Old Man Cap

ACLU – Terrorist Watch List Counter

Better be scared! I like how a 6 year old child was on the list and had trouble flying. As well as some US senators & representatives. This is getting ridiculous.

There should be a way to check if you are on such a list and be able to challenge the listing. It’s too bad that the people who end up enforcing these lists are the slightly trained monkeys at the TSA (Travel Security Administration). Ugh!

Calculated Risk – Krugman on the GSEs

Gov’t Plan to bail out Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac

The above are a couple good links describing the current state of affairs and the Fed’s plan to lend them cheap money. The links say it better than I can. Check them out. Especially the first one.

IndyMac Bank fails, seized by FDIC

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac in trouble

The second largest bank failure in US history happened yesterday around 5:30pm. They held a majority of junk mortgages and were technically insolvent. NY Senator Chuck Schumer publicized a few letters to regulators questioning IndyMac’s solvency. Everyone ran to take out their deposits before the bank collapsed in on itself which it was forced to do. About $1billion of its holdings were not FDIC insured and will be repaid at 50% of their holding size. Goodbye, $500million! Schumer saved those smart enough to get out when he put up the warning sign. Others may blame him for causing the run, but it would have happened sooner than later. [Read more →]

Obama’s Lurch to the Center

John Digby has a great post explaining progressive disappointment with Obama and general Democratic strategy for the election. It also sums up much of my feelings towards the candidate. Yes, we meh.

Some effects of the new FISA law

The above is a great little snippet of how the world changes due to the new Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 2008.  When you start putting fear into reporters and informants, what you end up with is less information to the people. In an American world where it’s already difficult to search for foreign news, this is unfortunate.

The Door to Hell

This is too cool not to post. There’s a huge burning crater in Turkmenistan due to an old gas fire that started in the 50s when the Russians were drilling for oil and had an oopsie. The video is really cool. It’s probably Turkmenistan’s largest tourist site.

More Pictures

Also, we have something just like that in Centralia, Pennsylvania. The firefighters were trying to “get rid of” their landfill by lighting it on fire. Right next to an abandoned coal strip mine. It’s still burning. There’s no crater yet. The town is almost abandoned. Apparently, 4 shmucks still live there even though PA took eminent domain of the entire city and condemned all of it.

Wikipedia – Centralia, PA

Talking Points Memo – Obama seeks info on Dodd in vice president search

Hell yeah. I’m a big fan of Chris Dodd’s. When he was in the primary race, he was the only candidate who was actually leading as opposed to talking about leading. He’s been a key figure against the latest FISA passage as well as many other civil liberties pushes. I was really sad to see him leave the race, even though he was a non-starter. I’d be happy to see him in the VP slot with a bit more push to fight for his ideals. He certainly would not an exciting or flashy VP. But, he believes in the rule of law and fighting for the constitution, which is more than I can say for most people in Congress. Literally.

Obama/Dodd. Wow, that does not have a ring to it. It sounds like a Saudi transformer robot. That being said, I’d support the campaign more than I would with just Obama.

The Big Sort – book review

Author’s Web Site

I glanced over this book at Borders 2 nights ago and it seems to make a few good points about the willful segregation of Americans over time. The author views it as one of the reasons the US is so polarized and why the idea of compromise has disappeared. I’ll probably pick this up as it looks pretty interesting.

I’ll admit I moved to the Bay area primarily because I liked the political and social environment (as well as that’s where the jobs are) and I’m happy for it.

Would I take part in a nationwide de-segregation to heal the national divide? No. I don’t think I would. Do I enjoy political conversation over party lines? If it’s constructive, yes. But I’d still rather have a liberal neighbor than a conservative one.

A few maps, after the jump [Read more →]

Bush makes a “joke”

He just doesn’t give a shit at all, does he?

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: “Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter.”

He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.

It’s like a bad college movie at this point. What also is incredulous is this is a link/photo on the same page of the site:

The second article is actually serious! Going on about how Bush will always tell it like it is…

Housing & Transportation Affordability Index

Maps + Statistics = Happy Me. You can get a great view of the % of income people spend on housing, gasoline, transportation, mass transit, etc…

What’s scary is that the majority of home owners in San Francisco spend over 45% of their income on housing + transportation costs alone. The numbers seem freakily high when you’re talking about income percentage. However, after thinking about it and the fact that I’m looking to buy, that seems about right for percentage and my income level. Ack!