I just saw a commercial that said something like “if you walk 30 minutes a day, you’ll live a year longer!” Or, if you do the math, if you walk 30 minutes a day, every day, for about 50 years, you’ll extend your life by the same amount you spent doing all the walking.
I think I’d rather have a drink instead.
I’m getting sick of his “everything is on the table [except for all the things that aren't].” Of course what he actually said, this time, was [emphasis mine]:
“We’re going to continue to explore each and every avenue that I can think of that will lead to job creation and economic growth,” he said while standing with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and four construction workers wearing hard hats.
Here’s a tip for Mr. Super Genius Nobel Peace Prizing President Obama: explore ideas that other people have thought of you pompous ass!
Outside of that, let me thank the people of the country. Thank you for sending your money to people like me.
Obama spoke from the top of a large mound of dirt and gravel, the site of a highway construction project in the Virginia suburbs outside Washington. He chose the site of the Fairfax County Parkway Extension project to feature the progress of the stimulus package passed earlier this year.
The project is the state’s largest stimulus-funded project. When completed, it will connect both ends of Fairfax County.
Thank you, America for sending money to my county, Fairfax, VA, one of the wealthiest counties in the country, so that we can build more roads for ourselves with your money. According to Forbes last year, Fairfax county had the highest median income of any county in the country. And that’s where Mr. Greatness Obama thought it was a good idea to show off how stimulus money was being spent. Seriously, he traveled all the way across the river to the fucking DC suburbs to show off how well he’s spending America’s money on America’s rich by “creating jobs” where the unemployment rate is only 4.5% Fucking dolt!
PS - Don’t get too mad at me, Obama, I did check my tire pressures this week. So now we can call off that whole global warming deal.
Don’t worry, the same company that just months ago said that bankruptcy was not an option, has now emerged from bankruptcy. Of course now we’re being told that all the government loans will be paid back in full and ahead of schedule. In addition, “[The new CEO] said the U.S. government, which owns a majority stake in GM, has vowed that it would not get involved in day-to-day decisions.” It seems that Congress isn’t aware of that pledge.
A majority of House members have signed onto a bill to reverse the closing of 789 Chrysler dealerships and block General Motors Corp. from closing more than 1,300, while the full House could vote on the bill as early as next week….
“A majority of the U.S. House of Representatives, an astonishing 222 members, and a quickly growing number in the Senate, from both parties, now fully recognize what is clear to the American people: The leadership of GM and Chrysler made a horrible mistake by their arbitrary termination of profitable dealerships,” the statement said. “Detroit and the (White House’s) auto task force’s flawed business plan will lead to the direct loss of more than 169,000 good jobs and cripple the U.S. auto industry’s ability to come back from bankruptcy.”
Here’s a question, have any of you actually thought to yourself how sorry you feel for these dealerships? I know I sure as shit have not.
Anyway, the executive branch is making business decisions for GM and Chrysler and Congress has decided they have veto power over the executive branch. Perhaps the government isn’t involved in “day-to-day” decisions, but they’re most certainly involved in the biggest decisions facing the companies.
Coming soon to a dealer near you:
At work today we received a brief summary of a talk from someone who is high up at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Here’s the gist:
Here’s the shorter gist: current energy policy is grounded in hope and change and reality is not an option.
Mark Steyn pens and excellent column, a snippet is here for your enjoyment:
In just about his last act as president, George W. Bush has declared Washington, D.C., a federal disaster area.
No, seriously. I’m not setting up some lame-o punchline here…
So what was it? An ice storm? A hurricane?
No, it’s the inauguration of his successor. The inauguration is scheduled to make landfall on Tuesday and wreak havoc all night long, as Category Five conga lines buckle highways round town, and emergency busboy crews find themselves overwhelmed as they struggle to clear drained champagne flutes…
“I don’t know if anybody’s ever done that,” said Dana Perino, the White House press secretary.
Indeed. One reason why nobody’s ever done that before is because a presidential inauguration is not (to be boringly technical about it) an “emergency.” It’s penciled in well in advance – in this case, so well in advance that for years Democrats have been driving around with “1-20-09″ bumper stickers on the back of their Priuses…
The proposition that a new federal administration is itself a federal emergency is almost too perfect an emblem of American government in the 21st century.
In other news, here’s an article which offers a glimpse of the American milk industry, which makes you realize they’re not too different from OPEC. With this little bonus:
WASHINGTON — A stimulus package may be a lifeline for the nation’s economy, but it could be a death sentence for a lot of cows.
Lawmakers are looking for ways to use the forthcoming stimulus bill to help dairy farmers, and the number one priority is to dampen milk supplies and prop up prices. Translation: reduce the nation’s dairy herd.
Yes. The wonderful people in Washington are working their little tails off to stimulate the economy by raising your milk prices. You’re welcome!
Elsewhere, one of my favorite finance-type bloggers offered up the Financial Modelers Manifesto.
It’s a different story with finance and economics, which are concerned with the mental world of monetary value. Financial theory has tried hard to emulate the style and elegance of physics in order to discover its own laws. But markets are made of people, who are influenced by events, by their ephemeral feelings about events and by their expectations of other people’s feelings. The truth is that there are no fundamental laws in finance. And even if there were, there is no way to run repeatable experiments to verify them.
Finally, Doug with a refreshed blog design (I like it) offers up video of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Gump. Errr, Forrest Button. Benrest Gumton? Foramin Bump? It makes me a little glad that I haven’t paid to see that new version yet.
Originally, the IRS sent me a letter to tell me to look forward to receiving my stimulus rebate 3 days earlier. Now it is a few weeks later and I’m still waiting. Fortunately, the IRS must have realized both that it is botching some of the rebates and that they should have a handy “Where’s My Stimulus Payment?” page. And, let me tell ya, it’s super handy. So where is my rebate?
There is a delay in processing your Stimulus payment.
… as if I hadn’t already noticed.
