Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The National Bureau of Economic Research has officially declared that the United States is in a recession, news which sent the Dow Jones industrial average plunging nearly 680 points, or 7.7 percent. Government officials are saying they will do everything possible to turn the recession around. Who knows if they will be successful. I had no idea what officially makes it a recession; thanks to Slate’s Explainer, I do now:
One widespread definition of a recession—the one used by newspapers—is a decline in the gross domestic product for two or more consecutive quarters.
President-elect Obama yesterday announced who will be in his national security team. Leading the team will be Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State and President Bush’s Defense Secretary Robert Gates as, well, Defense Secretary. Two key takeaways from this are that I am sick to death of hearing the phrase “team of rivals” and that THIS is the best news ever.
After being panned last week for taking three separate corporate jets to ask for bailouts, the heads of the big three automakers will be most likely driving to Washington for a series of meetings with Congress. The head of Ford will be taking Ford’s new hybrid car while the other two haven’t decided how they will get there. Here is a thought: book coach tickets and skip this bullshit. That, or really have fun with it and road trip in an old VW bus.
Finally, if you get paid to run for a living it is probably not a good idea to carry around a loaded gun. It is probably a worse idea to try to unload it while drinking wine and shoot yourself in the leg.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Sorry for the light posting this week gang; real life has a way of sneaking up on while you are blogging. Enjoy extremely abridged news headlines.
- Another day, another Bush Administration official resigning in a cloud of scandal and corruption.
- Don’t go to Iraq – ever.
- Apparently most of our college tuition was spent on whiskey and cigarettes.
- My all-ramen diet may be catching on sooner than I think – no one can afford anything! (Must-read of the day)
- THIS. IS. LESBOS!
Friday, April 18, 2008
The New York Times leads with a great story on the fact that workers across the country are working fewer hours. For blue-coller workers, this means a lack of overtime pay that has traditionally been a staple of their salaries. Since talk of the recession has mostly focused on stock prices, I would say that this is today’s must-read. All the people involved in the wall street stories are still making more than $450 a week – trust me.
The Air Force spent $50 million through a blatantly corrupt process on a company to “jazz up” the Thunderbirds air show. That bid was more than twice the next lowest bid and the company barely exists. The whole thing was apparently designed to reward a former Air Force General and senior-level Air Force personelle were involved. It is a small amount of money (for the Pentagon), but the real news behind this story is buried in the 5th paragraph:
According to the report, Goldfein even arranged for President Bush to record a video testimonial in the White House Map Room that was included in the SMS contract proposal, demonstrating the company’s credibility and access.
I am pretty sure the President isn’t supposed to do that. Here’s hoping the video hits Youtube.
Iraq and baseball (not related) after the jump
Keep reading
Friday, February 15, 2008
It’s still technically morning right? Unfortunately, things are a little busy as 2.0somethings headquarters, so the morning news is running late and will be abbreviated. I am proud to present the premiere of our newest feature (cop-out), the four word morning news!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Today is a bit of a news vacuum, the majority of today’s stories are previews of things that might happen. The Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified to Congress yesterday and said that he backs some kind of economic stimulus package to avoid a recession. Congress is getting all lovey-dovey and will supposedly have something together by the end of the month. The White House has also said they have a plan, which, surprise surprise, involves tax cuts.
Filed under, it sucks to live there, an interesting article on how Islamic militants are becoming a stronger presence in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. It is a symbol of how the kind of conflict that used to be restricted to the border is now spreading into major urban centers. Additionally, the CIA has figured out who killed Benazir Bhutto! It was… some tribal leader no one outside of Pakistan has ever heard of! Oh, AND AL-QAEDA! That is an assassination I can sink my teeth into.
This weekend will see the next two major Presidential primaries. The Republicans are having primaries in South Carolina and in Nevada while the Democrats only have a primary in Nevada. The Democrats primary in South Carolina is next week for some reason. This is Nevada’s first time being so early in the nominating process. They were moved up so that there would be some geographic and ethnic diversity in the nominating process and because the parties needed a good long reliever. Even though they are rookies, they have really stepped up their game and are performing like seasoned professionals — the first lawsuit between powerful special interests trying to manipulate voting was settled today. Speaking of voting, the David Brooks has a column in the Times that summarizes How Voters Think. Let’s see if I can summarize, “voters vote for someone for any number of reasons. Some of those reasons are smart. Some of those reasons are stupid, but I am still going to act like they make sense. I am really, really smart.”
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has reached a deal with the major Hollywood studios. The DGA is the union that represents Hollywood film and television directors. Some people are saying that this deal could be the blueprint for a deal with the striking writers guild, which would mean that LOST would finally come back. However, if the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) does reach a deal, our supply of quirky and quirkier Op-Eds will dry up they all go back to writing for Two and a Half Men.
One last thing, the Iraqi National Security Advisor has an interesting OP-Ed in the Washington Post on a possible political solution for Iraq. I didn’t know he was a member of the WGA.
