Ed Weissman's Blog

Chez Hampton Manse on the Run

2009-06-17T20:22:00Z

Josh's slideshow is great. Vulgar, ugly, tasteless, A bigger carbon foot print than some country's in the UN.

Only the terminally stupid, vapid, greedy, vulpine, corrupt, and seedy at the same time.

Can't even afford to furnish it. Maybe, that's good; what would they have bought?

To use an old curse, may they live in this hotbox of ugly and be dead in every room.

Cardozo ?1st Hispanic/Latino

2009-05-28T12:59:14Z

Don't know what he'd have said, but whether Latino or not; bet you anything his ancestors spoke Ladino.

Three Questions about That Pesky AIG Which No One is Asking or Answering

2009-03-15T21:43:55Z

Sunday, March 15, 2009

1. If those credit default swaps AIG sold from its London office were really insurance, why has no insurance commissioner called them on it? If I put a bunch of stuff on my car and drive around without a license and at 100 MPH, it will do me no good when I'm stopped to say "this isn't a car, it's the batmobile.

2. The credit default swaps were just like selling life insurance to residents of hospices. Isn't that fraud?

3. Why can't the federal government tax remuneration greater than, say, $500,000 a year at a marginal rate of 100% in those entities owned or controlled by the Federal Government under TARP?

"Madoff's Victims"

2009-03-07T16:13:16Z

I refuse to share the tears shed for the poor folks wiped out by Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme.

The culture teaches us from our earliest days "Don't put all of your eggs in one basket."

An economic decision should be made on the basis of its economic basis not the social cachet of the financier. To the extent that the investors viewed themselves as part of an "in" group belonging to the right clubs, organizations, charities, they were behaving at best as a high school clique and, at worst, as a privileged elite.

Madoff's returns defied all logic. The phrase "if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't" applies.

As well, some of the investors may have believed that Madoff was cheating by using a form of illegal insider trading know as front running.

These people should not be pitied, helped out, rescued, or kept from the consequences of their folly.

At best, the were stupid, snobs and suckers. Some may well have been sociopaths.

The American Housing Meltdown and the The Literal Australian Housing Meltdown: The Convergence

2009-02-19T00:23:25Z

The American Housing Meltdown and the The Literal Australian Housing Meltdown: The Convergence

The mortgage meltdown in the U.S. and the awful wildfires that devastated parts of Australia would seem to be two very different stories. One is the story of mortgage lending gone wild; the other is the story of arson and nature burning homes and people. Yet, there is direct similarity. In both countries, the devastation occurred in what Americans call exurbia and Australians call tree changing areas i.e. new communities build out beyond the edge of urban and suburban areas. The conclusion is simple: exurbia both financially and physically is not only unsustainable, but catastrophic. We are at the end of sprawl.

Living, as I do in Vermont, in the most rural state in the U.S., if the McMansions invade, we will fight them in the villages, we will fight them on the mountains, we will use tax rates and building codes and ACT 250, we will never surrender.

Libby, Bush, Cheney: Look at the Subtext

2009-02-18T13:29:53Z

The reports about Bush refusing Cheney's pleas for a pardon for the Scooter mostly concentrate on the text and not the subtext. Clearly, for Bush, it was his way of breaking free from Cheney's grip. The irony is how little it matters for Bush's legacy. Failure to do anything before and on 9/11, a war based on fraud, the trashing of the Constitution and the economy and the support for grifter capitalism all still stand. It's childish behavior. Though I am glad the Scooter remains a felon and an ex-lawyer.

Churchill

2009-02-16T21:07:35Z

Josh is right about Churchill who was a Tory, but very much on the outs with the party (with even a threat of being denied nomination for the next election). Actually the government of the day was nominally an all party coalition with a handfull of Liberal traitors and Labour traitors (10 is the number I recall.) It had been that way since Ramsey MacDonald sold the Labour Party out in 1931 and became the PM in this effectively Tory government. It was reelected in 35 when Ramsey Mac retired and Stanley Baldwin became PM again and retired in '37 and being replaced by Neville Chamberlain.

By 1940, the five year term of the Parliament was just about up. To continue the Parliament during the war would require a real all party government under the conventions of the constitution. Labour wanted Churchill even though most Tories wanted Halifax. Churchill was still not the choice of the Tories even though they acquiesced to his being PM. It wasn't until six months later (Nov. '40) that he became leader of the Conservative Party.

Caroline Kennedy and the Senate Seat

2008-12-24T13:20:28Z

The U.S. Senate, despite the intent of some of the Framers, is not the House of Lords. Even the House of Lords is not The House of Lords It is no longer an hereditary body. I have long ago memories of supporting various members of the Kennedy family. In 1960, as a kid, I campaigned with Myrna Loy for Jack. Yes, that Myrna Loy. It was a big deal for me. In 1965, on returning from the Selma March, a friend and I reported our experiences to Bobby Kennedy's Senate Office. I think Ted Kennedy's early endorsement of President-elect Obama was magical. Caroline Kennedy seems a fine person, but she has not earned the job.

There is a difference between coming from a political family and a sense of familial entitlement. Nancy Pelosi comes from a political family. She made her own way in politics. No doubt she learned much on her father's knee, but it's a long long way from Baltimore to San Francisco.

There may be a case for appointing someone who will not run when up for election. They may keep the seat warm, try to complete the work of the person who vacated the seat, or wish to serve to bring up an issue which normal electoral politics ignores. Ms. Kennedy is only seeking to jump start a political career. The U.S. Senate is an august and powerful body. It is not the House of Lords.