ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes! June 18, 2009
Posted by geoff in Music, News, Politics.29 comments
I need a little help here, ‘cuz while I normally unquestioningly believe everything the Obama administration says, I’m suddenly having trouble following the timelines of their statements. Maybe you can sort it out for me:
| Date | The Quote | My Thoughts |
| 12/19/08 | “The economy is in much worse shape than we thought it was in,” Biden told me…” | Of course it is. Evil Bushies… |
| 2/17/09 | In Denver yesterday, President Obama signed his economic stimulus bill, … In his remarks, which are generating largely positive coverage, Obama sounded a cautiously optimistic tone about the country’s economic prospects, and touted the legislation as a step to preserve the “American dream.” | Oooohhh yeah! Now we’re cooking with gas! |
| 3/6/09 | On a day when the number of Americans out of work reached a 25- year high, President Obama made a visit to a place where he could show just how in fact his stimulus plan really is saving jobs. …The president insists today the nation is now on the right track.(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: “There were those who argued that our recovery plan was unwise and unnecessary.” |
Fools! Cretins! Can’t they see how wrong they are? “Unwise and unnecessary?” Hmmph!! It’s already working, morons! |
| 3/13/09 | Larry Summers sounded a note of cautious optimism today about President Obama’s stimulus plan, the Washington Post reports. While it’s way too early to assess its “broader economic impact,” Obama’s chief economic adviser called it “moderately encouraging” that consumer spending appears to be back on track. | See? See? That’s just how easy it is when you get the right team on the job!! |
| 4/14/09 | President Barack Obama said Monday the $787 billion economic stimulus plan is beginning to take hold and that work is coming in “ahead of schedule and under budget.” | Yay!! Finally the disastrous policies of the Bush administration are dispelled! Thank you Barack!! |
| 4/29/09 | “The hangover from the Bush administration is even worse than we thought,” Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said in a statement. “These numbers reflect a drawdown in business inventories and continued weakness in the housing and commercial real estate markets. Americans are starting to spend more and I’m optimistic that we will begin to see the effects of the stimulus next quarter.” | But I thought…Oh well, I guess Bush was extra persistently evil |
| 5/28/09 | President Obama refocused on the economy yesterday, asserting that at its 100-day mark, his $787 billion stimulus bill is already paying dividends, and that the economy is showing some promise. | Uh, OK. Kinda sounds the same as 6 weeks ago, though. But at least we’ve finally exorcised the Bush demons from the economy! |
| 6/14/09 | [Following announcement of May unemployment numbers] “The economy was worse off when we made the assessment than anyone thought it was.” | But you said… |
I guess I need to open my mind, somehow.
I need to turn and face the strain.
Time may change me — I can’t trace time.
OK, Barack, I get that.
How to Protest Obama’s Stimulus Plan — Part IV June 16, 2009
Posted by Michael in Entertainment, Humor, Women Ranting.19 comments
We need to have a good eyeroll ready to deploy whenever we hear about “jobs created or saved.”
I have found an expert with a variety of eyerolls. Pick your favorite and practice, practice, practice.
Muslihoon Sez: Obama’s Right About Iran June 16, 2009
Posted by geoff in News.41 comments
Many conservative blogs have decried the Obama adminstration’s tepid response to the events in Iran. I agreed with them until I read this piece that Muslihoon wrote on Facebook. He gave me permission to post it here:
Why the US should not openly support the attempted Irani revolution
Many people are calling on Obama to come out in open support for the protestors in Iran. I believe Obama and the current Administration is right in not coming out in open support.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, representing the government and people of The United States, indicated that The United States do not accept the announcement that Ahmadi-nezhad was the popularly elected president of Iran in a carefully-worded diplomatic message. It may sound impotent in our ears, but in diplomatic language and protocol, it essentially said, “We do not accept your announcement yet.” This was followed by reports that US analysts find the officially-announced results to be “not credible.”
But the White House has been silent about the protests. Irani protestors and students have been Twittering, asking when the US will support them, why Obama hasn’t come out in support of them, when will Obama come out in support of them. But — maybe because the White House isn’t following these Tweets — there has been silence from Obama.
Which is the way it should be. If Obama, or any official of the US administration, were to come out in support of the protestors, it will be exceedingly easy for Mahmoud Ahmadi-nezhad and Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Hosseyni Khaamene’i (the theocrat of Iran) to dismiss the entire “enghelaab” (revolution) as a foreign “saazesh” (plot, plan). As an external attempt to destabilize the Irani state, the current government would delegitimize the “enghelaab” and authorize the state apparatus to use excessive force against the protestors, reformists, and other leaders (because, see, then it wouldn’t be a revolution but rather a riot plotted by the Great Satan to overthrow the government).
There is no way for us to know whether the US is providing covert assistance (the possibility is there), but there should be no overt support until the reformists win. Otherwise, US support will be the reformists’ death kiss (in some senses, literally).
Thanks for the alternate viewpoint, Musli.
By (Semi) Popular Demand June 16, 2009
Posted by skinbad in Ducks, Entertainment, Family, Food.13 comments
I may have exaggerated the truth a little bit in BrewFan’s Red Lobster/anniversary thread about my wife’s ridiculous baking skillz. She’s been making those Red Lobster cheese biscuits for a few weeks now. The true story is she took oldest daughter for a shopping and lunch extravaganza last February. This was oldest daughter’s first Red Lobster outing. The cheese biscuits made a lasting impression on her, so she did some Googling and found the following recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 cups buttermilk baking mix (Bisquick)
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
Prep.
In mixing bowl, mix together baking mix, milk and cheese until a soft dough forms, then beat vigorously 30 seconds. Mrs. Skinny says that’s hard to do. You might have to ask Pupster for help. He has a lot of experience beating something vigorously for 30 seconds. Drop from spoon onto ungreased baking sheet and bake at 450 until golden brown, 9-10 minutes (Mrs. S. bakes at 400–she’s a hard one to heat up on short notice and our oven seems to run a little hot, but YMMV). Mix together butter and garlic powder. Brush over hot biscuits and serve hot. Makes 10-12.
Om nom nom nom
How to Protest Obama’s Stimulus Plan — Part III June 15, 2009
Posted by Michael in News.52 comments
Think of the Porkulus Bill as an ass that needs to be cleaned.
How can you quickly and efficiently wipe up the mess?
Joe Tries to Spin, But Ends Up Twisting in the Wind June 15, 2009
Posted by geoff in News.79 comments
In the comments, lauraw linked to Joe Biden’s spin on the economic predictions for the stimulus package:
Vice President Joe Biden says “everyone guessed wrong” on the impact of the economic stimulus.
Really. Let’s look back about 4 months and try to remember who was guessing what:
- Obama reminds GOP in stimulus meeting: “I won” (Hot Air): 1/23/09
- House passes stimulus plan, but with no Republican votes (McClatchy): 1/28/09
- Pence Opposes Democrat Stimulus Bill: “It Won’t Work”: 1/28/09
- Economists say stimulus won’t work (St. Louis Post-Dispatch): 1/29/09
- Analysis: Stimulus Won’t Jump-start Economy (AP): 2/13/2009
- Sen. Cornyn: Stimulus Won’t Work (Fox): 2/13/09
- Republican Governors Step Up Attacks on Obama Economic Policies (Bloomberg): 2/23/09
And among the highlights to the opposition to the bill, we had 200 economists taking out an ad in the New York Times saying it wouldn’t work, all GOP representatives voting against the bill, and all but 3 GOP senators voting against the bill. [And as Joey Buzz points out in the comments, I'd forgotten to mention the Tea Paries, which involved hundreds of thousands of American citizens of all political affiliations.]
Seems like more than a few people lacked faith in the impact of the economic stimulus, and the only people who “guessed wrong” were its ardent supporters. There have been few cases in politics where one party so completely and unequivocally owned a piece of legislation. Joe is a desperate, desperate man to even try to revise that history.
But that’s not all folks – he kept on going. I doubt anybody in the MSM is going to take him to task on this part, so we’ll have to do it here:
Biden says White House economists used standard formulas to estimate that 3.5 million jobs would be saved or created under the plan Congress passed earlier this year.
What’s wrong with that? Let me put it this way: glorifying their breezy use of rules of thumb with the term “standard formulas” is like calling a series of guesstimates a sophisticated computer model. Oh. I guess that’s what they did.
Anyway, here’s how they did their analysis, which produced the blue portions of the graph at the right:
- Take spending in Quarter 1, multiply by a factor to get its effect on GDP in downstream Quarters. So for its effect on Q2, we multiply Q1 spending by 1.05 and add it to Q2′s GDP. Then we multiply Q2 spending by 1.05 and Q1 spending by 1.24, and add them to the baseline GDP prediction for Q3. And so on. The multiplying factor changes depending on how many Quarters downstream of the spending you are, but levels off after about 2 years.
- Now we have a crude, crude estimate of the effect of stimulus spending on GDP. Then we get really scientific and say that 1% of GDP increase = 1 million jobs. If that has the feel of a complete swag, then I’d say you’re following this very well.
And that’s it.
What? You were expecting more? You thought that it would take more than an hour and the back of an envelope to make the calculations to justify an $800 billion spending package?
Yeah, me too.
Flag Day June 14, 2009
Posted by Pupster in Handblogging, Philosophy, Politics, Women Ranting.Tags: Hand over Heart, Take off your Hat
15 comments
It’s flag day my friends, let’s get them up and flying.
WASHINGTON (AP)- Today is Flag Day, and President Barack Obama says Americans should display their pride in Old Glory by flying it wherever possible.
Well…good for him. I’m glad to find some common ground with the Commander in Chief on occasion.
Obama is also calling on Americans to observe the period from Flag Day through Independence Day as a celebration of the nation’s heritage, by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at public gatherings.
Maybe he was distracted from the real issues that day
Potpourri June 13, 2009
Posted by BrewFan in News.20 comments
I know you all have been saying to yourself, “Self, what the heck has BrewFan been up to?” I’m glad you asked. I am currently enjoying the afterglow of … hey! get your mind out of the gutter! … a 16 oz. ribeye and a 25 oz. draft beer.
We are currently in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Mrs. BrewFan, Youngest Daughter BrewFan, and I came here to pack up YDF’s apartment as she is getting ready to graduate from college. We will be headed back to the Land of Plenty of Bratwurst tomorrow but in the mean time I thought I would subject you all to a little nostalgia. It seems like just yesterday we brought her up here to start college. I remember this clearly because I cried like a baby when we left her at her dorm. I’m not prone to crying but that tore my heart out. Ok, enough nostalgia, how about some hot boy-on-girl action?
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Mickey Who? June 12, 2009
Posted by composmentis in Heroes, History.12 comments
Yesterday evening, I was at the American Legion of which I have had the good fortune to be a member for a few months now. Though I did not serve, I am able to join through my grandfather who was a marine.
I really enjoy talking with the other members, especially those who did serve. Every Thursday, like clockwork, Jim Sr. is there, eating an order of chicken wings and drinking one and only one frosty mug of Coors Light. He’s a WWII vet. I thanked him for his service in the army. He is an easy man to like.
Likewise, Jim Jr. is a likeable character. I didn’t get a chance to ask about his service, but we did talk a little baseball. He’s a White Sox fan, he says, primarily because his dad is a Cubs fan. Despite that fact, Jim Jr. said his dad never had a problem with taking him to Comiskey park to watch the Sox. They happened to be there for a double header many years ago, the second game of which was Joe Dimaggio’s last. In the seventh inning, the crowd was disappointed when Joltin’ Joe was pulled from the game. Everyone in the stadium stood and cheered for one of the greatest boys of summer. Then the Yankees put in some unknown, blond haired rookie by the name of Mickey Mantle.
Here’s a picture I found of Lipstick Dynamite disappearing over the horizon:
Lipstick goes to the beach
Happy Friday, all.
Theology For Dummies June 12, 2009
Posted by wintersetruss in News.36 comments
At my new workplace, we’ve got a couple of those old-fashioned candy vending machines that a third party brings in and stocks with goodies. They are three-compartment glass sided machines that dispense a handfull of candy when you insert a quarter and turn the knob around one full rotation. The older one of the two has Mike & Ikes (sort of a fruit flavored Hot Tamale), M&Ms and chiclets while the newer one that has only been there for a month dispenses Hot Tamales, trail mix and peanuts.
A couple weeks ago, the Mike & Ikes (by far the most popular of all the candies) ran dry, exposing the insides of the machine to God & everyone. Now, its not like I didn’t already know how these things work, but seeing the guts of the machine exposed gave me a flash of spiritual insight.
The “dosing chamber” of this machine is filled during the dispensing of each previous serving of candy, making any shaking, exotic variations on twisting the knob or any other means to achieve a bigger dose of candy for your quarter a moot point. The size of your candy serving was already determined by the actions of the previous customer.
Am I wrong, or is this a good example of Predestination?
How To Protest Obama’s Stimulus Plan — Part II June 12, 2009
Posted by Michael in News.4 comments
If you think about it, it’s kinda like using Kung Pao Fighting Skilz to wreck a car.
You heard me.
Think about it. Imagine that Obama’s program is a car, going the wrong way.
Cutting Costs In These Times June 17, 2009
Posted by Edward von Bear in Commenting Tips, Ducks, Economics, Entertainment, Family, Food, Gardening, Handblogging, History, Law.Tags: Funneh
23 comments
In these tough economic times, we all are tring to do more with less and cut costs.
Me? I have found the best group of guys around to do my landscaping for me.
And to save money, I have hired the next batch of entertainment for the next H2/AoS/IB/DPUD/Whatever Meet Up
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