We don't celebrate them enough.  

Ruined the economy, so now whining that their black hole is being filled and new jobs are being created.

Ruined America's standing abroad, so whining that we won't go to war in Iran.

50 million Americans without health insurance; half of bankruptcies due to health care costs; highest cost lowest value health care in the world -- all on GOP watch -- so of course opposing health care reform.

Why do they hate America so much?

At least they're not hypocritical moralizers. 

Oh.

Travelled back from NYC very late last night JetBlue.

The good;  watched the Nuggets win while en-route (woo-hoo!)

The bad: flight left 90 minutes late.

The OK:  JetBlue terminal fun --- Microsoft-cafe-style food offerings (lots of variations, roll-your-own, etc), lots of space, lots of places to work on a laptop WITH POWER!

The interesting;  different sociodemographic flying -- less experience with TSA, for sure --- and both pilots foreign nationals, which I'm guessing is to keep costs down.

The gorgeous --- 40 minutes of flying just south and over massive cumulus clouds on the plains. Multiple cloud lightning strikes simultaneously the entire time.

I"ve had my head-down building an American business the last few months, so was a little startled to hear Republican Bush-Wannabee Governor Perry publically call for Texas to secede from America today.

My first thought was that, having destroyed America's global standing and economy they now want to blow up the remnants.

My second thought was that this is just the same old politics of fear, hate, and division that they've used the last 20 years ... to destroy the country.  In that sense, predictable.

My third thought was to recall the recent literature I've been reading about Lincoln --- the single issue that nearly destroyed America through the Civil War was the South's desire to secede.

I guess Perry wants to own slaves, or perhaps become King of Mexico.

But I know this is a systematic effort on the part of the increasingly small right wing fringe nuts with money to undermine America's ability to recover as one nation, united....in hopes they can regain power for their personal aggrandizement...

Remarkable moral as well as intellectual fraud.... 

Say, I'm looking for some expertise around using web 2.0 and social networking tools to sell a high-end private home.

Here are some of the things I'm trying to figure out

1. The MLS seems to be the primary source for listings --- even for web sites like Trulio (though Zillow allows you to list directly).  But MLS is only searchable by zip code.  for example if I enter 'Evergreen, Colorado', our home won't appear because it isn't in that zip code -- though anyone looking in Evergreen would want to know about our home as it's in that catchment.

(here's link to the home)

SEO is generally designed to allow sellers to cut through that problem on the web generally --- but since MLS seems to control listing flow, what's the SEO equivalent for personal real estate?

2.  Buyers want  to see all options and so like aggregation sites.  But sellers have a very specfic likely buyer (paticularly when you get to the high end).  In our case, for example, any higher income or mid-level net worth folks looking to live in Foothills but with great Denver access -- either full time or as a second home -- are logical targets.  So, C-lists on LinkedIn sound smart.  But I'm not aware that agencies advertise that specifically for paritcular properties...

In general the model seems broken particularly in a tough market like this one -- particularly the sell-side of the equation.

So, looking for insights and experts -- AND happy to pay referral fee for anyone who finds someone who'd like to buy one of the loveliest places in the Colorado foothills!

View image

 

jbh at newsgator dot com

I haven't watched all the Couric interviews etc so I actually had reasonably high expectations for Palin tonight.  After all she was chosen by the GOP to be VP so I assumed she'd be solid and substantive.

She simply didn't show up, and Biden was terrific.

This is the end of the McCain effort.

Now, though, Obama/Biden get to deal with our little 22 trillion dollar economic issue....

1. We have to make a move
2. The salaries of those who will manage the new Resolution Trust Corp (or whatever it ends up being called) are completely irrelevant.  Arguing about caps on those salaries just means we'lll get less adept people to deal with this and waste more time which makes the situation more precarious
3.  The Wall Street executives who are 'guilty' of getting us into this mess are only part of the problem -- and have lost more proportionately than the rest of us will in higher taxes the next decade.  It's popular to deride them as evil fat cats -- the reality is their reputations and wealth have been crushed.  Move on.
4.  Plenty of blame to go around -- culture of excess but mostly that capital flows during the last twenty years have completely outpaced the regulatory system that exists -- in the context of right-wing vehement anti-regulation.
5.  Finance is at heart a confidence game. It's much more important to restore confidence now so we can continue to play the game than to assign blame.
6.  Barney Frank has a smart insight -- well-managed, the assets taken up by the new RTC over time may well be worth much more than their purchase price.  Net cost to taxpayer in that event?  Less than zero.
7.  Put Bloomberg in charge of the new RTC -- he gets it, is independent, doesn't need the money, cares about New York...

Everyone needs to take a step back and a deep breath, get this done this week with reasonable oversight and controls, and get back to business.

Oh, and throw out the idiotic GOP which is more responsible, over 25 years of ignorance and malfeasance, for creating the mess than any other entity... and do NOT let John McCain, Mr. Economic Igorance at An Advanced Age, or Ms. Sarah Palin, Ms ... ???? ... anywhere close to the joint...

... anything;

WHITEHOUSE: Gentlemen, we're in the middle of a near total mortgage system meltdown in this country. We have a health care system that burns 16 percent of our GDP, in which the Medicare liability alone has been estimated at $34 trillion. We're burning $10 billion a month in Iraq.

This administration has run up $7.7 trillion in national debt, by our calculation. And there is worsening evidence every day of global warming, with worsening environmental and national security ramifications. In light of those conditions, do any of you seriously contend that drilling for more oil is the number one issue facing the American people today?

(Long silent pause during which nobody answers.)

WHITEHOUSE: No, it doesn't seem so.

Guiliani tells Brokaw on "Meet the Press" that Palin is ready on foreign policy because the most vital attribute for foreign policy leadership is 'executive experience'.

That of course disqualifies McCain entirely, and also says  Bush, who had much more 'executive experience' as Governor of Texas (and, they argued, as one of the owners of the Texas Rangers -- remember all that??) was one of our most-prepared-for-foreign policy leaders ever... ... .

How's he managed?

The one thing he has had to manage entirely on his watch, from the choice to launch to today, is his Iraq adventure.

Woodward follows Guiliani on show and one of first quotes they read  from his new book is ;

After ordering the invasion, the president spent three years in denial and then delegated a strategy review to his national security adviser.  Bush was intolerant of confrontations and in-depth debate.  There was no deadline, no hurry.  The president was engaged in the war rhetorically but maintained an odd detachment from its management.  He never got a full handle on it, and over these years of war, too often he failed to lead.

Woodward goes on to characterize Bush' management of the war since 2006; 'He's kind of wringing his hands'.

Another striking Palinesque note -- when Pelosi reached out to Bush privately to try to find some way to work together and asked "Can't we find a way to end this diviseness and work together?' he responded with 'My views are known and unalterable'.

Frank Rich has a good column today about the GOP affirmative action program that is Sarah Palin. 

Other Palin ledes today;

Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes

Speaking of executive experience, here is the low-down on the truly tiny job that is Mayor of Wasilla in oil-subsidized Alaska

The universe of the mayor of Wasilla is sharply circumscribed even by the standards of small towns, which limited Palin's exposure to issues such as health care, social services, the environment and education.

With so many government services in the state subsidized by oil revenue, and with no need to provide for local schools, Wasilla has also made do with a very low property tax rate -- cut altogether by Palin's successor -- sparing it from the tax battles that localities elsewhere must deal with. Instead, the city collects a 2 percent sales tax, the bulk of which is paid by people who live outside town and shop at its big-box stores.The mayor oversees a police department created three years before Palin took office; the public works department; the parks and recreation department; a planning office; a library; and a small history museum. ... ...When Palin was mayor, the population was just 5,500.

...Palin limited her duties further by hiring a deputy administrator to handle much of the town's day-to-day management. Her top achievement as mayor was the construction of an ice rink, a project that landed in the courts and cost the city more than expected.

Perhaps the scariest quote of all from the piece;

"People said, 'What are you doing to my city? I liked it better when we didn't have government,' '' said Richard Deuser, the city attorney at the time. "And Sarah really pandered to that resentment, that resistance to change. Sarah became their person."

And...

..."Sarah always did and still does surround herself with people she gets along well with," she said. "They protect her, and that's what she needs. She has surrounded herself with people who would not allow others to disagree with Sarah. Either you were in favor of everything Sarah was doing or had a black mark by your name."

AP breaking;

The abuse of power investigation against Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, took a potentially ominous turn for her party today when state lawmakers voted to subpoena her husband.

Republican efforts to delay the probe until after the Nov. 4 election were thwarted when GOP state Sen. Charlie Huggins, who represents Palin's hometown of Wasilla, sided with Democrats. "Let's just get the facts on the table," said Huggins, who appeared in camouflage pants to vote during a break from moose hunting.