W's going to need a lot of computers, since he keeps jamming crayons into the drive doors

Did the news that W got a book deal prompt Crayola stock to spike? Because I'm thinking they're going to need an awful lot of crayons to publish that thing.

Or, at least, fill it in post-sale.

Sowing the Seeds of TARP

So Dubya got the Detroit bailout loan deal deal done.

Questions arise:

• The planner decider of a bungled 7 year invasion and occupation of Iraq who can't understand why Mr. Iraqi Shoethrower had "a beef" with him expects the 100-year-old U.S. auto industry to re-invent itself in ninety days?!
• Is it an opportunity, or just delaying the opportunity for the industry to fail into the next guy's watch?
• Is it a policy decision, or just the first down-payment on rehabilitating his domestic legacy?
• Is it a way to leverage Congress into releasing the second half of the TARP funds before Obama takes office, so Paulson can spend it all before January 20?

I just keep getting the feeling that, y'know, a blind squirrel does occasionally stumble across a nut. And I keep thinking of some lyrics:

"Time to eat all your words /

Swallow your pride /

Open your eyes."

Non Sequitur of the Day: French Vocab Edition

"Tutoyer."

So nice that, while Putin and Sarkozy are having un dialogue about Russia invading Georgia and Putin wanting to hang their president "by the balls" because W did it to Saddam, Nicky felt comfortable familiar enough with Vlady to tu him.

Ugh.

W: Still Just a Privileged Frat Boy, Cribbing Off Someone Else's Paper

After weeks of false starts driven by discredited conservative ideology and straight-up GOP political whoring, the U.S. now realizes that this Euro-socialism thing might actually work here, and adopts the U.K.'s approach of direct equity investment in its private banks.

"Wudgu git on #1 there, Gordie?" >>

Today, we are all Swedes.

A Suggestion for Obama's Acceptance Speech

Amidst hypocritical wingnut carping about the set looking too Roman or Greek or whatever, I hope that elements of this scene make it into the speech.

Thank you, Aaron Sorkin. Add me on Facebook, why don'tcha?

Sacrifice for the troops, re-defined

For future reference, perhaps during Lent: if you ever give up a recreational activity -- say golf -- as a sign of moral solidarity with someone or in support of a cause, that sacrifice does not include hanging with smoking hot world class women beach volleyball players while vacationing in a totalitarian communist nation.

Our, ummmm, man? In China?

"I'm getting a 'lil hungry, girls. You know where I kin find this General Tsao guy? Is he sorta like Colonel Sanders?"

Today's Lesson: Why "Red State" Folks Sometimes Don't "Get" "Blue State" Folks

I saw this bumper sticker today. I imagine a fanboy was driving, but my shock/bemusement prevented me from checking.

Now, I know the LOTR trilogy grossed more than $1B, much of that in "Red States," Podnuh. And, personally, I've never read or seen the trilogy, so I can't explain the reference, but I'm sure the sticker applier could do a good half-hour on it, easily. But as a geek myself in so many other areas, I can recognize that it's this kind of out-of-left-field cultural/political connect the dots that makes us book-learned "Blue Staters" appear fuhrrin foreign to "NASCAR Dad" types.

So, Lefties? Keep your eye on the ball, at least until after the election.