Alice in Malkinland, Mr AIG Goes to Washington

Stephen Walt
David Frum
Nate Silver
George McGovern

“The truth of the matter is that there has been, I think, a coarsening of our political dialogue... I will also say that in the era of 24-hour cable news cycles, that the loudest, shrillest voices get the most attention. And so one of the things that I’m trying to figure out is: How can we make sure that civility is interesting?” - Barack Obama

"But yesterday, someone told a real whopper. ABC News, citing the DC fire department, reported that between 60,000 and 70,000 people had attended the tea party rally at the Capitol. By the time this figure reached Michelle Malkin, however, it had been blown up to 2,000,000." - Nate Silver



Smells like...
It may not be politics, but to many braindead folks in their 30's and 40's it obviously is a big deal. The CS Monitor reports that in the new video game Guitar Hero 5, you can use the avatar of Kurt Cobain on songs by other artists! Oh, the horror, unless you are 12 years old, then its pretty cool. Courtney Love is outraged and throwing a hissy fit, though she signed a contract and received a lot of money from the video designers. But she bravely tweets: “welcome to my NIGHTMARE. yeah well sue activision this is disgusting, but theres alot MORE...”

Mad Hatter: Would you like a little more tea?
Alice: Well, I haven't had any yet, so I can't very well take more.
March Hare: Ah, you mean you can't very well take less.
Mad Hatter: Yes. You can always take more than nothing.
I didn't participate in any of the tea party rallies yesterday... oh, it was only in Washington DC? I didn't stay glued to Fox News yesterday, to catch the live coverage of the Tea Party Patriot March. I feel uneasy that it is now a trademarked name... That a lot of people showed up surprised even the organizers, and Michelle Malkin tried her best to give it reason: "Activists were derided as amateurs who couldn’t turn out a crowd. Then they were smeared as corporate shills. They were criticized for not having a coherent message. Then they were mocked for ideological single-mindedness. They are resented by professional strategists who accuse them of organizing empty protests that won’t translate into electoral gains. But the movement has given birth to a new generation of movers and shakers who have rejected establishment partisan politics for nimble, Internet-facilitated, issues-based advocacy.
The success of the Tea Party movement and its allies/successors shows that there’s no monopoly on “community organizing.”

Commenting afterwards, from the Moderate Voice: "So the aftermath is a win for the Republican Party and conservatives in general. They have shown up en masse to say “hell no” to President Obama, his administration, and Congress (particularly Democrats). What happens now? Who knows. But a large segment of Americans are saying “hell no”.

And the first comment to this article: "How convenient for the previous administration that these people started exhibiting any guts only when people with D's in front of their names regained power... If anything, these protests show that reform is the best thing for America, and that there must be even less right-wingers in government. "

I still can't believe that all this fuss is over health care, maybe I have been eating too many mushrooms... But, if it is, Barack Obama responded on 60 Minutes: “I have no interest in having a bill get passed that fails. That doesn't work. You know, I intend to be president for a while and once this bill passes, I own it. And if people look and say, ‘You know what? This hasn't reduced my costs. My premiums are still going up 25 percent, insurance companies are still jerking me around.’ I'm the one who's going to be held responsible. So I have every incentive to get this right.”


"Curiouser and curiouser", said Alice. "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary-wise; what it is it wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be, it would. You see? "

Say hello to your new lobbyists... 
Not trusting some firm they have to hire for millions of dollars to bribe our Congrespeople, major banks and Wall Street trading firms are doing it themselves, from the Washington Post: "Now the Treasury and the Federal Reserve are embroiled in everything from credit cards and home loans to auto manufacturing, from overseeing executive pay to shaping boards of directors.


In response, senior executives of major financial companies are traversing the Beltway to meet lawmakers in person for the first time. Firms such as Fidelity Investments, BNY Mellon and even Goldman Sachs, which has prospered in the crisis relative to many other banks, are opening additional offices or bulking up their staffs in the capital.


For decades, the federal government has played a key role in financial markets through regulation, public spending and monetary policy. But the government has now established itself as never before as the most dynamic actor in the still ailing economy. That prominence is sure to fade as the rescue programs wind down. Yet Wall Street executives say the legacy could be enduring." I guess the lesson to be learned is to be careful what you wish for, be careful who you bail out, because they will come back to bite you... or at least donate to the newly formed Joe Wilson fund. Have we outlawed lobbying as the single most corrupting influence on lawmakers, yet? Now there is finally a reason to create deathpanels...