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Posts Tagged ‘bernie madoff’

Hummer Drivers Believe They’re Defending America’s Frontier Against Anti-American Critics (Links)

HummerKrugman: ‘most widely respected climate models’ show ‘hurtle toward catastrophe’ These days, dire warnings aren’t the delusional raving of cranks.  Our relationship to the natural world is a Ponzi scheme Beyond the illegality of Madoff’s scam, why didn’t he consider his responsibility to his clients, to their future, and even to his own? Give birds a break. Lock up the cat Free-ranging felines do a lot of damage to the baby bird populations in neighborhoods. Gila National Forest threatened by off-road vehicles The well-funded off-road vehicle lobby is pressuring forest managers to add unnecessary roads and permit other destructive practices in the forest. Hummer drivers believe they’re defending America’s frontier against anti-American critics Hummer drivers believe they are defending America’s frontier lifestyle against anti-American critics, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, which researched attitudes toward owning and driving Hummers, which have become symbols to many of American greed and wastefulness. Children who are spanked have lower IQs Children who are spanked have lower IQs worldwide, including in the United States, according to groundbreaking new research. Pennsylvania gun nuts shoot, kill each other A car parked in the driveway bore a badge-shaped sticker that read “NRA law enforcement.” Boing Boing offers ‘nourishing soup and sandwiches’ to Ralph Lauren’s deathly ill models “Dude, her head’s bigger than her pelvis.” Ted Williams’ frozen head abused in cryogenics lab Workers at an Arizona cryogenics facility mutilated the frozen head of baseball legend Ted Williams—even using it for a bizarre batting practice, a new book claims.


The Guns Are Out, the Risks Are Real (Links)

William KostnicCheney: We Didn’t Go Far Enough Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney believes that the Bush Administration’s policies should have been pushed much further. Whores on Terror The documentation of “sexual humiliation,” sodomy, and other forms of “enhanced interrogation” conducted by U.S. personnel are too extensive to be denied or pawned off on a couple of redneck privates. Ten of Obama’s Health-Care Missteps What the White House did wrong, in no particular order. Obama Isn’t Saying the Right Thing He should be saying, “Stop lying.” At Health Care Events, Guns Are Out, and the Risks Are Real It’s not enough for conservatives to repudiate violence, as some are belatedly beginning to do. Krugman: Extreme Opponents of Health Care Unappeasable “What they hate is the whole idea of any kind of health reform and more broadly what they hate is the whole idea of Democrats actually holding the White House.” In Alaska, Palin Leaves Behind Mismanaged Health Care System—Hundreds Die Waiting For Care The situation is so bad that the federal government has forbidden Alaska from signing up new people; no other state in the nation is under such a moratorium. A Case of Affinity Fraud The peddlers of anti-progressive lies are managing to convince a certain kind of American—white, socially conservative, etc.—that the hate-mongers are people like them; and, even more important, that progressives are Those People, people not like them. Them Versus Us By 1900, the U.S. had become more diverse and densely populated, with an industrial economy dominated by large corporations, and it had became abundantly clear that government power was necessary to regulate the marketplace, provide a safety net for the poor and elderly, and protect the environment. O’Reilly gloats that Fox’s ratings are due to its ‘fair and balanced’ approach You know how when someone says, “Now, I’m not trying to be a jerk, but…”, you can be certain that what will follow is them being a jerk. Ironic Divorce Protector of traditional marriage Doug Manchester is leaving his wife of 43 years.


25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis

Time has listed 25 people, including politicians and Wall Street executives. Some might be surprised to see Bill Clinton outrank Dubya (in a bad way).

Oddly, Barack Obama doesn’t make the list, despite Karl Rove’s recent assertion that he singlehandedly killed Bush legislation that would’ve prevented this whole thing from happening!

Rove: The biggest accelerant in this economic difficulty was the failure of the government to rein in Fannie and Freddie. It was the Bush administration trying to rein in Fannie and Freddie. A new senator came to the United States Senate in January 2005 and refused to join the reform efforts, in fact, joined a filibuster effort on the bill that the administration offered up to rein it in. That senator was…Barack Obama of Illinois. We, we, we were the administration that said this needs to be regulated.

I wonder if Rove can also tell us how many of the people below went “We, we, we–all the way home?” Here are Time’s top five:

1. Angelo Mozilo – Former head of Countrywide
2. Phil Gramm – Former chair, Sen. Bank Comm.
3. Alan Greenspan – Former Fed chairman
4. Chris Cox – Former SEC chairman
5. American Consumers

Hey, how’d I get on there? More after the jump.
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Grover Norquist, Guns, Sexting (Links)

How many guns do you own? Grover Norquist grills GOP Party Chair candidates about their conservative credentials. Harper’s posts a statistical retrospective of the Bush Administration. Bill O’Reilly: Senators Leahy and Sanders would ‘torture the hell out of Bush if they could.’ Bush’s 2005 inauguration was actually 4x more expensive per person than Obama’sPolitico lists ‘seven reasons for healthy skepticism.’ Six Pennsylvania teens face child porn charges after taking nude photos of themselves. John McCain says that Sarah Palin could be president someday.  Meanwhile, Palin has reportedly hired D.C. lawyer Robert Barnett help land a book or TV deal. Gail Collins compares Bush’s long goodbye with ‘one of those reconstituted rock bands that have been on a farewell tour since 1982.’ Frank Rich examines ‘eight years of Madoffs.’