NIKKI FINKE: SHE SAID WHAT?! Wanda Sykes Gives Extremely Partisan Performance At White House Correspondents Dinner. “I’ve been to the White House Correspondents Dinner. And, if history is any judge, then comedians asked to perform there seem to do best when they joke with gentle jibes rather than go for the jugular. Someone should have reminded Wanda Sykes about that. . . . Because not since Don Imus roughed up Bill Clinton at the annual event has a comedian been so mean-spirited. But, unlike Imus, Wanda Sykes didn’t lay a glove on the sitting president Barack Obama.” Nope. It’s about showing off in the classless-thug attack-dog competition, not about speaking truth to power. More of the lessons about today’s press corps previously explored in the context of mustard . . . .
DIJONGATE: What have we learned? “Congratulations to Professor Jacobson. Traffic at his Legal Insurrection blog, which was about 37,000 visits in February, surged to more than 107,000 in just two days Thursday and Friday, because he dared to point out how dishonest news coverage has become. The point was not that Obama likes Dijon mustard — I do, too, as does the man who named it ‘DijonGate’ — but rather that MSNBC and other major media are no longer in the news business. They’re doing public relations for the Obama administration and the Democratic Party. . . . Obviously, reporters didn’t think ‘Dijon mustard’ fit the narrative the White House wanted, and so they fudged the quote — and NBC even edited its own video — to omit the offensive French phrase. Jacobson pointed this out, and it was like showing a Rorschach inkblot to Charles Manson.”
A fresh round of expropriations in Venezuela has raised fears that the Opec producer’s already declining oil output could sink to its lowest level in the past 20 years.
Troops were mobilised over the weekend to assist Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, in seizing the assets of some 60 oil service companies, after a law was approved last week that paves the way for the state to take increasing control over its all-important oil industry. “To God what is God’s, and to Caesar what is Caesar’s,” said Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez, as he presided over the expropriation of at least a dozen rigs, more than 30 oil terminals and some 300 boats.
More stuff for him to run into the ground. “The move is the latest sign of the deepening cashflow crisis that has bedeviled the state oil company for at least two years as it has become overburdened with responsibilities far removed from its core business – in particular funding and running the massive social programmes that have become the bedrock of Mr Chávez’s support.” And capital is being scared away, because of “regime uncertainty.”
AT WORK: Women bullying women. “Just the mention of women treating other women badly on the job seemingly shakes the women’s movement to its core. It is what Peggy Klaus, an executive coach in Berkeley, Calif., has called ‘the pink elephant’ in the room. . . . ‘We believe that a sense of pride in women’s accomplishments is important in getting women to help one another,’ Ms. Lau said. ‘To have this sense of pride, women need to be aware of their shared identity as women.’ In the workplace, however, it is unlikely that women will constantly think of themselves as members of one group, she said. They will more likely see themselves as individuals, as they are judged by their performance.”
His rule: If they come to his district, federal funds are well worth wrangling over, especially for infrastructure repairs and nonprofit causes.
But how does an East Coast software company qualify for a Cleaver earmark?
For two years, the Kansas City Democrat has secured earmarks totaling about $2 million with the aim of supplying a south Kansas City defense plant the latest in design software technology.
What seemed to him an easy chance to bring home some bacon, however, turned into a lesson on why earmarks are so controversial and difficult to follow.
For starters, the local plant he sought to help — the federally owned Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies Kansas City Plant — never asked for the money, plant officials said. . . . In tracing the origins of one little earmark — just a drop in a $7.7 billion bucket of pet projects earmarked in Congress’ recent omnibus spending bill — The Kansas City Star found that a lobbying group working for Massachusetts-based Parametric pushed for the funds.
That lobbyist, known as The PMA Group, is under federal investigation for its dealings with lawmakers. It was a major campaign donor to an Indiana congressman and others who served on the appropriations panel that signed off on Cleaver’s earmark.
Read the whole thing. And note the Visclosky connection.
If domestic comedians aren’t supplying the comedy you like, you should import comedy from overseas.
British comedians are not at all shy about making fun of Obama. Hugh Dennis does a very good impression.
While British comedians are not known for being conservative (they think the Labour party is right wing), they have interest in American politics, and skewer all regardless of position.
Skewer all? That’s a novel approach. Perhaps we should try it here.
JOHN BIRMINGHAM IS ASKING READERS’ HELP in imagining a much worse London, though perhaps not one as bad as it could be. It’s for the sequel to Without Warning, an excellent book, which I blurbed.
See what being historically ignorant will get you. You must learn from the mistakes of others or you’re doomed.
I do not claim great knowledge in socialist, communist or even world history but I am aware that after the Bolshevik revolution, the French revolution, the Cuban revolution, and more I can’t think of right now, that once in power, the powerful leader(s) turned on those who didn’t fit the profile they were selling. Especially, if they ever presented themselves as having an influence on the leadership.
Once they run out of rich bank and industrial CEOs to pillory, they’ll turn on the rich Hollywood and Silicon Valley CEOs, who wanted to salve their guilt at being capitalist with a capital C.
Yeah, you can already see that coming.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Related thoughts from Dan Riehl. Not sure I agree.
FINANCIAL CRIME AND THE MELTDOWN: “Wait, does anyone think criminality helped caused the current crisis? To paraphrase Warren Buffett: When the tide goes down you realize who isn’t wearing swimming trunks. But it’s not like the tide goes down because someone’s swimming nude.”
MEGAN MCARDLE: Bankruptcy: Cui Bono? “The administration’s actions weren’t debtor-friendly, they were insider friendly. This was classic collusion among creditors, and it’s why the parts of the bankruptcy law that deal with Section 363 sales spend so much time talking about the importance of avoiding sham transactions. Cutting back on that sort of abuse was at least as important an achievement as giving debtors a fresh start.”
EDITORIAL: PELOSI’S AMNESIA: “Here’s resounding evidence that Democrats’ haughty accusations that only Republicans knew about or condoned waterboarding of the three captured al-Qaida leaders amount to political posturing, and little more.”
TEA PARTY UPDATE, BUFFALO, NY: Hundreds attend rally downtown. “Fed up western New Yorkers headed downtown to protest against state government, high taxes and extensive regulations. Hundreds attended a rally Saturday afternoon in Niagara Square.” Video at the link.
UPDATE: Reader James Vicevich sends a report from today’s Clinton, Connecticut Tea Party: “Another Tea party in a deep blue state. About 75 people. But not bad for a very sleepy and may I say wealthy CT shoreline town.” I’ll bet there were a lot of Obama donors there last election. Maybe fewer, next time?
LAMAR ALEXANDER: Why not probe Congress on briefings? “During a scantly noticed exchange in a Thursday Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) asked Attorney General Eric Holder a potentially explosive question — given the furor over Nancy Pelosi’s 2002 interrogation briefing. Alexander wanted to know if the AG would consider investigating what House and Senate members knew about torture and when they knew it. And Holder didn’t exactly reject the idea.”
NEW YORK STATE SENATOR ATTACKS PHOTOGRAPHER: “Parker, a Democrat from the 21st District, became enraged when Post staff photographer William C. Lopez snapped a shot of him getting out of a car at his parents’ home on Avenue H in Flatbush at about 7 p.m. Lopez, who filed a formal complaint with cops, said he was standing on a public street — where it’s legal to take pictures — when he shot the photo of the politician. . . . This isn’t the first time Parker has been linked to allegations of violence. Last year, he was accused of choking a staffer and smashing her glasses at his Glenwood Road office, but Parker claimed she was the one who started the dustup.”
Seeing how my posts were distorted was not terribly surprising; that is how things go on the internet. The level of vitriol was something I knew existed, but had never personally experienced. As crazed as the published comments were, there were others I didn’t publish telling me to kill myself and do other things, and plenty of bizarre e-mails. All of these people made fools of themselves.
The reaction proved one thing I already knew: The cult of personality surrounding Obama is real. And many of the cultists are demented, dangerous or both.
ECONOMY ENDS, MEN HARDEST HIT: “Overall, the unemployment rate rose to 8.9%, and the number of jobs dropped by 539K. Manufacturing jobs dropped by 149K, somewhat slower than the previous 2 months but still harsh. But the real news is that in every age group, the male unemployment rate is at or near the post-war high. . . . The difference in the pain being absorbed by men and women is astonishing, and may have long-term social and political implications.” (Via Richard Florida, who notes that the unemployment is mostly among men with hands-on jobs. “The highest rates of unemployment remain concentrated in working class occupations. For production, transporation and moving occupations overall the rate is 13.6 percent. For production workers it’s 14.7 percent; movers and transportation workers, 12.5 percent; and construction and extraction jobs, 19.7 percent. For service occupations, the unemployment rate is 8.7 percent.”)
CHRYSLER WALKS AWAY FROM LEMON LAWS. “Since April 30, Judge Arthur Gonzales has to approve payment on claims against Chrysler incurred before C11. That includes ‘lemon law’ settlement checks to customers who bought defective Dodge, Chrysler or Jeep products. Not happening.”
IN KNOXVILLE, a delicate balance for mosque, restaurant. “The Hill restaurant in Fort Sanders, which has been the source of controversy over sales of alcohol, will open Wednesday despite concern by members of an adjacent mosque.”
JIM MORAN (D-VA) calls Robert E. Lee a patriot. “I must admit: it almost obscures the fact that the man has just volunteered his Congressional District to hold a bunch of vicious terrorists indefinitely. As I said before, that’s one heck of a distraction.” Not as big as it would be if he were a Republican, though!
On a related note, a reader suggests: “It would seem a great use of the tea party folks would be to become a living nightmare for jim moran who is leaving the welcome mat out for the uighurs– a thousand people at a district meeting would make an impact.” I suppose they would.
UPDATE: Bill Quick: “I’m of two minds: This sort of thing does strike me as ludicrous. On the other hand, there are legitimate reasons to worry about a non-wussified, militaristic Germany. Or Japan, for that matter.”
UPDATE: Reader Jim Warren writes: “I thought the ‘parasitic worms’ article would be about the political class… The pictures were considerably better than what’s on C-Span right now.” Heh. Sometimes a nematode is just a nematode.
It seemed to me as a historian that the concept of extremism begged a question: how do certain ideas, movements and political impulses come to be considered extremist? As a citizen whose political identity was shaped by the late twentieth century, I saw the militias’ assertion of a right to use armed force to change government policy as new, threatening, and beyond the pale of legitimate politics. But as a historian of early America I found achingly familiar their assertion of a right to take up arms to prevent the exercise of unconstitutional power by the federal government. As a historian, then, I was faced with a more specific question: how has the United States as a political society come to view the assertion of that right as extremist?
Dodd’s popularity among Connecticut voters has sunk in the wake of several issues dogging him — including mortgages from Countrywide, a troubled lender.
Dodd’s role in the financial industry relief legislation was later tainted when it was revealed he had a hand in writing provisions that allowed bonuses to be paid to AIG executives.
Dodd and his staff have been pushing the credit card legislation heavily in recent weeks — and it has been mentioned prominently in appearances around the state.
But Dodd, who faces re-election next year, says this is far from a new issue for him, having campaigned for more consumer protections for more than 20 years, beginning with disclosures about credit card terms and fees.
Since her marriage, Mrs. Dodd, whose name also appeared on those infamous sweetheart mortgages from Countrywide Financial, has seen her income quadruple thanks to her recruitment for lucrative positions on corporate boards, including CME Group, the world’s largest futures exchange. Those jobs have enriched the Dodd household while netting Sen. Dodd’s campaigns at least $40,000 in contributions, according to a published report. In addition, from 2001-04, she was a director for IPC Holdings, an off-shore company controlled by AIG; Sen. Dodd’s political and financial entanglements with AIG are well documented. Today, she also is designated, as required by federal law, as the highly paid “financial expert” on two of her boards’ audit committees, even though she has neither auditing nor accounting credentials or experience. As for Clegg International, she admits she hasn’t had a client since 2005.
Mrs. Dodd protests her husband didn’t help her get these jobs. But with actual business credentials so thin, does she really believe corporations would want her if she wasn’t the wife of a five-term U.S. senator?
RELATED: “Thank you, however, for the intimate revelation that you are a ‘hetero-American.’ This is a startling admission to hear from a Harvard graduate.”
Today’s Washington Post reports: “The Obama administration is preparing to revive the system of military commissions established at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, under new rules that would offer terrorism suspects greater legal protections, government officials said.”
But State Department legal adviser nominee Harold Koh has maintained that no set of modifications to the rules governing military commissions can “dispel[] the fatal global perception of unfairness” that he believes they suffer from.
Of course, when Obama does it, the “global perception” is likely to be less fatal, because, you know, it’s Obama doing it.
DO YOU THINK? Pelosi Has Lost ‘Credibility’ on Interrogation Tactics. “ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: The top Republican on the House intelligence committee told ABC News Friday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ‘doesn’t have any credibility’ in her claim that she was never briefed by intelligence officials that waterboarding and other hard interrogation techniques had been employed.”
MORE “TEA PARTY” ACTIVISM: “Dozens of Jefferson Area Tea Party activists marched through downtown Charlottesville Friday afternoon and into Congressman Tom Perriello’s office. This comes more than three weeks after Charlottesville’s first ever Tax Day Tea Party.”
SO THE MARKETS ARE way up. Well, compared to their low, anyway, not compared to where they were when Obama was sworn in. But is it a sucker’s rally? Hey, if I knew that, I’d be trading, not blogging. I don’t really see how the economic future looks brighter, though, given the out-of-control spending and growing unemployment numbers. On the other hand, if you’re worried about inflation, maybe it makes sense to pile into equities?
UPDATE: Retired steel mill engineer William Casey emails:
All the self-styled economic experts and business commentators, and even Ben Bernanke can look at all the charts and and computer models they want, but there is one clue to where the recession is. More steel companies are idling coke making facilities. Coke is an essential ingredient for making steel and these multi-million dollar facilities are not shut down for short term forecasts. The process is too costly and potentially damaging to the facilities, so that these decisions are not made on a whim or a guess, but on a firm view of future sales.
Not a good sign for recovery. Here’s a related item: U.S. Steel’s Fairfield Works in Alabama to suspend production, affecting most of 1,700 workers. “U.S. Steel said Wednesday that it plans to temporarily idle primary steelmaking operations at the Fairfield Works, affecting most of the 1,700 workers there, as steel demand slumps. . . . U.S. Steel has now shut or announced plans to shut five of its seven North American steelmaking operations. The company lost $440 million in the first quarter, and the World Steel Association projects that U.S. demand for steel will fall 36 percent in 2009.”
ANOTHER UPDATE: More on the “sucker’s rally” side, here.
CIVIL RIGHTS PROGRESS IN TENNESSEE: House OKs guns in eateries. “The state House voted 66-23 Thursday to accept the Senate version of legislation authorizing handgun permit holders to take their weapons into restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages. The Senate, which approved the bill 26-7 last month, is expected Monday night to reaffirm its previous position, making way for Gov. Phil Bredesen’s review. Bredesen has not taken a public position on the bill, saying he would wait until it reaches his desk to review it. Most legislators expect he will either sign the bill or let it become law without a signature.”
