Accomplishing what Eugene V. Debs never could...?

Blue Crab Blvd. has more here.

And speaking of "spreading the wealth", here’s Suit talking to Joe the Plumber who is questioning Obama’s tax plan on small businesses, one of which Joe hopes to purchase. As a way of explaining it (around the 1:40 mark), Suit tells Joe that if he had voted for Obama a number of years back when he wasn’t making all that scratch, he would’ve benefited from Obama’s tax plan and had that much more money to put towards the purchase of his plumbing business.

Don’t look at the present or even the future, Joe. Its way too confusing and even I can’t adequately explain my own tax plan without resorting to my trusty time machine here to transport us back in time when your pathetic, miserable life would’ve been less so if you had just voted for me back then.

(If video link does not work, go here, and click on video at top left of page)

Oktoberfest on my Mind

B-Daddy here. Well, it's just been a little too depressing in the news and in the blogosphere, even here on the normally lighthearted BwD. To restore a little of the natural order, I thought I would review a beer. Took a big chance on my weekend Costco run. We were completely out of beer and we were having... Jeesh, I can't remember, but when is beer not appropriate with dinner? Anyway, Costco only sells cases of beer, so this was a big choice. Dean was unavailable to help me out of this jam (no lifeline for B-Daddy). So I went for the Gordon Biersch, pictured at left, largely on the two buck price differential over the Karl Strauss competing product.

I was very prepared not to like this beer, given that I had purchased the full case. But I was very pleasantly surprised. This beer has a great hearty malt base but not too sweet, unlike Michelob's Porter. Also, they use a generous amount of hops, but not overwhelming for a great finish. The hops are tasty, but somehow this beer isn't as bitter as one might expect. All in all, a decent purchase for $19.99 per case.

Also, our condolences to Road Dawg, who hasn't been able to sample any micro-brew in some time, if his emails are to be believed.

Do you know why "capitalism" didn't fail...?

Two words: Wells Fargo

The chief executives of the nine largest banks in the United States trooped into a gilded conference room at the Treasury Department at 3 p.m. Monday. To their astonishment, they were each handed a one-page document that said they agreed to sell shares to the government, then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said they must sign it before they left.

The chairman of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, was receptive, saying he thought the deal looked pretty good once he ran the numbers through his head. The chairman of Wells Fargo, Richard Kovacevich, protested strongly that, unlike his New York rivals, his bank was not in trouble because of investments in exotic mortgages and did not need a bailout, people briefed on the meeting said.

That was the setting late yesterday afternoon at the Treasury Department where, like a scene from a gangster flick, SecTres, Henry Paulson made the CEOs of the nine largest banking institutions an offer they couldn’t refuse by “offering” to buy stock in the banks.

And did you get that? Wells Fargo didn’t even need or want the bailout but wound up capitulating in the end under the pressure of Paulson and the other 8 banks.

At the wave of his hand, Paulson commits the government to another $2.25 trillion in the form of capital infusion, insuring senior debt issued by the banks and insuring deposits in non-interest bearing accounts. Of course, this is triple the size of the original $700 billion bailout package upon which there was actually a vote.

Originally, the buzz surrounding this latest bailout was that it was going to be voluntary – banks that did not wish to participate would not have to. Uh, yeah. Obviously, there was no way in hell, Kovacevich was going to get out of that meeting alive without signing on. You just can’t have a solvent institution like Wells Fargo thumbing their nose at the government and the other Big Boys and still maintain the façade of an all-emcompassing financial crisis. Fall in line, boys…

A couple of weeks back, we were talking to our banker…. from Wells Fargo. We asked her about this whole mess and she told us that during the housing boom she got frustrated when she saw competing banks snatch up a lot of the mortgage lending business and yes, she was aware that Wells never offered the greatest rates of return on a lot of their banking and investment plans but that fiscal responsibility was always one of the institutions top priorities.

We don’t want to do any cheerleading but here is a perfect case of a financial institution operating in the free market, providing a service to its customers in the form of investment opportunities and capital for home and small business loans all the while turning a profit for its shareholders. All of that was accomplished in a responsible and sober manner and as a result, they are on solid footing.

Not that that matters anymore...

Picture (and caption) of the Day.

Our choice as the winning commenter submission for Awful Announcing’s Create the Caption contest for this one of Brother Eli after Monday night’s beating at the hands of the Brownies.




- "I. Did not have. Sexual relations. With that woman."- Via Anon

Very similar to the "N"-word....

B-Daddy, curator of TILoBO, has returned from a bout of bipartisan-induced illness with a vocabulary lesson you might find useful.

Bloggers hate the state of Utah

CBSSports.com has their Top 25 blog poll out. Results here.

Both Missouri and LSU fell hard after their losses on Saturday to OK St. and Florida, respectively and USC moves up only one spot to #9 after their sloppy win against Arizona St. (it would seem bloggers are as similarly unimpressed with SC as we are given they are #6 in the AP poll). But Utah and BYU both fall several spots after victories this weekend. A little MWC disrespect, here? We would bring up there stellar record against the Pac-10 this year but, sheesh, its only the Pac-10.

So, about those stadium songs...

...particularly the ones they play at the conclusion of the ballgame. Everyone is familiar with the Yankees playing Sinatra’s “New York, New York” after victories but they will also play that song after defeats… except that Liza is doing the singing. Because nothing says disappointment like…

And the Red Sox will blast the Standell’s “Dirty Water” after victories but what of defeats like the one we so thoroughly enjoyed this evening as the Rays took the Sox to the shed, 11-4 (finish the deal, Rays… Finish. The. Deal!)? They leave that duty to the stadium organist who was playing a tune that was vaguely familiar but… what was it? Can’t quite place it… sounds like…. That’s it! “Ooo-oooh, child, things are going to get easier…”

The "(Five) Stairsteps" and "Ooh Child"



... and here for a grittier live version.

Dear Obama, please protect us from your followers.

There has been some debate over at KT’s place on the use of Nazi references with respect to followers of the Suit. Some argue that the references are completely inappropriate owing to the horrific nature of the crimes against humanity perpetrated by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

Since we have aligned ourselves with a political philosophy that is the frequent target of Nazi references, we see the point, though our reaction to those assaults is not so much anger but a shaking of the head as an acknowledgement of the true intellect of those hurling the rocks.

So while flinging around the Nazi references is not really our cup of tea, with each passing ACORN indictment, we are less inclined to wince when the same is used with respect to followers of the Suit.

Why is this? Well, for one thing, “Nazis” have lost a lot of their juice. Let’s face it, when Mel Brooks goes “Hitler on Ice” nearly 30 yrs. ago, being tagged a “Nazi” as the most egregious of epithets jumped the shark and doesn’t carry the weight that it used to. And that’s a shame because now days calling someone a “Maoist” or “Stalinist (two guys who in terms of body counts put Hitler to shame) just gets you a funny look. Who..?

But more importantly is the fact that followers of the Suit bring it upon themselves. When we saw the video of the hymnal-singing schoolchildren from Venice, Santa Monica or whatever Westside commune those people came from, the very first thing we thought was…. Nazi Youth. And when we read about Secret Service agents at the behest of followers of the Suit knocking at the door of a person who didn’t have the most glowing things to say about Suit or we hear of threats of criminal prosecution being used to silence those who aren’t down with Suit, the very first thing we think of is … Gestapo tactics.

And doesn’t the textbook publisher that has contributed to Suit’s campaign and who devotes 15 pages of an elementary school textbook to Suit’s “Life of Service” smack of indoctrination? Just a little…?

So, again, though we promise to do our level best to refrain from any active participation in lobbing "Nazi grenades" we will exclaim that after years and years of being broad-brushed-by-association as a Nazi, we are delighted to finally see what fascist behavior actually looks like!

Got Legs?

Recall in the run-up to the ’06 midterm elections the fury that surrounded Florida Republican Mark Foley in the wake of revelations that he was sending suggestive text messages to Congressional pages.

Foley stepped down in disgrace and the Democrats used this incident as an example of the culture of corruption that existed in Washington under Republican leadership. In fact, Foley was about all we heard about from a breathless media and indignant Democrats between the time it happened some 3-4 weeks before the election as the Democrats realized that running against the Iraq War was a losing proposition.

Well now it appears the man who replaced Foley, Tim Mahoney, a Democrat has got some issues of his own as it was revealed he’s forking over $121, 000 in hush money to a former mistress. Dude didn’t even wait ‘til he got into office to continue this south Florida district’s reputation for untoward behavior as he apparently started this affair when he was running for Congress.

But where did the money come from? It was reported that Rahm Emmanuel a senior Democrat who was one of the chief town criers during the Foley er, affair “counseled” Mahoney last year after rumors of the affair started swirling around Capitol Hill.

For her part, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Monday for a House ethics inquiry which we are sure will move at breathtakingly glacial speed.

Again, where did this money come from and where is the Republican leadership in this whole thing?

And let’s see if Big Media pursues this story with the same doggedness and gives it the legs they did with Foley? Don’t hold your breath.

Parting shot: Friends of Ms. Allen told ABC that she had sought to break off the affair when she learned that Mr. Mahoney was involved in other extramarital relationships.

Story here.

Because being the world's oldest profession means never having the day off

Around here, we always thought that a good leading indicator of how the economy is going is how much disposable income is going out the door to ummm…. less-than-ecclesiastical pursuits. Apparently, we’re wrong.

Yeah, we know what you were thinking. Congress did break for five weeks over the summer and will be in recess over the elections. Get your mind out of the gutter.

Story here.

Without Columbus, none of this would've been possible

It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend that is spilling over into a Holiday Monday that celebrates the bringing of disease, involuntary conversions, enslavement and overall conquest of the peaceful native Americans by the White Man from Europe. So to properly recognize the occasion, we’re taking the day off!

By the time you read this, we will hopefully be out in the East County somewhere in the hoopdie playing around in the dirt/sand and taking pictures that we hope to share with you all later.

In the meantime, a few quick thoughts on this weekend's activities:

- USC did not play like a team that is currently ranked #6 in the nation on Saturday against Arizona State. Aside from some singular moments of excellence by running back Joe McKnight, the offense was sluggish and out-of-synch. QB, Marc Sanchez threw 2 picks in the 3rd quarter deep in his own territory that were about as bad as we’ve seen in a while. Playing like they are, currently, there is no way they beat the five teams above them in the polls.

- USC linebacker (and contributor/faithful commenter Mongo's nick-namesake) Rey Maualuga is a very bad man. His 3rd quarter alone would be a highlight reel for an entire season for most linebackers in the nation. On one play in that 3rd, he shot the gap on a play-action fake and swallowed whole the ASU running back (seriously, no one has seen Keegan Herring since) and upon realizing Herring didn’t have the ball, he lept to his feet to track down Rudy Carpenter, the QB, for a sack. An amazing play. And in that same possession, he knocked Rudy Carpenter out of the game for the 2nd straight season.

- The Chargers played an entire game for the first time this season against the Patriots last night. LT still looks a little wobbly with that bad big right toe and the great debate now is on whether or not to sit him for a week to let the toe heal. Because they are now only 3-3 and go on the road to Buffalo and then to England (England!) to play the Saints, they may not have that luxury.

- Exit question: Everyone says the Chargers/Pats have a “rivalry” going. Don’t you have to beat that team in a truly meaningful game (i.e. the playoffs), something the Chargers have not accomplished against the Pats, for there to be a rivalry?