Missing The Forest For The Squirrels

General Motors at the whipping post,

Where Hewitt makes his point as a seemingly reluctant and composed agitator, Rush Limbaugh makes no bones about what he wants in his own praise of the idea. The most amazing thing here is that Limbaugh appears to be openly admitting that the purpose of this is economic and political sabotage — to prevent President Obama from succeeding at something.

The whole point of the bailouts of banks, etc. is to save capitalism from its’ own inherent flaws, and from capitalists that believe that capitalism was invented by Adam Smith whom they apparently haven’t read either.

It is necessary to regulate human enterprises, not just economics, to prevent the wild fluctuations of human emotions from ruling intellectually based systems, much as one puts baffles in liquid transportation tanks.

The anti-statists are living in a dream world, incapable of moving out of the past or moving into the future, standing athwart the never was utopia of free enterprise yelling, “me!”

The rest of us must live in the real world of highly complex systems of economics and politics having outgrown national borders. I hardly expect to make a dent in the arguments of people who remain almost as ignorant of their own professed policy positions implications as they do of their perceived opposition. But there it is.

Oh Do Still My Beating Heart

Industry reps plan to offer $2 trillion in health savings

Hospitals, insurance companies, drug makers and doctors planned to tell Obama on Monday they’ll voluntarily slow their rate increases in coming years in a move that government economists say would create breathing room to help provide health insurance to an estimated 50 million Americans who now go without it.

With this move, Obama picks up key private-sector allies that fought former President Bill Clinton’s effort to overhaul health care. Although the offer from the industry groups doesn’t resolve thorny details of a new health care system, it does offer the prospect of freeing a large chunk of money to help pay for coverage. And it puts the private-sector groups in a good position to influence the bill Congress is writing.

Graft only goes so far.

Update: The 1.5 percent will come out of labor, not management salary or profits.

Hey Give Me $700 Billion

Then I can say that I wasn’t in too bad of shape, although I’m feeling much better now, too.

No Longer An Economic Pearl Harbor!

Whew! It’s only an economic fistula.

Will America Fire Corporate Congress?

Will Geithner Fire Corporate America?

I suppose it’s comforting to know our government stands ready to fire corporate executives and directors whenever taxpayer money is on the line. But I suspect Geithner’s new tough line is mostly designed to reassure a public that’s lost all faith in the wisdom of bailing out Wall Street.

I bet they won’t, so given two hundred plus years of history, we rinse and repeat the financial ballyhoo YA.

In 1867, Dr. William Coles Keeter was replaced as head of the firm by Congressman Oakes Ames. In that year Ames allowed members of Congress to purchase shares at face rather than market value; these same members of Congress voted to appropriate government funds to cover the inflated charges of Crédit Mobilier. Ames’ actions became one of the best-known examples of graft in American history.

Well it was time to outdo themselves I suppose.

Pomp and Circumstance Meets Lunatic With Pistols

There ought to be an artful way to say it
without saying it, perhaps a verse will do.
Then again, maybe not. Has anyone a recipe
for augratin that is not fat forming? You
could be of great help in this endeavor-
banality should not be a solo project
any more than spuds should be without cheese
in au gratin, although a variety is nice
this is no time for Franco Unamerican fries,
although it seems a perfect time for spelling
variations as well as cheeses on potatoes.
Oh do twitter your reply, though I surmise
the answers already within the panorama
of all the answers that could be keyed.
But necessity demands the unlocking of augratin
potatoes, however one spells them in high places.

Given Our Feudal Heritage

(Now there was a social contract,) it is worth bearing in mind that there are two kinds of people in the work force, men who manage men, and men who manage things. (No offense intended to the women folk, consider it generically meant, although in reality, YMMV.)When someone says they run a company, all they really do is manage the people who do run the company. I’m not trying to denigrate the skill set required to manage people, but I thought that this should be pointed out to those who actually do run the companies.

Sigh(3-26)

Riding That Train

Feds trying to derail Mexican drugs

Union Pacific is failing in its responsibility to stop Mexican drug cartels from hiding narcotics on U.S-bound trains, according to a Justice Department lawsuit that railroad officials say places unrealistic demands on their business.

Corruption’s Role in the Failure of our So-called “War on Drugs”

Another example: two former policemen in Memphis were sentenced on Wednesday for “their roles in a conspiracy to rob drug dealers.”

A third officer was involved but hasn’t been sentenced yet. Not only did these cops rob drug dealers, they also reportedly sold the drugs.

Yet another example: in February, an ex-Air Force officer pleaded guilty to charges relating to his “obtaining cash bribes from people he believed to be narcotics traffickers in return for his assistance, protection, and participation in the activities of what he believed to be an illegal narcotics-trafficking organization that distributed cocaine from Arizona to other locations in the southwestern United States.”

Are Illegal Pain Clinics Being Stopped?

We showed you undercover video of people lining up at pain clinics to get prescription drugs. And we showed that same video to the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Texas Medical Board.

I would imagine that somewhere in America last night someone’s life was ruined for the temerity of having a joint.

Keeping Us Safe From Saddam

How Dare You?

Twas the day before Armageddon and all through the land,
diablos were gathering in a storm named Saddam,
Fear not the Ruskies, nor influences from Iran,
we can attack Botswana and other Americans.

Update: Maybe instead of reading the Atrios blog people should just quit.

It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times, It Was A Stark And Dormy Day, It Had All The Attributes Of Many Wonderful Things

Hey who moved my onion soup?

Sometimes the satirical newspaper The Onion is so right on, I can’t resist quoting from it. Consider this faux article from June 2005 about America’s addiction to Chinese exports:

At least we have figured out sustainable crap.