Category: Wanker

What a F$#@ing Tool

No Comments

Greg Mankiw, who argues that healthcare reform will be less efficient than the free market because poor people will get a better deal.

Seriously, even though the US spends more per capita, and more as a percentage of GDP than any other nation on earth, and even though the outcomes are worse than the developed worlds, and efficiency is results divided by resources, healthcare reform will make us less efficient.

He argues that higher marginal tax rates shrink the economic pie, even though the historical numbers belie that.

You see, he thinks that “fairness” means “reduced work incentives”, which, I guess is why we have to pay bankers hundreds of millions of dollars to screw up our economy.

At the end, he suggests that improving healthcare will result in, “future generations of Americans will likely spend more time enjoying leisure.”

What is going on, of course, is that people are terrified of losing a job and healthcare, and, you know, dying, and so are less likely to take part-time jobs and/or tell their employer to go Cheney himself.

We already know that our healthcare system is deterring people from becoming entrepreneurs, but people like Mankiw just want wage slave drones.

You know, with ideas like this, you’d think that he would have been a part of Bush’s Evil Minions™….Oh…Right…He was.

He was head of Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors.

Not This Contemptible, Self-Serving, Psychopathic Loser Again

No Comments

The Green Party of Connecticut is lobbying Ralph Nader to run against Chris Dodd for Senate.

Ralph Nader has harmed his reputation, his movement, and the Green Party, which not only bore the brunt of the blow-back from his candidacy fro President in 2000, but also never got access to his contributor or mailing lists for that elections.

But still, the clueless in Connecticut, want to put the Former President of the WWE, Linda McMahon, who has put on homophobic rape filled theater as “pro-wrestling”, in the Senate by running Nader against Dodd.

The Excessively Employed

No Comments

Mark Halperin.

While I am not a fan of Mary Landrieu, and some days actually hope that the Southern squish Dems lose their battles for reelection so that the Senate is forced to play hardball (i.e. reconciliation).

I am even less enthused about Mary Landrieu’s ongoing act Hamlet act on healthcare reform, which seems to largely involve the desire to increase Medicare subsidies to Louisiana.

That being said, Mark Halperin’s most substantive writing on this issue, and Landrieu’s position on HCR is to post this photoshop job, which has since been removed by a journalist who has secretly infiltrated the corporate offices of Time.

It is, of course a reference to the unfortunate confusion between hair gel and semen made by Carmen Diaz in the movie There’s Something about Mary.

As many of you know, Mark Halperin is this babbling idiot whom Time magazine hired to cobble together this insipid web product called “The Page,” which is designed to scam people looking for trenchant, up-to-the-minute political news into giving Time many, many unnecessary ad impressions as you follow Halperin’s teasing links to his content. That content tends to be a really dumb listicle, or a one sentence piece of pure and unadulterated banality, or, if you are really lucky, a paragraph or two of analysis that’s either so conventional as to appear slam-dunk, or so witless that it’s completely laughable and wrong.

The post about Landrieu was titled, “There’s Still Something About Mary,” for the brain dead readers of “The Page” who would not otherwise get it.

Yes, this should be a firing offense, particularly after both Beck and Limbaugh literally called her a “prostitute,” but since it’s at the expense of a woman, I’m sure that the old boy’s club of journalism will just chuckle

The Dan Quayle Theory of Presidential Protection

No Comments

You know, the one that goes, “If you make Dan Quayle your VP, then no one in their right mind will try to remove you from office for your role selling arms to Iran and diverting the proceeds to the Contras.”

Come to think of it, Ronald Reagan had a very similar policy…Thanks a lot, little Mikey Dukkakis.

In any case, I heard a leak that I hope is being motivated by the same dynamic.

I don’t know that it is, but I do know that when I heard this, I got that look on my face that my older brother says, “Looks like a cow that just stepped on its own udder.”

The leak is that the Obama administration is looking for a potential replacement for Timothy “Eddie Haskell” Geithner have already begun.

Since the criticism of him is that he’s too close to the big banks and Wall Street, and too lenient on them as a result, the word on the street is that his replacement will be……

Wait for it………

Wait for it………

Wait for it………

Wait for it………

Wait for it………

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon:

As support for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wanes on Capitol Hill amid frustration with the Obama administration’s handling of the economy, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is emerging as a potential replacement.

Sources tell The Post that a number of policy makers have begun mentioning Dimon as a successor to Geithner, whose standing in Washington has suffered because of the country’s high unemployment rate, the weakness of the dollar, the slow pace of the recovery and the government’s mounting deficit.

Great googly moogly.

Chicken Sh$#

No Comments

Said piece of poultry excrement is William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States of America, who has backed out of making an appearance at free medical clinic in Arkansas, because Keith Olbermann supported and raised funds for them:

Bill Clinton told FDL’s Eve Gittelson that it would be problematic for him to attend a free medical clinic being held in Little Rock, Arkansas [held Saturday] because MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann had “politicized” the event.” He indicated that some were turning the event into a primary kickoff against Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln.

Eve ran into Clinton Thursday in the gift shop of the Clinton Library. She’s in Arkansas covering the Keith Olbermann’s free clinic event, organized by the National Association of Free Clinics. The former President is in town for the 5th anniversary of the Clinton Library.

Seriously, this is some major level of chicken sh#@, and it is typical of his time as a politician on the national scene.

Unfortunately, as indicated by retreats on torture prosecutions, the rule of law on terrorism cases, healthcare reform, financial reform, etc. it appears that Barack Obama has brought the Chicken sh$# brigade from Clinton’s terms, and put them in charge of policy.

My Congratulations to Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader McConnell, and President Palin

3 Comments

You know, we all thought that we elected FDR or JFK in 2008, but it appears that we elected Herbert Hoover instead:

This recession has taught us that we can’t return to a situation where America’s economic growth is fueled by consumers who take on more and more debt. In order to keep growing, we need to spend less, save more, and get our federal deficit under control. We also need to place a greater emphasis on exports that we can build, produce, and sell to other nations – exports that can help create new jobs at home and raise living standards throughout the world.

(emphasis mine)

Unemployment is, 10.2%, 17½% if you use U6, which the metric that most closely matches the numbers used to arrive at the 24.9% level during the Great Depression, and he thinks that it’s time to cut the deficit.

It’s the wrong prescription, and notwithstanding polls, people don’t vote on the deficit, they vote on the economy, and except for little Timmy Geithner’s friends in wall street, the economy has consistently gotten worse, and it will continue to get worse as Obama plays to Wall street, and not Main Street.

H/t the artist formerly known as Armando

Our Parrots in Congress

No Comments
Click for full size

He was an overpriced rookie flameout with the brain of a turnip* then, and he’s an overpriced rookie flameout with the brain of a turnip* now.

So, big pharma is trying to get a bill through Congress for draconian exclusivity periods for so called “biologics” drugs. It’s 12 years, but with minor changes, snipping a hydroxyl, or adding a time released variant, they could drug companies could extend their government granted monopolies virtually infinitely. (also here, both from Jane Hamshire)

Well, in response to Jane’s push against these provisions, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) turned on their lobbyists, and wrote statements that 42 Congressmen read into the record, almost verbatim.

The kicker is that there were two versions of their talking points, a Republican version and a Democratic version, so depending on party, they were using different cheat sheets….Except, of course for Heath Shuler (DINO-Loser Land), who somehow or other managed to use the Republican version of the talking points.

As a Washington Redskin’s fan, this wanker has been bedeviling me since 1994…..Please, make it stop!!!

Monty Python’s dead parrot sketch after the break.

*My apologies to anyone who fancies turnips.†

†Like this guy.

Colsulting Services for Really Stupid People

No Comments

As Dave Barry would say, I am not making this up.

It appears that former Bush Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and former National Security Council Advisor Stephen Hadley have decided to open up a consulting firm .

Their specialty, “Strategic consulting,” since, I guess the strategy in Iraq worked so tremendously well.

In any case, attempting to look at RiceHadley.com gets the following, which, given the record of both Rice and Hadley, and of Bush’s Evil Minions™ generally, seems to be me to be a remarkably apropos statement.

Journamalism

No Comments

Greg Sandoval at CNET writes about Rupert Murdoch’s latest whining about how “the Google” is stealing from his media empire, and decides, once Google issues a response, to edit the article to add two paragraphs at the end, quoting Google:

Publishers put their content on the Web because they want it to be found. Very few choose not to include their material in Google News and Web search. But if they tell us not to include it, we don’t.

In leaving this a he said/she said argument, Mr. Sandoval is being dishonest.

Unlike Murdoch, whose statements (earlier post) might be an artifact of his being an ignorant old fart who might not understand the following:

All they have to do is go to the Web site’s robots.txt file and type this:

User-agent: Googlebot

Disallow: /

Mr. Sandoval works for a news organization dedicated to covering the tech beat.

At a minimum, he has an obligation to report that Murdoch does not know what he is talking about, though it should be noted that these comments are coming from all levels at Newscorp, and so a real journalist would show that it is clear that Murdoch is looking for is a legislative framework to both force Google (and search engines generally) to both carry his content, and pay to fulfill this requirement.

In relegating this to the final two paragraphs under “Google responds”, he somehow implies that there is a real issue here, as opposed to the truth, that Murdoch and Newscorp are basically Astroturfing for must carry/must pay legislation.

Someone Needs a Serious Chill Pill

No Comments
That explains, why my sandals go from 0-60 in 5.2 Seconds

Porsche makes a $50,000+ sports car it calls the Cayman.

Crocs, the makers of the ugly sandals, makes a pair of ugly sandals called the Cayman.

For what it’s worth, Porsche has sued Crocs the name, claiming violation of trademark.

Honestly, I think that Crocs have a better claim to the name, given that the Caymans (the reptile is a caiman) are an island where one walks on the beach, but that’s irrelevant.

The real question is whether there is any possibility of confusion between a 2,954 lb sports car, and a 5 oz shoe.

The purpose of a trademark is not to give a company exclusive use of a name, but to avoid consumer confusion, and as best as I can tell the shoes predate the car anyway (see comments here), which would strongly imply that Crocs has the advantage such as it is.

In any case, Porsche got an injunction against the shoes in Germany, but Germany has weird IP law.*

*This is what got us that Mercedes ad where they say that they have a patent on crumple zones, but “Never enforced the Patent”. They never enforced the patent, because it is not recognized anywhere else in the world.†

†I believe Germany changed their patent laws at some point in the 1970s.‡

‡I offer the caveat that these comments in the footnotes regarding the Mercedes patent are recollections of a conversation over a decade ago vague 20+ year old memories though, so YMMV, though a Google search does have people who recall the ad.

Indeed

No Comments
Nice Hair

Ezra Klein, writing on the idea of The Washington Post having Texas Governor Rick Perry write an OP/ED on how states handle healthcare better:

Letting Perry serve as the spokesman for a federalist solution to the health-care system is a bit like letting Dick Fuld testify on the adequacy of self-regulation on Wall Street, or Donald Rumsfeld explain that occupations are easy.

Texas has, no big surprise, the largest percentage of uninsured in the nation.

Though to be fair, Texas Governor Rick Perry has really nice hair.

On a related note, one wonders how much longer he gets to the Washington Post OP/ED page, and by extension editorial page editor Fred Hiatt, c*cks*ck*rs.

I figure that the Bull Durham/Dan Froomkin rule cuts in eventually.

Kos Owns Tom Tancredo

No Comments

Markos “Kos” Moulitsas slaps down Tom Tancredo.

When Tancredo claims that all the veterans hate the VA, and would much rather have vouchers, Kos responds, “I’m a veteran, I did not get a deferment because I was too depressed to fight in a war that I supported in Vietnam.”

Tancredo stormed off the set when Kos was not forthcoming with an apology.

Awww….Kos hurt his widdle feewings….Poor Tom Tancredo….He had to go off and cry.

It starts at about 2:50 in the video.

H/t What Would Jack Do for the vid.

Rahm Emanuel is a Such a Pissant

No Comments

So, after Barack Obama went full throttle in supporting Former Goldman Sachs CEO Senior Partner John Corzine, who got beaten handily, Anthony Weiner (D-NY-9) suggested, given the unexpected closeness of the NY Mayor’s race that, “Maybe one of those Corzine trips could have been better spent in New York. Who knows?”

The response, from a anonymous White House source responded, “Maybe Anthony Weiner should have manned-up and run against Michael Bloomberg.

That would be Rahm, or someone who speaks just like him, and he is being such a bitch.

Wanker of the Day

No Comments

Blue Dog Jason Altmire, who is wishing for Democratic defeats in the elections:

Centrist Blue Dog Democrats might see their position strengthened if Democrats suffer broader losses Tuesday, one Blue Dog member suggested.

Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) argued that an election night rebuke for Democratic candidates across the nation could lead some in the party to rethink their plans on healthcare reform and other issues.

Seriously, he needs to be primaried, and possibly needs a Green Party challenger in the general.

Stay classy, Rush

No Comments

Yeah, Rush Limbaugh is now saying that former Republican candidate in New York’s 23rd district has, committed bestiality by endorsing the Democrat in the race.

Seriously, when one inventories the number of times that Limbaugh uses a sexual metaphor to describe someone that he does not like is striking.

I’m thinking that Mr. Limbaugh has issues, but then, that has been a likely ever since he returned from the Dominican Republican with a bunch of Viagra®.

Those Stupid Bastards Took the “Teabagger” Sexual Innuendo, and Set the Dial to 11

No Comments
Ooh, baby, you are so talented! And they are so dumb!

Yep, a group of wing-nuts* have created a website dedicated to fighting Acorn and the Working Families Party up in New York State.

So he/they got a domain, and chose a name for the movement:

Great googly moogly, this is stupid.

H/t Some Guy With a Website

*Or maybe just 1, there isn’t a whole bunch of traffic or posts there, it just consists of reposts of New York Post articles.