Fannie and Freddie our rich uncles

20090110 money printing-01
Doing our best.

Gummint offered pie in sky before you die, and look what happened.

Taxpayer losses from the government seizure of failed housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could reach nearly $400 billion, but likely won’t top that level as some had feared, the firms’ federal regulator said Wednesday.

Promise them anything, but give them — what? (Apologies to Arpege.)

Fannie & Freddie bought bad loans — heck, we can’t let bad things happen. Gummint is our big daddy, after all.

Hey, Daddy, I want a diamond ring, bracelets, everything
Daddy, you oughta get the best for me (scat)

Hey, Daddy, gee, don’t I look swell in sables?
Clothes with Paris labels?
Daddy, you oughta get the best for me (scat)
. . . . .
Daddy, I want a brand new car, champagne, caviar
Daddy, you oughta get the best for me . . . .

Listen to Sammy Kaye: Here.

This babe is in the woods

Azteca News reporter Inez Sainz protests ill treatment by football players, in their locker room.  They made jokes when she entered.

[Tamron] HALL [of MSNBC]:  What kind of jokes were they making? What were they saying?

SAINZ: Yeah. “Oh, she’s here! Look, I want to be Mexican,” and something like this.  But I don’t feel bad in this moment because I say, “Okay, they are guys joking and that’s it.”

But she did not feel harassed until another female reporter told her she should feel harassed:

Tamron Hall says, “You didn’t feel harassed?”  Because Ines Sainz says (doing impression), “No, I didn’t feel bad in this moment because, as I say, I was looking at the [QB] Mark [Sanchez] locker. I was looking for Mark and his locker room [sic], and these guys are just joking and that’s it,” and Tamron Hall said: Wait a minute! You’re not following the script here, babe.  “You didn’t feel harassed?”

SAINZ:  Noooo, I didn’t feel harassed — and then go and wait for Mark, and then, eh, a colleague of mine, a female reporter come with me and say, “I’m so sorry. It’s so disgustin’ that this things happen.  It mustn’t happen,” and she’s very upsetI tried to calm her and say, “Let’s pretend nothing happened.  I’m focusing on my job.”

HALL:  There was ANOTHER female reporter —

SAINZ: Yes. I think they —

HALL: — who said that she was DISGUSTED by the way the players were talking to you?

SAINZ:  Yes, because she is hearing what they are talking about. She’s closer for the — the — the players, and I was all in the locker so she’s the main witness of everything. [Italics added]

A case of being a “knife and fork short of a full place setting,” per veteran observer Rush Limbaugh.  On the other hand, honest about it and getting Tamron Hall upset too.

STAY WITH THE NARRATIVE, LADY!

Con brio

American writer and editor Peter Beinart, of T...
Peter

A peek inside the storied beltway:

[TRB writer, New Republic, Peter] Beinart is well known among Washington journalists as a quick-witted polemicist and a gifted stylist. He’s also regarded as one of the most energetic careerists anyone has ever seen.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that! Banish careerists from the ranks of Washington journalism and the only people left would be a handful of newsroom librarians and a couple of copy editors from Human Events.

A hit, a palpable hit!

Manny joins ChiSox

Manny Ramirez in the Dodger Dugout
Here's da man

The barber was ready.

Meanwhile, Sox Savvy is worried.

We all know that Manny Ramirez brings a lot of baggage to the White Sox. Here are some potential ugly scenarios I’m most worried about seeing:

— Hawk Harrelson shows his support by sporting dreadlocks.

— Teeny-weeny Juan Pierre plays a practical joke by hiding in Manny’s ridiculously baggy pants, but it goes horribly wrong when Manny slides into second base.

And more more more where that’s coming from.  Go there, by all means.

Hawk wares, irritate people

Joe West
Joe West @ work

Stop right now, Hawk!  (From comments at Score 67 white sox network):

Marv
August 23, 2010 9:59 am

The Sox were horrrifically [sic] bad this wekend [sic] and Ken Harrelson simply aggrevated [sic] my complete disgust with the season

AT3374
August 23, 2010 11:26 am

I agree , stop whinning [sic] about the ump and focus on the game . Joe West wasn’t the reason they lost . Poor play +pitching and hitting not being good = another bad loss . Get over yourself Hawk

JohnFromCedarTucky
August 23, 2010 11:16 am

. . . . I wish Hawk Harrelson would retire from broadcasting. . . . .

merklesboner [reference to Fred Merkle, q.v.]
August 23, 2010 11:23 am

Like Hawk, I blame Joe West. For everything. White Sox losing, Piniella crying, Bear OL. It’s all the fault of Joe West and it just isn’t right!

However, no one misspelled Harrelsen.  Oops, HarrelsOn.

Fevered complaint, a kind of rant

You Can Always Find a Fall Guy
Image via Wikipedia

This blogger I am making the fall guy for a common mistake: “these kinds of draconian measures” are out of order, says Mark Hemingway at Wash Times Beltway [non-]Confidential.

He’s right about them being out of order, but dead wrong about their being several kinds.  They are one kind.  It’s how we classify things to make a point, placing many measures in one category, in this case draconian.

IS ANYBODY LISTENING??