A Win-Win-Win Proposal. Russell Shaw wrote a piece for the Huffington Post suggesting that we could put together some sort of government agency to rebuild our infrastructure. Things like bridges and roads and parks would be (re)built and maintained; Joe and Jane Average would have the benefit of things like bridges and roads and parks; American citizens would be employed in such fields as construction, engineering, and even back-office professions. You know what? FDR tried that in the 30’s and it works!
A Tale of Two Fed Heads. Ok, by now everybody has seen the footage of Jim Cramer going on about how Bernanke needs to lower interest rates by a full percent to avoid catastrophe, fire and brimstone, dogs and cats, living together? Never mind that he made a very similar speech a week earlier on his own show. Needless to say Mr. Cramer had some things to say about yesterday’s Fed meeting. Meanwhile, the always insightful Tim Iocono has advice for Mr. Bernanke and a summary of current Greenspeak. What Would Alan Greenspan Do?
Listen, we know you only have about an hour of electricity a day, and that temperatures are over 100F, but you really need to ram through this piece of legislation mmkay? Next time you see one of those political cartoons making fun of the Iraqi Parliament for taking August off — huh, just like the President and Congress does! — go ahead and look up a current Baghdad weather report. But sometimes it feels like nobody in the West except me and Alternet have noticed that maybe the reason Iraq can’t get the “oil bill” passed is that it is a steaming pile of stuff that isn’t good for Iraq.
Insurance Filter. USA Today asks and answers, When is something less than nothing? When it’s insurance coverage for childhood and adolescent vaccines. Listen folks, kids who don’t get vaccinated become a health hazard in our communities. They become the basis for outbreaks among people too young to be vaccinated, people whose immunity has worn off for whatever reason, and other people who are not vaccinated. Sure, the insurance companies are trying to save a few bucks; that comes with being a for-profit company. But public health is more important than meeting Wall Street expectations. Elsewhere in the Wonderful World of Insurance, young adults make up 30% of those without health insurance, largely because they can’t afford it.
Congress better have an ace up its sleeve. US News’s roundup confirms what was clear to me from Ed Schultz’s callers yesterday: people are mad that the Democrats they sent to Congress in the 2006 elections to change the status quo have caved in to Presidential pressure and fears of being branded some kind of terrorist-lover by passing this wiretap bill. Here’s the List of Shame.
Tough rules are meaningless unless you enforce them. “In a new effort to crack down on illegal immigrants, federal authorities are expected to announce tough rules this week that would require employers to fire workers who use false Social Security numbers.” Here’s a thought, enforce the rules that already exist! Enforcement of these rules during the Bush Administration is down 95%. And that’s 95% down from what the Christian Science Monitor calls reduced enforcement since the Reagan Administration, noting that “Since the 9/11 attacks, there has been even less focus on interior investigations.”
Somebody Knew the Ride was Ending. What a coincidence! Four guys who got out of those now-defunct Bear Stearns hedge funds just happened to be executives with Bear Stearns.
And finally, That’s One Heck of a Snow-Cone! Of course, in Japan they call it kakigori.