The Year in Review

Uncle Jay Explains: Year-end!



Maybe this year will be better. What do you think?

Happy 2009!

Soldiers Need Arrest Warrant to Fight War

Where is the Republi-con outrage? Beginning tomorrow, American soldiers will be required to secure arrest warrants in order to detain Iraqi citizens. That's right, soldier will need arrest warrants. Read The New York Times, New Rules in Iraq Add Police Work to Troops’ Jobs.

We are long past time to turn over day-to-day security to the Iraqis. Bush is just kicking the can down the road til he is out of office.

What do you think, should soldier to required to get arrest warrant?

Robin Williams on Politics After the 2008 Election

He spares no one:




What part did you like best?

Who is Responsible for the Economic Mess, Part Deux

As the economic mess drags on, the blame games continue as the political parties spin. And there is plenty of blame to go around. Read these two series:

• Washington Post, The Crash: What Went Wrong?
• The New York Times, The Reckoning.

I say impeach or fire them all.

Holiday Lights

Happy Holidays!


Amazing Grace Techno.



Music Box Dancer 2008.


Double click to see the video in full screen mode. Watch other videos at Holdman Christmas.

Holiday Class Schedule at No Bull U on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will be on air Friday (12/19/08), and Tuesday (12/23/08) from 4:05 to 6 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Friday's topic: The bailouts, with guest Dr. Dennis F. Paulaha, Ph.D., to discuss his suggestion to remortgage America. See my previous post.

Tuesday's topics: Local, state, national and international events TBD.

Tune in, call in, but only if you can handle the truth!

Truth and BS

As you know, a favorite article of mine is The New York Times, Between Truth and Lies, An Unprintable Ubiquity.

Here is another interesting article on truth, The New York Times, A Highly Evolved Propensity for Deceit.

Santa Claus Bailout Hearings

A little holiday humor:

Downsize Congress

The government is running huge deficits so it is time to cut government spending. Here is a plan someone suggested in an email:

"When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen are they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers need to find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would be eliminated as well. Wall street, and the media normally congratulate the CEO for making this type of "tough decision", and his board of directors gives him a big bonus. I feel our government should not be immune from similar risks. I therefore am recommending the following cuts to be implemented by the next president elect.

Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218 members and Senate members from 100 to 50. Also reduce remaining staff by 25%. Accomplish this over the next 8 years. (two steps / two elections)

Some yearly monetary gains include:

$44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for congress. (267 members X $165,200 pay / member / yr.)

$97,175,000 for elimination of the above people's staff. (estimate $1.3 Mil in staff per each member of the House, and $3 Mil in staff per each member of the Senate every year)

$24,294 for the reduction in remaining staff by 25%.

$7,500,000 reduction in pork barrel ear-marks each year. (those members who's jobs are gone. Current estimates for total government pork earmarks are at $15 Billion / yr)

The remaining representatives would need to work smarter and would need to improve efficiencies. It might even be in their best interests to work together for the good of our country?

We may also expect that smaller committees might lead to a more efficient resolution of issues as well. It might even be easier to keep track of what your representative is doing. Congress has more tools available to do their jobs than it had back in 1911 when the current number of representatives was established. (telephone, computers, cell phones to name a few)

Note: Congress did not hesitate to jump on a train for home this week when it was a holiday, when the nation needed a real fix to the economic problems. Also, we have 3 senators that have not been doing their jobs for the past 18+ months (on the campaign trail) and still they all have been accepting full pay. These facts alone support a reduction in senators & congress. Summary of opportunity:

$44,108,400 reduction of congress members

$282,100,000 for elimination of the reduced house member staff

$150,000,000 for elimination of reduced senate member staff

$59,675,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining house members

$37,500,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining senate members

$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members.

$8,073,383,400 per year, estimated total savings.

Big business does these types of cuts all the time.

IF you are happy with how our government is right now, just delete this message. IF you are not happy, I assume you know what to do"

I've suggested cutting all government payments and benefits, including social security and retirement payments. But Congress would be a good place to start.

WEBY is Crushing the Competition

If you haven't heard, the other local talk radio stations are giving up afternoon call-in shows. WEBY is crushing the competition.

So let's have a little competition at WEBY and see who you would choose as the last host talking. I challenge the other afternoon hosts to a host-off. Who do you like best:

Renee Giacino
Mike Bates (the owner/manager of WEBY)
Terry Gross
Ken Lamb
Your truly, No Bull Bert

Take the preliminary poll as I work with the others to develop the judging criteria.

Then, get ready for the Host-Off.

Told Ya So

It seems that the government will adopt my idea to preemptively reorganize the auto industry. An Washington Post has reported:

The troubled U.S. auto industry will receive emergency loans of up to $17.4 billion from the federal government in return for an extensive restructuring of its outstanding debt and labor costs over the coming year, President Bush said today.

I first proposed the idea on November 12.

I should be paid for this, gold preferred until further notice.

First Palin, Now Kennedy, Who Next Mickey!

I was critical of the Republi-cons for nominating Palin. (See previous posts, including those under the label 2008 Election.) Caroline Kennedy has not proven she is, you know, qualified to be a U.S. Senator. She should not, you know, be appointed to replace Hillary Clinton.

Politics has become a popularity contest, you know. No wonder the country is having problems.

UPDATE: Read this great article, Washington Post, The U.S. House Of Lords, that discusses some of the problems with nepotism in U.S. politics today.

See also, Washington Post, Caroline Kennedy Is No Sarah Palin, where Kathleen Parker (you remember her don't ya) says that the "real rub is that she hasn't earned it. The sense of entitlement implicit in Kennedy's plea for appointment mocks our national narrative."

Was Wall Street Just a Ponzi Scheme?

Bernard Madoff has admitted that his so-called hedge fund was just a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. But was what occurred on Wall Street over the last decade or two any different? One influential columnist, Thomas Friedman, thinks not and wrote:

"I have no sympathy for Madoff. But the fact is, his alleged Ponzi scheme was only slightly more outrageous than the “legal” scheme that Wall Street was running, fueled by cheap credit, low standards and high greed. What do you call giving a worker who makes only $14,000 a year a nothing-down and nothing-to-pay-for-two-years mortgage to buy a $750,000 home, and then bundling that mortgage with 100 others into bonds — which Moody’s or Standard & Poors rate AAA — and then selling them to banks and pension funds the world over? That is what our financial industry was doing. If that isn’t a pyramid scheme, what is?

Far from being built on best practices, this legal Ponzi scheme was built on the mortgage brokers, bond bundlers, rating agencies, bond sellers and homeowners all working on the I.B.G. principle: “I’ll be gone” when the payments come due or the mortgage has to be renegotiated."

Read The New York Times, The Great Unraveling. (If you want details, read The New York Times series titled The Reckoning.)

You might remember that I said more than a week before the Madoff scandal was made public that financial institutions might have been an elaborate Ponzi scheme.

So why does the government keep trying to prop up the scheme?

UPDATE: Another New York Times columnist, and the newest winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, compares Wall Street and the financial services industry to Madoff and Ponzi schemes, and calls it "America’s Ponzi era." Read The New York Times, The Madoff Economy.

Icing on the cake for Bush's legacy.

The Bush Dodge

The Best of Late Nite Jokes Edited by Newsmax.com:

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Looks like we’ve finally found something President Bush is good at — dodge ball.

As you know, yesterday in Iraq, President Bush was attacked by a shoe-icide bomber.

President Bush was speaking at a news conference in Iraq when a journalist threw two shoes at him. Here’s what he did to keep from being hit — something he’s never done before — he leaned to the left.

Even Bill Clinton was impressed. He is an expert at ducking shoes . . . and ashtrays . . . and lamps . . .

Late Show with David Letterman

Bush was in Baghdad at a press conference, and a reporter jumped up and started heaving shoes at him. He was screaming, “Here’s your farewell kiss, you dog.” That’s the same goodbye I got from NBC.

They arrested the guy — they’re trying to find out if he is shoenni or shoe’itte.

The guy bought the shoes at a Payless, and they didn’t even do a background check. . .

You've got to give Bush credit. I mean, the guy moved pretty quickly. ... Too bad he didn't react that way with bin Laden or Katrina, bin Laden or the mortgage crisis, bin Laden or Afghanistan, bin Laden or the Lehman Brothers.

I don't think Bush really has dodged anything like that, well, since the Vietnam War. [From another website.]

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Yesterday at a press conference in Baghdad, an angry Iraqi threw his shoes at President Bush’s head. When he saw the shoes, President Bush said, “See? I knew you guys had weapons of mass destruction.”

The man who threw his shoes at President Bush is being hailed as a hero in Iraq. In fact, when he dies, he’ll be greeted in heaven by 72 podiatrists.

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Bush has been accused of dodging issues in the past, but who knew he could actually dodge shoes?

He’s 62 years old, but he still has the reflexes of a cat. Mind you, I think his head has been on a swivel ever since Cheney shot his lawyer.

The irony of this shoe-throwing incident is, it’s as close as we’ll ever get to finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Should We All Send Bush a Shoe?

Why are we in Iraq - cherry-picked intelligence, allegations, rumors, exaggerations, fear-mongering, worst-case scenarios, propaganda. What has been the cost after five years - 4,200+ dead American servicemen and women, 10,000+ wounded, $1 trillion spent, an unknown number (100,000+) of Iraqis dead or wounded, 4 million Iraqis displaced, shattered U.S. prestige, a weaken military - to name a few.

Fed-up with Bush's continued denial of the nightmare that he created in Iraq, during a press conference an Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at Bush.

Maybe we should all send Bush an old shoe.

The address is:

President George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

Given the state of the economy, you might want to save the postage. In that case, the email address is:

comments@whitehouse.gov

Here are some shoes:

How Would You Spend $500 Billion?

Dennis F. Paulaha, Ph.D., suggests remortgaging America. The plan: "The US government offers every US citizen a 30-year mortgage at a 1½% fixed rate of interest."

Simple and fair. But his best argument: "It is better than what Washington politicians are doing now."

Can't argue with that.

Why Do Christian Conservatives Support Bush?

Chuck Baldwin asks why Christian conservatives support Bush:

"Where Are Dobson And PCC Now?
By Chuck Baldwin
December 12, 2008

I ask my non-Christian friends to bear with me on this column. As one will quickly see, this column is addressed to my fellow Christian conservatives.

Regular readers of this column know that one of my chief frustrations is the way Christian conservatives (otherwise known as the "Religious Right") are so easily deceived by Republican politicians. The all-time classic illustration of this foible is the way the Religious Right was (and is) so enamored with President George W. Bush. No matter what Bush did: no matter how egregiously unconstitutional, no matter how utterly stupid, no matter how blatantly evil his actions were, Christian conservatives (almost universally) either robotically accepted and approved what he did, or blindly looked the other way. It was maddening!

It was as if Christian conservatives lost all ability to reason; it was as if they lost all discernment and discretion. Because George W. Bush claimed to be a Christian, and because he was a Republican, he could do no wrong. To this very day, the only group of people who yet approves of Bush's Presidency is the Religious Right. Everyone else on the planet realizes that George W. Bush's Presidency will go down in history has one of the all-time worst.

George Bush took a prosperous and robust economy, and led America to the verge of a second Great Depression. He has taken a (relatively) free and independent republic to the brink of becoming a globalist Police State. He has pushed the envelope of executive power; he has trampled individual liberty; he has made a mockery of justice; and he has made America the laughingstock of the world. In addition, Bush has misused and abused our nation's bravest and finest by his illegal and inexcusable invasion of Iraq. No matter. The Religious Right still loves him. Why? Because he is a "Christian" Republican.

Since 2000, James Dobson, Pensacola Christian College (PCC), and their peers around the country have had an eight-year lovefest with George W. Bush. Life-size cardboard posters of Bush have stood in their bookstores for eight long, laborious years. Grade school children in their Christian schools have been subjected to Bush propaganda for eight tedious, tiresome years. To them, G.W. Bush ranks somewhere between Moses and the Almighty. And nothing Bush said or did seemed to matter.

I said all of that to call attention to a recent interview Cynthia McFadden had with President Bush on ABC's Nightline this past Monday. During the interview, McFadden asked Bush if the Bible was literally true.

Now, acceptance of the Bible's literalness is one of conservative Christianity's most sacred doctrines. There is not a professor at PCC (or any other conservative Christian college or university) that would keep his or her job for a nano-second, if he or she even questioned the veracity of the Scriptures. Right? You know it's true! Most conservative Christians would even go so far as to say that one cannot be a born-again Christian who does not believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God.

Well, what was George Bush's response to McFadden's question? He said, "You know. Probably not. . . . No, I'm not a literalist." Notice, Bush twice denied the veracity of the Scriptures.

Now, Bush has no reason to "fudge" his answers, right? He has no more elections to face. No more, "He's got to say this to get elected," which was the flippant explanation given by the Religious Right to excuse Bush's numerous apostate positions during the past eight years.

So, George W. Bush clearly stated that he does not believe the Bible is God's Holy, inspired Word. Will Dobson and PCC still say that Bush is "one of us"?

Then, as Bush attempted to give a Christian testimony, he told McFadden, "It is hard for me to justify or prove the mystery of the Almighty in my life. All I can just tell you is that I got back into religion and I quit drinking shortly thereafter . . . ."

What kind of Christian testimony is this: "I got back into religion"? I doubt that this kind of testimony would grant membership in the Campus Church (which is not even a genuine New Testament church, you understand) at PCC or in virtually any conservative Christian church.

I am confident, however, that Bush's statements will do nothing to diminish his god-like status with James Dobson and the rest of the Religious Right in America. For eight long and bloody years, Christian conservatives have been selling their convictions, doctrines, and even their consciences to George W. Bush. I will even go so far as to say that, in many respects, millions of Christians have turned President Bush into an idol. Many of them would forsake their pastor, their friends, and even their own family before they would forsake George W. Bush and the Republican Party.

Of course, none of this would have happened had Christians--and especially Christian pastors--not lost touch with their American heritage. Had they maintained a studied understanding of constitutional government, and of the principles of Natural Law upon which it rests, they would not have become dupes for Bush and his fellow neocons.

I doubt very much whether Thomas Jefferson was a born-again Christian (after all, he, like Bush, expressed doubt regarding the Bible's literalness), but he fully understood--and embraced--the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" and was more than willing to inculcate those principles into our country's most sacred document: our Declaration of Independence. As such, Jefferson will be forever regarded as one of America's greatest Founding Fathers and Presidents. Believe me, America was far better off with Thomas Jefferson than with George W. Bush!

So, where are Dobson and PCC now? Will any of them utter a word of rebuke to their "Christian" President for his apostasy? No, they won't. (As a comparison, contemporary pastors most certainly did rebuke Jefferson for his public statements questioning Christ's divinity, even though he was a Founding Father and author of the Declaration of Independence.) Of course, Barack Obama will not escape the public repudiation of Dobson and Company. Why? He is a Democrat. You see, it's not principle; it's partisan politics that matters, after all.

While we are asking questions, when will our fellow Christians and pastors finally open their history books? When will they read the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence? And when will they open their minds and hearts--even a crack--to the possibility that they might have been duped, and that there is more to being elected to the office of President besides being a "Christian" Republican? Probably never.

In four more years, there will doubtless be another "Christian" Republican for the Religious Right to fawn over. Where he or she stands on the Constitution won't matter; neither will it matter whether this newest "Christian" Republican has any commitment to national sovereignty, the Bill of Rights, or to fundamental freedoms. All that will matter is that he or she professes to be a Christian, and has an "R" behind their name. And, quite frankly, this last election proved that even a Christian profession is not necessary. All that is required is the "R" behind the name.

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

(c) Chuck Baldwin"

Worth repeating:

"Everyone else on the planet realizes that George W. Bush's Presidency will go down in history has one of the all-time worst.

George Bush took a prosperous and robust economy, and led America to the verge of a second Great Depression. He has taken a (relatively) free and independent republic to the brink of becoming a globalist Police State. He has pushed the envelope of executive power; he has trampled individual liberty; he has made a mockery of justice; and he has made America the laughingstock of the world. In addition, Bush has misused and abused our nation's bravest and finest by his illegal and inexcusable invasion of Iraq. . .

For eight long and bloody years, Christian conservatives have been selling their convictions, doctrines, and even their consciences to George W. Bush. I will even go so far as to say that, in many respects, millions of Christians have turned President Bush into an idol. Many of them would forsake their pastor, their friends, and even their own family before they would forsake George W. Bush and the Republican Party. . .

You see, it's not principle; it's partisan politics that matters, after all."

Me thinks Rev. Baldwin would give Bush a W for Worst.

Take the poll, and tell me: how will history judge Bush's presidency.

No Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Usually on Fridays you can listen to me, the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- no political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

But I can't make it today so Mike will substitute. Until the next show, post a comment or two, and enjoy some holiday humor and this light show.

How Does This Market Compare?

There have been four major bear markets in the past century: today’s S&P 500, the Dow post 1929, the Nikkei post 1989, and the NASDAQ after the tech bubble. How do they compare? If you are curious, see this chart.

What Has the Bailout Cost?

According to The New York Times, government commitments as of November 26, 2008, were $7.4 trillion.

For more interesting facts, read The Big Picture, More Bailout Comparisons.

What is the Current the Unemployment Rate?

What is the current unemployment rate? The government's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate in November was 6.7%.

But could the rate be much higher, perhaps even 12.5%. Read The Big Picture, NFP: Even Worse Than Reported.

Looks like the Republi-cons are winning the war on the middle class.

How to Fund Future Government Programs

The government has spent so much money bailing out fat cats that it may not be able to fund future operations. So if you have a favorite project, such as military defense, health care, education, global warming, or even a mission to Mars, read this suggestion on how to get government funding, The Big Picture, How to Pay for National Health Insurance By Barry Ritholtz

"Since the government has spent such an inordinate amount of taxpayer money cleaning up after the Wall Street ne’er-do-wells and the giant mess they made, there is not a whole lot of money left over for other projects.

Once such legislative work was National Health Insurance. Surveys have shown that a significant majority of Americans support this. It was one of the key planks that President-elect Barack Obama ran on.

Well, no worries over the lack of funding for health care. I have figured out a simple way to insure that every man woman and child int he US is covered by health care insurance. I took a page from the cleverest of the financial engineers on Wall Street, and all it took was a little of that street magic and derivative-based hocus pocus.

It goes something like this:

1. Set up a large, well capitalized hedge fund. About $5B should do it.

2. The prospectus of the fund should note its purpose is to “Seek out profit opportunities via arbitraging inefficiencies in the markets and health care system of the United States.” Include standard “Socially Conscious” fund language in clauses such as Do well by doing good.

3. Launch the fund — and promptly max out your leverage. Today’s environment makes it difficult to go 50 to 1, but getting 10 or 20 to 1 should not be much problem.

4. Use the money to write Credit Default Swaps with a notational value of $3 trillion dollars. The premia on these CDS should be about 10-15% or so.

5. Rollover the cash premiums — about $350 billion dollars worth — into a national fund. Use it to buy health care insurance for all US citizens.

6. Declare that due to current credit conditions, your unfortunately must announce to your counter-parties that you will be defaulting on these CDS. Note that significant amounts of this paper are held by JP Morgan and Citi. Another trillion is held by China and Japan, with Sovereign Wealth Funds owning the rest.

7. Send out a press release announcing “systemic risk.” Tell the Treasury Secretary and the Federal Reserve Chief that your imminent collapse will wreak global havoc. Apply for bailout.

Congratulations! You have National Health Care!

Repeat for any major government program: Alternative energy, School Vouchers, Mars Mission, Global warming, Missile Defense Shild, etc.

Note: This is how all government spending programs will be funded in the future."

This might be funny if it wasn't true.

Time to Panic??

Dow 4,000, food shortages, a bubble in Treasury notes. Fortune spoke to eight of the market's sharpest thinkers and what they had to say about the future is frightening. Read Fortune, 8 really, really scary predictions.

Of course, gloom begets gloom.

What do you think, is it the end of the world?

Some People Just Never Give Up

Read The New York Times, A 73-Year-Old Gives Basketball a Second Shot.

Enough said.

A Modern Parable About the Auto Industry

An email from a friend:

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people rowing.
Feeling a deeper study was in order; American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rowers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid-o ff one rower, halted development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses.

The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles) so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India .

Sadly, the End.

Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US , claiming they can't make money paying American wages. As a matter of fact, they recently opened the most automated and sophisticated assembly plant in the Ford Motor Corporation in Brazil!

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US . The last quarter's results:

TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion n in losses.

Ford folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses.

IF THIS WEREN'T TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY.

Class Today (and Monday) at No Bull U on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will be on air today, Friday, and Monday from 4:05 to 6 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics: Local, state, national and international events.

Tune in, call in, but only if you can handle the truth!

How Old is Your Brain?

The test program is written in Japanese so review these instruction first:

1. Touch 'start'
2. Wait for 3, 2, 1.
3. Memorize the number's position on the screen, and then click the circle from the smallest number to the biggest number.
4. At the end of the game, the computer will tell you the age of your brain.

Good luck! Take the test.

Tell us, how old is your brain?

Mine was 33. I'm not sure if that is good or bad since I am not 33 years old.

Tell your friends to take the test.

UWF Football

For years there has been talk of starting a football program at the University of West Florida. Someone should just start a club football team like a student did at the University of Vermont. See The New York Times, A Year of Toil and Sweat, Then They Played a Game.

It would be relatively easy, quick, and cheap. And if it proves popular, it would justify a varsity program.

Go Argonauts!

Civics Quiz

Here is the civics quiz that Renee and Mike discussed on Monday's show.

(NBB editorial comment - a few of the questions seem unrelated to civics and/or ask for an answer closer to opinion than fact.)

Mike got 33 of 33 correct, I got only 32 of 33 correct.

What was your score?

UPDATE: Read this editorial about the quiz by Walter Williams, TownHall.com, Ignorance Reigns Supreme.

Do You Like Jokes?

A friend sends me jokes all the time and sent me this:

A store that sells new husbands has opened in New York City , where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates:

You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs.

She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads: Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.

'That's nice,' she thinks, 'but I want more.' So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking. 'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads: Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help With Housework. 'Oh, mercy me!' she exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!'

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads: Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads: Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

WHAT FLOOR DID YOU STOP ON?


PLEASE NOTE: To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opened a New Wives store just across the street.

The First Floor has wives that Love Sex.

The Second Floor has wives that Love Sex and Have Money and Like to Drink.

The Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth floors have never been visited.

Should I post things like this?

PR Strategy or Just Clueless

Just read the article and watch the video, New York Magazine, Sarah Palin’s PR Strategy Gets Weirder.

Is Palin a PR genius, or just clueless?

If Palin keeps this up, as the article said it should be an entertaining few years.

The Bailout Bull, Cont.

Why all the effort to prop up failed financial institutions? The whole sector might have been an elaborate Ponzi scheme. There seems to be a lively debate about letting the auto industry work its problems out in bankruptcy. Why not the same for the financial sector?

Will Wilkinson, a research fellow at the Cato Institute, thinks that the government should stop "trying to prop up already failed financial giants. We'll best ensure continued investment in our still-vital economy if we let new financial players rise from Wall Street's ruins." Read or listen to his opinion.

Should He Change His Name to George Herbert Hoover Bush

First there was George Herbert Walker Bush, and he beget George Walker Bush. But given the son's response to the economic mess, should he now change his name? Read Washington Post, Bush's Final Fiasco.

And tell me, should the 43rd President of the United States change his name from George W. (The Worst) Bush to George Herbert Hoover Bush?

Harry Reid Should Resign

Behind schedule and hundreds of millions of dollars over budget, the new Capitol Visitor's Center in Washington, D.C. opened just in time. Thanks goodness it was before another summer. Senate majority leader Harry Reid was tired of smelling the tourist. No kidding, he said:

"In the summertime, because the high humidity and how hot it gets here, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol."

Someone should tell Reid that most of those smelly tourists are U.S. citizens, the people that he works FOR. This is just one example of the contempt that politicians have for the people they represent.

I'm sure his opponents are preparing the 2010 campaign ads already.

Reid should do us all a favor and resign now.

Did You Hear About the White House Christmas Tree Ornament

If not you might want to read Washington Post, Christmas Colors for the White House: Red, White and Impeach.

An appropriate farewell to George W. (The Worst) Bush, don't you think.

UPDATE: After asking members of Congress to pick artists from their districts to decorate ornaments, Laura Bush has decided that the ornament made by Deborah Lawrence, who created a red and white ornament that salutes Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and his support for a resolution to impeach the president, was “inappropriate and it's not being hung.”

The ornament embedded a "subversive" message, the text from a resolution to impeach Bush.

No word on whether copies of the ornament will be offered for sale to the public at the White House Gift Shop.

Our New Pompous-Elect

Is it just me, or is he overdoing it, with the faux office, staged announcements nearly everyday, too many press conferences and interviews, simulated blue-collar connectedness (thinking the comment about the hypoallergenic mutt here).

I don't know if I can take 4 (or even 8) years of this.

What do you think?

The Bailout Bull

First AIG, now Citigroup. The common thread, both companies had close ties with a current or former Treasury Secretary. It is all about who you know, but is that capitalism or communism? Read:

• The New York Times, The Reckoning, Citigroup Saw No Red Flags Even as It Made Bolder Bets
• The New York Times, All Fall Down
• Washington Post, From Market Economy to Political Economy

And why is the government trying to save the financial sector when much of it might be a fraud. Michael Lewis sounded the warning nearly 20 years ago when he wrote the book, Liar's Poker, in which he portrayed "the 1980s as an era where government deregulation allowed less-than-scrupulous people on Wall Street to take advantage of others' ignorance, and thus grow extremely wealthy." Now read his latest article at Portfolio.com, The End, in which he writes:

In the two decades since then, I had been waiting for the end of Wall Street. The outrageous bonuses, the slender returns to shareholders, the never-ending scandals, the bursting of the internet bubble, the crisis following the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management: Over and over again, the big Wall Street investment banks would be, in some narrow way, discredited. Yet they just kept on growing, along with the sums of money that they doled out to 26-year-olds to perform tasks of no obvious social utility.