Bailout marks Karl Marx's comeback - FP Comment

"In his Communist Manifesto, published in 1848, Karl Marx proposed 10 measures to be implemented after the proletariat takes power, with the aim of centralizing all instruments of production in the hands of the state. Proposal Number Five was to bring about the “centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.”

If he were to rise from the dead today, Marx might be delighted to discover that most economists and financial commentators, including many who claim to favour the free market, agree with him."

Company Weakness or Systemic?

I have a few stocks in the tech sector I like to compare with each other.  I'm no fancy investor, but all of these companies have appealed to me at one time or another and it is interesting to watched their fortunes wax and wane.

At times like these you expect everything to go down a bit.  But what to make of a stock that has long led all the rest suddenly sinking to near the bottom?   At the same time, IBM and Microsoft, and old monopolist and a new have doggedly held their ground to come out on top.

Do these companies really deserve these valuations, or is it more about perception of non-technical stock analysts making sweeping generalizations (eg: high-end Apple products may no longer be in great demand)?

Windows Live Wire: Hotmail update coming soon

Nine out of ten users responding apparently think the new Hotmail sucks!

I only use it as an an archive... forwarding all of my Gmail messages there just in case Gmail goes down for an extended period.

But when check it from time to time (as you have to do to keep the ID active) it is a pretty clunky interface. "Ideal"for people who don't know any better. But I guess maybe not so ideal for those who read the product blog.

Dr. Sanity: CAPITALISM IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL-- IF YOU HAVE ONE

"Our academics rail against business. Our government constantly seeks to control it. Our youth are propagandized to death about its evils. Popular culture refrains from painting Islamofascists as the villians in movies out of political correctness, but does not hesitate to make big businessmen evil and grandiose. Religions are almost universal in denouncing the evils of money and spending it, even as they ask you to give them some.

One harmful result of this sorry situation is that there are few people--even among those who stalwartly defend the free market, who understand and appreciate the essential morality of capitalism.

The foundation of capitalism is human freedom in its most classical, liberal tradition."

LHC Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment Webcams

I feel a lot safer knowing these things are being constantly monitored.

American Thinker: Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis

"One of two things must be true. Either the Democrats are unfathomable idiots, who ignorantly pursue ever more destructive policies despite decades of contrary evidence, or they understand the consequences of their actions and relentlessly carry on anyway because they somehow benefit.

I submit to you they understand the consequences. For many it is simply a practical matter of eliciting votes from a targeted constituency at taxpayer expense; we lose a little, they gain a lot, and the politician keeps his job. But for others, the goal is more malevolent - the failure is deliberate. Don't laugh. This method not only has its proponents, it has a name: the Cloward-Piven Strategy. It describes their agenda, tactics, and long-term strategy."

Interesting. Never heard of it. Scary if true. But then we are now in the midst of scary times in any event, no matter what the explanation.

Zune "Maintenance Outage"

"Zune service will be down for scheduled maintenance on Monday, September 29 from 12:01am Pacific Time, for up to 48 hours. During the downtime, Zune Social, the forums on Zune.net, and all of Zune Marketplace will be offline.

As soon as we're back up, I'll post again!"

Hillarious!

Courtesy of ATD.

YouTube - You're Going To Destroy A Worldwide Economy! Ron Paul

One of these days more people like Ron Paul will get elected.

Maybe.

House defeats $700B financial markets bailout - Yahoo! News

"Ample no votes came from both the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle. More than two-thirds of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats opposed the bill."

Nice bi-partison un-support!

I think that might be the best outcome too.

The bigger the meltdown is the more it will be studied, and the more it is studied the more it will be recognized not as capitalism at work but as "socialism by other means". The public will demand to know who is responsible for the "good intentions" with which this road to hell are paved.

If only more legislation would go this way!

(Except legislation eliminating entire federal agencies of course.)

Curtain Rises on WiMax - WSJ.com

"Baltimore usually isn't considered a technology mecca. But many people in Silicon Valley, and other high-tech centers, will be watching closely to see what happens after Sprint Nextel Corp. flips the switch on a new wireless network Monday."

Dr. Sanity: THE INMATES WHO ARE RUNNING THE ASYLUM ***Updated***

"The inmates who are running the asylum are very busy now constructing a wall around their asylum; a wall that is a bigger, better, stronger and more fortified bubble around the asylum--one where not a single ray of reality will be able to penetrate and disturb the lovely fantasy world within."

Frank's fingerprints are all over the financial fiasco - The Boston Globe

"When the White House warned of 'systemic risk for our financial system' unless the mortgage giants were curbed, Frank complained that the administration was more concerned about financial safety than about housing.

Now that the bubble has burst and the 'systemic risk' is apparent to all, Frank blithely declares: 'The private sector got us into this mess.' Well, give the congressman points for gall."

I decided to watch the debate after all...

YouTube - Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

Better summary ...

Maniac: Andrew Sullivan

"Maniac: Andrew Sullivan Giddy as a Schoolgirl That He Got 'Confirmation' that Trig's Parentage a 'Legitimate Issue'"

There is a reason I don't read Sullivan any more.