Basement Patter

Since I Left You

2009-11-22T18:01:00.003-06:00

-Kayaked out to sea in search of turtles and dolphins (burned the tops of my feet, natch).

-Watched cattle, cowboys and carnies at a county fair

-Ate pork belly with nectarine and endives

-Thwarted jellyfish with a beach sand bullwark

-Enjoyed meals of roast chicken, sausages and salad at home

-Survived an influx of "schoolies" in town for spring break

-Enjoyed the beach air while Sydney raged with so-called "cataclysmic" heat (40 degrees C., about 102 or so, or what Z's tempurature ran for a week until she was back to her usual self); down to 20 degrees for our return

On Street Food

2009-11-14T22:42:00.003-06:00

In Chicago, not the least cosmopolitan city on earth, you generally see the same fried/greasy offerings from street fair to street fair: pizza, hot dogs, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, maybe the occasional chicken on a stick or kebab variant. Italian, Greek, American. In Sydney I imagine the offerings are equally consistent, but from my perspective more exotic: Turkish breads, paella, dumplings, Indian, Thai, fresh juices, trucks serving home made ice cream. It's hard to so no when so much looks so good, just as it's hard to say no to a cup of coffee when standard drip is just about the only thing not on the menu of every corner shop.

Australia Day One

2009-11-14T14:43:00.003-06:00

Or is it day three? We left on Thursday and now it's Sunday. Time flies when you fly faster than time.

Right now we're in Maroubra, on the beach, outside Sydney, listening to giggling kids and squawking birds. We can see the ocean from the kitchen and we're woken up by the sunrise and cool morning air. Today we head to Bondai for a sculpture fair and, hopefully, a nice mug of one of Australia's famously complicated (to my mind) combos of coffee and steamed milk (flat white, long black, etc.).

Z., fighting a cold when we left, had a bit of a fever last night, which, following a fit, made her pass out pretty early last night, a good thing. Sure, she missed dinner, but she also caught up on sleep, as did we all.

Concert Week

2009-09-04T10:44:00.002-05:00

Steely Dan playing "The Royal Scam" in its entirety last night, with special guest Larry Carlton on guitar? Awesome. The Cult playing "Love" in its entirety the night before? Dire. Tonight, Steely Dan's '70s opposite, ZZ Top! In a small club, too, which should be great.

Also, I have no idea how this happened, but Raekwon's long delayed "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx PT II" is really good. An oft-delayed sequel to a hip-hop touchstone that's actually worth the wait? How did this happen? Someone should get on reverse engineering that formula, stat.

The Internet Givith Again

2009-08-27T07:03:00.001-05:00

Following up on the "Total Eclipse of the Heart" flowchart making the rounds:

Yes, Bears Poop in the Woods

2009-08-26T17:25:00.000-05:00

Bert's Not Laughing

2009-08-24T21:17:00.003-05:00

Dear Comcast, It's Over, You Suck

2009-08-11T22:52:00.003-05:00

Today our third service technician stopped in (following two techs who literally just gave up and left). You know things are bad when the grumbling tech has as many problems with Comcast as you do, but he still gave it his all. Turns out we had a bad box, though even that took a while to diagnose, in part because Comcast has yet to school the techs on the new boxes coming in. In fact, of all the half-dozen customer support folks I've dealt with at length over the last few weeks, no two gave me the same answers or the same solution. Each had apparently just come back from totally different training sessions, each feeding them totally different sets of information and troubleshooting tips to in turn feed to clueless customers.

Of course, I wasn't clueless, just waiting to be clued in, but on that front I made little progress. One after the other, the techs and customer service people recommended upgrading my service, but time after time I demurred, which baffled them. These guys just don't know what to say when you tell them the reason you only get just 10 basic channels is because you really don't want 100 channels. Shock! What kind of American wants less TV right?

Anyway, all this hassle was made moot today, since even as I patiently waited for the tech to "fix" the cable, and return our 10 channels to their previous operational state, I planned to walk to Radio Shack and buy a $30 over-the-air antenna. Which I did. And guess what? Now we receive, over the air, free of charge, as many HD channels as before, and several more. Sure, we're missing CBS (the signal in Chicago is notoriously weak), but who needs CBS? We're happy watcing "The Amazing Race" online the two months of the year it runs. The ironic kicker, though, is that we now get more channels for free, in higher quality, than we were paying even a minimal fee to receive. Which means that as soon as I get some work done tomorrow morning, and pack in advance of our trip to Omaha, I'm going to make one last call to Comcast and cancel our service altogether.

Free at last ...

Wither Cable

2009-08-04T15:23:00.002-05:00

On Thursday night, while I was out catching a rare set from the Mekons, Alma tells me the cable went out. Well, not out-out. We had sound, but no picture. My first thought was that it was something the kids did. My second was that it was something, well, something she did. But when I tried the TV the next morning, I discovered that yes, indeed, something weird was up.

I get on the phone with Comcast, from whom we purchase a frugal $10-a-month basic "antenna" service plan. They seem perplexed at the problem, and the only over the phone solution they offer is to turn the TV off and turn it on again. I explain to them that, well, the TV has been off. Off all night, in fact, and that the problem still persists. So they offer to send someone out, with the soonest they could be at our house the following Monday. But then they threaten to stick us with the tab should the problem be on our end. I tell them I won't be backed into a corner, and refuse. I threaten to cancel rather than pay more, they don't back down, and so that's that.

Then Alma convinces me that a $25 fee is better than paying for cable service that does not work. I relent, call back Comcast, and schedule a visit for the soonest possible time - which mysteriously happens to be that very day, Friday, between 12 and 4. Um, OK. We have friends coming over for dinner, but I figure it'll be done by then. Several hours later, at 4:15, the guy finally shows up (after I had already complained to Comcast and been promised a $25 credit should he be late for his appointment). The dude spends over an hour talking to his people, plugging and unplugging things, pressing buttons and scratching his head.

It's now dinner time, and the dude says he needs to get something in Elmhurst, but he'll be back later. Later? we all wonder. It's nearly 6pm on a Friday night. Turns out there is no "later," as the dude just removes our Cablecard, leaves and never comes back. Cable repair: fail.

The next day, Alma manages to schedule another Comcast visit, this time for first thing Tuesday. Indeed, nice dude number 2 shows up at 8am Tuesday, gets a late start (the system is down, of course), then more or less exhausts every resource until 10:30am. He thinks it could be the TV''s built-in tuner, but maybe not. Nothing is fixed. His prognosis: "God only knows." I tell him God couldn't care less if our antenna service is fixed, he laughs, then promises to let us know if he learns anything new. At the very least, he says, he doesn't want to encounter this problem again, and he understands why the other tech "put his tail between his legs and ran away." It seems our cable service is too basic to fix! Cable repair: double fail.

The next step was to chat online with Comcast's costumer service, who was (virtually) nice enough, and may have provided some answers. Needless to say, it involves a whole new layer of headache regarding the provider's so-called "digital migration," the shift of all but the most basic of analog signals to digital. Which is fine and dandy, considering we only wanted to most basic analog service, but there's a good chance that the HD network broadcasts (ABC, NBC, et al., and fancy pants PBS, too) went "digital," too, taking away one of the few reasons we watch TV at all (even crap looks good in HD).

So the solution proffered by the virtual assistant? Upgrade to digital service, which she tells me can be currently purchased as a promotional deal of about $30 a month for six-months, at which point I assume the price would go up. So what you're telling me, I tell her, is that in order to get the same basic service we had before, complete with a handful of basic, no-pay HD channels, we need to pay three times as much each month? No, she assures me. You get over 100 other channels, too. But we don't want 100 channels, I tell her. That's why we have basic antenna service!

The best she can offer is an IM sorry before I tell her I'm more than likely going to stick with or cancel our now even more basic service rather than pay more for the same old shit. Then she asks me if I would take a short survey, and I virtually hang up on her and hustle to pick up Z. at camp. And the first thing Z. asks is if the TV is fixed. Fortunately, she's not so discerning that "Curious George" in SD will be an affront to her sensibilities. Sometimes I think we can just turn on the TV and let her stare at the black screen and she'd be happy enough. Me, too, probably.

Rain, Rain ...

2009-07-24T22:44:00.003-05:00

This is the actual weather forecast for tomorrow in Chicago, courtesy the Chicago Tribune:

Chance of thunderstorms and a slight chance of showers early in the morning. Chance of showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Among many weird and/or annoying things about this CYA prediction, what's the difference between a "chance" and a "slight chance?"

The Kids Have Discovered ABBA

2009-07-24T09:00:00.002-05:00

Thanks to a friend lending us the execrable "Mamma Mia," both of the kids now like ABBA. A lot. It's debatable whether this music is preferable to the usual children's music, but for now I suppose the novelty is appealing. I explained to Z. that ABBA was around when I was a kid, but when she asked if I listened to it I had to explain that, 30 years ago, ABBA was not yet kids music. Nor were the Beatles. But now both, among other boomer and slightly post-boomer faves, are perfectly palatable for the knee-high set. I suppose it does broaden the options, even if a steady diet of ABBA for breakfast provides questionable sustenance.

The Call of the Doug

2009-07-22T12:33:00.002-05:00

I don't know what made me crave , Chicago's premier hot dog stop. But I did, and given that it is Chicago's premier (if a tad unorthodox) hot dog stop, I couldn't resist. The challenge was getting to the place early enough to make it worth the trip, as Hot Doug's is so popular lines have been known to stretch around the block, with waits of up to 2 hours. Seeing as Hot Doug's is Chicago's premier hot dog stop, I couldn't justify that wait. (How anyone can is beyond me - there are lots of good dogs in this town.)

So knowing that the place is busy even in the off hours, and that news that Hot Doug's had just made some national magazine's top 10 dog list was likely to make things worse, I hustled to make it there around 11am this morning. The wait was a reasonable enough 20 minutes, though by the time I left with my Chicago char dog, Jamaican jerk pork sausage (with passion fruit-mango mayonnaise and roasted plantains) and fresh cut fries, the line was twice as long! Jeepers. No doubt people were tipped off by the Wait Watcher twitter feed and took advantage of the brief lull.

The wait times must work to Doug's advantage, though. Just about everyone orders twice as much as they need to make the most of the effort. Even then, Doug himself, manning the counter, knows how to make the smooth upsale. "Would you like a small soda?" he'd ask, with a shrug. "Free refills today. Might as well, right?" And person after person eating in took him up on the offer.

Wow

2009-06-17T16:02:00.004-05:00

It'll take a lot of bullets to disperse this mess. Now if only anyone knew what the opposition in Iran really stood for, crowds of this size would be less worrisome, but I think it's safe to assume that if these folks want something different from the current system of government they likely want something better, too.

I wonder how this is being covered in the Muslim world at large?

Iran

2009-06-16T21:49:00.003-05:00

Who knows what will come of this nascent revolution, but the images and words coming from Iran right now are horrifying and amazing in equal measure. This clip could have been from "Children of Men," but of course, this is real life, occurring in real time, captured by real people and transmitted out - smuggled, actually - to the rest of the world.

Bambi to Up, Generation to Generation

2009-06-02T21:14:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I watched "Bambi" with Z., she for the first time, and yes, it made me cry (again). Today I took Z. to see "Up," the new Pixar flick, and the opening prologue made me cry, too. Then again, in both cases, I believe we're talking about some of the most moving movie sequences ever made: the death of Bambi's mother and a four-minute silent montage in "Up" that has to be seen to be appreciated. The rest of "Up" ... eh.

In other news, I also caught up with "Hostel II," if anything even more vilified than its predecessor. And you know what? It's trash, but a different sort of trash, very much in the Gothic Hammer vein and so over the top in its Grand Guignol sequences it's kind of silly, particularly the scene where a woman is stripped nude, bound and suspended upside down over a bath, so that the female Euro-trash villain - also nude, and straight out of a Dracula movie - can slice her open and luxuriate in her dripping blood. Sick? Ridiculous, is more like it. Worthless? I've seen worse.

Horror-thon

2009-06-02T14:06:00.004-05:00

Through a cross between serendipity and morbid curiosity, I've been catching up on some slick, sick horror flicks of wildly varying value. First up was the latest installment of "Friday the 13th," which was sort of billed as a remake/reboot but really plays like a (surprise) ill devised sequel. It looks nice enough, from a filmmaking standpoint, but plays like it was written in a week or less. Just really lazy and poorly conceived, albeit well (er) executed. The other day I got a package containing three more of the sequels, in deluxe editions: Part IV ("The Final Chapter," ha), Part V and Part VI ("Jason Lives"), the first of which is probably the best of the whole batch, and the last of which probably both the smartest and dumbest. Dumb: introduction of totally unkillable, back-from-the-dead zombie Jason. Smart: lines like "so, what were you going to be when you grew up?" spoken from one pre-adolescent camper to the other while Jason kills off their counslers.

Next up on the agenda was catching up with Eli Roth's sometimes riveting, sometimes risible, mostly vile and reviled "Hostel," about a handful of Americans abroad who get abducted and basically graphically tortured for no particular good reason. The movie's the modern day progenitor of what's been deemed "torture porn," and I suppose rightly so. There's no real emotional investment in either the victims or killers, just the horrible way they're killed, and the way Roth injects some very light political statements and satire into the script is facile at best. Basically, ugly exploitation stuff gussied up just enough to make it fall well short of its potential.

"Drag Me to Hell" is also exploitation, but brilliantly so. The movie (in theatres now!) marks a return to horror from Sam Raimi, after he detoured to Hollywood and directed the three "Spider-Man" flicks. This one is low-budget but brilliantly conceived as an homage to the classic British b-movie "Curse of the Demon" as well as Raimi's own masterpiece "Evil Dead II," with just enough humor lightening up the rueful, grue-full movie but mostly with Raimi devising a series of sneaky jumps and scares that, unlike the movies above, simply aim to surprise and entertain. Hence the mild PG-13 rating. The scares are real, yes, but this is neither as bloody as most current horror movies nor as intense as, say, "The Dark Knight," which was also PG-13 and not really bloody, but should have been R for its relative unpleasantness. "Drag Me to Hell," on the other hand, is a total fun house devised to be seen in a full theatre, for maximum audience reaction.

Incidentally, I was warned at the ticket counter that because this was a pre-noon showing, if any mothers with infants or small children showed up they would be obliged to turn the sound down. I looked at the ticket taker and asked the obvious: what kind of mother takes their kid to a movie called "Drag Me to Hell?!"

Smarty-Pants In Chief

2009-04-30T08:35:00.002-05:00

With Alma off having fun in New York, Z. and I watched President Obama's prime time press conference. At this rate, Obama will have addressed the press and public more in his first year than Bush did over the course of eight, but that's no shock. Simply put, Obama has more to say, and is better at saying it to boot. Again, that's no shock - Bush was historically dim and disengaged. But, man, what a consistent joy it is to have a President able to speak lucidly and intelligently on a number of different subjects, all with great calm and intellectual curiosity, even in the midst of several potentially world-ending crises. Frankly, it blows my mind that some on the right can't even bear to acknowledge that, like his policies or not, Obama is totally on the ball as a communicator. These nuts actually think he's stupid, which seems about as far from objectivity as you can get - total up-is-down, left-is-right thinking.

But that's no shock, either. The right is growing increasingly marginalized as the conservative crazies who continue to circle the wagons ever tighter and listen only to their own internal echo chamber of conspiracy theories and short-game faux populism. I have a theory of my own, actually. These people who think Obama is dumb or incompetent? Is it possible that maybe they just don't understand what he's talking about, but like petulant children, won't own up to their own ignorance? If Bush was a set of handed-down pre-highlighted Cliff's Notes, Obama is a text book, and we all know what Bush and his ilk thought and think of textbooks.

Home Security Fail

2009-04-27T17:01:00.002-05:00

Now, I'm not one to harp on screw-ups, but whomever at the White House OK'd buzzing NYC with Air Force One should be put to bed early with no dessert. I mean, come on.

The Trip Back

2009-04-12T13:38:00.002-05:00

Due to popular demand (OK, Alma's mom): the anticlimactic tale of our trip back home.

To be honest, I was dreading the trip back as early as the first full day in England, when I slept until 9:30 and woke up still tired. Thanks, jet lag! Still, I worried if it was hard to wake up at 9:30, how in the world was I going to wake up in time to catch the 7am local train, the first of several modes of transportation that would get us back to Chicago?

Fortunately, waking up was easy, and in fact Z. (possibly excited about the trip back) was up and cooperative by 6am or so, along with my sister (who is a light sleeper in the best of circumstances). I packed things up and got showered while my sister helped feed Z., then by 6:40 we were out the door, walking the five minutes to the local train station to ride to the Leeds station, where we would transfer trains to Manchester, where we would take off for Chicago. Z. did great on both the short first train ride (10 minutes) and the later, longer one as well (closer to 90 minutes). She was a trooper at the airport, too, where I followed the confusing signs to one wrong terminal after the next until we got to where we were supposed to be.

My sister once again had given us some money to spend on food, but nothing for sale looked like it would appeal to Z., and we didn't have much time, anyway, before we boarded. For this flight, it would be daylight the entire way, which makes napping a little tougher, if not totally inadvisable. Worse, my plan to load the iPod with bootleg movies didn't work out, and what I thought would be an in-flight "Kung Fu Panda" turned out to be the not very Z.-friendly and totally lame live-action "Four Christmases" (the switch from March to April programming was to blame for the bait and switch).

We got a couple of meals served to us, including a pizza that was every bit the stereotypically inedible airline food, but Z. mostly grazed on bread and other snacks. She did well on the 7 1/2 hour flight (of which I was constantly aware would only be half the length of our future flight to Australia; let the anxiety start stewing anew), but was pretty tired by the time we got to Chicago and through customs. I rewarded her with a rare trip to McDonald's (also the only choice by baggage claim) for a happy meal, which she patiently waiting for while we took a shuttle train to the El and an hour-long trip back to Oak Park.

On the shuttle a man commented to me, "You can't imagine how good that smells!" I think McDonald's smells like barf, so I asked him where he and his cross-adorned travel companions were returning from. "Liberia," he said. "How's Liberia?" I asked. "Getting better," he said, but his wife shook her head and basically said it had a long way to go. No duh. Still, it made me think how fortunate I was that I have family in England and Australia, and not Africa.

On the long, boring, train ride home, Z. barely stayed awake, but sat still and didn't complain as we wound our way home on good ol' uncomfortable, dirty, smelly, bathroom-free Chicago public transportation. At one point while Z. dozed a woman walked over and commented how impressed she was at the father/daughter bond we had. I thanked her, and for the rest of the trip home Z. asked me who the woman was and what she was talking about.

It was cold at home, too, which is how it's been ever since, which is nothing new this time a year, and A. didn't seem to care/notice that I was back. But over the next few days everyone kept commenting how Z. seemed so much older and wiser after the trip, and I kept telling people how well behaved she was on the entire trip.

Last Day

2009-04-01T15:16:00.002-05:00

We woke up late, as usual, so took our time catching the train to historic and beautiful York. Of course, every place in England is historic, but not every place is beautiful, so York was an all-around treat. Even the station is nice, and you're greeted, as soon as you cross the bridge into town, with very old streets and towering churches, with tons of shops squeezed in between that sort of blur the line between ancient and modern (case in point: the pub with Roman ruins in the basement).

We spend a good deal of time in the Castle Museum (the museum by the castle, not a museum about castles), chasing pigeons, eating fudge (my favorite was a clotted cream flavor), walking (again, very few complaints from Z.), admiring the sites, getting lunch at Betty's famous tea room (Z. had already eaten her PBJ, which earned her a brownie; Bethany and I ate more traditional lunches though, oddly, did not have tea), walked some more, killed time waiting for Bethany's friend to sneak out of a meeting, went out to dinner at an Italian place (Z. had little gnocchi in meat sauce, I had rissotto ai funghi - she and I split profiteroles for dessert), then hustled to catch a train back to Leeds.

By the time Z. was bathed, dressed and brushed, it was close to 9pm, a reminder that as well as she's been faring, she's clearly not totally adjusted. We'll see how tough things are when we get back tomorrow (Thursday). We have to leave Bethany's home pretty early, before 7am, the catch a train to the central Leeds station and then another train back to Manchester, where we then must walk to get to the right terminal, where we then must wait before boarding our 8+ hour flight back to Chicago. And this time, the flight will be all daylight, which may make occupying Z. tougher, but we'll see. Our reward, upon returning tired to likely chilly Chicago will be a 90-minute train ride from O'Hare to Oak Park, door to door, and needless to say, the El does not remotely compare to British rail when it comes to comfort or convenience. The trains in Britain have snack carts and drinks, clean cloth seats, tables and even (gosh) bathrooms. In Chicago, you're lucky if the heat works and someone has hosed off the urine. Chalk one up for the British.

Kids' Stuff

2009-03-31T11:04:00.002-05:00

We woke up this morning around 8:30 (Bethany, then Z., then me, in that order) and hung around the house for a little while. Z. had Weetabix and peanut butter, her American variant on a British classic, and I had some fruit. Then we hit the train again, transfered, and went up to Halifax, where Bethany had never been and the site of the National Children's Museum.

Bethany tells me the British government has a habit of building museums in cities and towns with no other draws, as a means of encouraging travel to less traveled locales. In the case of Halifax, it's just past some of England's rougher towns, home to various South Asian immigrants and cite of some nasty race riots a few years back. The museum, on the other hand, was just Z.'s speed, and despite a little whining (proof that she's finally acclimating?) she had a blast. Bethany bought her a juice box for the trip back to Leeds, where we went to a nice arcade (basically, a quality mall on very old streets) and sat down for a lunch of Yo Sushi, which delivers your food via conveyor belt. Z. had teriyaki and ate enough to warrant a tasty dessert of (Japanese?) pancakes with custard.

Then it was time to head home via double decker bus, which Z. cleverly deemed a "bunk bus." It's quite sunny and warm, so we may go for another local walk after tea to take advantage of nice weather. Hopefully it's this nice tomorrow, since we're traveling to York for the day, which should prove another wonderful side trip.

Back from the Country

2009-03-30T15:12:00.003-05:00

We eased into the day today, packed some lunches, then took the train to Sheffield. I'd always heard Sheffield likened to some sort of industrial wasteland, and maybe at one point it was, but in the past couple of decades it's made a turnaround, and then some. Apparently, Sheffield is now the greenest city in England, not metaphorically but literally, with more trees and generally green foliage than anywhere else here. It sure seemed that way, as Sheffield was beautiful, covered with flora and surrounded by hills and valleys.

Bethany's friend Philo picked us up at the station and drove us to his house, where we met his wife Val and, eventually their kids and pets (one a particularly haggard-looking retired greyhound). Val entertained Z. while we all chatted and had a snack, then Bethany, Z. and I piled into the car and hit the country, just outside the city. And the country it was, with dramatic, picture-perfect rolling hills, streams, heather, trees, stones and roving sheep. After a hike, during with Z. complained not once, we went to the visitor center for tea and a scone, which Z. inhaled. We essentially closed the place out, as at 20 to five (official closing) they kicked us out. According the Bethany and Val, the British are tremendously lazy, and look for any excuse to close early or otherwise shirk their duties. In fact, we saw the shop keeper waiting for the bus on the way back to Val's home, the implication being that she closed up early to catch her own ride home. For all we know, maybe they close up early every day for the same reason.

Anyway, closing early may be one reason why we were unable to grab me a meat pie from a local butcher (which was closed by 5:15 - when do people who work later pick up meals?), but I can grab one in York in a couple of days, and a fabled Cornish pasty, too, a stuffed meat thing made famous by workers in Cornwall. These are things I can't get back home, unlike fish and chips, so I'm looking forward to more local comfort cuisine.

Another great day for Z., by the way, who was so knackered (!) she even fell asleep in the car before dinner, though she did wake up enough to nibble at a homemade pasta dinner. She made it home on the train with no complaints or meltdowns, too (and even used the cool cyber-toilet on the train, replete with button-operated doors and locks). Admittedly, she went to bed after her bath close to 9pm, and asked for a spoonful of peanut butter first, but I can only imagine how screwed up her internal clock must be, so have been quite patient with her shockingly minimal requests.

Tomorrow we hit the road again for a trip to Halifax, home of the national children's museum, where I suspect Z. will have a spectacular time. Which, by the way, the presence of Aunt Bethany alone has thus far more or less guaranteed.

Midnight Rambler

2009-03-30T04:58:00.003-05:00

A combination of jetlag and Bethany's cool house roused Z. sometimes around midnight last night. Granted, she'd been down for five hours already, and I'd been asleep for three or so, but of course it wasn't enough. Bethany brought her downstairs to the sofa bed with me, and we both dozed until 9:30, when Bethany responsibly woke us up for breakfast. Z. was a bit groggy still, but she continues to be good natured and happy. She even ate a big breakfast of toast and jam and scrambled eggs, with juice.

Bethany tells me that one reason Brits don't eat scrambled eggs is that they haven't grasped (or embraced) the idea of mixing milk in with the eggs. That seems to be another old school English trait, perhaps stretching back to the penny-pinching pull-the-pants-strings-tight era. Why heat bathrooms when you can just heat the towels? Why warm the house while you're asleep? Heated kitchens? Who hangs out there, anyway? It's all so stubbornly efficient, though Bethany also tells me that many hear have been locked in a battle of wills with the very notion of recycling. Go figure.

Certainly the students here should recycle. You can tell which houses house university students by the number of beer cans scattered across the lawns of otherwise lovely Victorian homes. That and the occasional puddle of vomit with half-digested chips in the middle. Leeds is otherwise a pleasant little city, pretty, old, and coated with a light cover of grime hanging around from the coal-burning years. It also may feature more sandwich shops per capita than any other place in the world. How can any city support blocks with no less than five sandwich shops, including a Subway? Very odd.

We did have fish and chips last night which were so-so, since fish and chips don't travel well and we did carry out. I did notice a sign outside the shop, several feet back from the counter, down a few steps and around the corner, that noted the shop would be happy to come to any disabled person unable to amble up to the counter on their own. How such a person would get the attention of the people behind the counter - around the corner and up some stairs - is another matter entirely. Maybe that's the idea. Progressive? Yes. But only up to a point.

Off to the Dales!

Sleepy Head

2009-03-29T13:53:00.004-05:00

Between the travel and the flight, Z. only slept a few hours since Friday night, Chicago time. Yet amazingly, she completed her first day in the Uk with not a single complaint or meltdown, and even ate well (enough) in the process. By the end of the day, however, she was more pooped than I've ever seen her, happy but almost deliriously so, with droopy eyes and an unsteady gait. She zonked out on her air mattress at 7pm, Leeds-time, which puts her on perfect schedule to recover from any effects of jet lag almost immediately. Good for her, since tomorrow we go to Sheffield to chase sheep on the Derbyshire Dales.

It Could Have Been Worse

2009-03-29T08:26:00.002-05:00

I had been asking Z. if she needed to go potty about once every five minutes in the hour before our flight to England. No, she kept saying, I don't need to. And she didn't ... until right after takeoff, in the middle of a choppy ascent, with everyone strapped to their seats. "I need to go potty," she pleaded. "Please! I can't hold it!"

After a while I pressed the call button to ask the flight attendant if it was OK to bring Z. the potty, but they ignored me and my flashing light, even as they walked by. So I eventually flagged one down and asked if it was OK to take Z. to the potty. "We recommend staying in your seat," she more or less snapped. That wasn't a no, but still. And yet, a couple of minutes later, I saw an adult get up and go to the bathroom, so I went back to ask the seated attendant whether it was still unsafe. "Can I take my daughter to the bathroom?" I asked again, noting that this dude had just used the bathroom. "If you do, we can't be held responsible," she grumbled. I almost told her she would be held responsible if Z. pooped her pants and stunk up the plane, but eventually just blew off her warning and took Z. to the potty, where she made the world's tiniest tinkle.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, even if the airline made sleep, how ever fleetingly, all but impossible with constant interruption and lights-on until there was just a couple of hours left in the air. Z. had no problem getting about three or four hours of sleep. I only got a couple.

Yet exhausted or not, Z. is thrilled to be in Leeds with Aunt Bethany, where they've played, shared a plate of mac and cheese and browsed the library, all on day one. Tonight is fish and chips takeaway night, which should strike her fancy before we make an early night of it to catch up on Z.'s zzz's.

The weather today was cold, but apparently the last of the protracted cold snap leading into 50s spring weather, though as Bethany noted and my own eyes confirmed, students here up north greet the slightest glimmer of spring by stripping down to summer garb that gave me the chills everytime one of the bare-limbed girls or guys strolled by. Brrrr!

Turn About is Not Fair Play

2009-03-18T09:56:00.000-05:00

From :

Insurance companies say they have no choice but to honor contracts, and banks are pleading that their assets will be worth more if you just give them a little time.

For anyone, especially in business, who has tried to make those same arguments to insurers and bankers, to no avail, it's painfully rich.

Jindal - He's Done

2009-02-24T21:45:00.002-06:00

With Barack Obama, we got the first black president. With Bobby Jindal, it looks like we'd get the first retarded president (sorry, nitpickers, Bush was merely dumb). I'll grant that Obama is an uncommonly gifted speaker, but Jindal's Republican response was so off - off-tone, off-target, off-base, off its rocker - that it boggles the mind. I could only watch a few minutes, my mouth literally agape. This guy? This guy is who the Republicans are priming to take on Obama?

Good luck with that one. They'd be better off running Palin and at least losing photogenically.

We're Going to Need a Bigger Bucket

2009-02-24T09:15:00.000-06:00

Guaranteed

2009-02-23T12:27:00.001-06:00

Blago-ing... Blago-ing ... Blago-ne

2009-01-29T11:30:00.001-06:00

I'm no lawyer, but I don't think Gov. Blago's ongoing "I did nothing wrong, but even if I did, everyone else does it, too" defense will fly.

Obamania

2009-01-20T09:29:00.002-06:00

It's surreal to watch all this stuff on TV, not just because for the life of me I can't remember a minute of the last four inaugurations, but also because, well, the crowd just seems to happy and diverse. The only other time I've seen so many smiling people of similarly different white/black/man/woman whatever make-up was the last time I saw a Prince concert. Which is fitting, because for the first time ever we have a president who may actually one day invite Prince to perform at the White House.

Bailout Blues

2008-11-29T14:03:00.001-06:00

Total cost of bailouts including Citi is now about 4.5 trillion. This is more than the sum of:

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

And at the end of the day, no one knows if any of this will even work.

It Never Ends

2008-11-21T09:09:00.000-06:00

Most Astute Observation

2008-11-05T08:50:00.000-06:00

From some guy:

1. The modern conservative movement began with the crushing defeat of Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential race. The modern conservative movement ends with the crushing defeat of Arizona Sen. John McCain -- who took Goldwater's Senate seat upon his retirement -- in the 2008 presidential race.

2. Modern liberalism began its implosion with riots in Chicago's Grant Park at the 1968 Democratic Convention. Tonight, modern liberalism is reborn at Chicago's Grant Park, where a black Chicago Democrat will celebrate winning the presidency.

Yes We Did

2008-11-05T07:58:00.003-06:00

So read the dozens of bootleg Obama t-shirts being sold outside Grant Park last night, where Alma and I watched Obama win and accept. The excitement when Obama carried Pennsylvania, and then Ohio, and then Virginia, and then the west coast states that put him over, will be something I'll remember for years to come. It's a step in the right direction, aptly summed up by the New York Times:

"Barack Obama won the election because he saw what is wrong with this country: the utter failure of government to protect its citizens."

Now the question is: will his opponents be relieved or disappointed when America doesn't transform into the world's first radical Muslim Communist state? I have a hunch it will be the latter, which the wiser of that chastened bunch will realize is one big reason why ... they ... lost.

Vote Aqui

2008-11-04T08:47:00.002-06:00

After high school, I was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks in northern Spain, staying with a Spanish friend whose family had some primo real estate in San Sebastian. That's Basque country, for the uninitiated, and one of the memories that have stuck with me is the graffiti sprayed on many of the trash cans by what must have been Basque supporters or ETA terrorists and/or sympathizers: "vote aqui." That means "vote here," of course, the message being that you might as well just throw your vote away.

It's been decades where a U.S. election had been imbued with real import, which may explain why in the recent past so many seemed to approach voting as throwing their vote away. "It doesn't mean anything." "Our vote doesn't count." All those familiar lame excuses. And yet the last two elections were decided by tiny majorities, not to mention no small amount of legal wrangling, unfortunately allowed and even encouraged to wreak havoc thanks to a less than enthused electorate. "Both candidates are the same," people sighed with a shrug, a mixture of boredom and resignation.

Not this time. Now people have seen what a terrible president can do to a country, its power and its reputation. Upon the election of George W. Bush, the Onion ran an eerily prescient story. The headline? "Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'" Eight years later, and isn't it the truth? It'll take years to undo the damage this chump has done, which of course brings us to Barack Obama.

Now, I doubt Barack Obama will be a miracle worker. He's certainly saddled with plenty of problems from the outset, compounded by whatever problems wait in store. Yet for months I've noted how Obama's very election marks a win on so many levels. First, there's his name, finally shaking America from the icy death grip of aging WASPs. That will resonate both nationally and globally, where needless to say WASPs are not a dominant demographic. Second, there's his background: half-Kansan/half-Kenyan, born in Hawaii, raised by a single mother, lived overseas, educated in the best schools America has to offer. One remarkable achievement after the other. Lastly, he's not a jackass. It'll be so refreshing to see a president comport himself without a puffed up chest and swagger.

Most importantly, though, Barack Obama is smart, and a vote for him is a vote for intelligence (as opposed to, er, fabricated intelligence). This is a president that writes his own books, and writes them well. This is a president that understands the power of the word, and the importance of getting those words right. This is a president that can speak off the cuff and not only make sense, but move people. A leader.

I was lucky to have been raised by two parents that refused to impose their political beliefs on me (at least, not directly), people who value education and intelligence above all else. I don't know who they're voting for (though I suspect they may be canceling one another out at the polls), but I do know that for all they may not like about Barack Obama, whether legitimate disagreement or something more desperate and dubious, they'll respect his accomplishments all the same. And they'll certainly respect him for being a president, the first in at least four cycles, who hasn't fought his way into office but earned his way there. And no amount of words can predict what impact that will have on a complacent, confused country, looking for a way out and a way forward and possibly getting one in the same historically unlikely figure.

Alma and I will be at the Grant Park celebration tonight. Look for us on TV. We'll be the ones smiling.

Epigraph

2008-10-30T11:26:00.000-05:00

Oh, the Hilarity!

2008-10-24T16:12:00.002-05:00

Greenspan's Belated Mea Culpa

2008-10-24T09:19:00.002-05:00

"I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interest of organizations, specifically banks and others, was such as they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders."

So says the man, Alan Greenspan, at least partly responsible for the mess we're in now. What? Say it ain't so! Multi-billion dollar corporations and multi-million earning executives put greed and greater personal gain ahead of the public good! I'm shocked! Shocked, I say!

Joe Knows

2008-10-19T19:29:00.001-05:00

Here Comes the Flood

2008-10-19T13:08:00.002-05:00

One after another, Obama keeps racking up new endorsements. The Chicago Tribune (which has never endorsed a Democrat). The Houston Chronicle (which hasn't endorsed a Democrat since 1964). The LA Times (which has never endorsed anyone). The list goes on and on. Then Obama draws 100,000 to a St. Louis rally. Then Colin Powell endorses him. Then he raises $150 million in one month, doubling his personal record and essentially doubling McCain's entire campaign coffers. Even if it's not over it's as close to being over as can be. At this rate, even Bush will endorse Obama.

Anyway, this all adds up to a referendum, and a real one at that. If Obama runs away with this thing in two weeks, no one will be able to say boo about the results, and a horrible chapter in our recent history will finally begin to recede. Obama's will be the first true "Do-Over" presidency, beginning with undoing all the damage done before him and continuing forward by pointing the country back in the right direction.

And that's "right" in the moral sense, by the way, not "right" as in the morons, racists and nuts who blindly follow the risible Republican party, folks who always believe these repeat offender failures will somehow cut spending and taxes and make them safer despite all evidence to the contrary, and folks who turn a blind eye to all the bad things done in their name, from torture to ignoring the 21st century realities of climate change. You know, Palin's people. Anti-intellectual fanatics and fundamentalists that place gut feelings and "blinking" above common sense and the good of the country. If anyone is truly "anti-American," it's these people who have dragged us down for decades and worked to destroy all the things that do or can make us great.

Acme Campaign Destroyer

2008-10-11T17:20:00.001-05:00

Via the Andrew Sullivan site, McCain's campaign in less than two minutes;

Ha!

2008-10-10T09:28:00.001-05:00

I Know You Are, But What Am I?

2008-10-07T19:19:00.002-05:00

It's sad to see what John McCain has become, yet in a vacuum, it's sort of funny in its shamelessness. His campaign has been full of lies, yet it's Obama who is now depicted the liar. It's McCain (and Palin) who have been fighting dirty, yet it's suddenly Obama who they paint as a dirty campaigner. It's McCain whose past indiscretions and associations sullied his reputation (back when he had a reputation to sully), and yet it's Obama they paint as morally and ethically dubious. Granted, none of these recent moves have been as ballsy as trying to appropriate Obama's mantle of change - I mean, come one, really? - but considering the depths he's suddenly willing to sink to in an effort to keep all the subjects that matter (and hurt him) off the table, McCain's desperate all-or-nothing strategy will likely leave him with the latter, no matter what the outcome of the election. Either way, he'll end up part pariah, part pinata, and everyone will be lining up to take a swing.

The View from There

2008-10-07T19:00:00.003-05:00

There was a short little piece on the radio today about American expats living in Britain. Apparently there are about 250,000 there, my sister included. Anyway, the question posed was essentially what it would take to get them to move back to America.

First, let it be said that the handful of folks interviewed did not necessarily represent the majority or minority view, just a handful of folks. Second, not a single one had an "absolutely no way" attitude (which is what my sister more or less claims). And yet, each had a legitimate grievance that would need to be remedied before returning. One of them wanted more economic stability and government oversight. Another wanted universal health care and better social services. A third wanted a recognition of gay marriage that would provide all the rights they enjoyed throughout the UK. And yet all noted that even were the U.S. amenable to these changes, they doubted the country would now have the budget or resources to make them a reality. Frankly, it was embarassing to think America, formerly a beacon of hope and a good example for the rest of the world, has been relegated to second class status, out of touch and behind the times.

My parents like to argue, chauvinistically, that America is better off - safer, more secure, all that stuff - than most other countries, and particularly Europe. Apparently, despite several recent visits to the Continent, they haven't been convinced that, contrary to their various prejudices, it's the U.S. that's teetering on the brink of collapse. I mean, I hope I'm wrong. I hope the country pulls through. But at the same time, we're probably overdue. Europe languished for decades before its current boom. Japan and much of Asia did likewise. South America and Africa have barely held on for dear life. And now it's our turn in the doldrums. More and more it's looking like 1980, the proverbial morning in America, except this time it's a democrat who's the Reagan-esque rescuer, and the republicans who are the incompetents.

There's always blame to go around, and you can look back as far as you want until you find a scapegoat that strikes your fancy. Stop at Clinton, if you like. Or the the first Bush. Or Reagan or Carter. But like 9/11, in the end the blame falls squarely on the man in charge at the time. This is what it's come to. For what may be the first time ever, we've had a president that has not just negated ten years or more of progress, but actually taken us backwards.

Fox Can't Believe Its Eyes

2008-09-30T17:34:00.001-05:00

That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore

2008-09-30T09:13:00.003-05:00

It's easy to make fun of President Bush. In fact, it's our patriotic duty to do so. He's been a complete and utter failure of a leader, a fool. A bumbling idiot, even. But at a certain point he stopped being funny. Just look at the litany of domestic disasters he's overseen and/or been directly responsible over the course of the past 8 years:

-9/11

-War in Iraq and Afghanistan

-North Korea and (maybe) Iran going nuclear

-Katrina and the knee-capping of New Orleans

-Geneva Convention flouting, torture, constitution-bending spying, and other human rights violations

-The stacking of the Supreme Court with justices inclined to make much of his religious and political extremism permanent

-The deepening of the national debt (which began as a surplus when he came into office)

-And now, the total and utter collapse of the U.S. economy, thanks to years of deregulation and an almost fanatical dedication to free market capitalism

Is it all his fault? No, not really. But has he helped at all? No, not really. And that's why he's failed totally and completely. At the end of the day, the president's role is to lead, and in this regard Bush has been an embarrassment. He's no leader. He's a follower, following his ill-devised instincts down numerous dead ends and wrong turns, leaving the rest of the country in the lurch as if his mere conviction could excuse his actions.

P.S. On the plus side, Bush may preside over the Cubs going to the World Series, so there's that. But at the same time, that just underscores how topsy-turvey his presence is. Had he done anything right, the Cubs would certainly be out by now. That's just the natural order of things.

KO

2008-09-26T14:00:00.002-05:00

2008-09-25T23:29:00.000-05:00

Palin vs. Witches

2008-09-25T09:13:00.001-05:00

This gets weirder and weirder:

Dr. Evil

2008-09-25T07:16:00.001-05:00

"The economy will be destroyed unless you give me ... $700 BILLION DOLLARS!"

"The economy will be destroyed unless you ... POSTPONE THE DEBATE!"

What a bunch of clowns.

Unpatriotic Act

2008-09-22T09:05:00.003-05:00

Stop me if you've heard this one before. Facing a global threat of unprecedented scope and danger, the Bush administration requests an immediate virtual blank check and expansion of powers, with minimal transparency, that ultimately supports and otherwise bolsters corporate interests at the expense of tax payers. And time is of the essence!

Except that this isn't the Patriot Act or anything to do with the "war" on terror but that $1 trillion dollar bill to assuage the collapse of various financial institutions. It's the administration's attempt to prop up companies undone by their own greed and irresponsibility, giant banks and investment houses to be relieved of their own bad investments at the expense of the poor folk they took advantage of in the first place - with lures of low or no interest - the end result of a steady erosion of Depression Era stopgaps put in place to limit just this kind of exploitation of economic loop holes.

Congressional critics will eventually cave and sign something, but there's absolutely no proof that the bill will do anything to staunch the ongoing collapse. Yet isn't that President Job's M.O.? Why deal with problems today when they can be postponed until tomorrow? It's still more arrogance and idiocy from the same people who have basically cornered the market on such things, and no matter who wins in November, thanks to these chumps, America is essentially screwed, for decades to come, on multiple fronts.

President Job is worried about his legacy? Well, we're watching it come into shape, one disaster at a time.

What Went Wrong

2008-09-21T08:53:00.002-05:00

This is really long, but really informative for anyone interested in what's happening economically, and how it all stretches back to the acts of a few greedy or mislead persons of interest - including John McCain, back in the days of the S&L scandal:

"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is Enemy Action."
-- Auric Goldfinger

James Bond's wealthy nemesis may have had an obsession with gold, but he judged, quite correctly, that if people keep putting your plans awry, that was likely their intent.

In 1982, the same year John McCain entered the Senate, a bill was put forward that would substantially deregulate the Savings and Loan industry. The Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act was an initiative of the Reagan administration, and was largely authored by lobbyists for the S&L industry -- including John McCain's warm-up speaker at the convention, Fred Thompson. The official description of the bill was "An act to revitalize the housing industry by strengthening the financial stability of home mortgage lending institutions and ensuring the availability of home mortgage loans." Considering where things stand in 2008, that may sound dubious. It should.

Seven years later, the S&L industry was collapsing. What was the cause? Garn-St. Germain handed the S&Ls a greatly expanded range of capabilities, allowing them to go head to head with full service banks, but it didn't give them the bank's regulations. Left to operate in an anarchistic gray area, S&Ls chased profits, indulged in amazing extravagances, and cranked out enough cheap mortgages to fuel a real estate boom. They also experimented with lots of complex, creative -- and risky -- investments, even though they didn't have the economic models to really determine the worth of the things they were buying. The result was a mountain of bad debts and worthless "assets." Does any of that sound eerily (or nauseatingly) familiar?

It wasn't a foregone conclusion. In 1985, three years after the deregulation of the S&Ls, the chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board saw that the situation was already looking shaky, with the potential to become much worse. He instituted a rule to limit the amounts and types of investments S&Ls could carry on their books in an effort to head off disaster. However, many savings and loans -- among them Lincoln Savings & Loan Association of Irvine, CA, which was headed by a fellow named Charles Keating -- promptly ignored these rules.

Now enters a familiar cast of characters. First to pop up was the universally beloved Fed-chief-to-be, Alan Greenspan. Greenspan argued against the loan board's new rules, and persuaded Reagan to appoint one of Keating's pals to the board to blunt the requirements. A quintet of senators, among them John McCain, began having meetings with both the management at Lincoln and the regulators at the loan board. ] Alan Greenspan also helped out with a letter to the regulators, asking that Lincoln be exempt from the new rules. With their help of Greenspan and their pet senators, Lincoln was able to stay in business an additional two years, at the end of which they failed -- taking the life savings of 21,000, mostly elderly, investors with them.

How involved was John McCain? McCain and Keating had known each other since 1981 and had become fast friends. Of all the "Keating Five," it was McCain who moved into the life of the Lincoln S&L chief. The two men vacationed together multiple times, with the whole McCain clan (babysitter included) heading out for Keating's private Caribbean property on Keating's private jet. McCain didn't think to actually report these trips, or pay for them, until the investigators were breathing down his neck. And McCain took his payment in the form of more than just vacations. Keating and other members of Lincoln's parent company padded McCain's pockets with $112,000 in campaign contributions.

In John McCain's biography, he called his meetings with Keating and regulators "the worst mistake of my life," though from the text you'd think this was a spur of the moment decision, not something that McCain did repeatedly over a space of years. Still, you might think that a "worst mistake" would stay fresh in his memory.

It certainly didn't fade quickly for the country. Following the S&L crisis, the Resolution Trust Company was formed to swallow up the debt of Lincoln and 746 other S&Ls gone wild, and taxpayers were left with the $125 billion bill. The resulting budget deficit forced cutbacks in other programs. The artificial real estate boom collapsed and housing starts fell to their lowest levels in decades. Finally, the whole nation settled in for a period nasty enough that three years later someone could still campaign around the idea "It's the economy, stupid."

Even so, by 1999 Phil Gramm -- who had entered the Senate two years after McCain and quickly become the economic guru of the Keating Five maverick -- put forward the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. This Act passed out of the Senate on a party line vote with 100% Republican support, including that of John McCain. (To be fair, the bill eventually passed again with a wide margin following revisions in the House.)

This act repealed part of the Glass-Steagall Act. This may sound like a bunch of Congressperson soup, but the gist of it is that Glass-Steagall was put in place in 1933 to control the rampant speculation that had helped cause the collapse of banking at the outset of the depression, and to prevent such consolidation of the banks that the nation had all its eggs in one fiscal basket.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley reversed those rules, allowing not only more bank mergers, but for banks to become directly involved in the stock market, bonds, and insurance. Remember the bit about how S&Ls failed because they didn't have the regulations that protected banks? After Gramm-Leach-Bliley, banks didn't have that protection either.

Gramm wasn't done. The next year he was back with the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which was slipped into a "must pass" spending bill on the last day of the 106th Congress. This Act greatly expanded the scope of futures trading, created new vehicles for speculation, and sheltered several investments from regulation.

As with both Gramm-Leach-Bliley and Garn-St. Germain, large parts of this bill were written by industry lobbyists. This famously included the "Enron Loophole" that exempted energy trading from regulation and was written by (big suprise) Enron Lobbyists working with Gramm. Not coincidentally, Senator Gramm, the second largest recipient of campaign contributions from Enron, was also key to legislating the deregulation of California's energy commodity trading.

Thanks to this fortunate trifecta of Gramm-crafted legislation, Enron was able to create "EnronOnline" and trade electricity in California with absolutely no oversight or transparency. They quickly worked out how to game the system. Previously, there had been only one Stage 3 rolling blackout in the history of California. Within months, the system had been manipulated by traders to generate 38 such blackouts and wholesale electrical prices had gone up more than 3000%. Despite production capacity equal to four times the demand during winter, energy traders even engineered a blackout in mid-January.

During the confusion of these deliberate "shortages" and "price spikes," the California administration of Gray Davis -- blind to speculator manipulations because of the walls erected by Gramm's legislation -- was forced to sign energy contracts at enormous rates. There was little choice, because most of California's public utilities were on the brink of bankruptcy from the rising wholesale prices.

In a single year, Gramm's legislation allowed speculators to bring the state to its knees. Enron alone looted California of $11 billion. The manipulations of the energy market were also a major factor in Davis getting the hook, helped usher the governator into power, and they still have repercussions in California's budget battles today. By the end of that year, the depth of Enron's deception could no longer be hidden, and the whole company came crashing down in the largest bankruptcy in history -- at the time. This brought more billions lost in mutual funds and pension funds across the country, and played a major role in the economic downturn of 2001.

But that was only the second act. The combination of Gramm-Leach-Bliley and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act was a toxic cocktail whose total damage was greater than the sum of its parts.

The first Act promoted bank buyouts and mergers that reached such an insane pitch that the average consumer could only keep up by tracking the changing names on their checks and credit cards. Mercantile buys Ameribanc and Mark Twain. Firstar buys Federated and First Colonial. US Bancorp buys Mercantile and Firstar. And, because it allowed brokerages and insurance companies to mingle with banks, the Act cemented a trend that was already (and illegally) underway in which all those terms had become rather quaint. Is Wachovia a savings bank, an investment bank, a brokerage, or an insurance provider? The answer is "yes."

In allowing financial institutions to grow to Godzilla-sized proportions, Gramm-Leach-Bliley helped ensure that we would have financial entities that were "too big to fail." Rather than choosing to enforce rules that kept these institutions apart, the deregulators chose to create monster bankeragasurances whose downfall (and existence) was enough to threaten the whole system.

But if Gramm-Leach-Bliley removed the limits on size and scope, these new institutions still needed fuel. With many financial transactions operating on razor thin margins, and increasing automation sapping the profits from trading of all sorts, they needed a new way to generate the funds required to swallow their brethren in the merged fiscal corporation pond. For that, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act was a godsend.

Among those instruments which the CFMA sheltered from regulatory scrutiny was something called the "credit default swap." A kind of insurance one bank could exchange with another, credit default swaps supposedly made it safe for banks to take on ever riskier forms of debt. The Act didn't invent these swaps, though they were relatively new. Instead, by placing them in a state where they were not only unregulated but almost perfectly opaque, credit default swaps were turned into the perfect vehicle to fuel a Wall Street revolution. No one had any idea what these things were actually worth, they were traded "over the counter" without being administered by any exchange, and even the SEC could monitor their existence only indirectly.

Who would cheer for a new kind of financial instrument that was difficult to understand, invisible to regulators, and impossible for even the whizziest of Wall Street whiz kids to value? Guess.

More recently, instruments that are more complex and less transparent--such as credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, and credit-linked notes--have been developed and their use has grown very rapidly in recent years. The result? Improved credit-risk management together with more and better risk-management tools appear to have significantly reduced loan concentrations in telecommunications and, indeed, other areas and the associated stress on banks and other financial institutions.
--Alan Greenspan, 2002

Get that? Greenspan loved credit default swaps. He opined again and again that such instruments would be the salvation of the industry by spreading around risks. To the mighty Greenspan, both their complexity and their lack of transparency were good things, since swaps would only be handled by the big boys who knew how to play with fire.

When questioned about his support of Gramm's legislation, John McCain called his friend (and by then, campaign co-chair) Gramm "one of the smartest people in the world on the economy" and pointed out that Greenspan also favored the acts Gramm and his coalition of lobbyists had authored. If both Gramm and Greenspan were on his side, McCain couldn't possibly be in the wrong.

Except, of course, that he could.

From the beginning, there were plenty of people in the financial community whose opinion of these unregulated credit swaps was not as rosy as that of Gramm, Greenspan, and McCain. Chief among those speaking in opposition was SEC Chairman, Arthur Levitt. Levitt argued that what the industry needed was more transparency, especially when it came to complex instruments like default swaps, and he testified to this before Gramm's Senate Banking Committee,.

"In my judgment, the risk of this regulatory approach is simply unacceptable for America's investors."
--Arthur Levitt, 1999

Gramm paid no attention.

Credit default swaps did allow the banks to share risks. So much so, that banks raced each other in an effort to find more risks. They made it possible for the down payment on homes to become 3%, 1%, 0%. Skip the credit check, avoid the employment requirements, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! We've got a credit default swap, we can do anything!

The encouragement and "safety" that credit default swaps provided made the sub-prime mortgage market possible. Just as with the deregulation of S&Ls in the 1980s, the market was suddenly flooded with easy credit. The result was a real estate boom, soaring home prices, and a plague of "Flip that House!" shows on cable.

As the banks piled up crappy mortgages, they heaped on ever more of the credit default swaps -- and they still had no idea how to value the things. Worse, they began to trade the swaps themselves as if they were an investment, treating them like something worth holding instead of a big bundle of cartoon bombs whose fuses were already lit. Since very few loans were falling into default at the time, owning a default swap seemed like a way to collect fees without ever paying out. Banks wanted more, and more, and more.

A secondary market for trading swaps exploded into existence, and swaps were traded with absolutely no consideration for the nature or quality of the underlying investment. Swaps changed hands a dozen or more times, growing in "value" as they went. Worse still, no one regulated who could buy a swap, so it was (and is) perfectly possible for a company to acquire swaps that theoretically cover billions of dollars in loans, even if that company doesn't have a red cent on hand to cover those swaps should the loans default.

How big did this market become? Here's business correspondent Bob Moon and host Kai Ryssdal on American Public Media's Marketplace from back in the spring.

BOB MOON: OK, I'm about to unload some numbers on you here, so I'll speak slowly so you can follow this.

The value of the entire U.S. Treasuries market: $4.5 trillion.

The value of the entire mortgage market: $7 trillion.

The size of the U.S. stock market: $22 trillion.

OK, you ready?

The size of the credit default swap market last year: $45 trillion.

KAI RYSSDAL: That's a lot of money, Bob.

As in three times the whole US gross domestic product, Bob. And the truth is that Moon probably underestimated. The unregulated and poorly reported credit default swaps may have actually passed $70 trillion last year, or about $5 trillion more than the GDP of the entire world.

So, are you starting to get an idea of just how big a genie Phil Gramm and his pals unleashed?

With some regularity over the last eight years, fiscal whistle blowers have tried to raise their hands and register a protest. Um, sirs? Is it altogether a good idea to run up debts exceeding all the assets it's even possible to hold? But so long as no one actually had to pay off on the swaps, the party went on. Even usually conservative (in the fiscal sense) companies like AIG started to worry that they were being left behind and leapt headlong into the swap pool.

Shortly after Greenspan's departure in 2006, the Federal Reserve took the unusual step of issued a joint statement along with the SEC to warn about the risks associated with credit default swaps. But by that point, the damage was already severe. If swaps lost their value, most of those who had played the game would find their giant firms abruptly valued in pocket change. The only solution was to cover the problem with still more swaps and keep moving.

Then a funny thing happened. After years in which banks had handed out loans willy-nilly, guarded by the indestructible swap, people and companies started to really default on those loans. Credit slowed, home prices fell, and the whole snake started to eat itself tail first. Suddenly, credit default swaps were not sources of limitless cash. It turns out that an insurance policy -- even a secret, unregulated policy -- is occasionally expected to pay. Speculators started to look at the paper they were holding and for the first time realized it could all be worthless. Worse, it could (and did) represent a massive debt; one that no one had the funds to cover.

When Bear Stearns fell apart last March, it was only suspected that a big part of the effort in saving the giant investment bank was keeping their holdings in credit default swaps from unraveling and spreading to other institutions. Naturally, part of solving this problem involved creating a new credit default swap to cover Bear Stearn's potential debt. But the all-purpose swap was starting to lose its power. Shortly after Bear Stearns went belly up, AIG reported the largest quarterly loss in the company's history, taking a $11 billion hit on revaluing its holdings of swaps. The party was definitely coming to a close.

When AIG finally collapsed this week, there was no doubt about the primary cause of its failure. The previously well grounded company had "gotten itself involved with something called credit default swaps." Point of irony alert: Arthur Levitt now serves on the AIG board... or at least he did until the government had to take over most of AIG to salvage the company from the very idiocy Levitt had warned of in 1999.

This week, the Bush administration announced the beginnings of a plan to salvage what remains of the financial markets. At first glance, it appears that the plan will consist mainly of creating a kind of "garbage pit," a fund or group of funds -- cousins of the Resolution Trust that was created during the S&L crisis -- into which those people who have dabbled in bad debts can toss their problems. Only this time the cost to the taxpayers is at least $700 billion... and a big bite out of representative democracy.

The expansion of unregulated Savings and Loans in the 1980s brought on the collapse of that industry, a crippling of the economy, and left taxpayers holding the bag. Maybe that was only happenstance. Those pushing for the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act may not have known what they were doing.

The deregulation of the California electricity market, along with the protections provided to Enron through Phil Gramm's lobbyist-written legislation brought blackouts, fiscal and political chaos, and left taxpayers holding the bag. But the people who engineered that event -- people like Gramm and Greenspan -- had already seen what happened with the S&Ls. They should have known better. Still, perhaps that was only coincidence.

The sub-prime mortgage crisis that has not only come so close to utterly destroying the markets, but has ruined the value of many people's homes and left millions with mortgages they can't pay, was also the outcome of the deregulation created by these men. The very predictable outcome. When taxpayers are left holding the bag for $1 trillion this time around, it's hard to believe it's any sort of accident.

This is enemy action. This is a bullet deliberately fired into the economy by men willing to exercise their ideology regardless of the cost to taxpayers. Men who have every expectation that they can plunder the system again and again, while the public picks up the tab. John McCain may not have had his finger directly on the trigger, but he was there. He assisted. These were his personal friends and philosophical comrades. He may not be the high priest, but he has been a loyal acolyte in the cult of deregulation.

It may come as a surprise to the champions of deregulation, but nobody likes regulation. The restrictions that were placed on banks, S&Ls, and other institutions in the 1930s weren't put there because someone thought it would be fun. They were put in place because they addressed problems that had just been clearly and painfully revealed. They were put in place because they were necessary.

It's bad enough if John McCain didn't know that. It's far worse if he did.

[The original essay is here]

As Seen on the Web

2008-09-17T19:48:00.001-05:00

Commenter at CNN.com:

Republicans lowered my taxes, and will keep them low. But the value of my home has dropped 20%, my health insurance costs have doubled, gas costs $4 a gallon, and my investments are in the tank. Please, tax me.

Barack-rocked

2008-09-16T18:36:00.000-05:00

The Post Modern Campaign

2008-09-16T14:30:00.001-05:00

How far off are we, really, from ads like this?

"Barack Obama says he's 'young.' But is he really? Being young is about more than just talk. Look behind the words, and you'll find the same old policies. From the same old people.

"Anyone can come out of nowhere and claim to be young. John McCain has been proving his youth for decades, ever since he was a young POW in a dark isolation cell in Vietnam.

"John McCain will bring real youth to Washington. The kind of youth that gets results.

"John McCain. A president you can trust to be young."

More black comedy here.

Crickets

2008-09-15T13:31:00.001-05:00

State of Emergency!

2008-09-14T21:20:00.003-05:00

Apparently, a state of emergency has been declared for all of Cook County. That includes us, though we haven't had it as bad as some. In fact, stuck at home this morning after all the rain, we decided to brave the elements and hit the zoo (which has a great indoor playroom for kids). On the way there, after passing several roads closed due to flooding, as well as a few roads that may as well be closed (entire parks were under water; the Des Plains river was overflowing), I decided to give up. I had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

We ended up going to the Garfield Park Conservatory, which was fun, but the roof was so leaky you more or less needed an umbrella inside. And now, the news just reported that the Zoo eventually had to be closed, the flooding was so bad. Animals were apparently swimming around in their pens and cages, and some could even potentially swim right out to ~~eat~~greet you. They were moved to safe and we, for our safety, were kept out.

I should mention that Chicago and Cook County is not a particularly flood-prone area. We're not some swamp. We're not below sea level. We're just getting hit hard by persistent rain, a wet reminder of the havoc bad weather can cause. Expect to see more and more of it as more and more the fruits of global warming come to bear.

Money Matters

2008-09-14T19:14:00.002-05:00

Our older daughter Z, now a worldly near-4 year old, knows there are two firm rules about money in our household. One, keep loose change away from Baby A - it's a choking hazard. And two, when you're done playing with your fake money, be sure to put it back in your pretend cash register.

Other than that, I've wondered what else about money I should be instilling in her young, impressionable mind, while she's still unconditionally receptive to my influence. Z understands cash has some value, at least on a shallow level, but doesn't quite grasp the power of the purse. I mean, how could she, when nearly anything she could possibly dream of - from dolls to stickers to candy - pretty much amounts to mere peanuts?

Still, we've been very careful not to spoil her. We've also been teaching her the importance of charity, and the bigger idea that there will always be people less fortunate than she, people so busy struggling for fundamental "needs" that frivolous "wants" barely enter the equation. Possession's definitely a concept any pre-schooler can grasp. Point out that not everyone can afford her favorite toys, and that she's very lucky to have what she has, and it's pretty clear she gets it. She empathizes. She's been there. She's knows full well how it makes her feel at school when a friend shows off shiny new princess shoes Z wishes she had herself.

I've personally been hyper aware of the tough plight faced by so many - too many, really - Americans this current election year. The never-ending campaign has been awash with so many fiscal facts, figures, promises, recriminations and strategies, flying left and right from both sides: thousands, millions, billions, even trillions of budget dollars in programs, funding, tax cuts, tax hikes, and more. When I hear these numbers, I think of all the people potentially oblivious to the way others are gambling with their future. I also think of my own kids, who will similarly have to deal with any decisions made on their behalf by do-anything-to-win politicians who may or may not have their longview best interests at heart. Then I consider the current economic downturn and wonder how my own kids would fare in the near future were things to take an even more dire, disastrous turn. I wonder what kind of problems they'd face should so many currently irresponsible spending habits continue unabated, digging a deeper and deeper hole of national debt that will eventually have to be reckoned with.

Of course, right now both kids are more or less blissfully innocent of all this stuff. Z, for her part, can recognize pictures of Barack Obama and even spell his name, but of course she has little idea what he means or what he'd do as president. She does, however, recognize that he represents something good, and that he's ready to clean up the mess made by "a bad man." I find that encouraging - not the fact that we're potentially raising some bleeding heart, but the fact that Z understands the difference between good and bad, and the notion that one person can make a difference. I think of that every time we give change to someone in Chinatown, or every time we walk somewhere instead of driving. Certainly I think of this every time she chastises me for forgetting to turn off the lights (and she does do this - she says "it's not good for the Erf!"), or every time we drop things off at the second hand store.

When Z - let alone barely walkin', not talkin' Baby A. - grows up, she'll come to her own conclusions as to why the world works (or doesn't work) the way that it is. She'll also fully understand the role that money plays in the general function and dysfunction of global society. If I've done my job, though, she'll always remember that no matter how deep the coffers or debts, there'll always be a right and wrong way to go about doing things: irresponsibly, thinking only of the here and now and none of the ramifications, and responsibly, thinking about tomorrow, the impact of her decisions, and ultimately, what it means for her own children, and her children's children, so many years down the line.

(Alma's a member of the Parent Bloggers Network, which is sponsoring a "Money Doesn't Grow on Trees" contest with Capital One, which is why I'm suddenly so fancy-pants introspective this silly season).

Four More Wars!

2008-09-11T19:32:00.002-05:00

China, Iran, North Korea and now, ladies and gentlemen, Russia! I don't know if McCain/Palin has a domestic agenda at all, but I think we pretty much know where they stand internationally. Add in the ongoing trouble in Iraq and Afghanistan, if not Pakistan, and we'd have hot and colds wars going on several different fronts at the same time. And to what achievable goal? Peace and prosperity? You've go to hand it to the Republicans. They sure love irony.

If the Simile Fits ...

2008-09-10T15:23:00.002-05:00

2008-09-09T00:24:00.003-05:00

Bridge Back to Nowhere

2008-09-09T00:20:00.001-05:00

Meanwhile, Back in the Jungle ...

2008-09-06T08:51:00.002-05:00

Sarah Palin isn't just stonewalling the ongoing investigations into her misuse of power, she and the McCain camp are now actively trying to shut them down. And if you're so deluded as to think Palin deserves the benefit of the doubt, think again.

This IS Spinal Tap

2008-09-06T08:45:00.002-05:00

When John McCain began his wan convention speech, he spent a long time standing in front of some mysterious mansion. A few intrepid reporters looked into it, and it turns out it was a photo of Walter Reed. No, not Walter Reed Medical Center, but Walter Reed Middle School, in North Hollywood, California. So what happened? The McCain camp is, not surprisingly, mum, but all theories point to a random, careless search through stock photos that came up with the wrong image. If there was any further doubt the GOP is about nothing more than photo ops, string pulling and stagecraft, here you go.

Another Stealth VP?

2008-09-05T09:37:00.003-05:00

It seems as if, for the time being, the McCain campaign is shielding Palin from the big, bad press. Is this really the precedent they want to set, after seven years of secretive VP in Chief Dick Cheney? There are less than two months left - can they really keep her under wraps the whole time? I somehow doubt it.

A week ago no one had ever heard of her, and right now she's still basking in the glow of being loved for ... what? Reading a speech well? Granted, that same criticism has been levied at Obama, yet he faced his critics head on. Obama's trial by fire also lasted over a year, and gave him plenty of time to defuse any ticking time bombs. Palin's hasn't even begun yet. So if people think, based on that one prime time speech, that they have any idea who Sarah Palin "really" is, they're sorely mistaken. The fun part hasn't even started.

McCain Says: No More War!

2008-09-04T21:51:00.004-05:00

Except maybe Iran and Russia.

Could McCain's speech in progress possibly be a more explicit encapsulation of an older (and much, much whiter) generation and a previous mode of thinking and a newer, younger one with a better idea if not grasp of the future?

McCain's said a few sensible things, but it can't be a coincidence that those few things drew the most tepid response from the red meat Republican crowd. He's also contradicted himself numerous times. Is he a fly solo maverick, or a team player? Is President Job and his cronies responsible for the current state of affairs, or is the root of all evil more nebulous and mysterious? What about McCain's blatant bid for the support of the religious right, the true heart and soul of the modern day Republican party? More importantly, what about all the invasive laws and imposed restrictions these loonies would inflict on us all? How can you talk about the shame and pain of torture from personal experience, yet not renounce the current administration's support of similar tactics?

Anyway, I assume now that he's reverted to full-on POW mode, he's wrapping things up on a hyper patriotic note. Why not just call for a renewal of the draft, McCain, if getting shot down helped you find God, country and purpose? Maybe we could all use a little time in a box to see things your way.

On PBS they're noting the size of the balloons dropping. There's a metaphor there.

Do What I Say, Now

2008-09-04T12:08:00.000-05:00

Not what I said, then.

Palin's Speech ...

2008-09-04T10:28:00.000-05:00

Was a cross between this and this.

Prosperity!

2008-09-03T20:04:00.002-05:00

That's what the signs being waved at the Republican National Convention read. Prosperity. Not now, of course, but later, when John McCain is elected and does ... something. Invades Iran? Invades North Korea? Invades Russia? One of those countries has got to have some prosperity we can take, dammit! These guys have me energized! And totally on message! Go, old white people, go!

Inside Baseball, Overheard

2008-09-03T15:55:00.001-05:00

This turkey is done:

Even More Palin Making the Rounds

2008-09-02T10:45:00.002-05:00

It's long, but puts Palin in perspective:

Dear friends,

So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the
last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .

Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in
common: their gender and their good looks. :)

You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts
with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on
any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .

Thanks,
Anne

ABOUT SARAH PALIN

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a "babe".

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months.

She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby.
There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out
there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She's smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
(at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will
make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's
surplus, borrow for needs.

She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated”
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't
fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded
for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew
her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit,
exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to
nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state
initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.

CLAIM VS FACT
•“Hockey mom”: true for a few years
•“PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
•“NRA supporter”: absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
•“Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
•“Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla’s history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen
when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because
few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out
of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no
fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100
or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's
attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust
for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible
for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are
swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000", up to 9,000. The
day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the
current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was
5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to
2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.

Anne Kilkenny
annekilkenny@hotmail.com
August 31, 2008

Sarah Palin's To-Do List

2008-09-02T10:29:00.002-05:00

From Slate. Very funny.

Sarah Palin's To-Do List

1. Learn about Al Qaeda.
2. Learn about Washington D.C.
3. Order Bristol's dress (Elastic waist!!! Is white inappropriate after 6 mos?)
4. Fire brother-in-law.
5. Learn about Russia/Georgia/S.Ossetia (Locate Abkhazia???)
6. Nurse Baby Trig.
7. Order flowers for wedding.
8. Fire people who haven't fired brother-in-law
9. Learn about ethics rules.
10. Fire at brother-in-law? (option: aerial shooting?)
11. Nurse Baby Trig.
12. Learn about Iran.
13. Learn about U.S. Senate.
14. Learn about contraception. (Too late???)
15. Investigate homes for foundlings?
16. Govern Alaska.
17. Life insurance on J.M.?

How Long Will She Last?

2008-09-01T14:58:00.002-05:00

Abstinence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

2008-09-01T11:40:00.005-05:00

So is it big news that Gov. Sarah Palin's 17-year old daughter is officially five months pregnant out of wedlock? You bet your ass it is, especially since Palin is a) anti-sex ed, b) pro-abstinence and c) absolutely so extremely anti-abortion that she thinks it should be illegal even in the case of rape or incest. The last fact is its own offensive thing. The first two underscore the hypocrisy of these so-called family values candidates.

Any Way the Wind Blows Doesn't Really Matter

2008-09-01T11:11:00.003-05:00

Underestimate Katrina, you come off callous and clueless. Overestimate Gustav, you come off a nervous nelly. So they scale back the Republican Nation Convention and conveniently cancel several lame (duck) speakers, and what kind of advantage bump does McCain get out of it? Nothing, other than a reminder of how poorly his party failed the country three years ago. He's like one of those pitiful weathermen in rain gear bracing against the wind, hypong exploiting the conditions for the sake of a one minute nightly news feature.

Back to you, John McCain. Back to your horrible campaign, your terrible choice of running mate, your obscene lack of ethics, your blatant pandering to the most base base of your party, your many mansions and the backdated wife that bought them for you.

McLame

2008-09-01T07:37:00.004-05:00

McCain is reportedly headed down south, exploiting the latest threat of natural disaster to advance his cause of national disaster. So where was McCain when Katrina touched down? Right here, celebrating his birthday in Arizona with his buddy.

Palin: Bad for Women

2008-08-31T16:30:00.002-05:00

The baldy patronizing McCain picking Palin is akin to suggesting that any woman is qualified to be VP or president, which of course does no favors for all the women who are qualified. This is why no woman with even a hint of self-esteem, short of religious nuts, would vote for any ticket featuring this former local newscaster

Times are Tough, Diddy

2008-08-27T14:36:00.000-05:00

Mr. Bad Example

2008-08-26T13:44:00.002-05:00

My Man Biden

2008-08-23T09:43:00.003-05:00

There are lots of reasons why Joe Biden is a great pick for VP, but one of the best reasons is that several of his purported weaknesses as an insider or egotist actually work to his and Obama's advantage. If we've learned one thing from the past eight years it's that a rogue VP let off the leash can do a lot of damage. Unlike Cheney, Biden splits the difference between team player and independent, and his presence in the White House would be more productive than destructive. He'll get things done, but on Obama's terms.

It is intriguing, however, that one of the main legacies of President Job will likely be that the VP slot will finally mean something concrete, that now and in the future the VP pick will mean adding another active power player to the ticket rather than just a bland meet-and-greet cuckold who bakes cookies or pretends to care when a busy president doesn't have the time to hang out at elementary schools reading books to kids.

In fact, Biden is every bit the "maverick" that people still stubbornly, stupidly claim McCain to be, except his idea of compromise doesn't compromise his own ideals for personal gain. And more importantly, unlike McCain, I bet Biden knows how many homes he owns.

Storm Chaser

2008-08-07T15:44:00.002-05:00

We had an amazing storm Monday night, the extent of which I didn't realize until last night. First I learned that, yeah, the sirens mean "take shelter" in the "hit the basement" sense. Second, catching King Crimson in Lincoln Park last night, I spied several downed trees - split, ripped up by their roots. And this was a few days after the clean-up! And then I saw this amazing set of photos.

Britney Spears is a Genius!

2008-08-06T22:48:00.001-05:00

Who knew?

Preach On

2008-07-28T22:58:00.001-05:00

It's preachy and talky, but just try imagine this (long) scene from "The Americanization of Emily" (aka the movie Julie Andrews did between "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music," aka the movie James Garner once called "the only good movie I ever made") in a film today. It would be cut to pieces, if not cut out.

There's A Metaphor Buried In Here Somewhere

2008-07-22T22:28:00.000-05:00

http://view.break.com/539758 - Watch more free videos

Revenge of the Jedi

2008-07-21T19:52:00.002-05:00

It's always fun to see a prig face off against populists, but this clip of Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel defend fun against an assault from stuffy critic John Simon - who suggests the alcoholic country singer redemption tale "Tender Mercies" as a better film for kids than the popcorn "Return of the Jedi" - is an exceptional clash. Little did Simon know that he was fighting a losing battle against the forces of summer blockbusters.

In other news, "The Dark Knight" is currently listed on the otherwise invaluable Internet Movie Database as the best movie ever made. The list of the top 250 tends to skew fanboy, but still ... best movie of all time? Really? It hasn't even been out a week yet.

Very Dark Knight

2008-07-21T09:09:00.002-05:00

Last week I saw both the new Batman flick and "Hellboy 2." Each film is based on a comic book, each film featured no real blood, sex or profanity, and each landed a PG-13 from the ever-arbitrary and mostly irrelevant MPAA. Yet "Hellboy," being cartoonish and silly, probably deserved a PG, while "The Dark Knight," being sadistic and intense (replete with numerous threats to women and children, not to mention lots of innocent folks being tortured, tormented or otherwise terrorized) probably could have passed for an R. Which would have been remarkable, given the lack of all the usual things that land an R.

Yet if the innocent and beautiful "Once" can get an R, then why not "The Dark Knight?" Just goes to show once again the hypocrisy of the ratings board, which would stamp a restricted sign on a film that mutters "fuck" once or twice in a thick Irish brogue, yet gives a PG-13 to a film featuring a madman that slashed a smile into the faces of his victims with a knife, impales someone's head on a pencil, and blows up an (empty?) hospital. Among other things. But, hey, he never curses, so bring the whole family, y'all!

Bad for Obama

2008-07-14T08:40:00.004-05:00

I understand what the New Yorker was going for with this cover, but I wonder if their NYC vantage has blinded them to the realities of the current political landscape. Now, I wouldn't call David Remnick et al. naive, per se, but for this image to work well as satire it'd need to exaggerate certain aspects of the Obama smear campaign, not conform exactly to what his crazy, ignorant detractors claim.

Tom Petty, Part 2

2008-07-11T13:55:00.002-05:00

OK, made it to part 2 of the doc - it's four hours! - and it reminded me that, yeah, when Petty hooked up with the rest of the Traveling Wilburys, and later did "Full Moon Fever" (which like the Wilburys really reflected the input of ELO's Jeff Lynn, another dude straddling the A/B-list) he was firing on all cylinders as a pop songwriter. "Wallflowers," a couple of albums later, is pretty great, too. I suppose maturity suited the guy, though he's been pretty much coasting ever since.

One thing is for certain: Mike Campbell is an incredible, and very tasteful, guitar hero that makes me want to practice more. I've always admired his ability to play the perfect three or four note, two or three measure solo. Very few people can pull that off.

Runnin' Down a Dream

2008-07-10T15:31:00.003-05:00

I'm finally getting around to watching Peter Bogdanovich's four-hour Tom Petty documentary. It's very well made, and I think all the more impressive considering Petty is, even at his best, something of a b-lister about on par with prime John Mellencamp, but nowhere near someone like Bruce Springsteen. If anything, that's the ultimate failure of the flick (so far). Sure, he's a big star with familiar big star problems, but it's just so weird to see people praising the bejeezus out of the guy while barely mentioning his inherent second-class redundant status. To hear hacks like Bill Flanagan talk about Petty in the same breath as, say, U2 is pretty audacious. Love him or hate him, his career is a whole different animal. A nice animal, one you're glad to have hang around, but a different animal all the same.

Every time they flash an album or date on screen, I keep thinking what someone like Prince was up to at the same time, and then I think: no contest.

My Buddy, the Rain Barrel

2008-07-09T12:53:00.002-05:00

Alma and I finally picked up a rain barrel from our friendly neighborhood green store (what, you don't have one?). I went there with an empty red kid's wagon to drag the thing back.

"I bet you got a lot of funny looks pulling an empty wagon," the owner asked.

"Not as many looks as I'll get giving a big weird barrel a ride back," I replied. And I was right! I heard at least two people comment on my precious cargo as I pulled it home to its new spot under the gutter.

Raccoon Baby Boom?

2008-07-09T12:50:00.002-05:00

Coming back from my guitar lesson late Monday night (when Curt pointed out how unusual it was that as a student I had virtually no interest in learning how to play lead), I saw first one raccoon cross the road then, a mile later, another pair run across the street. Then, last night, coming home from an early show by Wolf Parade, I saw another two raccoons racing across the street.

So what gives? Is every night like this if you look hard enough? Or are we being overrun by scavengers?

So, What has Happened?

2008-06-28T20:29:00.002-05:00

1) Summer has arrived, which means less time for everything.

2) Primary's over, which means less grist for the mill.

But life goes on! Seen a few shows lately, including a fine night with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Today the whole family went to see some of Stevie Wonder at the taste of Chicago. Predictably, he was Wonder-ful. Get it? That's his name! As usual, too many people at the Taste of Chicago for my tastes, and towing two kids made it all the more difficult to navigate. I doubt I'll ever go to the Taste again until someone of Stevie's stature is playing, and even then they better be on my shortlist of acts I've never seen. Which is a very short list!

In the most exciting turn of the summer so far, two days ago I (probably) broke a toe, and an hour ago I (definitely) sliced open my ankle. Yesterday a kids plate came flying out of the cabinet and shattered my Chemex coffee carafe into a bunch of big pieces. I tossed them in the trash and promptly forgot about them, until I picked up the plastic bag to take outside tonight and was surprised by the big shard that gashed me. So not only am I jonesing for caffeine, now I likely need to go to an urgent care clinic first thing tomorrow to (possibly) get stitches. And then I need to limp downtown into Chicago to get a new Chemex carafe.

When the History Books Are Written

2008-06-03T22:36:00.000-05:00

They should all be tossed out in favor of this:

I Can't Wait

2008-06-03T21:58:00.003-05:00

1) I can't for all of McCain's baggage to be laid bare, now that Clinton is out of the picture and the lazy press moves on to the main event. It's hard to believe, but some people actually think he's not a right wing nutjob! Maybe said lazy press will stop taking it easy on this easy, easy target.

2) I can't wait to see Clinton, her husband, and all she stands for stamped and stowed away for good as products of the past rather than hope for the future.

3) I can't wait to see Barack Obama at least take a stab at fulfilling all the promises he's made. But the biggest promise he's made so far has been less specific than symbolic: he's promised to point America back in the right direction. Sure, lots of politicians make that promise, but few follow so many years of things in this country being so wrong.

4) I can't wait for President Job to fade (even further!) in estimation and esteem like a lesser Nixon. I predict he'll live out many of his last years in isolation, surrounded by the few friends and loyalists not totally humiliated or appalled by further revelations of his legacy, even as other friends and loyalists continue to leave his leper colony of a destructive dumb-dumb cabal.

Incredible

2008-06-03T21:53:00.003-05:00

His speech brought tears to my eyes. But masochists will be better rewarded by seeking out clips of McCain's DOA speech.

Right? Or Wright?

2008-06-02T19:14:00.006-05:00

First things first: if Clinton were the nominee, I'd likely be supporting her for president. That she's not makes it easier to acknowledge that she ran a poor campaign, of dubious gain and with still up in the air damages left in her wake. Will all the mud she stirred up affect Obama's chances in November? I don't think so, but if it does it all falls on Clinton's shoulders. She'd be like the anti-Gore, forever known not just for not winning but also for taking Obama down with her.

But that's not going to happen. Clinton may be power-mad, but she's not dumb. Ergo, if she finally drops out of the race, I bet we'll see her campaign for Obama like that was her purpose on earth. Not only would it be the right thing to do, it would at least partially redeem her after so many months of nonsense.

Of course, maybe Clinton won't go that way. Maybe she is selfish and venal through and through. In which case maybe she'll try to run as albatross in chief, hanging around to cause trouble, like the Rev. Wright. Or asterisk in chief, hanging around just to make Obama's election seem sketchy or suspect, the Pete Rose of presidents (though we sort of just had one of those).

But again, I don't think this will happen. She's sneaky, manipulative and disingenuous enough to pull off just the kind of public 180 degree shift that at the very least good sportsmanship demands. Expect nothing but smiles and grand gestures. But keep an eye on her (and her husband?) all the same.

What Goes Around

2008-06-02T08:31:00.005-05:00

When Hillary Clinton brought up Tony Rezco's loose association with Barack Obama, photos circulated of the alleged real estate scofflaw posing with Bill and Hillary Clinton. Controversy neutralized. When Hillary Clinton put the spotlight squarely on Obama's ex-preacher, photos circulated of that same ex-preachers holding court at a private function hosted by Bill and Hillary Clinton. Add to that Obama's historic speech on race in America, and the controversy was contained. Again and again, Hillary attacked Obama, again and again Obama thwarted or withstood those attacks.

Hillary's recent regular allusions to the 2000 Florida vote is another matter entirely. Considering 2000 remains an open wound, a sore point among all democrats, bringing it up is a lot like opening Pandora's Box: shoving those bad feelings back inside is pretty much impossible once they're unleashed. When they're out, they're out, like a roving storm cloud hanging over the party, constantly threatening rain.

I used to think this would hurt the democrats, but not anymore. I used to think this would hurt Barack Obama, but not any more. I'm still pretty confident he'll win in November. No, I think the person who will be hurt most by this nonsense is Hillary Clinton herself. In light of her semi-scorched earth campaign, cynicism and selfishness, I predict we'll see the grassroots left turn on Clinton, as they turned on proud spanner in the works Ralph Nader and turncoat Joe Lieberman (among others of the old guard). I predict, come the next NY senate race, that if she insists on not playing nice, an alternative candidate to Clinton will be put forth.

After all, why would one elect a senator all but certain to jump ship to some higher office at the earliest convenience? One who puts personal gain over party unity? One whose very name will come to stand for the same kind of stubbornness and divisiveness that's marked the Bush administration?

Maybe this is all an exaggeration, but I'm not so sure. The Clinton supporters threatening to stay home in November or even to vote for McCain seem like fair-weather friends. How could any democrat, let alone feminist, vote republican in good conscience? They can go. This group will fade in fervor and force. But the grassroots left holds grudges. That may appear to go against party unity, but I think putting smug, self-satisfied, egomaniacal pols like the Clintons out to pasture will go further toward achieving that than most people realize.

The Beginning of the End

2008-05-27T22:15:00.002-05:00

The democratic primary race has been such a distraction that the holes in McCain's prematurely sinking ship haven't gotten much coverage. But with Obama more or less running for real how, attention has turned to the Arizona septuagenarian's dubious track record of contradictions:

Poor Hillary!

2008-05-26T06:54:00.003-05:00

There have been a number of pity-party posts and essays about Hillary Clinton as of late, like this new Times piece, but it took thisessay to put it all in perspective. Someone loses the presidential election every four years. Dozens lose the primary race. Deal with it. If Clinton can't handle failure, she had no place in the race to begin with. It just underscores the pettiness and vindictiveness of her personality. Some erroneously mistake it for perseverance or dedication, but there's something a lot more pathological coursing beneath the surface of the junior senator for New York.