randoms

[solarbird]

Sallie Mae must be pretty screwed, because the CEO cut off the latest investor conference call by saying, "Steve, let's go, there's no questions, let's get the fuck outta here." That's the CEO. So someone is having a Real Bad Day. (The rest of that column has funny in it, too.)

Following up on Monday's successful hold on the retroactive immunity / warrantless domestic wiretapping bill, Senator Reid contemptuously dismisses the idea that any of those filthy hoi polloi or Senator Dod had anything to do with it. Relatedly, Glenn Greenwald's commentary on media dismissal of non-Beltway-establishment candidates is probably worth a look. And here's amusing YouTube video of Republican Senator Orrin Hatch condemning voters for not trusting the government with unlimited spying and retroactive immunity. YAY

The Bush Administration is trying to take over the military justice system for political purposes, much as it has already taken over the civilian Justice Department. Basically they want to require political signoff on who and who does not get promoted.

And I'm not providing links, but I do want to note that a lot of the places I've liked reading for additional economic data - often the comment sections on econ blogs - have been flooded by the crazies. I mean honestly, end-of-the-worlders of every stripe are seriously agitated, and even the overt racists and Nazis(!) are out. This makes finding underreported data much more difficult. If you want to take this as an economic indicator, well, last time I saw this much crazy activity was in the lead-up to the post dot-com market implosion and recession in 2001, but during that, you also had a lot of Y2K craziness, so account for that, and this is louder.

Comments

slm pays me!

[rmd.livejournal.com]

jesus fucking christ on a second life segway. I SKIP WORK FOR ONE GODDAMNED DAY because i have a cold and LOOK what happens.

HOW'S THAT EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN LOOKING, KIDS?

Re: slm pays me!

[solarbird]

Yeah, -20.7% in one day VERY TASTY!

I don't suppose their plan works the Microsoft way, does it? 'Cause in that case you'd at least do okay this purchase period.

[waysofseeing.livejournal.com]

I've been convinced for years that American culture is still in the grip of millenial fever. The evangelicals are convinced that the Rapture is around the corner. The environmentalists know that the end of Civilization As We Know It is at hand thanks to peak oil and global warming. The patriots need only remember 9/11 to know that the terrorists are lurking around every corner. The civil libertarians understand that the US government is spying on them, watching them, waiting to whisk them away to Guantanamo or worse. The Nazis, the Earth Firsters, the Mormon fundamentalists and the Order: they're all waiting for the world to be swept away so that they can create the world they want.

It's all based on fear: fear of the unknown, fear of the future, fear of unstoppable change. The test of a new leader in 2008 should be whether they're smart and charismatic enough to show the culture how to adapt to change. To give everyone some hope.

[waysofseeing.livejournal.com]

Meant to add: fear of each other. Worst of all.

[solarbird]

If total oil production declines at too much more than about 2%/year, we will be at the end of civilisation as we know it. We aren't at the end of civilisation, but there'll be serious, serious, serious changes. At around 7%/year, things get really ugly.