably trough at about 3-4 entries per week. But if you're interested I'm leaving you with a few of my favorite blogs:
Mags McArdle
Matt Yglesias
Matt Taibi
Rorty
Remy
Ta-Nehisi Coates

REMIX!

Or more succinctly COVER! "It's a long day living in Reseda..."

Memorial Day

Thanks Guys. Thanks so much. 100% Awesome-sauce. No one does what you do.

This guys a fighter!

Soldiers from the U.S. Army First Battalion, 26th Infantry take defensive positions at firebase Restrepo after receiving fire from Taliban positions in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar Province on Monday May 11, 2009. Spc. Zachery Boyd of Fort Worth, TX, far left was wearing 'I love NY' boxer shorts after rushing from his sleeping quarters to join his fellow platoon members. From far right is Spc. Cecil Montgomery of Many, LA and Jordan Custer of Spokan, WA, center. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (Text courtesy AP/Yahoo)

Melo vs Superman? I seriously hope not, this would be the worse finals since Detroit v San Antonio...okay maybe not that bad, but I won't be watching

The Magic and Nuggets are two very good, incredibly talented teams with pros, whose talent level doesn't match that of Kobe or LeBron, but whose will is every bit as indeterminable.

With the Cavs down 0-1 and Lake Show tied up 1-1, I'm a little nervous that I (and every former or current big time high school, college or professional basketball players) won't get the much coveted Kobe v LeBron final. I surmise Vitamin Water and Nike are a little on edge as well.

On another note the Nuggets seem to catch a lot of late game help from utter ineptitude by professional highly paid officials. The cost of me zoning out on a big trade can be $10,000. I wonder what happens to officials when they miss obvious late game calls, like JR Smith cutting through a jump ball before it's been tapped. Really NBA refs? First Dallas now LA huh? I guess.

Another Dukie bites the dust....

Unfortunately (not really) another Duke perimeter will get torched for a full series beginning with Game 1 of the Nuggets/Lakers series hasta manana. For some reason I think Jones will have even less success defending the Kobester than Battier did.

If he's looking for some advice, I'd say leave that janky "hand in the face" bit at home. The guys a pro guard, it doesn't work, challenge his shot traditionally, shooters reflexively pullback if they think you're gonna get a piece. Anyways good luck Dahntay (not really, I hope Kobe torches you).

Pay for facebook? I'll pass

Andrew Ecklund a columnist for the hometown Strib has an article up today begging 2.0 media users to pay for the use of the various apps (myspace, facebook, twitter, digg, etc).

This is pretty pathetic, even for a tech journalist. These firms are not non profits, they went into business (or were funded) with the hope of eventually making money and tons of it, either through a functional business model or (and more likely) being bought by Google. If facebook wanted to charge for access it was probably better to do it from the beginning, but with myspace being free it most likely wouldn't have caught on. So they went with the free model...this is their problem not mine. Begging me to continue using facebook as a pay service makes it my problem, a problem facebook knows most users will simply dump overboard if ever forced to make a choice.

As a techie, Andrew forgets the first rule of business...never, ever, ever under any circumstances give something away for free. And if you do, just know that the consumer will never, ever, ever under any circumstances expect to pay for it again.

Not for my Southern Readers

The rapper's name is Drake and he's out of all places Toronto. I just heard him in rotation today (Midwest). Apparently it's been in heavy rotation in the Northeast for a month now and he's well known on the college circuit up there.

The beat is banging I like the hook and the auto-tuned chorus. He needs a little work on his lyrics and it's got just a touch of old Kanye but other than that it's banging, especially for when you're with your lady. It's a mixtape so no music video yet, but you can check the track below. For my southern readers who like their raps simple, replete with an inordinate amount of "uhhhsss" and overdone baselines with little to no actual rapping you probably want to take a pass.

Nike is Awesome

Besides being a pretty tradable stock, there commercials are second to none when it comes to hoops. I realized this in high school when they put out the commercial with the two little boys shooting free throws in an empty gym, with each one taking turns with the clown wig and big number 1 finger trying to distract the other. At the end the kid takes his dribbles and nails the free throw and then says "your turn".

Next up was the dribbling commercial. Any hooper is familiar with this as it capitalized on the And 1 Skip tapes. I was a pretty deso handler and even those guys were doing things that I had never seen. My brother actually shook me with the behind the back over the head move in our driveway one time.

And lastly what do I see today. But the Kobe and Lebron puppets. I won't post the youtube video here, it's probably best when you see it during the playoffs. I must say they'e pretty awesome though (oh yeah and the one Bron did with the girl from PSD wasn't bad either).

The Best 6 Minutes

I wasn't a huge fan of Six Feet Under only joining during the last season when it began preceding The Wire. That said, their last season in 2004-2005 was pretty awesome, and while there were some things I could have done without I have to say HBO got it right with this one. I just came across the last 6 minutes of the series finale on youtube. I remember watching it and thinking "live every moment" because it all goes so fast. It did a really good job helping me look at my life from the end back. What will my sons be at 40? How many grandkids will I have? Will I be healthy? Does my wife precede me in death? And more generally what does our world look like?

The song is by Sia and the writers did a great job weaving her lyrics with the action on screen. Check it out. By my estimation it's still the best six minutes of television ever.

Saturday School?

Check out this article in the hometown Strib discussing the success the local KIPP school had in bettering test scores after expanding the school day and implementing Saturday school. I've been an advocate for this, ever since I saw the episode of West Wing where Congressman Santos explained to some parents in New Hampshire that the basis for our school year and school hours were based on agriculture and industrial societal models that needed child labor to help on the family farm or supplement family income by working extra hours in the factory. However, since this is no longer the prevailing societal model then it makes sense to change the educational structure that was put in place to support a now non-existent model.

What also drives my support is hearing, ad nauseam, about how American kids are falling further and further behind their Asian and European counterparts. Since America's station in the world is due to it's ability to technologically advance (and monetize those advances which in turn feeds our political stability and military might) faster than its competitors you would think we would do all we could to ensure our next generation of technological 'advancers' were on par educationally with their Asian and European counterparts.

Moms are pretty awesome...

...aren't they? They somehow, through an act of God, spit you out, then proceed to take care of you at every turn for 18 years. Changing your poopie diapers, washing your mud soaked uniforms, and picking up your dirty socks. Care is in their nature. And whenever you return to the empty nest they find occasion to make your favorite food, whether it's chicken and broccoli spaghetti or buttermilk pancakes or awesome sauce p&b and j with crushed potato chips.

They shield you periodically from the ruggedness of your father knowing when to assuage a tough little league loss with nothing more than a "next time" or keeping the mistake of a detention "just between us."

Moms I salute your patience, your kindness, your skill, your yang and most importantly your love. Moms I salute you.

Your Parents Were Young Once

Awesome sauce Bacardi vid, that helps me remember mi padres had a life before me and it didn't include being Mom and Dad.

Why conversations about race and racial issues with people who don't like you is a good thing.

I'm a frequent reader and commenter on Matt Yglesias's blog over at ThinkProgress. His readers seem to span demographics and view points and I often find myself learning just as much from them as from Matt.

Today he wrote on Sonya Sotomayor the most talked about judge in the country right now. Why? Sonya is seen as the front runner to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. Apparently Sotomayor, who is Hispanic, had a controversial decision in the lower courts regarding affirmative action that may prove detrimental.

Now I'm no flaming proponent of affirmative action but what I learned from Matt's commenters today is that the term affirmative action means something different to different people. For me, aa is a way to ensure that qualified individuals aren't screwed over by the ole boys club.

Exhibit A:
Jamal scores a 1550 on his SAT and applies to the Ivies. Having no rich family or legacy connections to help him out he applies to the ivies through the normal process and quickly has his application heaped into a pile with academically qualified individuals. Jim, whose father is an i-banker and whose family has a generational relationship with the ivies, scored a respectable but hardly outstanding 1130. In a world without aa Jim gets the spot. In a world with aa the spot goes to Jamal, wealth be darned. To me this is a good thing.

Now, the benefit of talking with other people comes in that I get to clearly understand how they view aa and we can reconcile any long standing discrepancies between us and potentially broader groups that we may represent. For instance in talking with one of the commenters it became clear that his interpretation of aa would be when Jamal scores a 780 but his allowed in solely based on his race. What's even better is that regardless of the definition, we were both able to agree that in my scenario the spot should go to Jamal and that in his scenario it shouldn't. This would have never happened had we just clung to our individual notions of what we thought aa was. So for all of my readers let me clear on my interpretation.

What AA is: A construct that ensures objectively qualified individuals are allowed to compete for spots, historically not allowed to their demographic.

What AA isn't: A fake construct that promotes lowering some fake bar in favor of fake attempts at fake equality.

On Markets: Part 64 of 1,238

Matt Yglesias referred his readers to Chapter 12 of Keyenes' General Theory this a.m. and I checked it out after some morning hoops. It was as he said "staggeringly brilliant" especially his analysis of the American mindset and markets, both then and now.

It's even more brilliant when you consider it was published in 1936. I don't know if it's selective memory or predisposition but I'm almost always amazed when I read the writing of philosophers, long gone, such as Keynes, Smith or De Toqueville and find their analysis insightful and prescient and most surprisingly relevant. Take this passage from Keynes General Theory:

A conventional valuation which is established as the outcome of the mass psychology of a large number of ignorant individuals is liable to change violently as the result of a sudden fluctuation of opinion due to factors which do not really make much difference to the prospective yield; since there will be no strong roots of conviction to hold it steady. In abnormal times in particular, when the hypothesis of an indefinite continuance of the existing state of affairs is less plausible than usual even though there are no express grounds to anticipate a definite change, the market will be subject to waves of optimistic and pessimistic sentiment, which are unreasoning and yet in a sense legitimate where no solid basis exists for a reasonable calculation.

As a trader I can only second, third and fourth this motion. As investor for the past few years I thought investing was based solely on long term diligent financial and valuation analysis. In school you learn the keys to good market valuation rests with cash flow, balance sheet and income statement analysis. There are some more complicated techniques but they all derive from this. As a trader the last 8 months I've learned that markets move on nothing but NEWS, most time ignorantly or erroneously evaluated, as Keynes alludes to. Facts and rational analysis be darned.

The most pressing example is my trading of Apple. After I finished my love affair with the financials (thanks again Freddie!) I turned my gaze to stocks trading triple digits that I speculated would further decline on the ersatz "Obama hates markets" memes that conservatives spread. While every rational investor new anything Obama did would hardly affect Apple's balance sheet, cash positions or long term yield it literally oscillated between 112 and the low 80s 3 TIMES over a 5 month period. Based solely on NEWS, RUMOR and CONJECTURE none of which affected long term yields.

I guess Keynes main point is less economic and more behavoiral, in the sense that in the short term (which incidentally is at any one time an investors long term) emotions trumps rationality. If I like Apple but I see a bunch of orders coming in as sell, sell, sell and I watch it leak then pour to the downside I'm ghost, which in turn makes other people ghost and so on. The same thing happens, with less velocity to the upside regardless of how crappy a firms cash position or ROIC may be. While I've come to love the markets, Keyne's Chapter 12 has helped me understand that the markets, while falsely presented as esoteric and esteemed (mainly as a defensive barrier by those on the inside), are nothing more than a cheap parlour game of chance, manipulation and opportunity.

Did someone order 100% Awesome Sauce?

Is it possible this could be better than Dark Knight? I don't want to get to far ahead of myself but....



Update 5/2/2009: Ixnay on the awesome sauce. This was X1-3 revisited. Nothing to see here folks move along to Netflix. Dark Knight is safe as the best superhero movie ever.

The Jayhakws + 100

In celebration of O's first 100, here's The Jayhawks. Word is there is reunion tour in the works, but that's just the word. If you don't get the irony it's on you.

"Don't look so sad Marina there's another part to play."

Specter to the D's

Arlen Specter, the Senior Republican Senator from Pennsylvania has decided to switch parties, moving from a republican to a democrat. The initial reaction from the blogosphere was typical. Progressives were excited at the chance for a 60 seat filibuster proof majority and the R's and their talking heads went on the attack (no suprise), calling him a long time RINO (republican in name only) and wishing him good riddance.

David Frum a well respected conservative columnist I very much enjoy points out the folly in thinking of his own party vis-a-vis Specter's defection. Saying in essence they will remain an ever shrinking minority as long as they try to push the "ideologically impure" out of their party in favor for staunch social conservatives.

My thought as a progressive is that Specter's defection is NOT a good thing. I like balance and in truth I like negotiations and trade offs. The ability to push through whatever piece of legislation that you want without having a strong minority party to force you to tap the brakes is not a good thing. For some context I remember thinking how silly Tom Delay and Karl Rove were for thinking back in 2003 at the height of Bush's popularity that they could build a 50 year republican majority. Apparently they didn't realize the fickleness of the American electorate and the variability in things they couldn't realistically control (economy, war, peace, disease, natural disaster, etc). And so with that I offer a tepid "tap the brakes" to all the progressives giddy with the thought of a congressional majority and the chance to build a long term governing consensus. Yes, the R's aren't doing themselves any favor by kowtowing to the social conservatives in their own party but there is too much variability in a future of the unknown to begin planning for a long term governing consensus!

Texas Requests Foreign Aid

Today Texas Republic President Richard "Rick" Perry requested foreign aide from US President Barack Obama to deal with the potential swine flu pandemic.

Perry makes this requests just 1 week after seceding from the United States on the grounds that the federal govt intervened to much in the affairs of a sovereign Texas.

Update: I was confused. Texas Governor Rick Perry in fact didn't secede Texas from the US last week. It turns out his tea party talk about secession was just that...talk. Meant to drum up false outrage against President Obama and the awesomeness known as the US of A.

Fannie Exec Found Dead

I don't know the details and the guy may be the biggest fraudulent exec of all time, but life is too precious. It's too precious. We're all leaving soon enough, there's no hurry, whatever it is it's not that bad.

I've always been convinced that those who commit suicide would choose not to 100% of the time once they realize how much being dead blows, unfortunately all sales are final.

More here

You're not a true patriot if...

You'd rather not march on Washington D.C., the nations capital mind you, with 999,999 other armed men and women in a 'peaceful' protest.

My experience with violence is that guys looking for a fight usually get it, but it's typically with a lesser opponent, which is of course always of their choosing. They wouldn't have it any other way.