The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Australia’s ‘Buxom Bandit’ Busted

Posted on | July 13, 2012 | 16 Comments

Charged with possession of dangerous weapons:

After five days at large, Tonee Walker faced Southport Magistrates Court yesterday charged with armed robbery and stealing.
The 22-year-old blonde had been wanted for the hold-up of an Arundel service station early last Monday morning.
Her low-cut top, exposing an ample bosom, saw her dubbed the “buxom bandit.”

Sources say the suspect was arrested on the basis of “two major tips” received by Australian police after they circulated this wanted poster:

(Hat-tip: Howard Portnoy at Hot Air Green Room.) Next time your wife accuses you of staring at another woman’s breasts, just explain to her that you’re conducting surveillance. It’s important for alert citizens to keep an eye out for dangerous criminals like this.

Category: Australia, Crime

Ruh-Roh: Massive International Bank Scandal May Involve Tim Geithner?

Posted on | July 13, 2012 | 27 Comments

Just now watched James Rosen on Fox News explaining this to Jenna Lee and — despite the eye-glazing intricacies of the financial details involved — recognized it as a potentially major scandal:

Years before the Libor scandal ripped through the financial industry, Timothy Geithner sent a memo to the Bank of England calling for a slew of changes to make it harder for banks to rig this benchmark borrowing rate.
According to a June 2008 memo obtained by FOX Business, Geithner, who was then president of the New York Federal Reserve, listed six changes aimed at making it more difficult for banks to distort Libor.
The disclosure comes as lawmakers step up the heat on bankers and regulators in the wake of Barclays . . . reaching a $452 million settlement for allegedly intentionally manipulating its Libor rates. More than a dozen banks are being probed for their handling of Libor.

So, the Treasury Secretary who has been up to his eyeballs in the political manipulation of the U.S. economy warned against the private manipulation of financial data for profit.

UPDATE: Explaining what LIBOR is:

The London Interbank Offered Rate is the average interest rate estimated by leading banks in London that they would be charged if borrowing from other banks. . . . It is the primary benchmark . . . for short term interest rates around the world.

If banks are manipulating LIBOR, this enables them to rig interest rates to their own advantage. James Rosen explained this on Fox News, and Jenna Lee nodded her pretty head as if she understood, but I’m not sure she really did. But this is no time to pick fights with feminists . . .

UPDATE II: What pushed this into the headlings was a massive document dump about the LIBOR scandal today:

The most recent revelations have suggested that the world’s central bankers knew about the rate manipulation before and/or during the [2008] financial crisis, and may have even leaned on banks to keep lending rates low.
These documents indicate that the Fed and the [Bank of England] had considered problems with the accuracy of LIBOR, and believed that Barclays was pushing down estimates of the rate at which it could borrow funds in order to appear more financially stable.

Read the whole thing by Simone Foxman of Business Insider who, I hasten to point out, is (a) female and (b) actually understands this stuff. That probably won’t help much with feminists outraged by my snarky comments about Jenna Lee, but I gotta try.

UPDATE III: The basic thrust of questions facing Geithner is whether he acted promptly and appropriately on reports that Barclays was deliberately manipulating LIBOR:

An unidentified employee of U.K. bank Barclays PLC told the New York Federal Reserve Bank more than four years ago that the bank was filing false reports on a key interest rate, according to documents released by the regional central bank on Friday. . . .
The New York Fed released the documents in response to inquiries from members of Congress about the role of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, then the head of the New York Fed, and its questions about Libor.

So it’s a “what-did-he-know-and-when-did-he-know-it” kind of situation. And if I keep inserting inappropriately sexist comments into this story, it’s because people who probably wouldn’t pay attention to a complicated financial scandal might pay attention if I juice it up with a few gratuitous jabs at feminists.

Let’s face it: Amanda Marcotte doesn’t care if Tim Geithner was asleep at the switch while international bankers were wrecking the economy and robbing us blind, but she is outraged over “the epic and often confusing online battle over rape jokes” by the host of a cable TV show.

It’s a matter of priorities, you see.

Let the global economy go to ruin. The important thing is, somewhere a man is laughing, and feminism must put an end to that.

Category: Economics, Scandal, Timothy Geithner

Obama Explains His Unpopularity by Scapegoating Stupid Voters

Posted on | July 13, 2012 | 26 Comments

The same stupid voters who elected him are, unfortunately, too stupid to understand how completely excellent his policies have been:

“When I think about what we’ve done well and what we haven’t done well,” the president said, “the mistake of my first term — couple of years —  was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right. And that’s important. But the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism, especially during tough times.”

Drew at AOSHQ headlines this story:

Obama: I Regret Not Speaking Slower And Using
Smaller Words. If I Had, You’d Realize How Lucky
You Are I Let You Have Me As Your President

Allahpundit gets past mere sarcasm:

This is, of course, the political equivalent of telling a recruiter during a job interview that your big “weakness” is that you “try too hard.” It’s an almost completely meaningless self-criticism: The point, as is always the case in “messaging” complaints, is to compliment yourself on the correctness of your policy choices while blaming their failure on some facile communication problems.

What Obama appears to be attempting to explain — which is why he corrected “my first term” and emphasized he meant the first “couple of years” — is the world-historic ass-kicking the Democrats took in the 2010 midterms. The fact that do-nothing Harry Reid was able to maintain his gig as Senate Majority Leader somewhat obscured the significance of the incredible electoral catastrophe suffered by House Democrats.

Now that Obama is within four months of his own rendezvous with the same pissed-off American voters who chucked 63 Democrats out of Congress in 2010, however, the significance is beginning to become apparent, and he must resort to excuse-making, because accepting responsibility is an alien concept to the Narcissist-in-Chief.

Category: Barack Obama, Election 2012

Hoping To Fake Change Successfully

Posted on | July 13, 2012 | 11 Comments

By Smitty

VodkaPundit points to The Weekly Standard, where there is a teaser about an interview with #OccupyResoluteDesk fortuitously airing on Friday the 13th (emphasis mine):

CBS News’s Charlie Rose has an interview with Barack and Michelle Obama airing tomorrow, and in an advance excerpt, the president says his biggest mistake was focusing too much on policy and not enough on the “story” of his presidency:

This recalls some talk from yesteryear:

In 2008 Hillary Clinton argued candidate Obama’s record consisted of “just words;” Obama shot back “don’t tell me words don’t matter.”

Indeed, words matter, as does intent. A couple of orders of magnitude more important than either is results. Barack seems to have a tendency to confuse word with deed. To behave as though a speech stating some amorphous, positive result constitutes leadership and accomplishment. To be good, not at getting things done, but speaking about things as if they had been done.

The Weekly Standard article prompted me to finish a bit of doggerel written based upon my impression of the decadent Progressive mind:

Hoping To Fake Change Successfully

Fake it until you make it.
Traditions are just a jape,
And it’s all rigged, anyway.

They doctor all of the tape,
For the talent or the git:
Focus on winning the day!

Claims of truth are all tripe,
And public opion clay–
Purest power conduit.

All the world is a stage play,
And floating a fact-free swipe
The surest path to a hit.

Tea Parties howl where they may,
Ever refusing to quit,
See what betrayal they take?

Sliding into the debt pit,
With their hand-made signs so gay,
The need for reform to slake.

But the votive candle’s lit,
For liberty’s lonely wake,
As freedom loses the fray.

Ace was a bit more sarcastic.

Update: Hot Air made it the Obamateurism of the Day. While not particularly dramatic, I think this notion is near the heart, and forms a theoretical underpinning, for Obamateurism in general.

Update II: linked at Daily Pundit. Thanks, Bill!

Category: Democrats, VodkaPundit

LIVE AT FIVE: 07.13.12

Posted on | July 13, 2012 | 6 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Freeh Report Rips Penn State

Joe Paterno - burning in the SPECIAL Hell

Former FBI director shows Paterno, former PSU president knew about abuses

Biden Urges Black Voters To Reject Romney
Claims Romney administration would threaten blacks’ voting rights

Syrian Army Kills 200+ In Tremseh
Shelling followed by execution-style killings by pro-Assad irregulars



POLITICS
Berdoo Bankruptcy: Aggravated By Criminal Acts?

A city worker empties trash cans in San Bernardino

Police, sheriff’s department and DA investigating city gov’t; financial documents allegedly forged to cover up city’s desperate position

Midwest Cherry Crop Destroyed By Weather



Closing Arguments Set To Begin For Texas Voter ID Trial

Dick Cheney Hosts Romney Fundraiser, Blasts Obama

Drudge Tips Condi Rice For Romney Veep Pick

Maine Governor Compares IRS To Gestapo

Obama Trying To Keep Virginia Blue



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Crude Continues Rise As PRC Meets Growth Expectations: NYMEX $86.17, Brent $101.38
PRC Economic Data Questioned, Power Use Slows
Geitner May Have Known About LIBOR Scandal In 2008
Italian Bonds, Stocks Fall After Moody’s Downgrade
United Deal For Boeing 737s Worth Nearly $15 Billion
Stocks Close Lower On Gloomy US Economic Outlook
Wells Fargo Pays $175 Million To Settle Bias Lawsuits, Denies Wrongdoing
Bank Of Korea Cuts 2012 Growth Outlook
Former Media Star Digg Sells For Just $500K
Microsoft Disables Windows Sidebar, Gadgets Due To Security Risk
“Angry Birds” Coming To Samsung Smart TVs
US Retail Video Game Sales Drop 29%, Seventh Month Of Declines In A Row
Doctors Say Facebook, Skype Lead To Rise In Plastic Surgery



SPORTS
Clippers’ Griffin Out Of Olympics With Knee Injury

Blake Griffin

Torn cartilage in knee knocks him off squad

Jacoby Ellsbury’s Return Gives Hope To Stumbling Sox

Durant Scores 24 As Team USA Crushes Dominican Republic In Exhibition

Selanne Ready For Another Year With Ducks

Dodgers Start Second Half With Kemp, Ethier Back

Saudi Arabia Sends Women To Olympics

Nationals Second-Half Storylines



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Steven Tyler Confirms He’s Leaving “American Idol”

Steven Tyler: going back to Aerosmith


“…it’s time to let go…before she boils my rabbit.”
Related: J-Lo: “Maybe It’s Time For Me To Go”

Demi Moore Not Speaking To Her Daughters

Kate Upton Denies Boozing At Tigers Game

Cruise Lawyer Threatening National Enquirer With Lawsuit Over “House Of Horrors” Cover

Lindsay Lohan, Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey Have A Slumber Party

Justin Bieber Sued For $9 Million: “Screaming Fans Destroyed My Ears”

Trailer For “Oz, The Great And Powerful” Out

Pink: Partying Naked Has Changed Since Becoming A Parent



FOREIGNERS
ASEAN Summit Breaks Down Over South China Sea Dispute
Thai Court Rejects Petitions Against Constitutional Change
Clinton Moves To Bear-Hug Egypt’s Morsi
Twenty Police Officers Injured In Belfast As Marching Season Begins
100 Killed In Nigerian Gasoline Tanker Explosion
The Murder Of Yasser Arafat
EU Pressures Romanian PM Over Political Unrest
Lopez Obrador Files Legal Challenge To Void Mexican Election
Rabbis, Imams Agree German Circumcision Ban Is Violation Of Religious Freedom



BLOGS & STUFF
Wall Street Journal: A Fine For No Crime
Jammie Wearing Fools: That Crashing Sound You Hear Is The Obama Narrative Du Jour Imploding
Power Line: The Obsession With Bain Continues
Q&O: Quote Of The Day, WTF Edition
NRO Corner: FactCheck.org Says Romney Not Involved In Bain Capital During Olympics
Rush Limbaugh: Could It Be Condi For VP?
Allahpundit: Obama Says His Problem Is Poor Messaging
Lonely Conservative: Delusional President Says His Biggest Mistake Is Not Telling a Good Enough Story
Weasel Zippers: New Documents Show Multiple Witnesses Told FBI Zimmermann Not Racist
Legal Insurrection: PPP Poll Says Cruz Tops Dewhurst In Texas GOP Senate Runoff
Radio Equalizer: Libtalker Malloy Pretends To Call Satan For Update On Breitbart
Hit & Run: A Conservative/Progressive Carbon Tax Plot?
Moe Lane: NAACP Not Feeling The Love From Obama
Fausta: Integration Through Welfare Dependence – SNAP To The Parque Alegria Dole
The Conservatory: Unnamed Reporter Asks Valid Question About Obama’s Records, Blows Follow-Up

Category: Live at Five

Why Would Mitt Romney’s Campaign Manager Deliberately Insult Me?

Posted on | July 12, 2012 | 25 Comments

After nearly two months of being up to my eyeballs in the Brett Kimberlin story, and becoming concerned about symptoms of journalistic burnout, yesterday I decided it’s about time to hit the road and do some campaign trail reporting. So I called up one of my contacts with the Mitt Romney presidential campaign and talked for a few minutes.

I pointed out a basic problem: I’m apparently not even on the campaign’s e-mail list for press releases — no schedule updates, no statements, nothing — which means I’ve got no way to plan my coverage.

“We’ll take care of it,” my source said.

This evening, I saw an e-mail with the subject line, “Mitt’s VP,” and thought: “Hey, all right! They finally added my e-mail to the press list!” Then I opened the e-mail and discovered to my horror that it was, in fact, a solicitation for contributions:

Meet Mitt’s Choice For VP
Robert Stacy Mccain,
We’re getting ready to share some exciting news.  Sometime between now and the Republican convention, Mitt will be announcing his choice for VP.
Know what’s even more exciting?  Every week until the VP announcement is made, one lucky supporter will win the chance to meet Mitt and his choice for VP.
This is your chance to meet America’s comeback team.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — don’t pass this one up.
So donate $3 today to be automatically entered for the chance to meet Mitt and his choice for VP in person.
Thanks,
Matt Rhoades
Campaign Manager
Romney for President

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Matt Rhoades, who apparently can’t figure out how to send me a press release, nevertheless proves himself capable of finding my e-mail address in order to hit me up for cash?

Y’know, some of my blogger friends have complained that the Romney campaign has been jerking them around in the credentialing process for covering the Republican National Convention. Given that I’ll be attending the convention on regular media credentials as a correspondent for The American Spectator, I didn’t pay much attention to the grumbling.

However, now that this e-mail bungle has acquainted me with the gross ineptitude of Matt Rhoades — or whichever one of his overpaid dimwit assistants put me on the fundraising e-mail list instead of the press e-mail list — I’ve decided to take the grumbling of my blogger friends a lot more seriously. As a matter of fact, I’ve decided to hold Matt Rhoades personally responsible for every blogger who’s getting hassled about their convention credentials request — and for everything else that I don’t like about the Romney campaign, which is a list that isn’t likely to be exhausted before Nov. 7, unless and until we see a significant change in their disrepectful attitude toward the conservative blogosphere, or Matt Rhoades becomes Mitt’s former campaign manager.

UPDATE: Perhaps it behooves me to explain that my concern is that we could be witnessing a repeat of The Steve Schmidt/Nicolle Wallace Syndrome which so disastrously afflicted the McCain/Palin 2008 campaign. Some GOP operatives have a “media strategy” concept that involves sucking up to major media celebrities (e.g., making sure Katie Couric gets the first Sarah Palin interview) while treating everybody else — including conservative bloggers — like inconsequential peons.

During the 2008 campaign, I was treated with more consideration by Hillary Clinton’s campaign than I got from John McCain’s campaign, which seemed intent on achieving the maximum possible alienation from the rank-and-file press corps. It was a textbook lesson in What Not to Do in Political Public Relations, and if the Romney campaign operates that way, it will likely achieve the same disastrous result.

Category: Election 2012, Mitt Romney

Useless Clown Who Hasn’t Passed A Budget In 3+ Years Now Sexual Position, Bleated Something Re: Olympics

Posted on | July 12, 2012 | 18 Comments

by Smitty

The Senate Majority Leader is an important position; too bad that position’s occupant is a complete and utter cretin. 29 April he passed three years without doing his basic job. While one typically avoids sexual humor for reasons of good taste, Harry earns a qualified exception:

1. Harry Reid
A sexual position where you climb on top and then do absolutely nothing. Named for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Under his lack of leadership, the Senate failed to pass a budget in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. He also blocked votes on numerous jobs bills passed by the House of Representatives.

Admittedly, like Harry, this joke is anticlimactic on a variety of levels.

Apparently, somebody ran a hand in through the slit in the back of Harry’s body bag and worked the controls:

“I think the Olympic Committee should be ashamed,” Reid told reporters on Capitol Hill. He said they should “burn” the current uniforms, and would rather America’s athletes wear shirts with “USA” hand-painted on them.

Wut? Did the sweat shop neglect to pay the kickback to your owner, Harry? The real shame lies with the Silver State, which, unexpectedly, and in defiance of common sense, returned your useless cadaver to Washington in 2010.

Let’s revisit Dennis Miller’s Two Minutes Hate for Reid, which, five years on, remains the definitive assessment of this worm:

Category: Democrats

Hot Air Hires Mary Katharine Ham Too Late to Prevent My ‘SkirtGate’ Debacle

Posted on | July 12, 2012 | 10 Comments

If I had any sense, I would let this news pass without comment, but if I had any sense I never would have started blogging in the first place, eh?

An appetite for risk, however, is one of those reckless habits that endear me to my friends, even those friends who fear to associate too publicly with me, lest they acquire the same persona non grata status –“Not Good Enough for BlogCon” — that I wear as a badge of honor.

This is one of those intramural metablogging things that no one outside the blogosphere understands or cares about, and it would be easy to just ignore it and blog about the latest Mitt Romney “scandal.” But if I only took the easy assignments, somebody might accuse me of being a gutless slacker, so I occasionally risk enhancing my unpopularity by writing about painful situations like this, because otherwise it might fester unnoticed, unexamined and unexplained.

Ignore stuff like that, and next thing you know, you get a Charles Johnson-type situation, with unpleasant consequences for everyone. Butt-hurt is not fatal, but it is both real and harmful. Read more

Category: Hot Air, Mary Katharine Ham
« go back — keep looking »

    About

    This is an area on your website where you can add text. This will serve as an informative location on your website, where you can talk about your site.

    Subscribe to our feed

    Search

    Admin