As Joe has already reported, President Obama is in Mesa, Arizona today to announce a plan by the Treasury Department to deal with the housing crisis. Since I am a bankruptcy attorney in Northern California, this is an area with which I am quite familiar. Indeed I am somewhat surprised the President didn't come here since we are the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis. I … [Read more...] about Obama’s Housing Plan: Will It (Or Any Feasible Plan) Work ?
Obama Announces Plan To Combat Housing Foreclosures: Stocks Initially Fall
President Barack Obama announced his sweeping $75 billion foreclosure crisis plan but Wall Street's initial reaction seems to be the same as it was when he signed the landmark stimulus bill: stocks tumbled. Wall Street extended its decline Wednesday after President Barack Obama released details of his $75 billion mortgage relief plan. The plan is designed to help … [Read more...] about Obama Announces Plan To Combat Housing Foreclosures: Stocks Initially Fall
Microsoft Adopts the Walmart Model; & Should Copy Apple
Robert X. Cringely says Microsoft retail stores are a brilliant move: The big Microsoft news this week, at least from the press it has received, is Redmond’s decision to open a chain of stores. Nearly all the pundits think this is stupid, while I think it was merely inevitable, given the nature of current Microsoft management, which seems to be more and more from Bentonville, … [Read more...] about Microsoft Adopts the Walmart Model; & Should Copy Apple
The Day the Miracle Whip Died
Today we take a sad look back at the dark day in 2006 when Kraft Foods made the horrible decision to change the recipe for Miracle Whip. In one fell swoop they destroyed a classic American tradition and pushed civilization one step closer to the abyss. We've never fully recovered. They took the soy oil out of the product and replaced it with a larger volume of water. This … [Read more...] about The Day the Miracle Whip Died
Cheney Puts Out Message: He’s Upset Bush Didn’t Pardon Libby
Friendly advice to President George Bush: More than ever before, don't accept an invitation form former Vice President Dick Cheney to go hunting. Once upon a short time ago, Bush and Cheney were considered a mega-powerful White House duo like this. But since they left office, some pundits suggest they were more like this, this or even this. In recent weeks Cheney eschewed … [Read more...] about Cheney Puts Out Message: He’s Upset Bush Didn’t Pardon Libby
It’s Time To Listen To The Other Guy
In the just-ended acrimonious debate over a stimulus package, one critical point was largely ignored by all parties—and the media as well. Both sides of this debate were expressing priorities that have to be appropriately addressed if we are to emerge whole from the present financial crisis. The Republican opposition to the stimulus measure was totally wrong in the sense … [Read more...] about It’s Time To Listen To The Other Guy
A French On-the-Ground View of the American Soldier
Whether we agree or not with the former president’s invasion of Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein, and whether we agree or not with our present president’s plans to send additional troops to Afghanistan to continue to fight the 9/11 perpetrators, I know that all Americans are proud of our fighting troops. Recently I received from a good friend an essay, translated from French, … [Read more...] about A French On-the-Ground View of the American Soldier
Michelle Bachmann and the Minnesota Puzzle
What do the following people have in common? - Jesse Ventura - Al Franken - Michelle Bachmann The answer is, they are all examples of curious selections by the voters of Minnesota. (Though to be accurate, the jury is literally still out on Franken, but even if he doesn't wind up being seated he certainly came close enough to join the club.) Representative Bachmann may … [Read more...] about Michelle Bachmann and the Minnesota Puzzle
Nationalizing Banks: Up Remains Down as Greenspan Chimes In
I noted yesterday my evolving fascination with the increasingly counter-intuitive nature of the debate over nationalizing U.S. banks -- in particular, the openness to this option expressed by a prominent Senate Republican and the outright endorsement of it by two free-market economists. And now we learn that former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has added fuel to the … [Read more...] about Nationalizing Banks: Up Remains Down as Greenspan Chimes In
Recovery.gov Launched
Recovery.gov, the site the Obama administration promised would track the newly signed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 expenditures, went live just after the bill was signed into law. Ars Technica: Thus far, of course, there's not much to watch...since funds have yet to be assigned to specific projects. A chart on the front page breaks down the broad spending … [Read more...] about Recovery.gov Launched
Tax Zombies Of The Planet No! (Guest Voice)
In case you haven't heard, Congressional Republicans think tax cuts would be far better to dig the United States out of its financial mess than a stimulus package that spends big bucks. In this Guest Voice post, humorist Will Durst gives you his take on it. Guest Voice posts do not necessarily reflect the opinion of TMV or its writers. Tax-Cut Zombies from the Planet … [Read more...] about Tax Zombies Of The Planet No! (Guest Voice)
California Budget Crisis
RJ Matson, The New York Observer This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about California Budget Crisis
Kim Jong-il: ‘Greatest Leader of the Present Era’ – Korean Central News, North Korea
Do we in the outside world have it wrong about Kim Jong-il? While most of the planet regards him as a ruthless totalitarian who rules the equivalent of a nation-sized concentration camp, North Korea's fanatically controlled state press tells a different story. On the occasion of the his 67th birthday, the Korean Central News Agency published this article lauding the historic … [Read more...] about Kim Jong-il: ‘Greatest Leader of the Present Era’ – Korean Central News, North Korea
A Tiny Irony: A Lost Story about Trees and Human Beings
Trees By Joyce Kilmer I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the sweet earth's flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who … [Read more...] about A Tiny Irony: A Lost Story about Trees and Human Beings
With ‘Billy Goat’ Bush Gone … Little Has Changed: Die Zeit
Has the long-awaited European disappointment with the Obama Administration already begun? Writing for the publisher of Germany's Die Zeit, Josef Joffe, relates how the appearance of Vice President Joe Biden at the Munich conference on Security was anything but encouraging. Joffe writes in part: "At the Munich Conference on Security, Joe Biden received the longest and … [Read more...] about With ‘Billy Goat’ Bush Gone … Little Has Changed: Die Zeit
The ‘Mystery’ of Obama’s Afghan Troop Buildup: Les Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alscace of France
Now that President Obama is safely in office, will the Europeans kick in the troops Washington says it needs in Afghanistan? A quick read of this editorial from France's Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace might lead one to wonder. Editorialist Jean-Claude Kiefer writes in part: "Why these reinforcements? Why the pressing appeal to Europeans to furnish new contingents, above … [Read more...] about The ‘Mystery’ of Obama’s Afghan Troop Buildup: Les Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alscace of France
General Motors Wants Deeper Federal Pockets (More Big Bucks)….
...to the tune of some $16.6 billion more in federal aid. And along with that would come some belt tightening -- or, perhaps more accurately, some corporate liposuction: General Motors Corp. (GM) on Tuesday said it will need as much as $16.6 billion in additional aid from the U.S. government and could run out of money as soon as next month if it doesn't receive at least … [Read more...] about General Motors Wants Deeper Federal Pockets (More Big Bucks)….
Obama Signs Stimulus Bill: A Second In The Offing?
President Barack Obama signed the landmark economic stimulus bill. But is the groundwork being laid for a second one? Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs wouldn't rule out a Stimulus The Sequel. Here are Obama's comments in Denver today. A realist? Or a politician starting to cover his bases (or something else of his)? We embed. You decide: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, … [Read more...] about Obama Signs Stimulus Bill: A Second In The Offing?
Rating Presidents: Not a Parlor Game
Historian Rick Shenkman has a point. The rating of presidents--a recent survey among historians called Abraham Lincoln our greatest president--probably doesn't even rise to the level of a parlor game. Parlor games, he says, have rules. But both historians and the public tend to rate presidents by highly movable goal posts. I myself have been guilty of playing this game, … [Read more...] about Rating Presidents: Not a Parlor Game
Am I a Genius?
For not taking vitamins? This article could lead you to think so. But don't believe it! I don't take vitamin pills, basically because every time I've started, I've found myself incapable of maintaining the habit. So, as in other areas of my life, a bad character trait--in this case, my tendency to procrastinate in the adoption of something I've been told is good for … [Read more...] about Am I a Genius?