The Next Thing That Will Piss Me Off
Is watching everyone rush off to read Chris Dodd’s proposal, and rather than read it and judge it on the merits of the proposal, read it and compare it to the ridiculous opener from Paulson. Instead of reading the Dodd proposal and saying “this is a good idea” or “this sucks hard,” we will be treated to a few days of “well, it was better than what Paulson suggested.” Which, no doubt, will be true, because what Paulson asked for was completely ridiculous- “Give me a trillion dollars and then piss off.”
And then I will scream, because it is clear that this nation and our leadership have bargaining skills that are less sophisticated than your average seven year old:
Mom, can I have the soccer team over for a sleep-over on Friday?
No.
How about just Jimmy and Mike and Timmy and Scott?
I think that would be ok, but let me check with your father.
And while I would gladly have voted for Dodd in the primaries, is it wrong for me to mention that one of the real and fair knocks against Dodd is that he is wholly in bed with the banking and insurance industries? But somehow, because we are a nation of morons, we will judge giving 700 billion to someone with no strings unacceptable, but giving 700 billion to someone with a few caveats about CEO pay is somehow teh awesome. And who will be the white knight to bring us this reform? The guy in the Democratic party most in bed with the people who screwed up.
I will wait until I hear what Barney Frank has to say on the House side, thank you very much.
*** Update ***
I would bet any amount of money this is what happens if the Democrats pass the bailout.
Two Things
1.) I can’t find gas anywhere in Atlanta. Seriously. Every gas station within 20 miles of my house has plastic bags covering the gas nozzles. WTF?
2.) Watching James Carville on Late Edition. He looks ill. He really does look awful.
Not Dukakis
This is not Michael Dukakis, worried libs:
BTW- Did you know that we now are major sponsors of Manchester United. I had a roommate from Newcastle, so I was always a Newcastle United fan, myself. This was back in the days of Andy Cole, and I still know the cheers:
Andy Cole! Andy Cole!
It’s Andy, Andy Cole.
When he gets the ball he scores a goal,
It’s Andy, Andy Cole.
I guess now that we are on the hook for AIG, I will need to learn some new cheers.
Storm Relief
I heard on CNN this morning that the Red Cross is in the red. They are operating on borrowed money because donations are not what they’ve been. You can give here. The Salvation Army has delivered over 20,000 meals since Friday. You can donate to them here. They’re doing a great job.
Hurricane Ike Open Thread
Good live coverage here, and the reports make this sound like it is going to be a real bad one, despite being only cat two.
Hurricane Ike
If you are reading this from Galveston, or if you have friends from the Galveston area, it is time for you to get out:
On the hurricane’s present path the surge will certainly top the Galveston sea wall, and he estimates that if the path holds your chances of living through the night if you’re still on Galveston island are probably less than 50%.
Seriously, folks. Grab the kids, the pets, and GTFO.
Brendan Loy has the coverage.