Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktOn the off chance that Brent can’t do the morning report today due to the hurricane, here’s an open thread. Also, for those who haven’t seen it, I highly recommend the PBS Frontline episode on the 2012 election:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice-2012/
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MXOr3KELqE
Filed under: Open Thread |
All Things in Moderation 
jnc, thanks for posting. I remain concerned about the folks in the northeast and hope all is well. Do you know if we have anybody who is in a mandatory evacuation area?
Most of the live webcams seem to be jammed or down, but here is one courtesy of shrink at PL still working (from the Statue of Liberty torch) that has some good audio but not so good on the visual. It doesn’t look like the rain has kicked in yet.
I’ll have to watch the Frontline video when I’m not at work.
LikeLike
I’m mid-Atlantic, and it’s pretty trivial so far, but expected to pick up after 3:00 PM today.
LikeLike
Figured the MR would be a casualty of closing the NYSE/NASDAQ today.
Sandy has sucked the Florida air dry of moisture. It is an impressive sight from satellite, looking at the water vapor.
LikeLike
Worth a read:
“Sheila Bair: “I’m sure Vikram still blames me”
By Shawn Tully, senior editor-at-large
October 16, 2012: 12:00 PM E”
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/10/16/sheila-bair-im-sure-vikram-still-blames-me/
LikeLike
Oliver Stone on President Obama:
““The country Obama inherited was indeed in shambles, but Obama took a bad situation and, in certain ways, made it worse,” Stone and Kuznick wrote. “…[R]ather than repudiating the policies of Bush and his predecessors, Obama has perpetuated them.””
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82993.html?hp=r6
LikeLike
As an addendum to my post on generals, Mark found this link to a Tom Ricks piece in The Atlantic. A harsh critique of the US military leadership in Iraq/Afghanistan under Franks, Sanchez, and Casey. One brief excerpt:
LikeLike
I’ve been worried about our northeasterners also. Y’all stay safe out there!
LikeLike
Mostly a rainstorm up here in Northern Virginia, but the winds are about to kick up. This is going to be one helluva storm.
I missed the Derecho earlier this year as I was out with the kids in Missouri. Last year’s hurricane was impressive, but this’ll be something else.
BB
LikeLike
Glenn Greenwald on the most recent Rolling Stone interview.
Sadly, I’m inclined to agree with his assessment
LikeLike
jnc, I’ve been amazed at your fortitude on PL today. It turned into a bigger cesspool than I’ve seen it be in a long time.
And thanks for the link, too!
LikeLike
Worth noting:
Related: The Obama administration is consolidating the kill lists into a permanent system in the executive branch and anticipates continuing the drone strikes for a minimum of ten years. The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) will maintain and add to the new kill list, now called the “disposition matrix”.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/24/obama-terrorism-kill-list
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/plan-for-hunting-terrorists-signals-us-intends-to-keep-adding-names-to-kill-lists/2012/10/23/4789b2ae-18b3-11e2-a55c-39408fbe6a4b_story.html
LikeLike
“Michigoose, on October 29, 2012 at 3:53 pm said:
jnc, I’ve been amazed at your fortitude on PL today. It turned into a bigger cesspool than I’ve seen it be in a long time.
And thanks for the link, too!”
I have no great love for Romney, but the constant lying about his position on the auto bailout by Obama, Greg Sargent and the other partisans on the Democratic side grates on me.
The more appropriate criticism of Romney’s position isn’t that he would have let the automakers go under, but rather his approach of loan guarantees for private investors represents classic crony capitalism with private profits and socialized losses.
LikeLike
What’s up with all the Nate Silver bashing recently (for example)? People don’t want to believe the numbers? His model is inconsistent with some pundits’ beliefs?
Obviously, they aren’t baseball junkies.
LikeLike
Oh, and Clapper v. Amnesty International was argued today at SCOTUS — case about standing for challenging warrantless wiretapping. SCOTUSblog’s Lyle Deniston with a recap.
LikeLike
Mike:
What’s up with all the Nate Silver bashing recently (for example)? People don’t want to believe the numbers? His model is inconsistent with some pundits’ beliefs?
Obviously, they aren’t baseball junkies.
I think it’s all three. He’s had Obama pretty consistently at ~290 EV for weeks and weeks now.
LikeLike
jnc:
The more appropriate criticism of Romney’s position isn’t that he would have let the automakers go under, but rather his approach of loan guarantees for private investors represents classic crony capitalism with private profits and socialized losses.
And why that is so hard to understand is beyond me. Even I get it.
LikeLike
Mike:
Oh, and Clapper v. Amnesty International was argued today at SCOTUS — case about standing for challenging warrantless wiretapping.
Heard that on npr this morning; Nina Totenberg did a pretty good summation. I mentioned on wonkblog today that (this will warm jnc’s heart) that I’m voting for Gary Johnson and told another commenter that the FISA stuff is part of the reason.
LikeLike
This has got to be the stupidest Nate Silver bashing I’ve seen.
LikeLike
Hopefully Gary Johnson’s PAC will be able to raise enough money to get the 1/2 hour of TV time the day before the election.
http://www.americansforgaryjohnson.org/
LikeLike
The Nate Silver bashing is purely shooting the messenger. This election should have been the Republicans’ to lose but they nominate a flat-toned plutocrat at a time when resentment against financial interests were an all time high.
LikeLike
There’s a fine line between “flat-toned plutocrat” and “successful businessman who can fix the economy”. This will probably be the jumping off point to the debate about whether Romney was a bad candidate or the Republican party as a whole has alienated too many independent and swing voters.
Romney did have some unforced errors. The decision not to structure his income for public consumption starting in 2006 or so is really a mystery. And of course the 47% remarks and subsequent disavowal.
On the positive side for Romney, I can’t recall a Presidential debate where a candidate did himself as much good as Romney did in the first one since at least Reagan-Carter. That was through sheer force of will, and for once the debates mattered. I do believe it’s fair to say that he “reset” the campaign at that point and wiped out he cumulative effects of Obama’s negative advertising from the summer.
LikeLike
Nice analysis, jnc. A point of disagreement: “There’s a fine line between “flat-toned plutocrat” and “successful businessman who can fix the economy”.” I’m not so sure that line is, or should be, that fine. But I wholeheartedly concur(?) in the hope that “[t]his will probably be the jumping off point to the debate about whether Romney was a bad candidate or the Republican party as a whole has alienated too many independent and swing voters.” To me, that means a real policy discussion in this country, and I have more hope than expectation. Think that will happen? Whoever wins the pres, I hope that discussion occurs.
Don’t know, but my gut reaction is that Romney did not “wipe[d] out he cumulative effects of Obama’s negative advertising from the summer.” I don’t see it, in polls or elsewhere. Do you have something besides gut reaction?
LikeLike
“successful businessman who can fix the economy”
I still don’t buy the idea that being a successful businessman necessarily translates into being a POTUS who can fix the economy. Herbert Hoover was an extremely successful businessman but wasn’t able to fix the economy.
LikeLike
BTW, I hope Scott and Brent check in to let us know they are OK. Any other ATiMers in the NY/NJ area?
LikeLike
“Mike, on October 30, 2012 at 6:38 am said:
“successful businessman who can fix the economy”
I still don’t buy the idea that being a successful businessman necessarily translates into being a POTUS who can fix the economy. Herbert Hoover was an extremely successful businessman but wasn’t able to fix the economy.”
I’m not necessarily asserting the qualification is valid, but simply pointing out that the meme of successful businessman was Romney’s basis for his campaign. President Obama on the other hand has been relatively incoherent on the economy vacillating between calling for stimulus and then “belt tightening” along with offering various structural explanations for the sustained high unemployment rate. I literally have no idea what economic theory, if any, he subscribes to.
With regards to Hoover, the stock market crash and subsequent recession became the Great Depression due to bad (i.e. deflationary) monetary policy. For all his faults, Ben Bernanke has learned that lesson well and there has not been a replay.
LikeLike
“okiegirl, on October 29, 2012 at 9:40 pm said:
…
“To me, that means a real policy discussion in this country, and I have more hope than expectation. Think that will happen? Whoever wins the pres, I hope that discussion occurs.”
I tend to doubt it. The core issue on the size of government and how to pay for it is has yet to be resolved. I expect that the can will be kicked down the road again in the name of “avoiding the fiscal cliff”.
“Don’t know, but my gut reaction is that Romney did not “wipe[d] out he cumulative effects of Obama’s negative advertising from the summer.” I don’t see it, in polls or elsewhere. Do you have something besides gut reaction?”
My recollection was that the polling after the first debate showed Romney back where he was after the Republican convention, basically wiping out all of the September gains by President Obama. However, he was still trailing. My own belief is that President Obama’s actual performance was secondary to the reaction of the media and interestedly enough many liberal/progressive pundits along with cultural markers like the SNL skits. The meltdown of Chris Mathews showed the extent of President Obama’s loss in the first debate more clearly than anything else.
LikeLike
I tend to doubt it. The core issue on the size of government and how to pay for it is has yet to be resolved. I expect that the can will be kicked down the road again in the name of “avoiding the fiscal cliff”.
Agreed, and I think that’s a shame. Until we confront some of those fundamental issues head-on, the tug of war will just continue with very little productive result IMO.
LikeLike
jnc:
With regards to Hoover, the stock market crash and subsequent recession became the Great Depression due to bad (i.e. deflationary) monetary policy.
You know better than I, but I thought a major contributor to the Depression was the Smoot-Hawley Act and the resulting trade war. That and raising taxes.
LikeLike
It was, but the primary driver of the deflationary spiral was bad monetary policy. That’s why that depression was worse than the previous ones, such as the depression of 1920 – 1921.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_of_1920%E2%80%9321
Bernanke on this:
“Let me end my talk by abusing slightly my status as an official representative of the Federal Reserve. I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression. You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again. ”
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2002/20021108/default.htm
LikeLike