Megan should be teaching econ 101 to the White House...

Union Power:

I see a lot of liberal blogs crowing that Obama's really taking it to the hedge funds who are holding out on the Chrysler bankruptcy. Hedge fund managers, you see, have a civic duty to lose large amounts of other peoples' money in order to ensure that the UAW makes as few sacrifices as possible in a bankruptcy.

Quote of the Day...

Mark Steyn:

"We’re still in the first 100 days of the joyous observances of Barack Obama’s first 100 days, and many weeks of celebration lie ahead..."

Ta, Dah!!!!!!!!

What's the Point of a Little Gas Tax?:

"Second, if Ryan is right, why are we doing this? It did take a lot of increase to change driving behavior, which is why in Europe, taxes can account for as much as 90% of the price of a liter of gas. There's a plausible argument that a 40 cent tax won't do much to change driving habits. But then, why have the 40 cent tax at all? If you have a Pigovian tax that doesn't alter the production of the externality, cap and trave starts to look a lot less like controlling our carbon emissions, and a lot more like taxing people who aren't Ryan Avent and Megan McArdle to top up government revenue."

Megan McArdle

Chrysler: The Car of the Future!

Day 101: We’ve Only Just Begun

Patterico:

“The overture has finished and now it truly begins,” an Obama adviser told ABCNews, referring to the healthcare, energy, and automaker debates to come.

A great post about what's to come. Read it all....

Take pity on the left as it grapples with the tea party revolt - Reason Magazine

Stages of Denial:

"Judging from the left's hysterical reaction, something really big must have happened. But the only way to really understand the left's misinformed and paranoid attacks is to realize that the protests represent tangible proof that basic libertarian values continue to resonate with the American electorate. That, apparently, is a difficult thing for some to accept."

Yeah, but whio gives a shit about that? Certainly not the Democrats nor the NY Times...

A Chilling Effect on U.S. Counterterrorism:

"In some ways, the debate over the morality of such interrogation techniques — something we do not take a position on and will not be discussing here — has distracted many observers from examining the impact that the release of these memos is having on the ability of the U.S. government to fulfill its counterterrorism mission. And this impact has little to do with the ability to use torture to interrogate terrorist suspects.

Politics and moral arguments aside, the end effect of the memos’ release is that people who have put their lives on the line in U.S. counterterrorism efforts are now uncertain of whether they should be making that sacrifice. Many of these people are now questioning whether the administration that happens to be in power at any given time will recognize the fact that they were carrying out lawful orders under a previous administration. It is hard to retain officers and attract quality recruits in this kind of environment. It has become safer to work in programs other than counterterrorism.

The memos’ release will not have a catastrophic effect on U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Indeed, most of the information in the memos was leaked to the press years ago and has long been public knowledge. However, when the release of the memos is examined in a wider context, and combined with a few oth"

One of the Classics - always worth reviewing...

My Back Pages:

"Crimson flames tied through my ears
Rollin' high and mighty traps
Pounced with fire on flaming roads
Using ideas as my maps
'We'll meet on edges, soon,' said I
Proud 'neath heated brow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth
'Rip down all hate,' I screamed
Lies that life is black and white
Spoke from my skull. I dreamed
Romantic facts of musketeers
Foundationed deep, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

Girls' faces formed the forward path
From phony jealousy
To memorizing politics
Of ancient history
Flung down by corpse evangelists
Unthought of, though, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

A self-ordained professor's tongue
Too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty
Is just equality in school
'Equality,' I spoke the word
As if a wedding vow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I'd become my enemy
In the instant that I preach
My pathway led by confusion boats
Mutiny from stern to bow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats
Too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking
I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

Too bad it wasn't Barney.....

Former Barney Frank staffer now top Goldman Sachs lobbyist

Like one of those impotent '60's professors....

After 100 days, the new president has revealed himself as an effective salesman of exhausted ideas:

"On issue after issue, Obama has made it clear that instead of blasting past 'the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long,' (as he promised in his inaugural address), he's moving full speed ahead toward policy prescriptions that already had less fizz than a case of Billy Beer back when Jimmy Carter was urging us all to wear sweaters and turn down our thermostats. Instead of thinking outside the box, Obama is nailing it shut from the inside."

Via Taranto:

This is a Bicentennial Minute. Eleven Americans, ranging in age from 9 to 50, have come down with swine flu, the Associated Press reports: "All those people either recovered or are recovering; at least two were hospitalized."

In Mexico, however, the toll has been much worse. "About 70 deaths out of roughly 1,000 cases represents a fatality rate of about 7 percent," the AP notes. This is far higher than the 2.5% fatality rate from the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19, although the latter was many orders of magnitude more widespread, killing 40 million people world-wide.

"The Mexican rate sounds terrifying," the AP writes. "But it's possible that far more than 1,000 people have been infected with the virus and that many had few if any symptoms." Which is somewhat, though not entirely, reassuring.

The AP dispatch is titled "Swine Flu Worse in Mexico Than US, but Why?" There's no definitive answer, but here's one of the possibilities:

Access to medical care has been an issue in Asia, where a rare bird flu--which does not spread easily from person-to-person--has killed more than 200 over the last several years. Maybe Mexican patients have also had trouble getting medical care or antiviral drugs, some have speculated--even though the government provides health care.

Wouldn't this paragraph make more sense if it ended ". . . because the government provides health care"?

Right out of the box - Quote of the Day...

Instapundit:

"It’s as if shoveling money into the pockets of political supporters isn’t enough to produce growth . . . ."

Question of the day....

If We're Not Nationalizing Banks, Why Nationalize GM?

Patterico: Basically, the boy is full of shit....

What Obama does not want you to read

After 100 days of unprecedented, saturation media coverage, Pres. Obama finds himself with an average level of public approval that masks how deeply polarized that public opinion is. Rest assured, that is not on any list of what the White House wants reporters to write about Pres. Obama’s first 100 days in office.

Read the whole thing - and try to keep from hurling...

“And then I lit a match to see if there was any gas left …”

Belmont Club :

"The Associated Press reported that an Air Force One type of aircraft was flown over New York city to update the file photograph that is used for publicity purposes. Instead of being a photo opportunity of the aircraft itself, the episode ended up taking a snapshot of the bureaucratic mind."

Let's give 'em a health care system to run!!!

Quote of the Day...

Instapundit:

“I suppose the administration just got a reality check that people really do actually remember that 9/11 happened.” Indeed. The administration, it seems, not so much . . . ."

Why would anyone be surprised?

So remember Obama’s promise to post bills to the ‘net, and wait five days before signing? So far, he’s one for 11.

And why my kids seem to welcome this is beyond me....

TigerHawk:

"And, of course, there is the point that troubles most conservatives: Are the government's programs to revive the economy and engineer hope and change now condemning us and our progeny to a permanently lower standard of living? That is my great fear as my own children embark on the journey of life."