Credits a stranger with bringing him food and drink. Here’s the WSJ’s article about The Third Man, the companion who isn’t there.
“There are more things in heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio.”
That which we regard as adventitious is often more integral than we think. Maybe I’ll have to go back and reread Julian Jaynes. More of a Walter Ong fan, but still.
What the hell are “programs tailored specifically to African-Americans“?
I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised by The Daily Caller. Very cheeky. Doesn’t suck. I think the layout could be improved, but that’s a minor point.
If you’re in the mood for more sneering liberal contumely directed at Sarah Palin, you could hardly do better than to check out Pam Geller’s appearance on Joy Behar’s show, talking about Palin’s crib notes. Ron Reagan, Jr. keeps on repeating the mantra, “my father,” while projecting the worst of liberal condescension. Let’s just say that he entirely lacks the common touch that was one of the most endearing traits of Sr.
The Younger’s only point is that Palin is an empty-headed poseur. Yes, it’s true that that’s exactly how liberals represented his dad—the empty-suited actor with the jelly beans—but the difference is that, as everybody knows, that was a false representation. That many of the same people who levelled the accusation that Reagan was an intellectual lightweight are now levelling the same accusations against Palin makes no difference. He is as certain as those people were (though they are willing to admit that they were wrong now, although it doesn’t impeach their judgment), just as John Cole was certain that his former beliefs were correct, and just as certain that they are correct now. Humility is not easily learned by the self-worshipful.
It’s true that Palin disparaged Obama’s reliance on TOTUS, referring to a “telegenic guy with a TelePrompTer” in her speech at the Tea Party Convention. It’s also true that Reagan often used the device. Nobody these days seems to refer to Obama as a Great Communicator, though. There’s a considerable difference, I think, between several cribbed prompts written on one’s hand, and entire speeches recited off of an electronic screen. We’ve seen on several occasions to our embarrassment what happens when Obama’s elocutionary crutch fails him, and it reminds me a little of Max Headroom. Certainly Reagan was learned in the Founding Fathers’ writings (Lincoln wasn’t one, Mika) and in American history generally; can one truly say that of Obama? Is it likely that Obama’s letters to all and sundry will find their way into a considerable tome after he’s gone? Reagan had the habit of writing. It clarifies thoughts, it makes one regard one’s audiences. Would Reagan have gone on about a nameless woman who wished to be buried (even though cremated) in one of his t-shirts (the one who, contrary to the narrative, did after all have health insurance, though it had a very high deductible)? I don’t think so. He had none of Obama’s tone deafness (the ears, they mock!). Liberals (mirabile dictu!) now compare Obama’s use of the device to Reagan’s, conveniently forgetting how they abused the latter.
Reagan wanted to get government off of our backs. He was a master at going over the heads of intermediaries to speak directly to the American people to make his points. We liked that, because it assumed our intelligence. The contrast with the way health care reform has been conducted could not be more striking. We are told that we are too dense to understand the provisions of mooted health care reform policy, much less how the whole thing would operate in the aggregate. We are told that there’s no point in questioning whether even our Congresscritters have read it: it’s so complicated that we’d, they’d merely come away confused—better to rely on the talking points. Any program that’s so complicated that it’s incomprehensible perhaps should not be enacted.
Reagan famously said that it wasn’t that liberals don’t know anything, it’s that they know so many things that just aren’t so. Included among those things is the conceit that they’re smarter. Joy Behar? Katie Couric? I don’t think so.
One of the most frustrating aspects of President Obeyme is his inability to accept that some (some would say many) of his beliefs, political and otherwise, just do not have the popular appeal he insists they inherently do… or must, as a matter of course. I am reminded of some of the music I have been exposed to in my lifetime. Or of products which have been introduced that fall flat and ultimately fail to flourish in the marketplace. I won’t mention any bands by name, but I will mention Zima – the half beer, half-lemonade concoction marketed in the 90s. In the case of horrible bands and terrible beverages, it is true that marketplace influence makes all the difference. That is to say, a company committed to its awful product can keep it front and center despite the product’s inherent awfulness as long as said company has a tranche of goodwill/capital to spend and a willingness to continue dipping into it. But ultimately, thankfully, unappealing bands and brands (is there a difference?) go away. Or, in the very least, recede to some distant sliver of a market segment – and we are spared… until some force of marketing genius attempts once more to accost and overwhelm our sensibilities.
Now, it seems to me that Obeyme is to a very large extent in the business of hoisting questionable products onto the shelves of our political quick-mart. If the vision of the POTUS as product marketing manager doesn’t work for you, you may liken him to a tone-deaf record executive.
Some products suck. Zima sucks. It sucked from the first. And while there are some who might appreciate it, by and large we can agree it sucked. And it ultimately failed. On an epic scale. And this sad sack of a product was brought to us by Coors Brewing Company (now MillerCoors). Granted, neither Coors or Miller do it for me – but having said that, while I might prefer Guinness, I do not loathe Miller Lite… If I was in the mood for beer – or “beer” – and you only had a Coors to offer, I would drink it. Zima, on the other hand? Not so much. One product has some merit – while the other has nary a redeemable quality… other than maybe as fodder for late night jokes.
And so, in the marketplace we find that we have products that are “mainstream” – they are marginally good enough to survive. And they survive because they are decidely not avant garde. Instead, their mass appeal comes not so much because they are exemplary, but precisely because they are imperfectly bland. And if not bland, they are at least not overwhelmingly offensive to the senses.
What Zima is not is beer. It is not beer. It has beer as one of its constituent parts, to be sure… or, so we are led to believe… but alas it is not beer. And I am sure Zima makes some sense in some alternate universe… or, maybe it makes sense in Japan. But it does not make sense here in the US. It just does not, could not, would not, and did not “make it” in the marketplace. Surely there are some who loved it… And I bet early consumption proceeds when it was first introduced were substantial. Substantial enough to give the genius product managers who championed the idea of it hope that their instincts were right… I can hear them now: “People love beer. People love lemonade… Zima! What’s not to like?” But Zima is decidedly NOT “two great tastes that taste great together”. In the end, many years, heartbreaks, and dollars later, Zima died as it was destined to do. That is, it failed. And it failed precisely because despite the marketing efforts and deep pockets committed, Zima sucks. Being neither beer, nor lemonade – it is, alas something entirely different. And something we, as a people, have overwhelmingly rejected.
As messed up as the Iranians may be… and they are mighty messed up to my mind… should we be stunned if they too find Zima offensive and unworthy? Or, should we be more surprised if, after failing to prove out in our own marketplace, Zima takes root in Iran where it becomes the mother’s milk of the Iranian Revolution?
I am not shocked that Zima is neither working at home or abroad. Because Zima may have seemed like a good idea. And it may have even seemed like a reasonable idea. Indeed, one might even say that Zima was somewhat refreshing upon that virgin sip. And if not refreshing, it was if nothing else different. And I guess different is okay in small doses. And I can see why it had appeal at first glance… it was well-packaged – shiny, crystal clear in appearance. And it tested well, I am sure. Chicks seemed especially intoxicated by the idea of it. And dudes bought it primarily because chicks seemed especially intoxicated by it. But even avid consumers eventually outgrow questionable products. Or, more practically, they grow older, get married, have some kids – all very sobering experiences. And when they do, no amount of money… no tranche of goodwill is deep enough to keep a shitty product on the shelf.
He just wanted to watch Lost, well go to CVS and then watch Lost.
Everyone’s favorite blogger, Sean “Jim Treacher” Medlock was hit by an SUV while crossing the street in Washington, DC on Wednesday, February 3. That alone should meet anyones suck quotient for the whole year. When I read about it Thursday morning on his blog, DC Trawler, I was very sad for him because I assumed he was in tremendous pain. I was also grateful his boss, Tucker Carlson, had bought him that silly Macbook so he could continue to entertain me while recuperating. I thought that was it. I was wrong.
There was more. In his first blog post he said:
“One last thing: I’m told by multiple people that the SUV that hit me was Secret Service. If this is true, I want to know why that happened. I was crossing legally, and they just left me there. At the very least, I want an apology. What happened to me was wrong.” (emphasis added by me)
And Media Matters ran with it. Grasping at an imaginary straw they base this whole… article on saying Treacher said something he never said.
“It’s true that a conservative blogger, who writes under name Jim Treacher, immediately claimed he’d been hit by a Secret Service SUV. (Which, of course, lit a fire under the conspiratorial, right-wing blogosphere.) But in fact, he was not hit by a Secret Service vehicle. The claim, according to “federal law enforcement officials,” was baseless. (The driver reportedly worked for the State Dept.)”
You lie! Treacher never claimed he was hit by a Secret Service SUV. He claimed someone told him they were Secret Service, and he said if that’s true he would like to know why. And as the story developed he continued to post updates and clarifications, in spite of his injuries. That’s it. Doesn’t matter, the moonbats ran with it. Media matters.
It turns out the guy who hit Jim Treacher with his giant car works for the State Department, not the Secret Service. Whatevs. That dude still sucks and Jim Treacher is still in the hospital. Oh yeah, he had to have reconstructive surgery on his knee. Because his knee was essentially shattered. Because of the dude, Mike McGuinn, who hit him with his giant steel car. But wait, there’s more. His tibia is also messed up, and he has a pulmonary embolism. That’s a blood clot is his lung. Yes, that’s bad. Surprise!
Oh, did I mention the jaywalking ticket? Treacher was issued a jaywalking ticket while in the ER, and the location on the citation is blocks from where the accident happened. C’mon ladies, we knew it. He can be in two places at once, and he’s magic. Cue Heart song. Don’t really, they freak when conservatives use their music, and I don’t want Ann Wilson to eat me.
Hit and Run or Hit and Shun?
When the accident occurred it seemed obvious it was a hit and run. Know why? Mike McGuinn, driver of the giant steel car that hit the beloved blogger, talked to Treacher at the scene, but didn’t tell him he was the driver. He also didn’t reveal himself when he called The Daily Caller offices to tell them about the accident. It’s unclear whether he was straight with police on the scene. That’s why the left has centered the debate (why is there even a debate?) on whether this was technically a hit and run. In the meantime, they’re slandering Jim Treacher by claiming he said slanderous things he never said. I know. Media matters.
Bottom line: Jim Treacher is still in the hospital and has a months long rehab to look forward to. Mike McGuinn is still the bad guy. I’m not familiar with DC law, but where I live (don’t ask me how I know) Treacher could have been on peyote, naked cartwheeling down the street and Mike McGuinn would still be the bad guy for hitting Jim Treacher with his giant steel car. This is only becoming a political thing because of Treacher’s job, and I think that stinks. I also think it stinks he has to deal with this crap while dealing with injuries suffered from being hit with a State Dept. employee’s giant steel car.
The more this story develops the more it’s like a press release getting kicked down the stairs, which I assume would be preferable to being hit with a car! The facts can be found at The Daily Caller, where Jim Treacher, victim, happens to work.
So I thought it was important to do my part to try to correct the record because media matters. Get better, Sean!
P.S. check out That’s Right’s post from the day of the accident. In fact, check out his whole site. I think he’s neat. I met him in the DC Trawler’s comment section!
crossposted at snarkandboobs, killtruck
The meme being floated by the self-appointed Intelligentsia with regard to Palin is that she is somehow not up to snuff on the issues of the day. That somehow she is ignorant of the issues that face us and lacks the knowledge to lead – offering criticisms rather than potential solutions. I find this a most obnoxious meme.
Alas, these critiques come from the very people Palin (and indeed all who find themselves moved by her speeches) has rightly targeted in her criticisms. And once again, instead of countering her complaints, they seek only to malign.
It is true that Palin has not demonstrated, on a national level, an ability to solve the major problems that face this country. Most obviously because she has not had an opportunity to do so. It is true that her resume does not include elbow-rubbing with the movers and shakers inside the Beltway. It is true she may not even comprehend how the “Game” is played in DC. We can only go on our gut instinct about her and her successes in Alaska… we can only take a sort of leap of faith when it comes to Palin. We can only, those of us who see in her something more than a charismatic pit-bull in chief, imagine what she might accomplish in the Oval Office.
To those that criticize that she lacks the necessary gravitas, I would only chuckle. For Obama, who now sits in the Oval Office, has not demonstrated the ability to solve the major problems that face this country, despite having a year of opportunities to do so. And this man IS the mover and shaker in the Beltway. The man whose elbows every political creature, especially in the early days of his presidency, have been trying to rub. Obama, who stands behind the presidential seal, who was voted into office with the hope that the “Game” Palin is now accused of not understanding would have its rules upended with an Obama victory, was beneficiary of a Giant Leap of Faith. And many who voted him into office realize that he is maybe not the One they anticipated… he is not the Game-Changer they had envisioned when they cast their ballots. Quite the contrary – he is now faced with the realities of DC. And his ability to navigate the political landscape is woeful at best. In some fashion he really seems not to understand the rules at all. And certainly does not comprehend the finer, more delicate politics involved. Never mind his complete detachment from the Will of the People.
It is true the Framers envisioned an apparatus given to the status quo. It is true they fashioned mechanism that had a high propensity to gridlock. And thankfully so. It is true that the vibrancy of our federal government is due to its preference for inaction. And again, thankfully so. So that no man or woman should ever master the mechanism is what all Constitutionalists pray for. That no so-called charismatic executive will ever seduce her entirely… this Lady Liberty… is what we should celebrate when we think of the Genius built into the apparatus.
So, really, at the end of the day, should we desire an executive that seeks to master that which is not to be mastered? Or should we tend toward those who are governed by true and abiding love of principle? Should we prefer an ideologue whose belief-system seeks to upend the apparatus? Or should we prefer one who is guided by principles which are, to the degree possible given Lady Liberty’s disagreeable nature, most harmonious with her very essence?
From this perspective, I cannot help to think that Palin, as studied or learned as she may or may not be, is a creature who sings a theme that resonates with the institutional instrument itself. At least to the degree that is possible. I do not think the concept of limited government, limited interference, limited confiscatory taxation, limited oversight of commerce, limited social programming, limited policing of ever decreasing freedoms, and limited governance is trite. Not in the least. Palin herself is governed by these very principles. These, the underlying beliefs she proclaims, are broad but profound. And they are very much in harmony with the machine the Framers constructed. A master craftsman of any medium spends all of his initial energies understanding his medium. And at first (while still a novice) begins by trying to master it. Eventually realizing the folly of artistic masturbation, he then comprehends that there are limitations in the material he at first sought to master. If he is sufficiently dedicated and bright enough, he conforms himself to the least degree possible to the innate limitations of the medium. Then, understanding what can be and what will not be at the macro level, asserts himself within the medium prudently. Artistic Genius is most often affiliated with those who intuitively comprehend that equilibrium is only to be had when the master sublimates the creaturely desire to master the medium, and instead gives himself to achieving harmony with it at the first – and then and only then allowing for his own personal style to express itself.
One must first have two hands to “master” the violin. Drum sticks just won’t do it. Ever. No matter who wields them. And no matter what they wear when they try.
Could we call her wise? Or at least, enlightened in a Mr. Magoo sort of way? I think so. And then what about the Golden Boy who approaches the battered violin each and every day with drumsticks? So confident is Obama that today – tomorrow – or the next – HE will eventually find a way to beat a grand opus out of it? And that the violin will become very much not at all what it is or ever will be… what kind of Towering Intellect sees in a violin a drum set?
Jerry Wilson of Goldfish and Clowns, which has a sleek new look, makes complementary points:
Sarah Palin is the mirror in which the wannabes see their insignificance. She doesn’t need the blogger prattlers or the Twitter twits or puffed-up pundits. She blows right past them, communicating directly with the people. The genuine media high fliers, the true high rollers — Limbaugh, Levin, Beck, Hannity — have both the intelligence to give her free reign and the humility to know her star shines far brighter than even theirs, wisely yielding the stage to her whenever possible. They understand the concept of serving the greater good, and act accordingly.
The sad dregs of the Kennedy dynasty, Patches, seems not to realize that he’s the punchline. A more inconsequential empty suit, it would be hard to imagine.
As mentioned before, William Jacobson is making it his near-term ambition to get rid of this tinpot termagant.
Mallory meets Fall of the House of Usher meets Tennessee Williams meets Celebrity Rehab. Pathetic.
At American Thinker, Phil Boehmke takes a broader view of crumbling Camelot.
More revelations from the NYT:
Still, documents show there were unusual aspects to the deals with Goldman. The bank resisted, for example, letting third parties value the securities as its contracts with A.I.G. required. And Goldman based some payment demands on lower-rated bonds that A.I.G.’s insurance did not even cover.
A November 2008 analysis by BlackRock, a leading asset management firm, noted that Goldman’s valuations of the securities that A.I.G. insured were “consistently lower than third-party prices.”
To be sure, many now agree that A.I.G. was reckless during the mortgage mania. The firm, once the world’s largest insurer, had written far more insurance than it could have possibly paid if a national mortgage debacle occurred — as, in fact, it did.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the relationship between Goldman and A.I.G. was that without the insurer to provide credit insurance, the investment bank could not have generated some of its enormous profits betting against the mortgage market. And when that market went south, A.I.G. became its biggest casualty — and Goldman became one of the biggest beneficiaries.
*******
By the spring of 2008, A.I.G.’s dispute with Goldman was just one of its many woes. Mr. Cassano was pushed out in March and the company’s defenses against the growing demand for payments faltered. By the end of August 2008, A.I.G. had posted $19.7 billion in cash to its trading partners, including Goldman, according to financial filings.
Over that summer, A.I.G. had tried, unsuccessfully, to cancel its insurance contracts with the trading partners. But Goldman, according to interviews with former A.I.G. executives, would allow that only if it also got to keep the $7 billion it had already received from A.I.G. Goldman wanted to keep the initial insurance payouts and the securities in order to profit from any future rebound.
In addition to offering to cancel its own contracts, Goldman offered to buy all of the insurance A.I.G. had written for several other banks at severely distressed prices, according to three people briefed on the discussions.
*******
The government would soon settle the yearlong dispute between Goldman and A.I.G., with Goldman receiving full value for its bets. The federal bailout locked in the paper losses of those deals for A.I.G. The prices on many of those securities have since rebounded.
UPDATE: Jeff’s got up an excellent post on Mario Cuomo’s attempt to remake himself by going after Bank of America. I’d earlier mentioned this with respect to SEIU.
You elected a white mayor for the first time in 30 years (apparently this is a Big Deal), even if it was a Landrieu, and won a Super Bowl.
Can we be post-racial, now? (Photo from The Telegraph)
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